Languages
Thursday, July 23, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
Judge Urges Obama to Halt “Degrading” Guantanamo Force-Feeding
A federal judge here has taken the unusual step of formally calling on President Barack Obama to halt the forcible feeding of dozens of hunger-striking detainees at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba, warning that the practice appears to contravene international law.
U.S. Has “Largely Failed” to Protect Marine Species
Environmentalists on Monday filed a petition with the U.S. government requesting regulatory safeguards for 81 particularly vulnerable marine wildlife species, from corals to sharks.
U.S. Court Overturns Key Extractives Transparency Rule
A federal judge here on Tuesday struck down a key new regulatory provision that would require large U.S.-listed extractives companies to disclose payments made to foreign governments, a rule that rights groups had long pushed as a way to cut down on corruption in developing countries.
Obama Announces New U.S. Focus on Wildlife Trafficking
President Barack Obama on Monday announced a series of new initiatives to combat spiking levels of international poaching and draft a new national plan on wildlife trafficking, an industry that has grown so significantly in recent years that the president now calls it an “international crisis”.
World Bank to “Cease Providing” Funding for New Coal Projects
The World Bank is set to consider dramatically cutting down its funding for coal-related power projects, according to a draft strategy document leaked this week.
Govt Council Raises Hopes for Improved U.S.-Tribal Relations
Indigenous rights groups are applauding U.S. President Barack Obama's creation of a new high-level council aimed at coordinating government actions relating to Native American communities, a move that advocates have been urging since early in the president's first term.
Obama Unveils Plan to Circumvent Congress on Climate Change
Stymied by the U.S. Congress, President Barack Obama on Tuesday unveiled his vision to reset the United States' incoherent national plan to combat climate change, offering dozens of regulatory tweaks and targets that his administration could now implement without Congressional approval.World Bank Formally Urged to Overhaul ‘Doing Business’ Report
An external review panel is calling on the World Bank to institute sweeping reforms to its widely cited annual “Doing Business” report, including doing away with a controversial ranking of countries on a variety of business-friendliness metrics.
U.S. Ordered to Halt Linking Aid to Anti-Prostitution Oath
The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday overturned a decade-long practise under which the government linked global HIV/AIDS funding to a controversial requirement that organisations explicitly state their opposition to prostitution.U.S. and Rest of G8 Won’t Follow UK on Corporate Transparency
The United States is being singled out for criticism after the Group of Eight (G8) rich countries failed to adopt a plan pushed by British Prime Minister David Cameron to require the creation of public country-level registries with detailed information on corporate ownership and activity.
U.S. Court Decision to Speed Introduction of Generic Drugs
The Supreme Court pushed back Monday against a longstanding practise in the U.S. pharmaceuticals industry under which large-scale companies pay producers of generic copies to hold off introducing those low-cost drugs into the marketplace.
U.S. Government Looks to Trim Massive Penal Code
A Congressional task force started work Friday to review the massive U.S. federal penal code and cull statutes deemed to be overlapping, ineffective or otherwise unnecessary.
Genes Cannot Be Patented, U.S. Supreme Court Rules
The nine judges of the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously Thursday that naturally occurring DNA, including component parts of that genetic material, cannot be patented.
U.S. Regulatory System “Stymied by Special Interests”
A broad-based alliance of public interest and other groups is warning that years of attacks by business interests has made the U.S. regulatory so inefficient that public safety is being put at risk.
Carbon Dioxide Emissions Hit Record High in 2012
Greenhouse gas emissions worldwide rose by 1.4 percent last year, setting a new record, according to data released Monday.
International Community Urged to Declare “War on Food Waste”
A quarter of all food calories grown for human consumption is being lost or wasted, either purposefully or otherwise, according to new estimates.
For First Time, U.S. to Lease Offshore Wind Blocks
The U.S. government announced Tuesday that it would be going forward with long-discussed plans to auction federal leases off the Atlantic Ocean coast for the development of offshore wind energy.
U.S. Increasing Solitary Confinement, Impact Uncertain
The U.S. federal prison system’s use of solitary confinement and other forms of “segregated housing” has increased substantially over the past five years, according to new data released by the U.S. Congress’s official independent watchdog.
Walmart, Gap Seek Separate Safety Standards for Bangladesh Factories
Top U.S. companies are now in negotiations to agree on new safety standards for their clothing-producing contractors in Bangladesh, a month after a garment factory’s collapse in Dhaka killed more than 1,100 workers.
U.S. Urged to Reject Genetically Engineered Trees
Consumer advocates and environmentalists this week are taking advantage of an industry conference to highlight concerns over the U.S. government’s pending approval of a genetically modified eucalyptus tree.
Chevron Rejects Shareholder Demands to Explain Record Political Spending
At an annual shareholder meeting held Wednesday, upper-level management for the oil conglomerate Chevron faced renewed questioning over its record-setting political contributions during last year’s national election.« Previous Page — Next Page »
The Week with IPS
NEXT STOP - SDGs
Tracking global progress towards a sustainable world
Tracking global progress towards a sustainable world
