Global Issues http://www.globalissues.org Announcement of new and updated content on the globalissues.org web site. GlobalIssues.org is a web site attempting to look at various global issues to show they are inter-related. en-us Global Issues http://www.globalissues.org/i/globalissues.png http://www.globalissues.org 84 84 GlobalIssues.org AIDS in Africa http://www.globalissues.org/article/90/aids-in-africa AIDS in Africa is said to be killing more people than conflicts. It causes social disruption as children become orphaned. It affects already-struggling economies as workforces are reduced. As an enormous continent, various regions are seeing different results as they attempt to tackle the problem. Numerous local, regional and global initiatives are slowly helping, despite significant obstacles (such as poverty, local social and cultural norms/taboos, concerns from drug companies about providing affordable medicines, and limited health resources of many countries that are now also caught up in the global financial crisis). This update includes a couple of videos on different aspects off this issue as well as some further background information on how the issue is being addressed and what problems are being faced. Mon, 22 Jun 2009 02:33:00 GMT Health Issues Conflicts in Africa The Banana Trade http://www.globalissues.org/article/63/the-banana-trade-war A handful of fruit companies dominate the global banana trade. Combined with supermarkets on the consumer side, both end up squeezing workers who are often exploited or work under terrible conditions. Fair trade offers promise of some relief, but an entire region such as the Caribbean has had an almost unhealthy reliance and dependency on banana exports. This update provides some additional background information and links. Sun, 14 Jun 2009 20:21:00 GMT Fair Trade Trade, Economy, & Related Issues Global Financial Crisis http://www.globalissues.org/article/768/global-financial-crisis The global financial crisis section has been updated to include more information about how Asian and African nations are faring and includes a new part on human rights and the effect this crisis has had on rights around the world. Such a crisis may also be an opportunity for reform, though those who benefit from the current system have typically resisted more fundamental reforms in the past. Brief updates have also been added to the sections that look at this aspect further. Tue, 02 Jun 2009 04:04:00 GMT Trade, Economy, & Related Issues Energy Security http://www.globalissues.org/article/595/energy-security Energy security concerns raise a variety of issues, including geopolitics and power play, as well as practical concerns such as environmental degradation, climate change and sustainable development. This update includes a look at Bolivia, which has half the world’s lithium, a mineral that will power the next generation hybrid and electric cars, while already being used in smaller batteries today. Bolivia is concerned that others will exploit its resources and it will not benefit. This has typically been the case for resource-rich nations, exploited during the colonialism era and in poverty partly as a result of that. A video about this is included in this update. Mon, 04 May 2009 18:28:00 GMT Sustainable Development Consumption and Consumerism Climate Change and Global Warming Loss of Biodiversity http://www.globalissues.org/article/171/loss-of-biodiversity-and-extinctions Biodiversity loss and species extinction is on the increase. It is generally understood that the high species loss rate is in large part due to human activity. This update includes notes on whaling and its impacts on ocean biodiversity (such as reducing fish populations, rather than increasing them for fishermen) and a video looking at the link between human rights and environmental rights. Mon, 04 May 2009 15:43:00 GMT Biodiversity Why Is Biodiversity Important? http://www.globalissues.org/article/170/why-is-biodiversity-important-who-cares Biodiversity boosts ecosystem productivity where each species, no matter how small, all have an important role to play. For example, a larger number of plant species means a greater variety of crops; greater species diversity ensures natural sustainability for all life forms; and healthy ecosystems can better withstand and recover from a variety of disasters. This update includes additional illustrations and notes on these aspects, including an illustration of the nitrogen cycle and updates on the declining bee population and their importance to agriculture. Sun, 26 Apr 2009 23:12:00 GMT Biodiversity Foreign aid: highest levels ever but still way below promised amounts http://www.globalissues.org/article/35/us-and-foreign-aid-assistance The OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) recently published new preliminary figures for aid in 2008. It showed official development assistance (ODA) aid from wealthy governments had increased to $119.8 billion, the highest ever. This is roughly 0.3% of GNI of the donor nations. Yet, almost 40 years ago nations promised to reach 0.7% of their GNI. While each year the amount of aid falls quite short of that 0.7% target, the quality and effectiveness of that aid is often questionable, sometimes benefiting the donor more than the recipient due to the types of conditions attached to this aid. This update includes a number of new and updated charts and graphs. Mon, 13 Apr 2009 17:22:00 GMT Sustainable Development Foreign aid: shortfall reaches $3.6 trillion; greater than aid given http://www.globalissues.org/article/593/official-global-foreign-aid-shortfall-over-3-trillion Almost 40 years ago, rich country governments agreed to give 0.7% of their GNI (Gross National Income) as official aid to poor countries for development assistance. The average aid delivered each year has actually been between 0.2 to 0.4%. The shortfall has therefore accumulated to over $3.6 trillion dollars at 2007 prices, while total aid delivered in that same time frame has reached $2.7 trillion. This update includes updated charts and graphs that look into this further. Mon, 13 Apr 2009 17:21:00 GMT Sustainable Development Haiti: Poverty and Environment Exacerbating Each Other http://www.globalissues.org/article/141/haiti-and-human-rights The Haiti page has been updated to include some of the effects of poverty and environment on each other. Haiti is suffering from the effects of recent hurricanes. The immense poverty and deforestation of much of Haiti has led to massive top soil loss and erosion making it harder for the environment to withstand and recover from hurricanes and flooding. Growing food has also been tougher. On top of that, cheap food imports are undermining whatever local farmers can produce. As more people move to the cities, crime and instability increases. These issues unfortunately repeat themselves in a number of other poor nations. A combination of lack of democracy, outside influence/interference preventing local democracy and development, environmental degradation and poverty make it incredibly difficult to resolve. Fri, 10 Apr 2009 23:12:00 GMT Human Rights Issues Loss of Biodiversity http://www.globalissues.org/article/171/loss-of-biodiversity-and-extinctions Biodiversity loss and species extinction is on the increase. It is generally understood that the high species loss rate is in large part due to human activity. This update includes updated sections on declining amphibian species, more about dwindling fish stocks and declining shark numbers, and a video about ocean biodiversity. Sun, 29 Mar 2009 23:58:00 GMT Biodiversity Today, over 25,000 children died around the world http://www.globalissues.org/article/715/today-over-25000-children-died-around-the-world Over 25,000 children die every day around the world. That is equivalent to: 1 child dying every 3.5 seconds or 17-18 children dying every minute. It is like a 2004 Asian Tsunami occurring almost every 1.5 weeks, or an Iraq-scale death toll every 16–38 days. It means over 9 million children dying every year. For latest figures available, some 70 million children died between 2000 and 2007. The silent killers are poverty, hunger, easily preventable diseases and illnesses, and other related causes. Although the number of children dying each year is being reduced (some half a million less deaths in 2007 than 2006, for example), the rate of reduction is slow. Furthermore, it is feared that the global financial crisis will undo some of that annual reduction, with an extra 200,000 to 400,000 children dying from the knock-on effects of the economic downturn. And yet, despite the scale of this daily/ongoing catastrophe, it rarely manages to achieve, much less sustain, prime-time, headline coverage. This update includes updated numbers, charts and graphs. Sun, 22 Mar 2009 23:51:00 GMT Causes of Poverty Global Financial Crisis http://www.globalissues.org/article/768/global-financial-crisis This update includes notes and a chart on how much the global financial crisis has cost, in context. For example, plummeting stock markets have wiped out 33% of the value of companies, $14.5 trillion. Taxpayers will be bailing out their banks and financial institutions with large amounts of money. US taxpayers alone will spend some $9.7 trillion in bailout packages and plans. The UK and other European countries have also spent some $2 trillion on rescues and bailout packages. These values are staggering. Such money has been made readily available, yet could have wiped out developing world debt (much of it unjust debt) many times over, though arguing for the small amount of debt relief that has been delivered has required enormous energy. The bailouts also dwarf world military spending, which itself is quite high. The US package almost covers the total value of US home mortgages, though mortgage payers are not the ones being bailed out. Mon, 02 Mar 2009 03:44:00 GMT Trade, Economy, & Related Issues World military spending http://www.globalissues.org/article/75/world-military-spending World military spending has topped $1.2 trillion annually and is back to Cold War levels. This is based on latest data available, from 2007, before the global financial crisis hit. Updated graphs and charts provide some additional information. Sun, 22 Feb 2009 23:38:00 GMT Arms Trade and Military Global Financial Crisis http://www.globalissues.org/article/768/global-financial-crisis This update includes notes about securitization and how banks were exposed by these complex instruments leading to the subprime crisis. Also added more information on derivatives, futures and other forms of risk management that backfired and contributed to the current financial meltdown. Wed, 04 Feb 2009 02:46:00 GMT Trade, Economy, & Related Issues Gaza crisis http://www.globalissues.org/article/773/gaza The Israeli offensive on Hamas in the Gaza Strip on 27th December, 2008 ended on January 17, 2009 when both Hamas and Israel announced separate ceasefires, which have turned out to be quite fragile. The 3 week offensive claimed some 1,300 Palestinian lives, 400 of which were children. Another 5,000 were injured including some 1,800 children and 800 women. 13 Israelis were also killed. How did this crisis come about and what were some of the issues raised? Sun, 01 Feb 2009 22:49:00 GMT Palestine and Israel Conflicts in Africa http://www.globalissues.org/article/84/conflicts-in-africa-introduction Recent violence in the Gaza Strip, or terrorism in Mumbai results in sustained and details media coverage for days and days. And rightly so. However, by comparison, African conflicts, where usually far more people are killed and displaced, receives a lot less coverage or background analysis to help understand those conflicts. Some 88% of conflict deaths in the last two decades have occurred in Africa, for example, yet the mainstream media coverage has been nowhere near the scale of other conflicts in Europe, Asia or the Middle East. Some additional graphs and notes added on this. Sat, 03 Jan 2009 21:09:00 GMT Conflicts in Africa Poznań Climate Change Conference Overview http://www.globalissues.org/article/771/cop14-poznan-climate-conference An overview of the Climate Change Conference (also known as COP 14), held in Poznań, Poland, at the beginning of December, 2008. As with past conferences, this too was not without its controversies. For example, while the Adaptation Fund was launched the funding of it caused lots of disagreements. The conference came at a time when Europe seemed to weaken their usually strong stance on climate change action and on news that in recent years, emissions from industrialized nations had risen. Thu, 01 Jan 2009 00:44:00 GMT Climate Change and Global Warming Daily Global News Stories From Global Issues http://www.globalissues.org/news I am pleased to announce that Global Issues now provides daily world news stories, provided by the international news agency Inter Press Service (IPS).

I have been reading, and linking to, news stories from IPS for around 10 years. I have been impressed with their coverage of issues from around the world that our mainstream often seems to ignore or devote little time to. It is therefore a great honor to be able to carry their feed and publish stories from them.

These stories update daily and the old news section on the global issues web site has been overhauled where you can browse headlines and read the news stories.

In addition, a separate web feed is provided at http://www.globalissues.org/news/feed if you wish to receive these via your preferred feed reader (sorry, email updates for daily news is not available).

I hope you find this news service useful.

]]> Sun, 28 Dec 2008 23:48:00 GMT Global Arms Trade Treaty One Step Closer? http://www.globalissues.org/article/80/a-code-of-conduct-for-arms-sales Irresponsible arms trade can fuel conflicts and divert precious resources away from tackling poverty and other issues. Previous attempts at arms sales codes of conduct have been problematic because of loopholes and other workarounds. At the end of October 2008, 147 states at the United Nations voted overwhelmingly to move forward with work on the Arms Trade Treaty. The US and Zimbabwe voted against it, while 18 others abstained: Bahrain, Belarus, China, Egypt, India, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Kuwait, Libya, Pakistan, Qatar, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Syria, United Arab Emirates, Venezuela, Yemen. Sun, 30 Nov 2008 17:06:00 GMT Arms Trade Global Financial Crisis http://www.globalissues.org/article/768/global-financial-crisis Are some emerging nations able to command more influence at global talks now? For years developing countries have found themselves sidelined in global matters. Now with the financial crisis, rich countries are admitting that emerging nations need to be involved in discussions. Recent international meetings included some emerging countries more, but it will not be easy for them to get the bigger voice they have long been denied. This update includes a few links and details on this issue as well as inclusion of some videos that explain some aspects of the financial crisis further. Wed, 22 Oct 2008 20:12:00 GMT Trade, Economy, & Related Issues Increasing inequality in cities around the world http://www.globalissues.org/article/4/poverty-around-the-world According to the UN, inequality in cities around the world is increasing. Almost half of humanity lives in urban areas. In the developing world, 1 in 3 city dwellers live in urban slums. At the same time, some American cities are as unequal as African and Latin American cities. For example, New York was found to be the 9th most unequal in the world. The most unequal cities were in South Africa, Namibia and Latin America. Europe has generally more equal societies, but amongst the most unequal European countries is UK, which is one of the wealthiest. Sat, 22 Nov 2008 19:13:00 GMT Causes of Poverty Trade, Economy, & Related Issues Global Arms Sales on the Increase http://www.globalissues.org/article/74/the-arms-trade-is-big-business The latest data covering global arms sales shows that sale of arms in 2007 increased to almost $60 billion, 70% of which went to developing countries. Updated graphs and charts on arms sales data are provided here. The arms trade is big business. The 5 permanent members of the UN Security Council (US, Russia, France, United Kingdom and China), together with Germany and Italy, account for over 80% of the arms sold between 2000 and 2007. Some of the arms sold go to regimes where human rights violations will occur. Corruption often accompanies arms sales due to the large sums of money involved. Sun, 09 Nov 2008 20:38:00 GMT Arms Trade Increasing inequality in industrialized countries http://www.globalissues.org/article/4/poverty-around-the-world According to the OECD, inequality in industrialized nations has increased in the last two decades. The gap between rich and poor has grown in more than three-quarters of rich countries since the mid-1980s, while the last 5 years also saw growing poverty and inequality in two-thirds of OECD countries. This update includes some graphs and charts breaking this down further. Mon, 03 Nov 2008 04:11:00 GMT Causes of Poverty Trade, Economy, & Related Issues Global Financial Crisis http://www.globalissues.org/article/768/global-financial-crisis As countries scramble to meet and address the deepening global financial crisis, what are the impacts for developing countries, and where will reforms and fundamental rethinking be needed? This update looks at some of these issues further. Wed, 29 Oct 2008 05:37:00 GMT Trade, Economy, & Related Issues Obesity http://www.globalissues.org/article/558/obesity Obesity is a growing problem around the world. This update includes additional statistics for global obesity and overweight estimates and includes an animation of how obesity in the United States has dramatically increased between 1985 and 2007. Mon, 27 Oct 2008 02:03:00 GMT Health Issues Consumption and Consumerism Global financial crisis http://www.globalissues.org/article/768/global-financial-crisis The global financial crisis having started in wealthy countries is being felt around the world. Rich country governments rush to bail out failing institutions, many of which are responsible for the problems in the first place. By contrast, ordinary citizens and smaller businesses rarely get such protections. On the other hand, the nature of the crisis threatens to destabilize much of the economy so it seems that something needs to be done. Yet this situation could have long been avoided. An overview of some of the issues and implications of the global financial crisis is provided. Sun, 05 Oct 2008 23:51:00 GMT Trade, Economy, & Related Issues Higher number of people live in poverty than previously thought http://www.globalissues.org/article/4/poverty-around-the-world The latest World Bank figures for world poverty reveals a higher number of people live in poverty than previously thought. For example, the new poverty line is defined as $1.25 a day. 1.4 billion people live on or below that line. Furthermore, almost half the world—over three billion people—live on less than $2.50 a day and at least 80% of humanity lives on less than $10 a day. Thu, 04 Sep 2008 05:56:00 GMT Causes of Poverty Inequality is a major cause of death http://www.globalissues.org/article/588/global-health-overview Inequality is a major cause of death, a World Health Organization report notes. A 3-year study found that even in wealthier nations, average life span can vary by some 28 years and the poorer you are the more likely you are to die younger. The majority of the world does not enjoy good health and this is largely due to bad social, political and economic policy choices. Two short video clips and additional information have been added regarding this as well as a look at how health issues are changing as the world's population becomes more and more urbanized. Finally, the issue of emphasis on drugs and commercialization of health systems over more effective preventative care is also introduced. Sun, 31 Aug 2008 11:56:00 GMT Global Health Issues July 20: 10th anniversary of the Global Issues web site http://www.globalissues.org/email This web site has continued to grow. From July 2007 to end of June 2008, over 16 million pages were viewed on the site (up from about 14 million the previous year). During peak periods of the year, the site was getting, on average, some 60-70,000 page views per day. This site remains a spare time effort, and as with previous years, I am finding even less time this year to spend on the site, but I am pleasantly surprised at its continued growth. Thank you so much for your continued support and please do tell your friends and colleagues about the global issues web site if you find it useful. Sun, 17 Aug 2008 22:52:00 GMT About the web site Global Issues web site redesign http://www.globalissues.org/about/764/site-redesign-10-years To mark the 10 year anniversary the global issues web site was redesigned. This is actually something that I had wanted to do for a while, but the anniversary provided a good excuse to actually do it. The purpose of the redesign was two-fold: 1) I was always uncomfortable with articles being categorized under one issue. However, changing this implied a fundamental restructuring of the web site. 2) I wanted to improve the visual design of the web site, and with the structural changes to improve categorization, this made sense to do it now. Although it took a while to do, the site has now been relaunched, with just some minor tweaks left to do over the coming days. I hope you find it useful and better than before! I wrote this page to explain this a bit further if you are interested: Sun, 17 Aug 2008 22:52:00 GMT About the web site Global food crisis: biofuels have had a bigger impact than previously claimed http://www.globalissues.org/article/758/global-food-crisis-2008 Countries and regions such as the US and EU have claimed the impact of biofuels on the food crisis has been minimal and that instead demand from countries such as India and China are amongst the prime factors. However, a World Bank report finds that biofuels have forced global food prices up by 75% while another institute estimates an increase of around 30%. Either way, it is a lot more than US estimates of 3%. Sun, 06 Jul 2008 18:13:00 GMT Food and Agricultural Issues Democracy; an ideal that is so often missed http://www.globalissues.org/democracy/ Although many people have struggled, even sacrificed their lives for democracy, the reality has often been mixed. Issues range from things like paradoxes with democracy itself, to the challenges of keeping a population interested in participating while a poor quality free press limits the ability for people to make informed decisions. For many countries, the threat of foreign influence in domestic affairs, or the effects of corruption, voter intimidation and more subtle political manipulation can all shatter the dreams of those who have struggled for this ideal. Democracy, it seems, is under assault from many angles and many issues are being felt in even the most established of democracies. This article attempts to explore some of these issues. Sat, 05 Jul 2008 05:48:00 GMT Geopolitics http://www.globalissues.org/democracy/rssid=id2356900