Here’s the bad news: technology – specifically, surveillance technology – makes it easier to police disaffected populations, and that gives badly run, corrupt states enough stability to get themselves into real trouble. Here’s the good news: technology – specifically, networked…
Providence – Now that a cannon that rested in waters off Rhode Island’s shore for two centuries has been raised, U.S. Navy archaeologists are hoping to confirm that the ship that sank at the site was a schooner commanded by…
By IPS World Desk Rome/Brussels, (IPS) – Massive agriculture intensification is contributing to increased deforestation, water scarcity, soil depletion and the level of greenhouse gas emission, the United Nations warns.
One of the more significant quotations of last week came from President Donald Trump, when he reportedly described the Germans as “bad, very bad,” referring to their automobile exports. He returned to the theme Tuesday: Another take on Germany, articulated…
by Guy Verhofstadt European politicians have mastered the art of wagging their finger, most recently at Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and US President Donald Trump. Sadly, the same cannot be said for our ability to…
By Baher Kamal Rome, May 30 (IPS) – Water–everybody talks about it, warns against its growing scarcity, excessive waste, the impact of climate change, the frequent severe droughts and so on. Now, a global action network with over 3,000 partner…
by Lucio Levi There is a striking analogy between the current global economic and political crisis and the world crisis that occurred between two world wars. Then the great depression of 1929, Mussolini’s and Hitler’s ascent to power and WWII,…
Robert J. Burrowes As ‘mental health’ issues gain more attention, sympathetic and otherwise, in a wide variety of contexts and countries around the world, the opportunity for inaccurate perceptions of what causes these issues, and how to treat them, are…
By Jan Kellett UN, May 24 (IPS) – In March 2015 at the Sendai World Conference for Disaster Risk Reduction, the then President of Kirbati, Anote Tong, made it very clear how vulnerable his country was to climate and disaster…
By Mario Osava Vitoria, Brazil, May 29 (IPS) – “I am going back to Panama with many ideas,” said Gilda Montenegro, a nutritionist with the Panamanian Education Ministry, after getting to know the school feeding system in the city of…
By IPS World Desk ROME, May 29 2017 (IPS) – A highly contagious disease is spreading among farmed and wild tilapia, one of the world’s most important fish for human consumption, the United Nations warns, adding that though not a…
By Paula Fray Johannesburg, May 29 (IPS) – Amid the worst drought in a century, South Africans are kick-starting a global consultative process to agree on the values of water in a bid to ensure more equitable use of the…
by Thorvaldur Gylfason Freedom House recently demoted the United States from top rank among the world´s democracies. The reasons given include ‘the cumulative impact of flaws in the electoral system, a disturbing increase in the role of private money in…
by John Weeks False Dawn: Those of my generation will remember well 1959’s hilarious and biting satire on the British class system, “I’m all right, Jack”, which included several of the country’s most famous and best-loved comedy actors (Ian Carmichael,…
Hong Kong, China – Media OutReach – 29 May 2017 – The Dragon Boat Festival, also known as Tuen Ng Festival, is a traditional Chinese festival which pays tribute to Qu Yuan, a great poet in the Zhou Dynasty. It…
Homestead, US, May 28 (BSS/AFP) – A gray dinosaur statue outside south Florida’s largest power plant is meant to symbolize two decommissioned fossil fuel reactors, but it also could be seen to represent a nuclear industry crumpling under mounting costs.
By Baher Kamal Rome, May 26 (IPS) – Asia is home to the largest number of indigenous peoples on Earth, with an estimated 260 million of a total of 370 million original inhabitants worldwide. In spite of their huge number-equaling…
Dhaka, May 25 – Voicing concern over empowering Parliament to impeach the Supreme Court judges for their incapacity or misconduct, Chief Justice SK Sinha on Thursday said, a vacuum will be created in the country if there is no two-thirds…
By IPS World Desk Rome, May 25 (IPS) – Natural and man-made disasters, armed conflicts, widespread corruption and deep social inequalities have been so far a dramatic source for most news coverage when it comes to Africa, the world’s second-largest…
Videos and photos of the President of The United States, Donald Trump, arriving in Rome, along with wife Melania Trump (who by the way, still does not want to hold hands with POTUS), were all over the Internet recently. Now,…
Dhaka, May 25 – This is the tragic moment a crying toddler desperately tries to drink his mother’s milk, unaware that she is dead. Police were called to reports of a dead body near train tracks in Damoh district, Madhya…
By Baher Kamal Rome, May 24 (IPS) – Conflict and insecurity remain the key barriers to development progress in the Middle East and North Africa. In Iraq, Libya, Syria, and Yemen, about half the population—around 40 million people—require humanitarian assistance.…
Dhaka – The nation will observe the 118th birth anniversary of National Poet Kazi Nazrul Islam Thursday in a befitting manner. The programme of the day will begin with placing of wreaths by the cultural affairs ministry at poet’s grave…
Dhaka – Uber, the world’s largest on-demand ride-sharing company, celebrated 180 days of service in Dhaka on Tuesday, by reiterating that the company’s strategic focus in 2017 will be to make every Uber ride in Dhaka a great experience for…
Kathmandu, May 24 (AP/UNB)- A government official and a rescue coordinator say four bodies have been found inside a tent at the highest camp on Mount Everest.
Dhaka – Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha on Tuesday observed that the state is trying to tighten its grip on the apex court after keeping the lower courts under its strong control. “You’ve taken the lower courts under your clutch…
By Tharanga Yakupitiyage UN, May 23 (IPS) – Over 30 million people were newly internally displaced in 2016 by conflict and disasters, according to a new report. In examining trends around the world for its annual Global Report on Internal…
By Linda Flood Stockholm May 22 (IPS) – The Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO) has voted in favour of a boycott against Israel, which is expected to affect cultural, economical and academic ties. Condemnation has come from Isreali politicians,…
By Catherine Wilson Canberra, Australia, May 22 (IPS) – The political future of New Caledonia, a French South Pacific Island territory of 273,000 people, is a profound question mark as a referendum on independence rapidly approaches next year. Equally, how…
by Andrew Watt and László Andor Critiques of the European Union target a political problem – the so-called democratic deficit – and an economic (and social) one: austerity, sometimes subsumed under the broader heading of neoliberalism. It is also often…