News headlines for “Consumption and Consumerism”, page 11
Syria’s hopes for renewal hinge on rebuilding trust, lives and livelihoods
- UN News
A country long known as a meeting point of civilizations, Syria stands once again at a crossroads
Guatemala: A Narrow Opening in a Captured Justice System
- Inter Press Service
MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay, July 24 (IPS) - José Rubén Zamora, founder of elPeriódico, Guatemala’s now-defunct leading investigative newspaper, spent 1,295 days in detention before a court granted him house arrest on 12 February. He endured long stretches of solitary confinement in a military jail, held in near-constant darkness and subjected to treatment that six UN experts warned could amount to torture. His offence was simply doing his job. For decades, he exposed the corrupt dealings of Guatemala’s economic and political elites. Prosecutors are still trying to send him back to prison.
The Houthis Don’t Need to Close the Bab el-Mandeb Strait to Strangle the Suez Canal
- Inter Press Service
UNITED NATIONS, July 24 (IPS) - With regional friction between Iran and the Gulf monarchies escalating, Houthi leadership in Yemen has proclaimed a total maritime blockade against all vessels linked to Saudi shipping. While this declaration does not constitute a verified military obstruction of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, it significantly heightens the risk of volatility at the Red Sea’s southern gateway, potentially severing the primary arterial link to the Suez Canal.
What Development Looks like in Myanmar Today
- Inter Press Service
YANGON, Myanmar, July 24 (IPS) - When asked what development looks like today, a community leader in Kalaw township points to these fields. Once destroyed by a typhoon, they are now productive again. What began as emergency food assistance in the first month was followed by UNDP support in the community—seeds, training, debris removal, support to microbusinesses and small infrastructure—backed by the Republic of Korea, Norway and Switzerland. One year on, the fields sustain three annual production cycles—rice and flowers—with more resilient practices and higher yields. “This is what development looks like to us,” he says.
Food and Transport Costs through Strait of Hormuz Remain High, Burdening Vulnerable Economies
- Inter Press Service
UNITED NATIONS, July 23 (IPS) - Prior to the latest round of hostilities between the United States and Iran, freight traffic had been increasing in the Strait of Hormuz, and negotiations were underway for a new agreement to fully restore trade through this channel.
Don’t Cry for Milei, Argentina
- Inter Press Service
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, July 23 (IPS) - Sunday’s World Cup final focused world attention on the stench of corruption, past and current, surrounding some of its main protagonists, including Argentina, and the presidents of FIFA, Argentina and the main host nation.
Children in Conflict Zones and Remote Areas Bear the Brunt of Poor Health Access
- Inter Press Service
UNITED NATIONS, July 22 (IPS) - Despite growing up and working in vastly different geographic regions and environments — one shaped by decades of armed conflict and political instability, and the other by remote, hard-to-reach areas — both Sagal and Johao encounter children daily who have never been vaccinated. Sagal and Johao are members of UNICEF’s Global Youth Health Advisory Group, where they advance children’s health by shaping UNICEF’s strategies, policies, and campaigns, while working directly in their own countries to connect community realities to global conversations about children’s health.
Africa’s Health Defenses Have Improved But Its Funding Has Not
- Inter Press Service
BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe, July 22 (IPS) - In September 2024, an outbreak of Marburg virus disease in South Ethiopia was confirmed, contained, and declared over within three months.
Africa Can Grow Faster With AI—If It Moves Now
- Inter Press Service
WASHINGTON DC, July 22 (IPS) - A farmer in Kenya gets weather and planting advice on a basic phone. A teacher in Nigeria uses a chatbot to help students catch up in math. South Africa’s revenue authority uses data analytics to better target tax audits. These are not futuristic examples from Silicon Valley. They are early signs of the broader transformation that artificial intelligence (AI) could bring to sub-Saharan Africa.
ALBANIA: ‘The Public Only Learns about These Development Megaprojects Once Construction Machinery Arrives’
- Inter Press Service
CIVICUS discusses land grabs and environmental damage linked to a luxury coastal resort project with Eva Kushova, Director of Destination Management Organisation Albania, a civil society organisation that supports sustainable tourism in Albanian destinations, seeking to preserve culture and nature while maximising benefits for communities.
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