BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe , August 5 (IPS) – New chickpea seed research and production have become the new frontier of climate resilience in southern Africa as farmers battle failing cereal production.
BANGKOK, Thailand, August 5 (IPS) – Inaction and maintaining the status quo of fossil fuel dependence carry significant costs. The recent closure of the Strait of Hormuz, for instance, caused enormous losses to the global economy, with many Asia-Pacific countries bearing disproportionately larger adverse impacts. Had these economies had a more diversified energy mix, they would have benefited from such resilience under current circumstances.
Read the full story, “Green transition: Pay the Least, Benefit the Most”, on globalissues.org →
SRINAGAR, India, August 4 (IPS) – Every summer, before dawn breaks over the Himalayas, Bashir Ahmad leads his horses onto the narrow mountain trail that winds toward the Amarnath cave shrine. For decades, the annual Hindu pilgrimage has been the most important season of the year for his family. The money earned over two months pays for food, school fees, winter supplies, and the upkeep of his animals through the long snowbound months.
WASHINGTON DC, August 4 (IPS) – My first meeting in Buenos Aires began with an unexpected gift. Economy Minister Luis Caputo presented me with an Argentine national team jersey bearing my name and the number 10—Lionel Messi’s iconic number.
UNITED NATIONS, August 3 (IPS) – Over the past several weeks, the humanitarian landscape in the Middle East has deteriorated significantly, exacerbated by escalating security concerns and serious human rights violations. In late July, the United Nations (UN) highlighted a sharp uptick in hostilities between the United States and Iran, alongside growing concerns over wider regional instability.
MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay, August 3 (IPS) – Last August, a one-month-old girl in The Gambia bled to death after being subjected to female genital mutilation (FGM), a practice that had been illegal in the country since 2015. FGM is a human rights violation, whatever the appeals to faith or tradition made in its defence, but now the Gambian Supreme Court is being asked to strike the country’s ban down. This is the second attempt in two years to make FGM legal again.
ROME, August 3 (IPS) – For the last few years, Artificial intelligence has been making increasingly intrusive demands for our attention. It burst onto the scene like a child prodigy, enthralling us with feats of brilliance. With consummate ease, it removed drudgery from our tasks and began helping us achieve our personal and workplace objectives.
Read the full story, “Who picks up the tab for AI’s unbridled genius?”, on globalissues.org →
Sofia* was 27, raising her seven-year-old son alone in Venezuela, and running out of options. For years she had distributed personal hygiene products door to door, but as her customers’ finances collapsed, so did her income.
In classrooms, maternity wards, hospital corridors and local communities across Ukraine, people are rebuilding their lives despite the ongoing war.
Read the full story, “Recovery in Ukraine, one life at a time”, on globalissues.org →
UNITED NATIONS, July 31 (IPS) – East Asia and the Pacific’s (EAP) maritime system has powered the region’s rise as the world’s largest trading and manufacturing center, but the infrastructure supporting that system has become increasingly vulnerable.
