By Baher Kamal Rome, Nov 16 (IPS) – It might sound strange, very strange, but the news is that scientists and experts have been assuring, over and again, that using nuclear applications in agriculture –and thus in food production—are giving…
Category: Op-Ed
Darkness: Investigating mass rape in Burma: HRW
Interview: November 16, 2017 12:00AM EST The Burmese military is carrying out a campaign of ethnic cleansing against Rohingya Muslims in northern Rakhine State. Scores of people have been murdered and hundreds of villages destroyed, and more than 600,000 Rohingya…
Yemen: End blockade; avert famine
By Chandra Muzaffar The threat of mass famine in Yemen is as real as ever — in spite of the reopening of the port of Aden and the Wadea land crossing on the Saudi-Yemen border. This is not enough, according…
Climate change is already upon us & will only worsen
By António Guterres Bonn, Nov 15 (IPS) – It is fitting that this year’s conference of parties (on climate change, COP 23) is led by Fiji, a nation on the frontlines.
On Gender Day at climate meet
By Stella Paul Bonn, Germany, Nov 15 (IPS) – “Five years ago, when we first started talking about including gender in the negotiations, the parties asked us, ‘Why gender?’ Today, they are asking, ‘How do we include gender?’ That’s the…
Richest 1pc people own half of world’s wealth
The richest 1 per cent of people in the world now own half of the planet’s wealth, according to a new report that highlights breathtaking levels of global inequality.
Reshaping sovereignty in Catalonia and Spain
The Catalan events pose a challenge to the sovereignty of the Spanish state as well as casting light on sovereignty in the EU. At stake is a redefinition of the concept and practice of sovereignty in Europe and much of…
The Queen, Royal Family members at Armistice event
The Queen was joined by members of the Royal Family to commemorate the fallen at the Royal Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall.
World War III is postponed!
Proinsias Mac Pheadair The actions recently of the world’s most notorious arms dealer Dr Moosa bin Shamsher (73) and former Chairman of Donald Trump’s election campaign Paul Manafort (68) are believed to have prevented an American nuclear attack on North…
Neoliberalism and the New World Order. IMF-World Bank “Reforms”
By Prof Michel Chossudovsky Global financial warfare as outlined in professor Chossudovsky’s writings. Wall Street Behind Brazil Coup d Etat; The role played by the IMF and World Bank in the economies of debtor nations, The Real Plan in Brazil,…
Putting a price on rainforests
Lorenzo Bernasconi New York – In early October, shortly after Hurricane Maria made landfall in Puerto Rico, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said on Twitter that his company could, given the opportunity, rebuild the island’s electrical grid using solar power. Coming…
Sounding the alarm on biodiversity loss
Robert Watson Norwich – With the United Nations’ climate change conference underway in Bonn, Germany, rising global temperatures are once again at the top of the world’s agenda. But why care about the increase in temperature, if not because of…
Fighting the creeping catastrophe of climate change
By Lourdes Tibig and Denise Margaret Matias Bonn, Germany, Nov 8 (IPS) – November 8 marks the fourth anniversary of Haiyan’s landfall in the Philippines. The super typhoon was the strongest ever to make landfall.
Climate change confce to outline strategy on Paris Agreement
Environment and Forests Secretary Istiaque Ahmed has said the 23rd session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 23) will formulate the rule book, guidelines and policies to implement the Paris Agreement.
My vision for a pollution-free planet
By Erik Solheim UN, Nov 3 (IPS) – For too long, the relationship between prosperity and environment has been seen as a trade-off. Tackling pollution was considered an unwelcome cost on industry and a handicap to economic growth.
Climate Change Summit a step further, yes… but where to?
By Baher Kamal Rome, Nov 6 (IPS) – The UN Climate Change Summit in Bonn is a step further, most experts say. Fine, but towards what? On the one hand, the organisers – the UN, Fiji and Germany – express…
The end of empire
By Chris Hedges The American empire is coming to an end. The U.S. economy is being drained by wars in the Middle East and vast military expansion around the globe. It is burdened by growing deficits, along with the devastating…
Rohingya crisis stokes fears of Myanmar’s Muslims
By Pascal Laureyn Yangon, Oct 24 (IPS) – In a quiet street, the sound of children’s voices can be heard from an open window. They are reciting verses of the Koran in unison. The small Islamic school lays hidden in…
Queen Rania visits Rohingya Refugees
Prof. M Zahidul Haque JORDAN Queen Rania’s recent visit to the Kutupalang Rohingya refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar Ukhiya Upazila has added to the efforts of Bangladesh and the International community to help Rohingya refugees who were forced to flee…
‘Never again’: Investing in prevention and early action
By Tharanga Yakupitiyage UN, Nov 2 (IPS) – After the Rwandan genocide, the United Nations promised ‘never again.’ But has the international community kept their word? From Mexico to Myanmar, conflicts and humanitarian crises have multiplied.
Global compact on safe, orderly and regular migration
By Prasad Kariyawasam Colombo, Sri Lanka, Oct 31 (IPS) – At this crucial juncture of international migration, where numerous push and pull factors have engendered unprecedented migration flows across the globe, the ongoing discussions at the United Nations must lead…
The palatial Bombay house of Jinnah and his daughter Dina Wadia
The founder of Pakistan, Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s daughter, Dina Wadia who died yesterday, was embroiled in a prolonged battle with the Indian Government over a seafront bungalow in Mumbai’s Malabar Hill which was built by her father. The palatial Jinnah…
Scientists discover hidden chamber in Egypt’s Great Pyramid
Cairo, Nov 2 (AP/UNB) — Scientists have found a hidden chamber in Egypt’s Great Pyramid of Giza, the first such discovery in the structure since the 19th century and one likely to spark a new surge of interest in the…
Scientist recalls training dog Lika for1st trip to space
“I asked her to forgive us and I even cried as I stroked her for the last time,” says 90-year-old Russian biologist Adilya Kotovskaya, recalling the day she bid farewell to her charge Laika. The former street dog was about…
An urgent need to transform world’s energy systems
By António Guterres UN, Nov 1 (IPS) – When we discuss global interconnection in relation to energy, we are at the centre of the two keywords that express our global concerns – sustainability and inclusivity.
The assertion of identity
By Chandra Muzaffar News reports about communities and regions asserting their identity are capturing media headlines everywhere. While the media gives a lot of coverage to an event or action connected with the phenomenon — a referendum in Iraqi Kurdistan…
My four rules: Barack Obama
Mostafa Kamal, As long as we’ve been working to get the Obama Foundation up and running, I’ve been thinking about what I might say at the Foundation’s first big gathering — what words of wisdom I’d give to a group…
Reforming the way we qualify candidates for President
By Joe Rothstein In the United States, anyone can be elected president. How often do we tell that our children? The United States is an equal opportunity nation. Even up to and including the highest office in the land.
Adolescent health congress skirts abuse-trafficking issues
By Stella Paul New Delhi, Oct 30 (IPS) – Twenty-year-old Gogontlejang Phaladi of Mahalapye, Botswana is grateful she was never sent to a so-called “hyena” like scores of girls in neighbouring Malawi were.
The roots of exodus: What compels people to leave their homes?
By Baher Kamal Rome, Oct 30 (IPS) – Facts are facts, and one of them is that while everybody talks about the growing forced movement of people –be they migrants or refugees—decision-makers haven’t seriously acted on the root causes of…