Global Issues
News headlines
What Should FAO's New Director General Focus on?
- Inter Press Service
ROME, Jul 10 (IPS) - On 23 June 2019 Mr Qu Dongyu of China was elected as the new Director General of the Food and Agriculture Organization. FAO is one of the largest UN specialized agencies with a budget for 2018-19 of US$2.5 billion, offices in over 130 countries and more than 11,000 employees.
Will the UN & World Bank Continue to Lag Behind Europe in Ending Male Leadership?
- Inter Press Service
UNITED NATIONS, Jul 10 (IPS) - The nominations of Christine Lagarde of France as the first woman to head the European Central Bank (ECB) and Ursula von der Leyen of Germany as the first woman to lead the 28-nation European Commission, have been described as significant landmarks in the higher echelons of international institutions long dominated by men.
Right to Information in Latin America & the Caribbean
- Inter Press Service
UNITED NATIONS, Jul 09 (IPS) - Luis Felipe López-Calva is UN Assistant Secretary-General and UNDP Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean.
Transparency is a critical element of making governance more effective. By making information available, it creates a foundation for greater accountability to citizens.
Industrial Policy Finally Legitimate?
- Inter Press Service
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Jul 09 (IPS) - For decades, the two Bretton Woods institutions have rejected the contribution of industrial policy (IP), or government investment and technology promotion efforts, in accelerating and sustaining growth, industrialization and structural transformation.
Finally, two International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff members, Reda Cherif and Fuad Hasanov, have broken the taboo. They embrace industrial policy, arguing against the current conventional wisdom that East Asian industrial policies cannot be successfully emulated by other developing countries.
The Libyan Disaster: Little Bits of History Repeating
- Inter Press Service
STOCKHOLM / ROME, Jul 09 (IPS) -
And I've seen it before,
and I'll see it again.
Yes I've seen it before,
just little bits of history repeating.
-- Propeller Heads: History repeatingThe Libyan catastrophe and the suffering of "illegal" migrants are generally depicted as fairly recent events, though they are actually the results of a long history of greed, contempt for others and fatal shortsightedness. Like former Yugoslavia, Libya was created from a mosaic of tribal entities, subdued by colonial powers and then ruled by an iron-fisted dictator. Now, Libya is a quagmire where local and international stakeholders battle to control its natural resources. The country holds the largest oil reserves in Africa, oil and gas account for 60 percent of GDP and more than 90 percent of exports.1 This is one reason why Egypt, France, Russia, Saudi Arabia, the U.S., and many other nations are enmeshed in Libya. Furthermore, European nations try to stop mainly sub-Saharan refugees and migrants from reaching their coasts from Libya. An attempt to understand Italy´s essential role in the struggle over Libya´s oil and attempts to control unwanted immigration may help to clarify some issues related to the current situation.
Africa’s Megacities a Magnet for Investors
- Inter Press Service
UNITED NATIONS, Jul 09 (IPS) - Finbarr Toesland, Africa RenewalMegacities, cities with a population of at least 10 million, are sprouting everywhere in Africa. Cairo in Egypt, Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Lagos in Nigeria are already megacities, while Luanda in Angola, Dar es Salaam in Tanzania and Johannesburg in South Africa will attain the status by 2030, according the United Nations.
Media and Web Freedom Threatened in Sudan Turbulence
- Inter Press Service
UNITED NATIONS, Jul 09 (IPS) - The United Nations has condemned an internet shutdown and the blocking of social media channels during Sudan's political crisis, as fears persisted over a crackdown on media freedoms in the turbulent African country.
Japan Boosts Complex Fight to Eliminate Leprosy in Brazil
- Inter Press Service
BRASILIA, Jul 09 (IPS) - When cases of Hansen's disease, better known as leprosy, increase in Brazil, it is not due to a lack of medical assistance but to the growing efficacy of the health system in detecting infections, contrary to the situation in other countries.
Of Leaders Then and Now
- Inter Press Service
COTONOU, Benin, Jul 08 (IPS) - Richard Dossevi parks his motorcycle taxi on one of the busiest street corners in Cotonou, Benin's commercial capital, to wait for commuters amid the summer heat.
Climate Change Victims: What Will You Do Next?
- Inter Press Service
LONDON, Jul 08 (IPS) - Professor Joshua Castellino is Executive Director of the UK-based Minority Rights Group International.
Contemporary politics generates a lot of noise and smoke, with little attention devoted to understanding, analysing and fixing the causes of the noise and smoke. The global public discourse is dominated by statements made by politicians and aspirants to power, designed to shock, awe and draw support.
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