Global Issues
News headlines
Veto Returns to Haunt Big Powers in Arms Trade Treaty
- Inter Press Service
UNITED NATIONS, Apr 01 (IPS) - When the United Nations set out to draft a politically-sensitive Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), ever since negotiations began in 2006, member states agreed to take the final decision by "consensus".
Lebanon in a ‘Civil War’ Over Wages
- Inter Press Service
BEIRUT, Apr 01 (IPS) - The surprise resignation of Lebanon's Prime Minister Nijab Mikati eclipsed his last major manoeuvre, which was to refer to parliament a highly contentious wage scale hike for the public sector. Teachers and staff across the public sector started an open strike on Feb. 20 when then prime minister Nijab Mikati failed to send the wage scale policy - which had previously been agreed upon by the cabinet - to the parliament for vote.
Border Control by Another Name
- Inter Press Service
WARSAW, Apr 01 (IPS) - Crossing the Belgian-German border in the heart of Europe should be a smooth experience, with no border controls, since the Schengen free movement area came into existence. Yet identity checks at this border and others inside Schengen are not uncommon, despite the contorted logic applied to prove their legality.
Yemen Struggles With Past Crimes
- Inter Press Service
SANAA, Apr 01 (IPS) - Yemen has launched its six-month National Dialogue but creating a just law is proving a formidable task.
Refugees of Libyan War Protest at World Social Forum
- Inter Press Service
TUNIS, Mar 31 (IPS) - "We need a solution. The U.N. has created the problem, and they should do their work and fix it," says Bright, a young Nigerian stuck in the Choucha refugee camp in Tunisia, a few kilometres from the Libyan border.
Acid Victims Have a Lot to Undo
- Inter Press Service
NEW DELHI, Mar 31 (IPS) - Her face covered with a maroon scarf and with large old -fashioned goggles hiding her eyes, Sonali Mukherjee lived one of the most cherished moments of her life when she earned a jackpot on a show hosted by Indian film star Amitabh Bachchan.
The Siege Is Rubbish
- Inter Press Service
GAZA CITY, Mar 31 (IPS) - "For the past five years we've collected garbage by traditional means: donkey and cart," says Abdel Rahem Abulkumboz, director of health and environment at the Municipality of Gaza. The municipality of Gaza alone produces 700 tons of waste daily, Kumboz says. More than half of this waste is collected daily by 250 donkey carts.
Women Make Flowers Pay
- Inter Press Service
HONIARA, Solomon Islands, Mar 30 (IPS) - In Honiara, capital of the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific, women are taking the lead in developing a burgeoning floriculture industry. At the same time, their enterprise is contributing to community resilience as rapid urbanisation exceeds employment opportunities and challenges the economic wellbeing of many urban families.
Iraq, Afghanistan Wars Will Cost U.S. 4-6 Trillion Dollars: Report
- Inter Press Service
WASHINGTON, Mar 30 (IPS) - Costs to U.S. taxpayers of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will run between four and six trillion dollars, making them the most expensive conflicts in U.S. history, according to a new report by a prominent Harvard University researcher.
Pope Francis Takes Over Sexophobic Church
- Inter Press Service
RIO DE JANEIRO, Mar 29 (IPS) - Jorge Bergoglio begins his papacy as Francis I facing the challenge of a Catholic Church caught up in a burdensome contradiction with modern society, because of its negative attitude to sexuality and women.
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