Global Issues
News headlines for “G8: Too Much Power?”, page 313
OPINION: Ebola, Human Rights, and Poverty – Making the Links
- Inter Press Service
CAMBRIDGE, Massachussetts, Oct 27 (IPS) - The catastrophic Ebola crisis unfolding in West Africa offers many lessons, not least for global anti-poverty efforts. These will culminate in a set of targets, to be agreed by the United Nations in 2015, known as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
A Jungle Shrine Awaits its Blessed Moment
- Inter Press Service
MADHU, Sri Lanka, Oct 27 (IPS) - Rising out of a thick forest about 17 km from the nearest main road, the Madhu Church is a symbol of spiritual harmony and tranquility. When the wind blows you hear the leaves rustle. Other times a solemn silence hangs in the air. Old-timers say that once, almost an entire generation ago, the grass grew six feet high in the church compound, and elephants wandered through it.
“Yeil” – The New Energy Buzzword in Argentina
- Inter Press Service
NEUQUÉN, Argentina, Oct 27 (IPS) - In Argentina they call it "yeil", the hispanicised version of "shale". But while these unconventional gas and oil reserves are seen by many as offering a means to development and a route towards energy self-sufficiency, others believe the term should fall into disuse because the global trend is towards clean, renewable sources of energy.
Zimbabwe’s Rich Fuel Inequality Through Illicit Financial Flows
- Inter Press Service
HARARE, Oct 27 (IPS) - Zimbabwe has lost 12 billion dollars in illicit financial flows over the last three decades and experts say this illegal practice is perpetuating social inequalities and poverty in this southern African nation.
Put People Not ‘Empire of Capital’ at Heart of Development
- Inter Press Service
GENEVA, Oct 27 (IPS) - President Rafael Correa Delgado of Ecuador does not mince words when it comes to development. "Neoliberal policies based on so-called competitiveness, efficiency and the labour flexibility framework have helped the empire of capital to prosper at the cost of human labour," he told a crowded auditorium at the 15th Raul Prebitsch Lecture.
OPINION: Renewable Energies – a Double-Edged Sword
- Inter Press Service
BONN, Oct 25 (IPS) - The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change has set a target of reducing emissions of greenhouse gases such as CO2. One way countries can meet their obligations is to switch energy production from the burning of fossil fuels to "renewables", generally understood to include wind, wave, tidal, hydro, solar and geothermal power and biomass.
Central Asia Hurting as Russia’s Ruble Sinks
- Inter Press Service
BISHKEK, Oct 23 (IPS) - Pensioner Jyparkul Karaseyitova says she cannot afford meat anymore. At her local bazaar in Kyrgyzstan's capital, Bishkek, the price for beef has jumped nine percent in the last six weeks. And she is not alone feeling the pain of rising inflation.
Añelo, from Forgotten Town to Capital of Argentina’s Shale Fuel Boom
- Inter Press Service
AÑELO, Argentina, Oct 23 (IPS) - This small town in southern Argentina is nearly a century old, but the unconventional fossil fuel boom is forcing it to basically start over, from scratch. The wave of outsiders drawn by the shale fuel fever has pushed the town to its limits, while the plan to turn it into a "sustainable city of the future" is still only on paper.
Sustaining Africa's Development by Leveraging on Climate Change
- Inter Press Service
MARRAKECH, Oct 23 (IPS) - Policy and development practitioners say Africa is at a development cross roads and argue that the continent — increasingly an attractive destination for economic and agriculture investment — should use the window of opportunity presented by a low carbon economy to implement new knowledge and information to transform the challenges posed by climate change into opportunities for social development.
The Nagoya Protocol: A Treaty Waiting to Happen
- Inter Press Service
PYEONGCHANG, Republic of Korea, Oct 22 (IPS) - For over 20 years, Mote Bahadur Pun of Nepal's western Myagdi district has been growing ‘Paris polyphylla' - a Himalayan herb used to cure pain, burns and fevers.
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