Stories written by Haider Rizvi
Haider Rizvi, who spent nearly 20 years as a reporter for IPS covering the United Nations, died October 29 in a hospital in Pakistan, his home country. He was in his mid 50's.
Haider began with IPS South Asia back in 1993 and eventually landed in the United States, reporting both from the IPS UN Bureau and later from Washington DC. In between, he grabbed a Master’s Degree in Journalism from Columbia University, New York.
As a journalist, he was always true to his ideals of justice and equality, and a passionate advocate of the underdog.
Haider’s writings faithfully reflected the causes he fought for. He advocated the rights of minorities and native Americans in the US and indigenous people in Latin America; highlighted the student protests in the US; advocated the Palestinian’s right to statehood; battled for the eradication of hunger and poverty in the developing world; joined the global campaign for nuclear disarmament and covered the “Occupy Wall Street” protests (which for him, also meant “Un-Occupy Palestine”).
He was, in many ways, a prophet -- someone who saw past the veil to the terrible realities in the world.
May God give him peace and bless his soul.
The United States and a small group of other nuclear-armed nations are apparently coming under increasing pressure to accept the international community’s resolve to legally ban nuclear testing without delay.
Amid a heavy police presence, thousands of anti-capitalist activists in marked the one-year anniversary of the Occupy Wall Street movement against the U.S. political and economic system, which they say favours billionaires at the expense of the middle and working class.
Food rights activists from around the world will descend on the coastal U.S. state of Florida next week to protest homelessness and hunger facing millions of people in the United States and across the globe.
As U.N.-led talks on disarmament resume in Geneva Monday, calls are growing for nuclear-armed nations to cut spending on their stockpiles and instead divert resources to development.
The United States and its Western allies appear increasingly inclined to push for regime change in Syria, although the latest round of diplomatic talks at the U.N. Security Council Wednesday suggest that it remains a distant possibility.
Leaders of the world's 370 million indigenous people are urging governments not only to replace laws that violate the natives' rights to protect their lands, resources and culture but also to introduce legislation that protects their rights.
Tens of thousands of people took to the streets here and around the United States Tuesday calling for an end to what they described as the mounting and corrosive influence of money in politics.
Which is more important in human life: money or happiness? Can money buy happiness? According to the tiny Himalayan nation of Bhutan, the time has come for the world to pay closer attention to this age-old question.
World leaders may face an unexpected challenge come June, when a major global summit on sustainable development will be held in Brazil. Unlike during previous summits, these leaders might have trouble making promises they are unable to keep.
The United Nations appears poised to play a major role in Libya in the coming days and months. It remains unclear, however, if the world body will be able to restore peace and democracy in that conflict-ridden oil-rich country, independent analysts and diplomats say.
"We have been living here for thousands of years. Unfortunately, we are the original people of this land, but we get no respect," says Vivian Milligan, in a tone filled with sarcastic laughter.
The United States is likely to maintain and sustain its huge arsenal of nuclear weapons for many years to come, even though President Barack Obama has repeatedly stressed that he stands for nuclear disarmament and global peace, non-proliferation experts believe.
"Water is life. Water is humanity. How could it be part of the private business?" asked Bolivian President Evo Morales Wednesday, stressing the social and economic consequences of the growing trend of private ownership over water supply and delivery systems in many parts of the world.
Some 13 million people across Europe, Russia, and other parts of the world remain largely dependent on Afghanistan's poppy production to fuel their addiction to heroin, according to a new U.N. report on global use of illicit drugs.
Like Russia, China, India and Brazil, the African nations seem to be getting increasingly wary of the consequences of the Western powers’ military strikes in Libya - the oil rich North African country currently embroiled in violent political upheaval.
A Pentagon plan to step up spending on nuclear weaponry would severely undermine global efforts geared towards disarmament, warn independent analysts on U.S. nuclear policy.
Nations must pay more than lip service to the idea of indigenous rights if they hope to seriously address problems like species loss and climate change, say delegates at the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, a U.N. body created to safeguard the rights of the world's 370 million indigenous people.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) appears poised to issue arrest warrants for three yet unnamed high-level members of the Libyan government for committing alleged crimes against humanity during the past two months of political turmoil that has taken thousands of lives.
Is coca a dangerous drug that should be tightly regulated, or an essential part of Andean indigenous people's cultural and medicinal heritage? Or perhaps both?
Despite massive support from the international community, the Palestinian quest for recognition as an independent and sovereign nation is unlikely to materialise soon, say political observers and diplomats here.