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 Haiti http://www.globalissues.org/article/141/haiti The devastating earthquake that hit Haiti earlier in January has led to immense coverage of the ensuing humanitarian emergency.

But Haiti’s problems are numerous and goes back decades. A combination of a long turmoiled history, outside influence/interference preventing local democracy and development, political instability, environmental degradation, poverty and natural disasters all combine making it incredibly difficult to see how Haiti will be able to get out of its present situation.

The Haiti page on this web site has been updated to provide an overview of the earthquake related problems that occurred, though is not an up to date service on the relief efforts. However, the page has a lot of background information on Haiti from a geopolitical angle, which may provide some background and context to the nations’ troubles and challenges.

(The Inter Press Service news coverage on Haiti carried by this web site may be of interest for more up to date stories.)

Read full article: Haiti

]]> Mon, 01 Feb 2010 00:06:00 GMT Human Rights Issues http://www.globalissues.org/article/141/haiti?rssid=id2562475 Racism http://www.globalissues.org/article/165/racism Racism can be found in many places around the world, often rooted in complex historical circumstances mixed with contemporary issues and conditions. The racism article on this site was getting quite old, so it has been updated with a few more examples and background information. More will be added over time.

Read full article: Racism

]]> Tue, 12 Jan 2010 23:58:00 GMT Human Rights Issues http://www.globalissues.org/article/165/racism?rssid=id2401843 Copenhagen Climate Change Conference http://www.globalissues.org/article/784/cop15-copenhagen-climate-conference December 7 – December 18, 2009, Copenhagen, Denmark was the venue for the 15th annual United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as the 15th Conference of the Parties — or COP 15.

As with previous conferences, thousands of politicians (including head of states), diplomats, journalists, lobbyists and NGOs attended hoping the summit would finalize a post-Kyoto international agreement on climate change to take effect in 2013.

The build-up to the meeting was full of optimism and hope, as the US was, for the first time in a long time, going to be seen as a positive contributor, and their involvement is always recognized as key. There was also increasing focus on emerging economies such as China and India.

Instead of a positive outcome, most commentators saw it as a failure, though for different reasons.

This article provides a very brief summary of the outcome and related issues:

Read full article: COP15 — Copenhagen Climate Conference

]]> Wed, 30 Dec 2009 05:42:00 GMT Climate Change and Global Warming http://www.globalissues.org/article/784/cop15-copenhagen-climate-conference?rssid=id2387028 Iran: recent nuclear weapons concerns unfounded? http://www.globalissues.org/article/696/iran Towards the end of 2009 it was revealed published a document which purportedly described an Iranian plan to do experiments on what the newspaper described as a neutron initiator for an atomic weapon. However, it seems US intelligence sources find this Iran nuclear document to be a fabrication. Shortly before his term as head of the IAEA ended, Dr. Elbaradei reiterated that using the language of force on this issue has not been helpful and despite some serious failings recently failings by Iran not to disclose an enrichment facility by a certain time, to present the Iran threat as imminent is hype.

This update expands on the above as well as adds a few notes on the recent political violence that has erupted as Iran’s security forces have clamped down on protesters supporting moderate opposition parties.

Read full article: Iran

]]> Tue, 29 Dec 2009 03:58:00 GMT Middle East http://www.globalissues.org/article/696/iran?rssid=id2387093 Inequality in Rich Countries http://www.globalissues.org/article/4/poverty-around-the-world Once nations are industrialized, more equal societies almost always do better in terms of health, well-being and social cohesion. Large income inequalities within societies destroys the social fabric and quality of life for everyone.

That is what the Equality Trust in the UK have found after researching numerous aspects of inequality.

They looked at a wide range of health and social problems and found that,

  • Outcomes are substantially worse in more unequal societies
  • The problems tend to move together, implying that they share an underlying cause
  • Whether their findings are tested internationally among the rich countries, or among the 50 states of the USA, there is almost always the same tendency for outcomes to be much worse in more unequal societies.

For industrialized nations, it would seem that economic growth is therefore less important than equality when it comes to social cohesion and individual well-being.

This update includes a video describing this in further detail, as well as charts and graphs showing the relationship between various social factors and inequality.

Read full article: Poverty Around The World

]]> Mon, 07 Dec 2009 00:58:00 GMT Causes of Poverty http://www.globalissues.org/article/4/poverty-around-the-world?rssid=id2460756 Women’s Rights and Climate Change http://www.globalissues.org/article/166/womens-rights There has been 30 years of the UN women’s rights treaty, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). Many indicators suggest that immense progress has been made, with the treaty even being described as one of the most successful human rights treaties ever. Nonetheless, numerous challenges remain around the world.

At the same time, it is increasingly accepted that women (especially in poorer countries) are going to be more vulnerable to climate change impacts. This can be for a number of reasons, including poverty, inequality and deprivation.

Fighting for women’s rights and gender equality is therefore seen as crucial from a number of perspectives.

This update includes a few notes on additional progress seen around the world due to the CEDAW treaty as well as information and a couple of videos on how climate change already impacts women in similar ways in places far apart as Bolivia and Vietnam.

Read full article: Women’s Rights

]]> Sat, 05 Dec 2009 23:58:00 GMT Human Rights Issues http://www.globalissues.org/article/166/womens-rights?rssid=id2640911 AIDS Around the World http://www.globalissues.org/article/219/aids-around-the-world UNAIDS has updated their estimates for various aspects for AIDS/HIV. It says that for 2008 worldwide, there were an estimated:

  • 33.4 million living with HIV
  • 2.7 million new infections of HIV
  • 2 million deaths from AIDS

Approximately 7 out of 10 deaths for 2008 were in Sub-Saharan Africa, a region that also has over two-thirds of adult HIV cases and over 90% of new HIV infections amongst children.

Looking over recent years, UNAIDS finds some improvements, such as reductions in deaths from AIDS and of new incidences of HIV infections. Yet, were it not for the politics and other problems throughout the past couple of decades, perhaps means more lives could have been saved.

The AIDS page has been updated with newer graphs and charts.

Read full article: AIDS Around the World

]]> Sun, 29 Nov 2009 02:34:00 GMT Health Issues http://www.globalissues.org/article/219/aids-around-the-world?rssid=id2609713 Landmines http://www.globalissues.org/article/79/landmines Throughout the 1990s, a coalition of numerous non-governmental organizations, the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL), campaigned successfully to prohibit the use of landmines.

This helped to create the 1997 Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction, also known as the Ottawa Treaty. (It also won the ICBL the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts.) This treaty came into force in 1999.

Although landmine use in the past decade has been significantly reduced, problems such as clearance and rehabilitation remain. Furthermore, some key countries continue to use landmines, or support the need for them, despite the problems they often cause for civilians long after conflicts have ended.

The landmine page has been significantly updated to describe the above further.

Read full article: Landmines

]]> Fri, 27 Nov 2009 02:23:00 GMT Arms Control Arms Trade http://www.globalissues.org/article/79/landmines?rssid=id2608824 Global Arms Sales Decreased in 2008 compared to 2007 but was still high 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 2008 decreased to around $55 billion, over 75% of which went to developing countries. This was down from a total of almost $60 billion the year before but was still the second highest amount in the 8 year period the data covers.

While the global financial crisis has affected many countries, it seems like the decrease in arms purchases in 2008 occurred mostly in industrialized nations; developing nations saw a slight increase in purchases.

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 2001 and 2008.

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.

Read full article: The Arms Trade Is Big Business

]]> Mon, 23 Nov 2009 01:34:00 GMT Arms Trade http://www.globalissues.org/article/74/the-arms-trade-is-big-business?rssid=id2568956a Protecting the environment by giving it an economic value? http://www.globalissues.org/article/170/why-is-biodiversity-important-who-cares For years, many have argued that our current economic system does not fully capture the cost of the environment. The price signal, for example, should be an indicator of resource scarcity or other environmental concerns, but often does not capture the full costs. (Current climate change is perhaps a clear indication of this.)

As a result, we continue efficiently producing products and services that have a negative impact on the environment in some way (which is inefficient, on the whole, in the long run).

For those who fear excessive government regulation, a truer accounting of such costs could allow markets to more naturally price goods and services, and highlight seemingly efficient companies and industries as inefficient, forcing change through markets, rather than regulation, which market proponents always fear. (The irony may be that to see such a change in our economic systems may require political leadership by governments and citizens — although that is how national and global market systems came into being in the first place.)

The biodiversity page has been updated to explain this further.

Read full article: Why Is Biodiversity Important? Who Cares?

]]> Wed, 18 Nov 2009 23:51:00 GMT Biodiversity Climate change: small changes, big effects http://www.globalissues.org/article/233/climate-change-and-global-warming-introduction A 2 or 4 degree centigrade increase in average global temperature sounds small, but it will have enormous impacts on the earth’s climate and life in general.

This page has been updated to include an interactive map from the UK’s Met Office that illustrates this. Also added are more charts and graphs and videos looking at past emissions and temperatures, projected future changes, and the impact to the arctic.

Read full article: Climate Change and Global Warming Introduction

]]> Wed, 04 Nov 2009 04:29:00 GMT Climate Change and Global Warming Pharmaceutical companies: questionable drug donations and distorting trial results http://www.globalissues.org/article/article/52/pharmaceutical-corporations-and-medical-research Pharmaceutical companies have long been criticized for their effects on developing countries. For example, they have lobbied hard against poorer countries producing or using generic drugs, even in emergency situations, which is legitimate under WTO rules.

For many years, they have also been criticized for donating drugs that are inappropriate or out of date. While a lot of drug donation is certainly welcome, and often done out of good will, there are often financial incentives to do so as well (tax breaks, cheaper than destroying drugs, etc).

It also seems that drug testing and trial results are easy to distort to the general public to give a greater sense of success than might be the case.

Updates to this page go into the above further.

Read full article: Pharmaceutical Corporations and Medical Research

]]> Wed, 04 Nov 2009 03:19:00 GMT Health Issues Geopolitical Dominance and Climate Change in the Arctic http://www.globalissues.org/article/740/dominance-in-the-arctic The Arctic region has long been considered international territory. Five countries—Canada, Denmark (via Greenland), Norway, Russia, and the United States—share a border with the frozen Arctic Ocean. Some of these nations have claimed parts of the region to be their territory. They are all interested in the potential riches of oil, gas and other resources, as well as the opening up of lucrative passages for trade and economic activity, all made possible by climate change and shrinking Arctic ice.

Climate change provides an additional threat — not just to the local wildlife and indigenous populations that are already seeing their surroundings change rapidly, but to the rest of the planet, too. While retreating sea ice may open up shipping routes, the regions ability to reflect sunlight back into space would diminish, further increasing climate change effects.

In this update, additional information has been added looking at the climate and environmental changes in the Arctic, including images that show pollution sources and retreating ice over time and a video that looks at the impacts on the indigenous Inuit people.

Read full article: Dominance and Change in the Arctic

]]> Thu, 22 Oct 2009 18:07:00 GMT Climate Change and Global Warming Foreign Policy — Projecting Power Climate justice: an often-ignored concept in climate change mitigation discussions http://www.globalissues.org/article/231/climate-justice-and-equity For a number of years, there have been concerns that climate change negotiations will essentially ignore a key principle of climate change negotiation frameworks: the common but differentiated responsibilities. This recognizes that historically:

  • Industrialized nations have emitted far more greenhouse gas emissions than developing nations (even if some developing nations are only now increasing theirs) enabling a cheaper path to industrialization;
  • Rich countries therefore face the biggest responsibility and burden for action to address climate change; and
  • Rich countries therefore must support developing nations adapt to avoid the polluting (i.e. easier and cheaper) path to development—through financing and technology transfer, for example.

This notion of climate justice is typically ignored by many rich nations and their mainstream media, making it easy to blame China, India and other developing countries for failures in climate change mitigation negotiations.

Development expert, Martin Khor, calculated that taking historical emissions into account, the rich countries owe a carbon debt, because they have already used up what would be considered their fair quota of emissions between 1800 and 2008 and while they will emit less up to 2050, they will still be way over their fair share:

It is likely that rich countries will emit 200 gigtons of carbon more than what it would under a fairer allocation. (That is, they will likely emit a total of 325 gigatons out of a maximum of 600gt by 2050)

However, rather than continue down the path of unequal development, industrialized nations can help pay off their carbon debt by truly helping emerging countries develop along a cleaner path, such as through the promised-but-barely-delivered technology transfer, finance, and capacity building.

In this update, additional videos, including from Martin Khor, as well as additional charts similar to above, have been added to explore this further.

Read full article: Climate Justice and Equity

]]> Sun, 04 Oct 2009 16:09:00 GMT Climate Change and Global Warming Environmental Issues Climate change: already affecting people and livelihoods around the world http://www.globalissues.org/article/233/climate-change-and-global-warming-introduction Climate change is already impacting different people around the world, affecting agriculture and livelihoods.

For example, in Nepal people are finding that cultivating rice (a staple crop) is not as easy as before and are having to change to other crops.

In the Himalayas, retreating glaciers are already causing water shortages for local villages high in the mountains, while vast areas of the South Asia region will be affected.

In Mozambique, increasing floods are affecting agricultural practices and ways of life, while in Mauritania problems are being caused by increasing desertification.

The global warming and climate change introduction page has been updated to include a number of short videos that highlights these issues further.

Read full article: Climate Change and Global Warming Introduction

]]> Sun, 20 Sep 2009 23:55:00 GMT Climate Change and Global Warming Environmental Issues World military spending: over $1.4 trillion in 2008 http://www.globalissues.org/article/75/world-military-spending World military spending in 2008 topped $1.4 trillion. Military spending has been on the rise since the late 1990s.

Using 2005 constant prices (where the spending for 2008 would be equivalent to just over $1.2 trillion), a comparison of previous years can be seen:

Global military spending started increasing during the late 1990s

This page has been updated with various new and updated charts, as well as further discussion on peace spending vs. military spending and US military spending debates about pegging it to GDP or not.

Read full article: World Military Spending

]]> Sun, 13 Sep 2009 22:14:00 GMT Arms Trade Arms Control Coral Reefs Declining, Succumbing to Climate Change http://www.globalissues.org/article/173/coral-reefs Although the concerns about declining coral reef conditions around the world have been known for many years, their conditions continue to deteriorate, and even some of the best managed reefs, such as the Great Barrier Reef in Australia face worsening conditions, with experts warning that that “catastrophic damage to the ecosystem may not be averted.”

Climate change is seen as the main cause of problems now, in addition to other common problems such as overfishing, ocean acidification, pollution caused by industrial and agricultural run-offs, etc.

Coral reefs boast some of the richest biodiverse ecosystems in the world and provide numerous benefits to humans as well as the environment. Their decline should therefore be a major concern. The updates to this page go into the above further.

]]> Fri, 04 Sep 2009 01:17:00 GMT Biodiversity Health Care Around the World http://www.globalissues.org/article/774/health-care-around-the-world This new article provides a high level overview of the various ways health services are provided around the world, as well as accompanying issues and challenges. Topics introduced include health as a human right, universal health care, and primary health care. In addition, there are some charts and graphs looking at some health indicators and spending allocations, together with a brief look at health care issues in industrialized nations such as the US, UK and in developing countries. This is an enormous topic, and this page just scratches the surface, so many more updates are expected over time. Mon, 31 Aug 2009 03:20:00 GMT Health Issues Tax Havens; Undermining Democracy http://www.globalissues.org/article/54/tax-havens-undermining-democracy Through corporate crime, tax havens, transfer pricing and many other policies — both legal and illegal — wealthy individuals and multinational companies manage to avoided billions of dollars from being taxed. The much-needed money would helped developing (and developed) countries provide important social services for their populations. In light of the current global financial crisis, the issue of tax havens have come to the fore and even rich countries (who in the part were reluctant to do anything about it) are now contemplating measures to address some of the problems. But it seems like strong words in public are not necessarily translating into actual meaningful deeds. The update to this page includes further information and videos on this theme. Sun, 12 Jul 2009 22:38:00 GMT Corporations Trade, Economy, & Related Issues Animal and Nature Conservation: Rhinos still being killed for their horns http://www.globalissues.org/article/177/nature-and-animal-conservation The conservation organization, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), notes that rhino poaching worldwide is poised to hit a 15-year-high driven by Asian demand for horns. The update to this page describes this further. Sun, 12 Jul 2009 12:33:00 GMT Biodiversity Environmental Issues Global Financial Crisis: Rich countries resisting meaningful reform http://www.globalissues.org/article/768/global-financial-crisis A number of global forums have taken place to address various aspects of the global financial crisis, from immediate measures to discussion on long-term reforms and changes. However, it appears that rich nations are blocking meaningful reform and resisting calls from developing countries for fundamental changes that would democratize the international order and give more voice to developing countries to have a say in their own economic affairs. This update includes a description of this in further detail. Mon, 13 Jul 2009 01:23:00 GMT Trade, Economy, & Related Issues Climate Change Introduction http://www.globalissues.org/article/233/climate-change-and-global-warming-introduction Ocean acidification is a potentially large problem directly related to climate change resulting from ocean waters reacting with more carbon dioxide. Amongst other things, it seems to negatively affect certain plankton that help in absorbing carbon dioxide. Some of the affected sea creatures are also crucial to the food chain, so the implications could be big. Some further information, including a couple of short videos, have been added to explain this. Mon, 06 Jul 2009 02:07:00 GMT Climate Change and Global Warming Environmental Issues 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