Languages
Saturday, October 31, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
POPULATION: Asia Faces Lower Birth and Death Rates
Asia has long been touted as the world's largest and most populous continent with over 4.1 billion people, accounting for more than 60 percent of the global population.RIGHTS: Recruiters of Child Soldiers Defy U.N. Pressure
The United Nations remains virtually helpless as an increasing number of armed groups - described as "non-state actors" - continue to exploit, abuse and deliberately harm children in battle zones in Asia, Africa and the Middle East.POLITICS: Iran Hits Back at U.N. Chief Over Racism Meet
An indignant Iran has lodged a "strong protest" over critical statements made by two senior U.N. officials against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at an anti-racism conference in Geneva early this week.RIGHTS: U.N. Chief Deplores Iranian Statement on Racism
The secretary-general of the United Nations rarely, if ever, lashes out at world leaders - at least not in public - because he is a perceived as a political servant who owes his existence to member states.
MIGRATION: Financial Crisis Eroding Remittance Lifeline
The Geneva-based International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has warned that the current financial crisis is threatening to claim another casualty: international migration.ECONOMY: U.N. Summit Seeks Collective Response to Crisis
The president of the 192-member U.N. General Assembly, Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann, dismisses the G20 bloc of economically advanced countries as unrepresentative of the international community.DEVELOPMENT: U.N. Triples Allotment for Population
The 1994 landmark International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), held in the Egyptian capital of Cairo, fixed a target of 20.5 billion dollars for investments in population programmes worldwide for the year 2010.DEVELOPMENT: U.N. Offers New Political Profile for Sanitation
When the United Nations concluded its International Year of Sanitation (IYS) last December, it left behind some 2.5 billion people worldwide waiting in line for toilets that did not exist or were in short supply.POPULATION: Global Financial Crisis Threatens Family Planning
The spreading global financial crisis is threatening to undermine another one of the U.N.'s major development and health goals: family planning.DEVELOPMENT: Global Coalition Backs New U.N. Gender Body
An international coalition of over 300 women's organisations and human rights groups, representing more than 50 countries, is lending its support to a proposal aimed at creating a strong new women's body at the United Nations.AFGHANISTAN: Long Drought Raises Spectre of Famine
The battle to contain the growing political and military turmoil in Afghanistan may be temporarily overshadowed by an impending threat to millions of people in that strife-torn country: food shortages and starvation.POLITICS: Form of New U.N. Women's Entity Still Nebulous
When a high-level panel of former political leaders and senior government officials released a study in late 2006 on ways to eliminate duplication and strengthen coordination among the U.N.'s myriad bodies, it also recommended the creation of a specialised agency for women aimed at consolidating gender-related activities under a single umbrella.POLITICS: Security Council Stalled Over Sudan Indictment
The political controversy that followed the indictment of Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir for war crimes in Darfur is expected to pick up steam once again with the arrival of an African Union (AU) delegation to press its case before the Security Council.POLITICS: Near Miss Renews U.N. Interest in Asteroid Defence
As the United Nations grapples with global problems related to collapsing economies, rising poverty and the devastating impact of climate change, there is apparently a new threat looming over Earth: plummeting asteroids.
Q&A: Water Crisis Could Affect Billions
The United Nations has warned that about half the world's population - over three billion people by today's count - may suffer water shortages by the year 2025.POLITICS: Legitimacy of Global Court Questioned Over Sudan
The ongoing political crisis in Sudan is expected to worsen in the face of a rash of threats and warnings following the indictment last week of President Omar Hassan al-Bashir by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague.DEVELOPMENT: Financial Crisis Threatens Women’s Meagre Gains
The spreading global financial crisis - which has taken a heavy toll of international bankers, investors and speculators - is also having a devastating impact on some of the most vulnerable and marginalised groups in society, including women and children.LABOUR: Women’s Household Chores Unpaid, Unrecognised
The 1983 Hollywood comedy 'Mr. Mom' portrayed the story of a laid-off auto-worker reluctantly forced to play the role of a housewife and homemaker after losing his job.RIGHTS: U.N. Flunking on Gender Empowerment, Women Say
The United Nations is coming under heavy fire for the lack of vibrant leadership and the continued absence of adequate structures to advance the long-touted cause of gender empowerment worldwide.
Q&A: Sanitation Crisis Runs Deep in Africa, Asia
As part of the International Year of Sanitation (IYS), the United Nations launched an aggressive campaign last year to fend off what it called a "silent global crisis": the woeful lack of adequate sanitation in the world's poorest countries.POLITICS: Afghanistan, the Next U.S. Quagmire?
The United States is planning to send an additional 17,000 troops to one of the world's most battle-scarred nations - Afghanistan - long described as "a graveyard of empires".« 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
