Inter Press Service | News and Views from the Global South

Inter Press Service | News and Views from the Global South

How Tibet has Successfully Reduced Poverty Crystal Orderson According to the Tibet's Social Science Academy’s Institute of Rural Economic Studies, the number of Tibetans still living in poverty has been brought down from 850,000 a few years ago to 150,000. Tibetan officials say the government is committed to reducing that number to zero by the end of ... MORE > >

How to Bring the Indus Delta Back to Life - Give it Water Zofeen Ebrahim Gulab Shah, 45, is having sleepless nights. He and his family are worried about their imminent migration from their village in Jhaloo to a major city in Pakistan, thanks to the continued ingress of sea water inland. "That is all that I and my brothers discuss day and night," he told IPS over ... MORE > >

A ‘Cure’ for Ebola but Will it Stop the Outbreak if People Won’t Get Treatment? Issa Sikiti da Silva While people in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are slowly being made aware that scientists have discovered two drugs that are effective in treating Ebola, letting go of the fear and anxiety that has prevailed across the country this year will require more work. After several months of ... MORE > >

Southern African Development Community Loses Billions in Illicit Outflows Lakshi De Vass Gunawardena The Southern African Development Community (SADC), which comprise 16 member states, loses about 8.8 billion dollars in trade-related illicit outflows and about 21.1 billion dollars in external government debt payments annually, according to a new report released here. Michael Buraimoh, Director, ... MORE > >

UN Aid Boss Promises “Punishment” for Misconduct in Yemen and Palestine James Reinl A senior United Nations official has promised a thorough investigation into allegations of misconduct in field operations in Yemen and the occupied Palestinian territories, saying that those responsible would be punished. Ursula Mueller, the U.N.’s assistant secretary-general for humanitarian ... MORE > >

South Must Also Set International Tax Rules Anis Chowdhury and Jomo Kwame Sundaram Recently, Christine Lagarde, outgoing Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), argued that developing ‘countries need a seat at the table’ to design rules governing international corporate taxation. This acknowledges recent IMF findings that developing countries lose ... MORE > >

Russia and Syria in the Spotlight for Latest Idlib Medic Deaths James Reinl Medical aid groups have again blasted Russian and Syrian government forces this week for an ever-growing death toll among doctors, paramedics and other health workers in military strikes in northwestern Syria. The Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS) said two medical workers were killed in an ... MORE > >

A Key Role for 1.8 Billion Youth in UN’s 2030 Development Agenda Thalif Deen The UN Population Fund (UNFPA) is convinced that the world’s 1.8 billion adolescents and youth-- a quarter of the global population—have a key role to play in helping implement the UN’s 2030 Development Agenda. In an interview with IPS, UNFPA Deputy Executive Director (Programme) Dereje Wordofa, ... MORE > >

Producing Energy from Pig and Poultry Waste in Brazil Mario Osava Romário Schaefer is fattening up 3,300 pigs that he receives when they weigh around 22 kg and returns when they reach 130 to 160 kg - a huge increase in meat and profits for their owner, a local meat-processing plant in this city in Brazil. Schaefer is not interested in the pork meat business. ... MORE > >

Will Sanctions Undermine 1947 US Treaty with UN? Thalif Deen When Yassir Arafat was denied a US visa to visit New York to address the United Nations back in 1988, the General Assembly defied the United States by temporarily moving the UN’s highest policy making body to Geneva-- perhaps for the first time in UN history-- providing a less-hostile political ... MORE > >

Mexican Women Use Sunlight Instead of Firewood or Gas to Cook Meals Emilio Godoy Reyna Díaz cooks beans, chicken, pork and desserts in her solar cooker, which she sets up in the open courtyard of her home in a poor neighborhood on the outskirts of this town in southwestern Mexico. "My family likes the way it cooks things. I use it almost every day, it has been a big help to ... MORE > >