Data Centres Store Hazardous Chemicals in Mexico By Emilio Godoy Copyright © 2026 IPS-Inter Press Service. All rights reserved. - (+++)...

Data Centres Store Hazardous Chemicals in Mexico By Emilio Godoy MEXICO CITY, Nov 3 2026 (IPS) - At first glance, a data centre in Mexico draws little attention, as it is usually housed in an industrial park, out of public view. But, in addition to emitting greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrogen oxides, its cooling and fire suppression systems contain substances with strong environmental and health impacts: the so-called “forever chemicals”. IPS found that at least five data centres operating in Mexico use hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), a group of synthetic gases with a global warming potential up to 7,000 times higher than that of CO2, the human-induced gas responsible for global warming. These gases also have an atmospheric lifetime of 15 years, according to data from ATMOsphere, an independent global accelerator for the air conditioning market. https://www.ipsnews.net/2026/11/data-centres-store-hazardous-chemicals-in-mexico/ Copyright © 2026 IPS-Inter Press Service. All rights reserved. - Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) are a group of synthetic gases primarily used for cooling and refrigeration. Many HFCs are very powerful, short-lived climate pollutants with an average atmospheric lifetime of 15 years. https://www.ccacoalition.org/short-lived-climate-pollutants/hydrofluorocarbons-hfcs PFAS: contaminantes permanentes perfluoroalquilados y polifluoroalquilados Marco regulatorio de las PFAS en Estados Unidos, Canadá, la Unión Europea y Chile https://obtienearchivo.bcn.cl/obtienearchivo?id=repositorio/10221/38083/1/BCN_Contam.Permanentes_PFAS_EVF_2026_Final.pdf

When the Young Stop Waiting: Europe’s Gen Z Is Sending Us All a Message By James Alix Michel Copyright © 2026 IPS-Inter Press Service. All rights reserved. -

When the Young Stop Waiting: Europe’s Gen Z Is Sending Us All a Message By James Alix Michel VICTORIA, Seychelles, Nov 3 2026 (IPS) - This autumn I have found myself watching the evening news from Europe with a growing sense of recognition. Not of the tear gas or the burning barricades, which I deplore, but of the faces. Teenagers holding hand-painted signs. University students sleeping in tents in city squares. Young people who look, more than anything, tired of waiting. https://www.ipsnews.net/2026/11/when-the-young-stop-waiting-europes-gen-z-is-sending-us-all-a-message/ Copyright © 2026 IPS-Inter Press Service. All rights reserved. -

Women and Girls’ Death Toll in Armed Conflict Doubles since 2021 By UN Women Copyright © 2026 IPS-Inter Press Service. All rights reserved. - (++...)

Women and Girls’ Death Toll in Armed Conflict Doubles since 2021 By UN Women At least 25 women and girls are killed every day as civilian deaths mount, sexual violence rises, and women remain largely excluded from peace negotiations. NEW YORK, Oct 30 2026 (IPS) - More than 37,000 civilians were killed in conflict last year. Women and girls accounted for one in four of these deaths – double their proportion in 2021 – according to the 2026 UN Secretary-General’s report on Women, Peace, and Security, released today. Approximately 750 million women and girls now live within 50 kilometers of an active conflict, 40 million more than in 2024, and more than at any time since 1990. https://www.ipsnews.net/2026/10/women-and-girls-death-toll-in-armed-conflict-doubles-since-2021/ Copyright © 2026 IPS-Inter Press Service. All rights reserved. - Women and peace and security https://docs.un.org/en/S/2026/758

Why Dowry Still Dictating Women’s Fate? By Shahiduzzaman Copyright © 2026 IPS-Inter Press Service. All rights reserved. -

Why Dowry Still Dictating Women’s Fate? By Shahiduzzaman DHAKA, Bangladesh, Oct 29 2026 (IPS) - Dowry is still persisting in society in one form or another. This deeply entrenched social practice continues deepen household poverty and cause violence against women. The question is no longer whether Bangladesh has a law against dowry. It does. The more uncomfortable question is why the law has failed to make dowry socially unacceptable and practically difficult to demand. The Dowry Prohibition Act 2018 makes the demand for dowry a criminal offence. Direct or indirect demands can result in one to five years’ imprisonment, a fine of up to Tk 50,000, or both. Giving, taking or assisting in the giving or taking of dowry is also punishable. The law even makes dowry-related agreements void. Yet, the existence of legislation has not eliminated the practice. Instead, dowry has increasingly adapted itself to modern economic and social realities. https://www.ipsnews.net/2026/10/why-dowry-still-dictating-womens-fate/ Copyright © 2026 IPS-Inter Press Service. All rights reserved. -

Is Gender Bias at the UN Coming to an Inglorious End? By Thalif Deen Copyright © 2026 IPS-Inter Press Service. All rights reserved. -

Is Gender Bias at the UN Coming to an Inglorious End? By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS, Nov 3 2026 (IPS) - In a bygone era, gender parity was never heard of at the United Nations—UN female staffers were mostly hired as secretaries and stenographers in a male-dominated Secretariat. Perhaps it was best illustrated in a wildly-circulated story, doing the rounds in the 1970s and 80s, about a female applicant, with strong academic credentials from a prestigious Ivy League university, being interviewed for a job in the UN Secretariat, https://www.ipsnews.net/2026/11/is-gender-bias-at-the-un-coming-to-an-inglorious-end/ Copyright © 2026 IPS-Inter Press Service. All rights reserved. -

Turning Nuclear Memory Into Joint Action: Kazakhstan and Soka Gakkai Expand Their Cooperation By Katsuhiro Asagiri Copyright © 2026 IPS-Inter Press Service. All rights reserved. - (++++)...

Turning Nuclear Memory Into Joint Action: Kazakhstan and Soka Gakkai Expand Their Cooperation By Katsuhiro Asagiri Drawing on the experiences of Hiroshima, Nagasaki and Semipalatinsk, SGI has worked with Kazakhstan’s Foreign Ministry and United Nations mission to advance nuclear abolition. That cooperation is now extending into youth peace education and other initiatives through an institution supporting the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions. ASTANA / TOKYO, Nov 5 2026 (IPS) - The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and decades of nuclear testing at Semipalatinsk left Japan and Kazakhstan with different histories of nuclear suffering. Those experiences have helped sustain a partnership that is now finding new avenues through interfaith dialogue. Soka Gakkai International, or SGI, has worked with Kazakhstan’s Foreign Ministry, its United Nations mission and civil society organizations to explain the humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons and bring governments and activists together to discuss disarmament. https://www.ipsnews.net/2026/11/turning-nuclear-memory-into-joint-action-kazakhstan-and-soka-gakkai-expand-their-cooperation/ Copyright © 2026 IPS-Inter Press Service. All rights reserved. - We are a globally connected community that inspires hope to create peace Soka Gakkai is a diverse Buddhist community of 12 million people that promotes peace, culture and education. Soka Gakkai International (SGI) is an NGO in consultative status with the United Nations that strives to strengthen connections between individuals, civil society and the UN. https://sgi-peace.org/ Soka Gakkai https://www.sokaglobal.org/ «Peace is our greatest wealth, a value that is equally important to all countries, peoples, and religions. Indeed, only peace and stability can serve as an unwavering guarantee of a bright future» From the speech of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev at the closing of the VIII Congress of the Leaders of World and Traditional Religions https://religions-congress.org/en

Wealth Buys Protection in Climate Crisis – Oxfam By Umar Manzoor Shah Copyright © 2026 IPS-Inter Press Service. All rights reserved. - (++...)

Wealth Buys Protection in Climate Crisis – Oxfam By Umar Manzoor Shah NAIROBI & SRINAGAR, India, Nov 5 2026 (IPS) - The world’s wealthiest people are driving a disproportionate share of climate pollution while poorer communities bear the heaviest costs of floods, heatwaves, food insecurity and other climate disasters, according to a new report by Oxfam International. The report, Disaster Divide: How Climate Chaos Deepens Inequality and Enriches the Few, published on October 27, 2026, argues that climate change is not simply an environmental crisis. It is also deepening existing economic and social inequalities, leaving people with the fewest resources struggling to survive and recover from increasingly destructive events. https://www.ipsnews.net/2026/11/wealth-buys-protection-in-climate-crisis-oxfam/ Copyright © 2026 IPS-Inter Press Service. All rights reserved. - https://www.oxfam.org/en/disaster-divide-how-climate-chaos-deepens-inequality-and-enriches-few Climate disasters don’t affect everyone equally. The super-rich are responsible for a disproportionate share of carbon emissions while the rest of the world faces the worst consequences. As people struggle to recover from floods, fires and rising food prices, the super-rich can protect themselves and even profit from the crisis. Oxfam’s new report, Disaster Divide, reveals how the emissions of the richest polluters fuel climate chaos, how inequality makes disasters more deadly, and how some of the wealthiest still profit while others struggle to rebuild their lives.