Inter Press Service | News and Views from the Global South

Inter Press Service | News and Views from the Global South

Burkina Faso: Climate Change Triggers Rural Exodus Issa Sikiti da Silva Ibrahim Harouna and his neighbours sit under a tree at his uncle’s house, playing chess and chatting amid the simmering heat of Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso. This is how he has been spending most of his time in the year and a half since he lost his job. Harouna worked as farm ... MORE > >

Trade Liberalization for Development? Jomo Kwame Sundaram and Anis Chowdhury The International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and the World Trade Organization (WTO), all dominated by rich countries, have long promoted trade liberalization as a ‘win-win’ solution for “all people—rich and poor—and all countries—developed and developing countries”, arguing that “the gains ... MORE > >

Online Trolls, Bots, Snoopers Imperil Democracy: Report James Reinl Using armies of online fans, trolls and, automated ‘bots’, the world’s authoritarians and populists are increasingly using the web to drown out opponents and swing public opinion and elections their way, a new study says. The Freedom on the Net report, compiled annually by Freedom House, a ... MORE > >

Africans Charged More Than 3.5 Times the "Affordable" Rate for Mobile Data Gareth Willmer People living in Africa are charged an average of 7.1 per cent of their monthly salary for a gigabyte (GB) of mobile data, more than 3.5 times the threshold considered affordable. That’s according to a report by the Alliance for Affordable Internet (A4AI), which classifies the affordable rate as ... MORE > >

‘When Journalists are Targeted, Societies as a Whole, Pay a Price’: UN Chief “Without journalists able to do their jobs in safety, we face the prospect of a world of confusion and disinformation”, UN Secretary-General António Guterres has warned in a statement released ahead of the International Day to End Impunity Against Journalists, which falls on 2 ... MORE > >

VIDEO: End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists #KeepthetruthAlive Maged Srour Each year 100 journalists are killed in the course of their work. Nine out of 10 cases remain unresolved. On Nov. 2 the United Nations recognises the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists. The U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is concerned that ... MORE > >

Africa's Youth make Land Restoration their Business Diana Wanyonyi and Nalisha Adams The last time Siyabulela Sokomani ran a marathon he did so with a tree strapped to his back. A native wild olive sapling to be exact. It affected his race time for sure, with the seasoned runner completing the 42.2 km race in 4.42 hours rather than his usual 3.37 hours. But the entrepreneur, who ... MORE > >

The Rapid Decline in Civic Freedoms: 5 Countries to Keep an Eye on Ine Van Severen 2019 has been a year of protest. From Algeria, to Chile, to Hong Kong, ordinary people have taken to the streets to voice their dissatisfaction with governance systems. Their causes are as diverse as the people pouring into the streets. Public grievances range from corruption, anti-austerity ... MORE > >

Locked Out - Nigeria's Trafficked Children Have Never been to School Tobore Ovuorie and Yemisi Onadipe “Human trafficking is when someone is taken from Nigeria to another country to be a prostitute. Or, to do other illegal jobs that are not good for humanity,” said Kingsley Chidiebere, a commercial motorcycle rider in Nigeria’s commercial capital, Lagos. He is one of the over 27 Nigerians ... MORE > >

Going with the Wind: Transition to Clean Energy in Latin America & the Caribbean Luis Felipe López-Calva The UN Climate Action Summit 2019, which took place in the days leading up to the 74th UN General Assembly, delivered new pathways and practical actions for governments and private sector to intensify climate action. Among these, it recognized that the path towards protecting our planet ... MORE > >