Q&A: No Single Country Can Forecast Climate Change Alone
Cuban climate change scientists have been sharing their research findings and experience over the past few years with the rest of the Caribbean islands, using PRECIS, a regional climate modelling system, to help design adaptation policies. Read more...
IPS Inter Press Service , May 21, 11:18pm
Russia Still Struggling to Gain Foothold in Africa
As Russia's new president Vladimir Putin begins a new phase of economic
growth, trade experts are keeping a watchful eye on Moscow's policies with the
African continent, which they see as a huge, untapped source of economic
opportunity. Read more...
IPS Inter Press Service , May 21, 11:18pm
Guatemalan Communities Have No Say in Exploitation of Resources
"People haven't been coming in for the past month or so because they are afraid again, like during war-time," complained Juan Gaspar, a shopkeeper in the northwestern Guatemalan town of Santa Cruz Barillas, where a fierce battle is raging between locals opposed to a hydropower dam and the security forces. Read more...
IPS Inter Press Service , May 21, 11:18pm
Q&A: Earth Summit Deadlocked Until Eleventh Hour
The 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro has been described as
one of the largest international conferences in the history of
the United Nations, attracting over 20,000 participants,
including more than 100 world leaders. Read more...
IPS Inter Press Service , May 21, 11:18pm
Ahead of Elections, Military Well Entrenched
As Egyptians prepare to elect their country's first president since the uprising
that toppled dictator Hosni Mubarak, the military junta that has ruled for the
last 15 months has shown little sign it is prepared to accept civilian oversight. Read more...
IPS Inter Press Service , May 21, 11:18pm
Green Groups Urge Obama to Attend Rio+20
With a month to go before the United Nations Conference on
Sustainability in Rio de Janeiro, nearly two dozen NGOs are
calling on President Barack Obama to confirm his attendance at
the event, known as Rio+20. Read more...
IPS Inter Press Service , May 21, 11:18pm
While Men Go Drinking, Women Go Fishing
Climate change may have led to declining water levels in Genda Village in
Zambia's Eastern Province, but Mercy Mwanza and the women here discovered
there was a positive side to it and found a new way to earn a living. Read more...
IPS Inter Press Service , May 21, 11:18pm
Al-Qaeda Claims Deadly Yemen Suicide Blast
Al-Qaeda has claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing in
the centre of the Yemeni capital that has left nearly 100
people dead. Read more...
IPS Inter Press Service , May 21, 11:18pm
New Serbian President Promises Change
Serbs awoke on Monday morning to a regime change. A close ballot in the
presidential run-off Sunday spelled the end for incumbent Boris Tadic, who
served two terms as head of the Democratic Party that toppled former
dictator Slobodan Milosevic in 2000, as Serbs cast their votes for the populist
Tomislav Nikolic, who begins his five-year term today. Read more...
IPS Inter Press Service , May 21, 11:18pm
Bangladesh Set to Take the Reins at Rio+20
Experts believe that the upcoming United Nations Earth Summit, Rio+ 20,
scheduled to take place in Brazil from Jun.20-22, could be a real opportunity
for Bangladesh to negotiate a road to sustainable development. Read more...
IPS Inter Press Service , May 21, 11:20am
Can 'Blue Forests' Mitigate Climate Change?
Fifty-five percent of global atmospheric carbon captured by living organisms
happens in the ocean. Read more...
IPS Inter Press Service , May 21, 11:20am
Prisoners' Rights Still Absent in Argentina under Democracy
Nearly 29 years after the demise of the 1976-1983 dictatorship in Argentina, successive democratic governments have failed to find a humane way of running the prison system. Preventable deaths, torture and appalling conditions for inmates continue to be reported. Read more...
IPS Inter Press Service , May 21, 11:20am
Calls for Angola to Investigate Abuse of Congolese Migrants
The Angolan government is being urged to carry out a thorough and
independent investigation into allegations of sexual and physical abuse by its
security forces against Congolese migrants. Read more...
IPS Inter Press Service , May 21, 11:20am
Helping Victims of Post-Election Crisis Obtain Justice in Côte d'Ivoire
Thousands of people suffered rape, torture and other violence during the post-
electoral crisis in Côte d'Ivoire beginning in December 2010. But many survivors
of rights violations have been afraid to seek justice for fear of reprisals by the
perpetrators. An initiative by the International Federation of Human Rights aims
to support 75 such victims as they bring their cases to court. Read more...
IPS Inter Press Service , May 21, 11:20am
Parliamentarians Track Progress on Reproductive Rights
Have women around the world become more empowered in their reproductive
health and rights over the past 18 years? This is one of the questions that some
300 parliamentarians from around the world will be examining when they meet
in Istanbul, Turkey, this week for the Fifth International Parliamentarians'
Conference on the Implementation of the International Conference on
Population and Development (ICPD) programme of action. Read more...
IPS Inter Press Service , May 20, 11:19pm
Poverty Fuels Clashes in Lebanon
Age-old battlegrounds in Lebanon's northern city of Tripoli have descended
into violence once again. While the events are highly disturbing they are not
necessarily surprising for Lebanon's residents, who have grown accustomed to
violent clashes along the impoverished sectarian divides in the city. Read more...
IPS Inter Press Service , May 20, 11:19pm
Jakarta Poaches on Farmland Waters
The 18,000 litres of clean water that Jakarta consumes per second are expected to hit 26,000 litres by 2015. The solution? A 54-km stretch of toll road cut through prime paddy land to access the water resources of this salubrious hill district. Read more...
IPS Inter Press Service - Troubled Waters, May 19, 11:19am
Jakarta Poaches on Farmland Waters
The 18,000 litres of clean water that Jakarta consumes per second are expected to hit 26,000 litres by 2015. The solution? A 54-km stretch of toll road cut through prime paddy land to access the water resources of this salubrious hill district. Read more...
IPS Inter Press Service , May 19, 11:19am
Taliban Seek Support ‘in Rushdie's Name'
Taliban members have resorted to invoking fictitious links of academics with
writer Salman Rushdie in a bid to boost their popularity. Read more...
IPS Inter Press Service , May 19, 11:19am
HAITI: Funding Dries Up Even as Rains Worsen Cholera Deaths
As predicted, the beginning of the rainy season in Haiti
brought exponential increases in the numbers of people
sickened and killed by cholera. Read more...
IPS Inter Press Service , May 18, 11:20pm
KAZAKHSTAN: Astana Touts Caspian Port as NDN Hub
The United States and Kazakhstan are exploring the idea of
expanding the amount of military cargo passing through
Kazakhstan into and out of Afghanistan. The focal point of the
discussions is the Caspian port city of Aktau. Read more...
IPS Inter Press Service , May 18, 11:20pm
Buenos Aires Offers Same-Sex Marriage to Foreign Couples
Foreign non-residents, gay or straight, can now get married in the Argentine capital, thanks to a resolution that removed bureaucratic obstacles and streamlined the procedure. Read more...
IPS Inter Press Service , May 18, 11:20pm
Industrialised Countries Under Critical Spotlight at U.N. Meet
The latest session of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change (UNFCCC), taking place May 15-25 in the former German capital Bonn, is
the perfect opportunity to reaffirm the enormous and growing body of scientific
expertise on policies to tackle global warming. Read more...
IPS Inter Press Service , May 18, 11:20pm
G8 Turns to Private Sector for Food Crisis Solutions
On the eve of the Group of Eight (G8) summit near Washington,
President Barack Obama on Friday unveiled a major new
initiative aimed at shoring up food security and combating
global hunger. Read more...
IPS Inter Press Service , May 18, 11:20pm
Opposition to Iranian Nuclear Arms Widespread: Global Poll
Opposition to Iran's possible acquisition of nuclear weapons
is widespread, although support for taking military action to
prevent it appears to have fallen in several key countries
over the past two years, according to a new poll of public
opinion in 21 countries released here Friday by the Pew
Research Center's Global Attitudes Project. Read more...
IPS Inter Press Service , May 18, 11:20pm
FINANCE: Protestors Demand Robin Hood Tax on Financial Transactions
Hundreds of nurses and protestors from other professions gathered on
Friday in Chicago to call on world leaders to adopt a Robin Hood Tax on
Wall Street transactions as a way to raise hundreds of billions of dollars
every year to help heal the U.S. and world economies. Read more...
IPS Inter Press Service , May 18, 11:20pm
Caught Between Diarrhoea Bugs and Arsenic
Caught between arsenic contaminated groundwater and diarrhoea-causing microbes in its ponds and rivers, achieving the millennium development goal of providing access to safe drinking water for its 160 million people by 2015 is a tough call for Bangladesh. Read more...
IPS Inter Press Service - Troubled Waters, May 18, 11:20am
Caught Between Diarrhoea Bugs and Arsenic
Caught between arsenic contaminated groundwater and diarrhoea-causing microbes in its ponds and rivers, achieving the millennium development goal of providing access to safe drinking water for its 160 million people by 2015 is a tough call for Bangladesh. Read more...
IPS Inter Press Service , May 18, 11:20am
‘Leave Nothing But Footprints' on Philippine Beaches
Seashells and corals are competing with styrofoam packs, food wrappers,
cigarette butts, and plastic bottles for space on some of the Philippines' most
scenic beaches. Graffiti mars tourist spots like lighthouses and caves,
proclaiming the names of recent visitors. Read more...
IPS Inter Press Service , May 18, 11:20am
Brazil Drives Energy Integration in South America
Energy integration in South America will be a reality "in the medium to long term," driven by hydropower and drawing on Brazil's experience, predicts Altino Ventura Filho, secretary of planning in this country's Ministry of Mines and Energy. Read more...
IPS Inter Press Service , May 18, 11:20am
Bracing for a Massive Influx of Returnees
In the wake of border tensions the United Nations is airlifting 12,000
southerners from a Sudanese frontier town into South Sudan. But they are
returning home in the midst of an economic crisis that has the U.N. warning it
may appeal for more funding to scale up humanitarian operations. Read more...
IPS Inter Press Service , May 18, 11:20am
From Mubarak to Worse
More than 15 months after Egypt's Tahrir Square uprising and four months after
free parliamentary polls, many Egyptians say that daily living conditions are
worse now than they were in the Mubarak era. Read more...
IPS Inter Press Service , May 18, 11:20am
Autism "Relegated to the Sidelines"
At first glance Nortey Quaynor looks like any ordinary 29-year-old Ghanaian. If
you spend a little time with him, though, you soon realise that something is
different. Read more...
IPS Inter Press Service , May 18, 11:20am
Q&A: How Sex Education Programs Can Shape a Better Future
In Latin American countries and in the Caribbean, where income disparities are
among the greatest in the world, too many people often lack access to
comprehensive health services and information needed to live healthy lives. Read more...
IPS Inter Press Service , May 18, 11:20am
U.S. Calls on Mali Junta to Withdraw from Politics
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Johnnie Carson says Malian
soldiers who overthrew the government on Mar. 22 have neither the right to
remain in power nor the strength to deal with humanitarian and security
challenges facing the West African country. Read more...
IPS Inter Press Service , May 18, 11:20am
Cuban Activists Defend Sexual Rights as Human Rights
The Fifth Cuban Day Against Homophobia focused on recognising and including sexual rights as human rights, a cause increasingly advocated by activists demanding respect for sexual diversity in this Caribbean island nation. Read more...
IPS Inter Press Service , May 17, 11:19pm
Activists Brace for Long War Against Nuclear Power
For the past two decades Masao Ishiji (59), has been fighting tooth and nail to
ban the operation of four nuclear reactors that dot the western coastline of Oi in
the Fukui prefecture facing the Japan Sea. Read more...
IPS Inter Press Service , May 17, 11:19pm
Hopes To Heal Economy Through Devaluation, Which Has Hit Poor Hard
As Malawi's poor struggle to afford food and other staple items since the 48
percent devaluation of the local currency against the dollar, economic
commentators are optimistic that the move will provide an opportunity to boost
the country's export market. Read more...
IPS Inter Press Service , May 17, 11:19pm
Breaking the Silence on Racism in Cuba
Gloria Rolando has been revealing hidden chapters of Cuban history since the 2010 premiere of the first part of her documentary series "1912: Breaking the Silence," about the virtually unknown story about the only legal political party to promote racial equality in this country. Read more...
IPS Inter Press Service , May 17, 11:19pm
Over Objections, U.S. Lifts Myanmar Investment Ban
In a highly anticipated confirmation, the United States on
Thursday announced that it would be significantly rolling back
bilateral economic restrictions that have been in place on
Myanmar (Burma) for a decade and a half. Read more...
IPS Inter Press Service , May 17, 11:19pm
U.S. Iran Hawks in Congress in Some Disarray
Hopes by Iran hawks here to get the U.S. Congress to wield the
threat of a U.S. military attack on the Islamic Republic on
the eve of next week's critical negotiations on Tehran's
nuclear programme appear to have fallen unexpectedly short. Read more...
IPS Inter Press Service , May 17, 11:19pm
Blawg of the Day – Environmental Law Insight
Today we’ll visit Environmental Law Insight, which features updates and analysis from Taft’s (with offices in Kentucky/Ohio/Indiana/Arizona) environmental trial lawyers. They are discussing such recent topics as carbon performance standards, unregulated contaminants in drinking water, CERCLA liability, and fracking, among others. Read more...
Inter Alia, May 17, 2:00pm
Protection for Salvadoran Migrants En Route to U.S.
A law to protect Salvadoran migrants, who are frequently victims of attacks and abuses on their way to the United States, is nearing entry into force after having been approved over a year ago. All that remains is for a body made up of civil society organisations to be created to implement it. Read more...
IPS Inter Press Service , May 17, 11:20am
NATO's Twin Crises
It's not an easy time for the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization (NATO). Read more...
IPS Inter Press Service , May 17, 11:20am
Public Funds Could Help Provide Water and Electricity, Researchers Say
For several decades, governments around the globe have turned to
privatisation as the best option to help relieve the world's destitute by
providing them with health care services, water and electricity. By and
large, however, this effort has failed. Read more...
IPS Inter Press Service , May 16, 11:19pm
COLOMBIA-U.S.: Trade Deal "Throws Country into Jaws of Multinationals," Critics Say
The entry into force of Colombia's free trade agreement with the United States was met by student protests and opposition from a segment of the business community, small farmers, and trade unionists. Read more...
IPS Inter Press Service , May 16, 11:19pm
OP-ED: Arab Autocrats Aiding Resurgence of Terrorism
The rising spectre of terrorism in Syria shows that by
clinging to power and refusing to implement meaningful
reforms, Arab autocrats in Syria, Bahrain, and elsewhere are
indirectly contributing to the resurgence of terrorism in
their societies. Read more...
IPS Inter Press Service , May 16, 11:19pm
Colombian River Basin Passes the Test of El Niño and La Niña
Patricia Gómez, an engineer, is leading a training workshop for a group of 11 men at the fire station in Neiva, the capital of the department of Huila in southwest Colombia. Read more...
IPS Inter Press Service , May 16, 11:19pm
Q&A: The Future of Agriculture May Well Be in Cities
In the coming decades, the world's population is expected to
grow by at least another two billion people, 80 percent of
whom will live in cities by the year 2050. Read more...
IPS Inter Press Service , May 16, 11:19pm