Inter Press Service | News and Views from the Global South

Inter Press Service | News and Views from the Global South

The World Bank Needs to Understand Poverty and What it Actually Costs a Family to Live on Sharan Burrow The World Bank claims poverty is decreasing around the world but UN research shows it depends on what you measure. If we are serious about reducing poverty, we need to start by properly identifying it. The World Bank has repeatedly claimed that extreme poverty is on the decline. In its Poverty ... MORE > >

India’s Indigenous Women Assert their Land Rights Stella Paul Korchi a village of 3,256 people, most of whom are small and marginal farmers belonging to Gondi and Kawar indigenous communities, lies about 750 kilometres east of Mumbai, India. Here, women like Jam Bai, a 53-year-old indigenous farmer, have been leading a ground movement for years to own ... MORE > >

Burning Forests for Rain, and Other Climate Catastrophes Miriam Gathigah The villagers living on the foothills of Mount Kenya have a belief: If they burn the forest, the rains will come. “Generally, we believe that the sky is covered by a thick layer of ice and only a forest fire can rise high enough to melt this ice and give us rainfall,” Njoroge Mungai, a resident ... MORE > >

Land Degradation Jeopardizes Ability to Feed the World Ibrahim Thiaw We have known for over 25 years that poor land use and management are major drivers of climate change, but have never mustered the political will to act. With the release of the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) special report on climate change and land, which makes the ... MORE > >

Desertification a Frontline Against Climate Change: IPCC James Reinl A new United Nations report has described farming, land degradation and desertification as critical frontlines in the battle to keep the global rise in temperatures below the benchmark figure of 2 degrees Celsius. The 43-page study from the U.N.’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) ... MORE > >

If Fertility Rates Remain Constant Joseph Chamie What if current fertility rates of countries remain constant for the rest of the 21st century? Under this assumption, the populations of high fertility countries skyrocket while those of most low fertility countries plummet and world population nearly triples in size by the century’s close. If ... MORE > >

Will Palestinian Refugees Pay a Heavy Price for UNRWA Bungling? Thalif Deen A crisis that has threatened to undermine the future of the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) is expected to have a devastating impact—not only on the credibility of the United Nations-- but also on the lives of over five million Palestinian refugees whose very survival depends on the humanitarian ... MORE > >

Extreme Floods, the Key to Climate Change Adaptation in Africa’s Drylands Isaiah Esipisu Extreme rainfall and heavy flooding, often amplified by climate change, causes devastation among communities. But new research published on Aug. 7 in the scientific journal Nature reveals that these dangerous events are extremely significant in recharging groundwater aquifers in drylands across ... MORE > >

International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples 2019 IPS World Desk There are an estimated 370 million indigenous people in the world, living across 90 countries. They live in all geographic regions and represent 5000 different cultures. These people are inheritors and practitioners of unique cultures and ways of relating to others yet are being forced to give up ... MORE > >

On Brutality of Violence Against Women Farhana Haque Rahman and Raghav Gaiha On a cold night in December 2012, a ghastly crime was committed in New Delhi which stunned the world. Six men dragged helpless Nirbhaya-a 23-year-old female physiotherapy intern- to the back of the bus and raped her one by one. As she kept fighting off her assailants by biting them, one of the ... MORE > >

U.S. Sanctions Imperil Aid to Iran’s Flood Victims James Reinl Two major humanitarian groups have warned that United States sanctions on Iran are stopping cash flows for vital humanitarian work in the country, adding another complication to the growing rift between Washington and Tehran. This week, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) and the Iranian Red ... MORE > >

To Silence a Poet, and a Nation: What Stella Nyanzi’s Conviction Means for Uganda Wambi Michael The conviction of Ugandan feminist and activist Dr. Stella Nyanzi for publishing a metaphorical poem about President Yoweri Museveni could have a chilling effect of freedom of expression, according to Dr. Peter Mwesige, co-founder of the Kampala-based African Centre For Media Excellence. “There ... MORE > >

Producing Clean Energy from Pigsties in Brazil Mario Osava Pigs, already the main source of income in this small municipality in southwestern Brazil, now have even more value as a source of electricity. The mini-thermal power plant of Entre Rios do Oeste, inaugurated on Jul. 24, uses the biogas provided by 18 farms, in a pioneering technical-commercial ... MORE > >

Tanzania Switches Track, Charges Kabendera with Economic Crimes Committee to Protect Journalists Prosecutors in Tanzania today charged freelance journalist Erick Kabendera with money laundering, tax evasion, and assisting an organized crime racket, according to a copy of the charge sheet. When he was detained on July 29, the Dar es Salaam police chief said at a press conference that police ... MORE > >

UNRWA Faces Donor Backlash Amidst Charges of Sexual Misconduct & Nepotism Thalif Deen The UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which has been undermined by a sharp cut in US contributions, has been embroiled in a scandal that threatens to jeopardize its very future. A report from the Ethics Office has found "credible and corroborated" evidence that the senior management of UNRWA ... MORE > >