Protests in Portugal Get Creative

Indignation in Portugal over rampant joblessness and cuts in wages, pensions and unemployment benefits, together with a growing tax burden, has given rise to innovative forms of protest capable of drawing large crowds.

Davos Puts Protests Behind

Barbed wire and safety fences are dismantled, the police and army are withdrawn and freedom of movement is restored. The 43^rd annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) ended last month with negligible protests against the 'global leaders'.

Towns in Argentina Unite to Confront Climate Change

Over 30 small and medium-sized municipalities in Argentina are jointly developing policies for climate change adaptation and mitigation. The idea is to raise awareness and work together to help these communities cope with a global problem, say the promoters of the initiative.

Communities Organise to Confront Climate Change in El Salvador

Armed with chainsaws, machetes and shovels, local residents of El Salvador’s Lower Lempa River Basin, near the Pacific Ocean, are unblocking the flow of rivers and pruning the branches of trees on riverbanks to keep them from falling into the chocolate-colored water.

Q&A: In Pakistan, Youth Participation Key to Progress

The burgeoning youth population in Pakistan plays a vital role in addressing the country's major challenges and in shaping its future, both for young people today and for generations to come.

Multilateralism is at a Crossroads

Multilateralism is at a crossroads. This is a crucial matter for environmental and sustainability issues, as we have seen in the Rio+20 Summit, and for trade and other economic matters. The G20 Summit in Los Cabos, Mexico, focused precisely on improving our collective response to the current economic turbulence, which is at the heart of developments in the European Union (EU) as well.

Penang’s Women Lead Local Democracy

A unique electoral exercise in Penang state, promoting  participatory and gender-responsive decision-making at the grassroots level, may serve as a cue for the revival of local elections in Malaysia.  

Peace in Afghanistan, the Civil Society Way

More than a decade after the fall of the Taliban, Afghanistan is still in the midst of an irregular war. Talking peace is difficult because no one quite knows who to talk to.

Angola’s “Free and Fair” Elections Could Be Contested

Question marks hang over the legitimacy of Angola’s general election as Africa’s second-longest serving leader Jose Eduardo dos Santos has won a five-year term in office following his party’s landslide victory.

Americas Team Avoids Paraguayan Rights Groups

Paraguyan rights groups are disappointed at being denied access to a delegation of the Organisation of American States (OAS) sent in this week to discover the facts behind the impeachment and removal of President Fernando Lugo on Jun. 22.

Going It Alone After the Rio Circus

The works starts now, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon said at the conclusion of the summit on sustainable development in Rio last week. This was about the only UN statement that civil society groups seem to agree with. It is on the precise task at hand that they differ.

Green Turns Trendy in Indonesia

JAKARTA, Jun 17 (IPS) 2012 - Studies on carbon emissions conducted in the Bogor Agricultural University (BAU) in West Java confirm that the worst culprits are students with their trendy lifestyles.

Private Interests Infiltrate G20 Summit

Business will push for the freeing up of trade in green goods and services, at the upcoming summit of heads of state of the Group of 20 (G20) industrialised and emerging countries in Mexico.

Climate Change Drives Exodus to Jakarta

Another month of plying his ‘becak’ (trishaw) in the capital city and Sarjo will be coming back to this West Java district to harvest the rice ripening on his 1,400 sq m paddy.