Was your childhood room not adorned with posters of Gerd Müller or Zinedine Zidane? Were Willy Brandt or Mikhail Gorbachev the idols you looked up to in your youth?
Category: Op-Ed
Russian cold peps up the English, helps them enter quarterfinals
Several teams playing in the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia took advantage of a new therapy developed by ITMO University for use in training for tournament matches that speed recovery from physical exertion with dosed cooling.
Regional trade agreements: What agenda for social democracy
Social democracy has been – traditionally – in favour of internationalization. In overcoming nationalism, that internationalism symbolized both the openness of social democracy to people and to (economic) progress. Yet, the faith in internationalization and liberalization may have hit its…
Planting seeds for a safer future
By Abdullah Mashrif IN PREPARATION OF MONSOON SEASON, THE INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR MIGRATION (IOM) IS TURNING TO INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS TO SUPPORT THE NEEDS OF THE ROHINGYA REFUGEES IN COX’S BAZAR. IOM IS PLANTING VETIVER GRASS ALL OVER THE ROHINGYA REFUGEE…
Toothpaste, handwash causing antibiotic resistance
A common ingredient in toothpaste and handwash could be contributing to antibiotic resistance, according to research from the University of Queensland. The team of scientists has found that triclosan a compound used in more than 2000 personal care products induces…
Resurgent infectious diseases have serious economic effects
Infectious diseases and associated mortality have abated, but they remain a significant threat throughout the world.
Seymour Hersh’s memoir full of useful reporting secrets
By Matt Taibbi May 2018 – Late in his new memoir, Reporter, muckraking legend Seymour Hersh recounts an episode from a story he wrote for the New Yorker in 1999, about the Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard.
Declining birth rates not exclusive to wealthy nations
By Ranjit Devraj New Delhi, Jul 2 2018 (IPS) – Countries do not have to be economically prosperous to move from a situation of high birth and death rates to low fertility and mortality rates.
How Costa Rica gets it right
By Joseph E. Stiglitz How has a country of under five million people become a world leader in developing holistic policies that promote democratic, sustainable, and inclusive economic growth? The answer lies in its people’s belief that focusing on the…
Bamboo, a sustainability powerhouse
By Ed Holt Vienna, Jun 29, 2018 (IPS) – A landmark conference bringing more than 1,200 people from across the world together to promote and explain the importance of bamboo and rattan to the global sustainable development and tackling climate…
Football, xenophobia, racism, discrimination and …
By Pablo Alabarces Buenos Aires, Jun 29, 2018 (IPS) – Football tells us a great deal about identity. Even a budding sports journalist knows that. And it has come to be a meeting point and even an advertising theme. But…
The long and short of the digital revolution
Digital platforms are recasting the relationships between customers, workers, and employers as the silicon chip’s reach permeates almost everything we do—from buying groceries online to finding a partner on a dating website.
Joe Jackson turned his children into stars, but at a price
New York, Jun 28 (AP/UNB) — Joe Jackson once had his own dreams of success. He tried to be a boxer and then played the guitar with a group called The Falcons. But he realized early on that there was…
25 programs bringing veterans to the new food movement
From Danielle Nierenberg Greetings from Châlons-en-Champagne, France! Today I am speaking at the Planet A International Forum, where I’ll offer my take on efforts to enhance the changing world of agriculture. This Fourth of July, Food Tank is celebrating military…
‘Local temperature rise linked to antibiotic resistance’
A multi-disciplinary team of epidemiologists from Harvard Medical School, Boston Children’s Hospital and the University of Toronto have found that increasing local temperatures and population densities are associated with increasing antibiotic resistance in common bacterial strains. The researchers found that…
What football teaches us about migration
By International Organization for Migration Jun 26, 2018 (IOM) – Football is more than just a popular sport in many societies. Regardless of origin, social class or skin colour, if there is any sport that can give one a sense…
Water Scarce Cities: never let a crisis go to waste
Submitted by Stephane Dahan On Wed, 06-27-2018. co-authors: Lauren Nicole Core Newsrooms around the world all too often publish headlines about water crisis. The world watches while a number of cities, regions, and even countries suffer from drought.
Savagery of rapes of minors
By Geetika Dang, Vani S. Kulkarni and Raghav Gaiha New Delhi, Jun 22, 2018 (IPS) – Rapes of minors surged from 16 per day in 2001 to 46 per day in 2016. As if this was not horrendous enough, their…
Russian Universities in 2018 FIFA World Cup Final
The Universities Mundial: How the Russian Universities Prepared for the FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup is a major sports event. Every aspect of organizing and holding it receives special attention. Everything is important here: stadiums, transport infrastructure, official…
How sustainable food yield can change developing countries
Food scarcity is an issue that affects people around the world. Developing countries often struggle the most with food scarcity, but sustainable farming techniques could change their food system and lead to economic development and environmental protection.
Gaming disorder: New disease -experts say- hard to diagnose
By Carmen Arroyo and Emily Thampoe UN, Jun 2018 (IPS) – The World Health Organization (WHO) has formally added “Gaming Disorder” as a disease recognized by the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) in its 11th revision of its official collection…
Russian scientists develop predictor of Parkinson’s disease
Scientists from Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University (SPbPU), ITMO University, both Russian Academic Excellence Initiative (Project 5-100) participants, and the Institute of Experimental Medicine developed a unique program which can determine a form of Parkinson’s disease and predict…
Why Saudi Arabia lifts driving ban on women only now?
The Saudi regime still gets to decide which rights women should be afforded. by Hana Al-Khamri Starting today, women in Saudi Arabia are finally able to drive legally after a long-standing ban was lifted by a royal decree. The unexpected…
Case for a macroeconomic stabilisation function for EU
In the midst of continuing heavy discussions on future reforms of the European Monetary Union, the European Commission presented in May its long-awaited proposal for the next EU Budget (MFF) 2021 – 2027. It crucially includes a macroeconomic stabilisation function…
Rediscovering the promise of nuclear power
by Wade Allison Oxford – At the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris, world leaders, at last, seemed to recognize the reality of climate change. But the response they are pursuing is fundamentally flawed, given its dependence on…
As driving ban lifted, Saudi women in crosshairs of change
Riyadh, Jun 24 (AP/UNB) — Outside a sprawling mall in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, young single men and women walk through an open-air exhibit where Saudi women and traffic police explain the ins and outs of handling a car. Children…
Sleep scientist warns against walking In An Underslept State
Terry Gross The American National Sleep Foundation recommends an average of eight hours of sleep per night for adults, but sleep scientist Matthew Walker says that too many people are falling short of the mark.
Empowering refugees, displaced ones through digital identity
Submitted by Nicholas Oakeshott ; co-authors: Jonathan Marskell, Emily Weedon Chapman, Marie Benihirwe Fardowsa, a 20-year old Somali refugee in Uganda, knows the vital importance of identity documents to refugees. She and her family were forced to flee her homeland…
Bangladesh among 3 nations hosting half of world’s refugees
Turkey, Bangladesh and Uganda alone received over half of all new refugees last year. Never before has the world registered a larger number of people displaced by war and persecution.
World Day to Combat Desertification – Invest in land
This video is part of a series of stories and op-eds launched by IPS on the occasion of the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought on June 17 Rome, Jun 13 (IPS) – We are witnessing the degradation of…