Global Issues
News headlines
Japan Seeks to Remake Asia-Africa Relationship
- Inter Press Service
YOKOHAMA, Japan, Jun 04 (IPS) - Acutely aware of China's strong presence in resource-rich Africa, Japan, the world's third largest economy, is beefing up its relations with the continent. Participants at a high-level donor conference hosted by Japan this week stressed the need for closer engagement, not through the traditional grants and assistance loans that have hitherto defined the relationship, but rather through trade and investment led by the Japanese private sector.
Obama Pledges to Bring Mental Health “Out of Shadows”
- Inter Press Service
WASHINGTON, Jun 04 (IPS) - President Barack Obama tried Monday to jumpstart a new national discussion on mental health, sponsoring a conference with Vice-President Joe Biden aimed at reducing social stigma around the issue.
- Inter Press Service
UNITED NATIONS, Jun 04 (IPS) - The United Nations witnessed a historic moment Monday with the signing of the Arms Trade Treaty, first adopted in April by the General Assembly, and the first time the 85-billion-dollar international arms trade has been regulated by a global set of standards.
U.S. Increasing Solitary Confinement, Impact Uncertain
- Inter Press Service
WASHINGTON, Jun 03 (IPS) - The U.S. federal prison system's use of solitary confinement and other forms of "segregated housing" has increased substantially over the past five years, according to new data released by the U.S. Congress's official independent watchdog.
Q&A: "The State Does Not Lose Sovereignty If It Respects Indigenous Rights"
- Inter Press Service
DARWIN, Australia, Jun 03 (IPS) - "There is a belief that consent is about saying yes or no, about who wins," observed James Anaya, the United Nations special rapporteur on indigenous rights. But consultation with indigenous peoples is a matter of "creating open processes where they can voice their opinions and influence decisions, and where there is the necessary will to seek consensus."
Q&A: Weather Forecasts to Prevent Strokes and Asthma Attacks in Cuba
- Inter Press Service
HAVANA, Jun 03 (IPS) - A biometeorological forecast model developed in Cuba to sound the alert on weather conditions that exacerbate chronic diseases like asthma, hypertension and vascular disorders could also help predict the impacts of climate change on health.
Q&A: Iran's Medical Shortages: Who's Responsible?
- Inter Press Service
WASHINGTON, Jun 03 (IPS) - For two years, reports have surfaced describing medical supply shortages in Iran, some with devastating consequences, as debate continues to rage about who's responsible - the Iranian government or the sanctions regime.
Good Health Lies Just Across the Border
- Inter Press Service
PESHAWAR, Pakistan, Jun 03 (IPS) - Muzaffar Shah, a shopkeeper from Kabul, sits in a hospital waiting room, desperate for news. He has travelled nearly 300 km to get to the Khyber Teaching Hospital in Peshawar, capital of northern Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, where his wife is now in intensive care.
U.N. Can Help Devalue Nukes as Geopolitical Currency
- Inter Press Service
UNITED NATIONS, Jun 03 (IPS) - When the 193-member U.N. General Assembly (UNGA) holds is first-ever high-level meeting on nuclear disarmament next September, there is little or no hope that any of the nuclear powers will make a firm commitment to gradually phase out or abandon their lethal arsenals.
Southern Africa Must Unite to Boost Tourism
- Inter Press Service
JOHANNESBURG, Jun 03 (IPS) - Competing players in the tourism industry in southern Africa are putting aside their rivalry in pursuit of a common goal – a big boost in tourist numbers to the region.
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