ROME, Jun 13 (IPS) - Worldwide, land degradation, severe droughts and advancing desertification are set to force populations to flee their homes and migrate. In the specific case of the Middle East and North of Africa (MENA), such an obliged choice implies the additional risk to turn peoples into easy prey to extremist, terrorist groups.

KUALA LUMPUR, Jun 13 (IPS) - To her credit, Dr Mahaletchumy has pioneered and promoted science journalism in Malaysia. This is indeed commendable in the face of the recent resurgence of obscurantism of various types, both traditional and modern.

GENEVA, Jun 12 (IPS) - Today marks the 2017 World Day against Child Labor to reaffirm the goal to eliminate all forms of child labor. This year's annual theme highlights a subject that is often neglected, namely the importance of addressing child labor in conflict areas and in disaster settings.

NEW YORK, Jun 12 (IPS) - Global food extremes of chronic undernourishment and obesity have brought about a bipolar world of hundreds of millions of underfed and overfed people. Of the world's population of 7.5 billion the proportions suffering from chronic undernourishment and those afflicted by obesity are similar, approximately 11 percent or together about 1.6 billion people. However, as with most global averages, the levels of both chronic undernourishment and obesity vary enormously among regions and across and within countries.

ROME, Jun 12 (IPS) - Large agricultural harvests in some regions of the world are buoying global food supply conditions, but protracted fighting and unrest are increasing the ranks of the displaced and hungry elsewhere, according to a United Nations new report.

ROME, Jun 12 (IPS) - Globally over 1.5 billion people live in countries that are affected by conflict, violence and fragility. Meantime, around 200 million people are affected by disasters every year—a third of them are children. And a significant proportion of the 168 million children engaged in child labour live in areas affected by conflict and disaster. These are the facts. Up to you to reflect on the immediate future of humankind.

NEW DELHI, Jun 12 (IPS) - In Meghalaya, India's northeastern biodiversity hotspot, all three major tribes are matrilineal. Children take the mother's family name, while daughters inherit the family lands.

ABU DHABI, Jun 09 (IPS) - The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is working on taking strides forward on climate change mitigation that are reflected by the establishment of the federal ministry of climate change, it's commitment to develop a national climate change plan, and its ratification to the Paris Agreement in 2015, which pledged not to just keep warming 'well below 2C', but also to 'pursue efforts' to limit warming to 1.5C by 2018.

ROME, Jun 09 (IPS) - World's oceans are dangerously exposed to at least three major threats: climate change; the sharp degradation of marine biodiversity, and politicians. These simply encourage the destruction of oceans by subsidising over-fishing and turning a blind eye on illegal captures. See what happens.

UNITED NATIONS, Jun 08 (IPS) - While stories of child marriage are commonly associated with the Global South, lesser known are the cases closer to home: in the United States.