News headlines for “Free Trade and Globalization”, page 207
The Global Insecurity of Climate Change
- Inter Press Service
BONN, Germany, Feb 24 (IPS) - For Sudanese youth, climate change is synonymous with insecurity.
Mexico to Ban Glyphosate, GM Corn Presidential Decree Comes Despite Intense Pressure from Industry, U.S. Authorities
- Inter Press Service
CAMBRIDGE MA, Feb 24 (IPS) - Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador quietly rocked the agribusiness world with his New Year’s Eve decree to phase out use of the herbicide glyphosate and the cultivation of genetically modified corn. His administration sent an even stronger aftershock two weeks later, clarifying that the government would also phase out GM corn imports in three years and the ban would include not just corn for human consumption but yellow corn destined primarily for livestock. Under NAFTA, the United States has seen a 400% increase in corn exports to Mexico, the vast majority genetically modified yellow dent corn.
Myanmar: Heroes and Villains
- Inter Press Service
STOCKHOLM / ROME, Feb 23 (IPS) - Myanmar’s State Counsellor was recently deposed and arrested along with other leaders of her ruling party – National League for Democracy (NLD). The Leader of Tatmadaw, the Military, Min Aung Hlaing, announced that elections in November last year had been fraudulent and in an “effort to save democracy” the military would now rule the nation for at least one year, until new elections could be organised. Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi is accused of “importing ten or more walkie-talkies” and of violating the nation’s “Natural Disaster Law”. Some might agree that Suu Kyi deserves to be locked up.
Developing Countries Struggling To Cope With COVID-19
- Inter Press Service
SYDNEY and KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 23 (IPS) - The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is adversely impacting most developing countries disproportionately, especially the United Nations’ least developed countries (LDCs) and the World Bank’s low-income countries (LICs).
Years of implementing neoliberal policy conditionalities and advice have made most developing countries much more vulnerable to the COVID-19 pandemic by undermining their health systems and fiscal capacities to respond adequately.
Sustainable Energy Key to COVID-19 Recovery in Asia and the Pacific
- Inter Press Service
BANGKOK, Thailand, Feb 22 (IPS) - The past year is one that few of us will forget. While the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have played out unevenly across Asia and the Pacific, the region has been spared many of the worst effects seen in other parts of the world. The pandemic has reminded us that a reliable and uninterrupted energy supply is critical to managing this crisis.
The Boon and Bane of LDC Graduation: The Bangladesh Experience
- Inter Press Service
SINGAPORE, Feb 22 (IPS) - Bangladeshis at the present time share a modicum of justifiable pride in the fact that the world merits this country worth watching in terms of its economic potentials. To my mind , we have reached this stage for the following reasons: First, effective utilization of early foreign assistance; second a steady ,albeit sustained, move away from a near -socialistic to an open and liberal economy; third , a shift from agriculture to manufacturing as land-space shrank to accommodate urbanization; fourth , an unleashing of remarkable entrepreneurial spirit among private sector captains of industry, as evidenced in the Ready Made Garments industry: fifth, the prevalence of a vibrant civil society intellectually aiding the social transformation with its focus on health, education, and gender issues: and finally ,a long period of political stability notwithstanding the traditional predilections of Bengali socio-political activism.
In Argentinas Chaco Region, the Forest Is Also a Source of Electricity
- Inter Press Service
BUENOS AIRES, Feb 19 (IPS) - The forest is the main resource in the Chaco, a vast plain shared by Argentina, Bolivia and Paraguay. And how to use it sustainably is the most difficult question. Two recently inaugurated power plants fired by forest biomass provide a possible answer, although they are not free of controversy.
UN Blueprint that Could Urgently Solve Earths Triple Climate Emergencies
- Inter Press Service
BHUBANESWAR, India, Feb 19 (IPS) - “Our war on nature has left the planet broken. This is senseless and suicidal. The consequences of our recklessness are already apparent in human suffering, towering economic losses and the accelerating erosion of life on Earth,” António Guterres Secretary-General of the United Nations said.
Money vs. Happiness
- Inter Press Service
NEW DELHI, India, Feb 19 (IPS) - Subjective wellbeing and income are intricately linked.
This article studies the relationships between subjective well-being, which is narrowly defined to focus on economic well-being in India, and variants of income, based on the only panel survey in India Human Development Survey (IHDS).
Pacific Islanders Turn to Local Economies to Drive Post-pandemic Recovery
- Inter Press Service
CANBERRA, Australia, Feb 18 (IPS) - While Pacific Island countries have, so far, been spared a catastrophic spread of COVID-19, their economies have been devastated by the effects of border closures, internal lockdowns and the demise of international tourism and trade. With the global pandemic far from over, Pacific Islanders are looking to their local and regional economies to drive resilience and recovery.
Powered by
