Global Issues
News headlines
The World had an ‘Unprecedented’ Number of People in Humanitarian Need this Year
- Inter Press Service
UNITED NATIONS, Dec 10 (IPS) - The world had an unexpected number of people in crisis this year, which exceeded projected numbers the United Nations had expected, with climate change being one of the key crises that led to "needs to unprecedented levels" according to a new report.
Social Summit Demands Stronger Commitments in Climate Talks
- Inter Press Service
MADRID, Dec 09 (IPS) - As the COP25 deliberations enter the decisive final week, representatives of environmental and social organisations gathered in a parallel summit are pressing the governments to adopt stronger commitments in the face of a worsening climate emergency.
Fostering Sustainable Urbanization and Mutually Beneficial Rural-Urban Linkages for Inclusive and Sustainable Development in Rural and Urban Areas
- Inter Press Service
ROME and ACCRA, Dec 09 (IPS) -
As urbanization continues apace, coupled with rapid population growth and rural to urban migration, the challenges for inclusive rural transformation continue, and the importance of fostering improved rural-urban linkages for better food systems becomes increasingly important.
According to the UN, by 2050 some 66% of the world's population of 9 billion is expected to live in urban areas. Such rapid urbanization is increasingly shaping the rural space and rural livelihoods (through markets, demand for agricultural goods and labour, migration, and through the provision of services to rural areas). It is therefore critical for the increasing emphasis on urban development to take into account the importance of rural development.
Climate Refugees Refused UN Protection & Denied Rights Under International Law
- Inter Press Service
MADRID, Spain, Dec 09 (IPS) - Miles Young is Director of the Social Development Program, Pacific Community (SPC)The term "environmental refugee" has gained prominence in recent years as climate change and desertification have threatened the livelihoods of millions of people, causing many to re-locate.
Children Risk Early Marriage: Climate Change One of the Factors
- Inter Press Service
UNITED NATIONS, Dec 09 (IPS) - Filomena (15), a fisherman's daughter from a village in Nampula Province, Mozambique was married to a 21-year-old from the same village.
Building a Leprosy Free Bangladesh
- Inter Press Service
DHAKA, Bangladesh, Dec 09 (IPS) - Despite having remarkable success in leprosy control in the last decades, the Bangladesh government is now moving forward with a vision to build a leprosy- free country.
Saved Seeds are Seeds of Resilience
- Inter Press Service
People have a right to define their own food system. This includes which seeds they use. Last week, farmers in Nakuru County, Kenya, celebrated the launch of "Ten rich, underutilized crops," a publication and documentary that capture their efforts to promote and sustain the varieties they grow.
The Economic & Humanitarian Catastrophe Threatening Pacific Island Communities
- Inter Press Service
UNITED NATIONS, Dec 09 (IPS) - When UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres addressed the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) last month, he pointed out the dramatic impact of climate change triggering natural disasters around the world--- from glaciers that melt, ice caps that disappear and corals that bleach.
The Changing Distribution of World Population
- Inter Press Service
NEW YORK, Dec 06 (IPS) - In addition to its unprecedented rapid rate of demographic growth during the past 75 years, world population's distribution across the planet has changed significantly over the past seven decades. The momentous global changes in humanity's geographic distribution pose serious social, economic, political and environmental challenges and disquieting implications for the future.
Gains and Losses of Irregular Migration
- Inter Press Service
STOCKHOLM / ROME, Dec 06 (IPS) - While opening a newspaper or watching a TV program we are every day made aware of the plights of irregular migrants. Some recent examples among many – on 24 October, 39 Chinese nationals were found dead in a lorry trailer in Essex. They had apparently frozen to death within a refrigerator container with temperatures as low as -25C (-13F).
This while tragedies occur almost daily on the Mediterranean Sea. On 26 November, a rescue vessel found a boat almost completely sunken. It had three dead bodies aboard. Fifty-five migrants were saved. Three of them were in a critical condition, and one died after reaching Melilla in Spain, where the migrants were brought in. Three children were among the survivors, though a further ten individuals were reported missing.
Nowadays, such news items pass by almost imperceptibly. Every day, thousands of unfortunate human beings are trafficked all over the world to suffer underpaid, hazardous work, or prostitution.
Powered by
