News stories by Joseph Chamie, page 14

NEW YORK, Apr 09 (IPS) - Regardless of whether they are called fragile, failed, or failing states, scores of countries around the globe are plagued by overwhelming problems with few solutions in sight. Moreover, the instability and dire straits of these countries are spilling across national borders, destabilizing neighboring countries and regions, while posing enormous challenges for international organizations and donors.

NEW YORK, Feb 03 (IPS) - The relationship challenges that the world's 2 billion couples confront vary considerably by circumstances, including age, sex, education, income, marital status, family size, length of relationship, urban-rural residence, customs, religion and region of the world. Nevertheless, 10 major challenges among married and cohabiting couples may be identified across countries.

NEW YORK, Jan 14 (IPS) - The number of deaths worldwide in 2015 was approximately 57 million. Those deaths represent 0.78 percent of the world's population of 7.3 billion. In comparison, 140 million births occurred in 2015, resulting in a global population increase of 83 million people.

NEW YORK, Oct 29 (IPS) - Women are having fewer than two children on average in 83 countries, representing nearly half of the world's population. And in some countries, such as Germany, Italy, Japan, Poland, Singapore, South Korea and Spain, average fertility levels are now closer to one child per woman than the replacement level of about two children (Figure 1).

NEW YORK, Oct 20 (IPS) - The demographic revolutions the world is experiencing are profound and far-reaching, affecting virtually every aspect of human society. Whether in politics, business, international relations, environmental affairs or even personal matters, understanding the fundamental demographic changes underway and anticipating their juggernaut consequences can contribute considerably to the setting of meaningful goals, designing effective strategies and achieving genuine progress.

NEW YORK, Sep 17 (IPS) - With improving life styles, advances in medical science and technologies and declining mortality rates at older ages, the 21st century is witnessing the remarkable rise of centenarians, people who are aged 100 years or older.

UNITED NATIONS, Aug 19 (IPS) - The writing on the Western Wall is evident to most Israelis: "דמוגרפיה היא גורל" or "demography is destiny". Those unwilling to acknowledge the prophetic message are either deceiving themselves or simply ignoring it in order to avoid facing the implications of demography for Israel's future.

UNITED NATIONS, Apr 09 (IPS) - The large majority of countries, and most of the people in the world, already recognise Palestine as an independent state.

UNITED NATIONS, Feb 25 (IPS) - As the international community marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations, one question worthy of some reflection is: Is world population better or worse off demographically since the establishment of the U.N.?