Global Issues
News headlines for “G8: Too Much Power?”, page 144
How Climate Change is Fuelling the Insurgency of Nigeria's Armed Group Boko Haram
- Inter Press Service
MAUDUGURI, Borno State, Nigeria, Dec 13 (IPS) - In this edition of Voices from the Global South, Sam Olukoya goes to Maiduguri, Borno State in north-eastern Nigeria, and reports on how climate change is fuelling Boko Haram's insurgency.
Experts say climate change is a key factor fuelling the insurgency of the armed group Boko Haram. The insurgency, which is aimed at creating an Islamic State in North East Nigeria, is responsible for one of the worst humanitarian crisis in the world.
Coordinated Global Action Is the Best Way to Control the Fall Armyworm Pest
- Inter Press Service
ROME, Dec 11 (IPS) - A new USD 500 million initiative by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations is leading the way.
Dealing with transboundary pests is tricky at the best of times. Standards, practices, capacity levels and engagement vary across countries and regions, and responses are often ad hoc and ineffective.
However, matters become even more complex when the pest in question flies over borders, threatens the food security and livelihoods of millions, and causes severe environmental and economic damage along the way. Fall Armyworm is such a pest.
Accelerating SDG Progress in Asia – Pacific
- Inter Press Service
BANGKOK, Thailand, Dec 10 (IPS) - "The 2030 Agenda is coming to life", declared the Secretary General at the opening of the first SDG Summit, a quadrennial event for the follow up and review of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
As leaders from Asia – Pacific took the floor, they highlighted country progress of SDG implementation and reaffirmed commitment to achieve the 2030 Agenda. Statements reflected different approaches across the region. Yet all converged on one priority: accelerated actions and transformative pathways.
Because we are not on track.
Why Is Growth Slowing in China?
- Inter Press Service
BERLIN and KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 10 (IPS) - China's gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 14%. Since then, its growth rate has declined by more than half to 6.6% in 2018. The five-year moving average growth rate is at its lowest since reforms began in 1978, although annual growth briefly fell lower during 1979, the year of the Tian An Men incident.
South-South Cooperation Offers Solutions to Urgent Climate Challenges
- Inter Press Service
UNITED NATIONS, Dec 10 (IPS) - Climate change is the defining challenge of our time, and developing countries are recognized as hotspots for climatic risks. Through solidarity, peer-to-peer learning and collective self-reliance, developing countries are collaborating among themselves to address the threat.
Fostering Sustainable Urbanization and Mutually Beneficial Rural-Urban Linkages for Inclusive and Sustainable Development in Rural and Urban Areas
- Inter Press Service
ROME and ACCRA, Dec 09 (IPS) -
As urbanization continues apace, coupled with rapid population growth and rural to urban migration, the challenges for inclusive rural transformation continue, and the importance of fostering improved rural-urban linkages for better food systems becomes increasingly important.
According to the UN, by 2050 some 66% of the world's population of 9 billion is expected to live in urban areas. Such rapid urbanization is increasingly shaping the rural space and rural livelihoods (through markets, demand for agricultural goods and labour, migration, and through the provision of services to rural areas). It is therefore critical for the increasing emphasis on urban development to take into account the importance of rural development.
Gains and Losses of Irregular Migration
- Inter Press Service
STOCKHOLM / ROME, Dec 06 (IPS) - While opening a newspaper or watching a TV program we are every day made aware of the plights of irregular migrants. Some recent examples among many – on 24 October, 39 Chinese nationals were found dead in a lorry trailer in Essex. They had apparently frozen to death within a refrigerator container with temperatures as low as -25C (-13F).
This while tragedies occur almost daily on the Mediterranean Sea. On 26 November, a rescue vessel found a boat almost completely sunken. It had three dead bodies aboard. Fifty-five migrants were saved. Three of them were in a critical condition, and one died after reaching Melilla in Spain, where the migrants were brought in. Three children were among the survivors, though a further ten individuals were reported missing.
Nowadays, such news items pass by almost imperceptibly. Every day, thousands of unfortunate human beings are trafficked all over the world to suffer underpaid, hazardous work, or prostitution.
African Politicians Asked to Develop Legal Instruments to Fight Climate Change
- Inter Press Service
MADRID, Dec 06 (IPS) - African legislators have been challenged to come up with legal frameworks for climate change to enable countries avoid catastrophes and reactionary emergencies that eat up their budgets.
Fostering Jobs, Entrepreneurship, and Capacity Development for African Youth: The Time for Disruption Is Now!
- Inter Press Service
ABIDJAN, Dec 04 (IPS) - "There is no greater asset to Africa than its youth," a statement that has been repeatedly proclaimed, but the continent still has a long way to go. Despite robust economic growth over the past two decades, a 1 percent increase in growth between 2000–14 was associated with only 0.41 percent growth in employment. This figure suggests that employment stood at less than 1.8 percent a year, far below the nearly 3 percent annual growth in the labor force. If this trend continues, 100 million people will join the multitudes of the unemployed in Africa by 2030.
Indigenous Knowledge, a Lesson for a Sustainable Food Future
- Inter Press Service
MILAN, Italy, Dec 04 (IPS) - Local knowledge systems rooted in traditional practices and culture passed down generations provide sustainable solutions to food and nutritional insecurity on the back of climate change, a conference heard this week.
Powered by
