STOCKHOLM, Oct 04 (IPS) - We will look at how modern conflicts will be affected by the recent unprecedented technological and societal developments. The nature of conflict is also changing. It is becoming more protracted, complex and unpredictable.

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 04 (IPS) - Enough food is produced today to feed everyone on the planet, but hunger is on the rise in some parts of the world, and some 821 million people are considered to be "chronically undernourished". What steps are being taken to ensure that everyone, worldwide, receives sufficient food?

WASHINGTON DC, Oct 03 (IPS) - According to official statistics, Luxembourg, a country of 600,000 people, hosts as much foreign direct investment (FDI) as the United States and much more than China. Luxembourg's $4 trillion in FDI comes out to $6.6 million a person.

NAIROBI, Oct 03 (IPS) - Six years ago Mary Njambi* received news of a once-in-a-lifetime job opportunity far away from her poverty-stricken village situated in the heart of Kiambu County, Central Kenya. She was 20 years old, a single mother and out of work.

NEW YORK, Oct 03 (IPS) - For the first time since a new development agenda was adopted in 2015 to make the world a better place for everyone, government leaders assembled at the United Nations in late September to take stock of progress. The verdict of this summit was not good.

STOCKHOLM / ROME, Oct 02 (IPS) - In a 1974 article, Woody Allen poked fun at biblical stories presenting ludicrous paraphrases of The Book of Job, Abraham´s intended sacrifice of his son Isaac, as well as The Book of Proverbs. One of Allen´s invented proverbs was: "The wicked at heart probably know something", thus implementing that the "pure of heart", i.e. credulous people, know nothing.¹

Giuliano da Empoli, a well-known Italian politician, culture personality and founder of the influential think tank Volta makes use of this Woody Allen quote to introduce his book Gli ingegneri del caos,² The Engineers of Chaos.

KUNSHAN, Jiangsu, China, Oct 02 (IPS) - In the 2014 China-US joint announcement on climate change, China promised to peak its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions around 2030. Later this commitment was cemented in the Paris Agreement signed in 2016.

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 02 (IPS) - Financiers in Wall Street, the City of London and other banking centres should play a bigger role in freeing the millions of people who endure slave-like working conditions globally, according to a new study.

BANGKOK, Thailand, Oct 01 (IPS) - As we are celebrating the International Day of Older Persons today, we recognize that population ageing is a human success story, a story of longer and often healthier lives of the world's people. The many faces of older persons that we see in Asia and in the Pacific, and, indeed, all over the world, attest to this fact.

Still, however, ageing is considered a threat. There is talk about the "burden of ageing", exploding healthcare costs, and concerns about plummeting economic growth due to the shrinking labour force. In many cities of Asia-Pacific, we see advertisement for "anti-ageing cosmetics" and surgeries. The current ideal is that we must be young, dynamic and without wrinkles or grey hair, especially older women.

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 01 (IPS) - The Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Mottley tells IPS her patience is running thin, as she challenges the world to tackle the climate crisis.