Corporations Rewriting U.S. Labour Laws

U.S. state legislators and corporate lobbies have engaged in an unprecedented attack on minimum wages that has lowered U.S. labour standards, according to new research released Thursday.

Sahel New Target for Joint World Bank -U.N. Mission

Announcing a joint mission to the Sahel region, Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and President of the World Bank, Jim Yong Kim addressed the press Friday on their new mission which would place peace and development at the forefront.

Sri Lanka Assumes Leadership of Colombo Process

The chairmanship of the Colombo Process, a regional consultative exercise focusing on the management of overseas employment and contractual labour in Asia, was transferred from Bangladesh to Sri Lanka during a meeting held at the Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka in Geneva last week.

Zimbabweans Left Worse Off by Local Mining Companies

Ranganai Zimbeva, from the rural village of Mutoko, which lies about 200 km northeast of Zimbabwe’s capital Harare, plugs his ears with his fingers and shakes his head as he watches miners close to his village blast the hard rock to extract the black granite within.

South of the Border, Mining Is King

Civil society groups from throughout Latin America are urging “home countries” to take greater responsibility for the actions of their companies abroad, particularly those in the extractives industry.

Energy Integration Runs into Short Circuits

Energy integration efforts in Latin America have been made in fits and starts, even though many clearly understand that the only way to solve the region’s energy shortages and high costs is by working together.

The West, Shifting to the Right to the Beat of the Crisis

Much has been written about U.S. brinkmanship with default, but the clear lesson that can be drawn from this unprecedented situation is that a lunatic fringe can block democracy.

Bodies of Migrants Found in Niger Desert

The bodies of 87 migrants were found in Niger's northern desert after they died of thirst just a few kilometres from the border of Algeria, their planned destination, security officials said.

In Haiti, Cholera Claims New Victims Daily

Some 2,400 kilometres from New York City, where victims of Haiti's cholera epidemic are suing the United Nations in a U.S. federal court, the disease continues to burn through the populace with no end in sight.

Zambezi River Authority Working to Avoid Kariba Mistakes at Batoka

Tens of thousands of people were forcibly moved from their homes to make way for the Kariba Dam almost 60 years ago. A new Hydroelectric Scheme is being proposed at Batoka upstream from Kariba and the Zambezi River Authority is  working to ensure that the lives of those in the vicinity are not overly disrupted.

Ivoirians Face an Incomplete Justice

“We are sad. We want our president back,” Yao Amandine told IPS from a street corner in the Ivorian economic metropolis, Abidjan, after the International Criminal Court ruled against granting former Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo a conditional release on Tuesday. 

Fragile Peace Holds on a Syrian Island

"The whole region is under control but be careful in the city centre," says a Kurdish militiaman at the eastern gate of Qamishli, 600 km northeast of capital Damascus, confirming rumours about breaches in Syria’s relatively stable northeast.

Bodies of Migrants Found in Niger Desert

The bodies of 87 migrants were found in Niger’s northern desert after they died of thirst just a few kilometres from the border of Algeria, their planned destination, security officials said.

Ivoirians Face an Incomplete Justice

“We are sad. We want our president back,” Yao Amandine told IPS from a street corner in the Ivorian economic metropolis, Abidjan, after the International Criminal Court ruled against granting former Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo a conditional release on Tuesday.

Taiwan Lawmakers Push `Marriage Equality` Bill

Taiwan could become the first Asian state to legalise same-sex and other ``pluralistic`` forms of marriage if a wide-ranging package of changes to the civil code are approved by the national legislature.

Saudi Arabia, Sans Human Rights, Seeks Council Seat

When Saudi Arabia permitted women to vote but not drive, a newspaper cartoon last year captured the double standard with dark irony.

Critics Question Impact of ‘Pay for Success’ Bonds

Standing in contrast to government social protection programmes implemented over the past decade by progressive governments in Latin America and the Caribbean, a new initiative appeals to private investment and uses non-profit service providers.

Bangladesh Workers Short of Compensation

Six months after the worst man-made disaster in Bangladesh’s history, safety conditions in garment factories have a chance to improve. But not the lives of survivors or the victims' next of kin.

Teen Pregnancy Rooted in Powerlessness

Before we begin, perhaps we can set aside the stereotypes: no, she didn’t "mess herself up by following boys around", and no, it is not in fact her fault that she became pregnant.

Waiting for the Next Superstorm

One year ago, Hurricane Sandy ravaged the Northeast United States, causing an estimated 68 billion dollars in damage and paralysing the world’s financial nerve centre.

Bangladesh Workers Short of Compensation

Six months after the worst man-made disaster in Bangladesh’s history, safety conditions in garment factories have a chance to improve. But not the lives of survivors or the victims’ next of kin.