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Wednesday, November 11, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
Active Citizens
CIS-HEALTH: AIDS Scare Has Countries Wringing Hands
Nations of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), once considered relatively secure from the full scourge of AIDS, are suddenly waking up to the nightmare of its devastating presence.UKRAINE: ‘Chain Reaction’ in Chernobyl Sarcophagus Causes Concern
Ukrainian environment chief Yuri Kostenko is pressing for a new sarcophagus around Chernobyl's crippled Reactor IV after monitors traced sub-atomic activity inside the present shell that could indicate the start of a nuclear chain reaction.RUSSIA: Banning The ‘Bomzh’ – Moscow Mayor’s War On The Homeless
Billing it as a bid to fight crime in the city, Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov wants to launch an unprecedented programme of mass deportations of homeless, defying the anger of human rights groups and the plight of the victims themselves.HUMAN RIGHTS: Council Of Europe Challenge To Russia Rebuffed
The Council of Europe's right to challenge Russia's human rights record in Chechnya was tested to near breaking point Monday, as the Council's Parliamentary Assembly failed in its bid to meet the leader of the breakaway republic.RUSSIA-CHECHNYA: Debate Goes on About Lebed’s Peace Deal
The hostile and cynical reactions to a peace deal signed Aug. 31 by Russian National Security Secretary Alexander Lebed and guerrillas seeking secession for the republic of Chechnya, indicate the conflict may be over but the outlook is uncertain.RUSSIA: Debate over Yeltsin’s Stand-in
Debate is raging over what will happen to the levers of Russian power during the month President Boris Yeltsin is expected to be out of action recuperating from heart surgery.RUSSIA-CHECHNYA: Lebed Back In Grozny To Patch Up The Peace
Russian national security chief Alexander Lebed was back in breakaway Chechnya Thursday, the eve of the fifth anniversary of its bid for independence, while at home political forces continued to undermine his fragile peace initiative.RUSSIA-ENERGY: Some Nuclear Plants said on Brink of Closure
A financial crisis is threatening operations at some of Russia's nine nuclear power stations, causing an "extremely tense and dangerous situation", according to trade union leaders.UKRAINE-LABOUR: Mine Leader’s Arrest Could Trigger More Strikes
The trade unionist who led a strike of workers in Ukraine's coal industry last month is facing the prospect of a long prison term and fine.RUSSIA: Secret Death Toll of the Nuclear Submarines
More than 500 people have died in various accidents on Russian (and formerly Soviet) nuclear submarines since 1961 without any disclosure being made by the authorities, a Norwegian environmental group said.RUSSIA: I’m In Charge Here, Says Yeltsin, Coughing Loudly
The return of president Boris Yeltsin to the Kremlin and the reappearance of his smiling face on live TV here has not eased speculation that he is too ill to rule Russia, if not now, then certainly soon.RUSSIA: Moscow Leads the Field in Arms Sales to Developing World
Russian arms sales to the developing world grew by 62 percent in 1995 and reached six billion dollars, outpacing the United States, which sold 3.8 billion dollars in weapons, according to the U.S. Congressional Research Service.RUSSIA: Miners Ready For All-Out Indefinite Strike Aug. 25
Even as the Kremlin wrestles with the Chechen fiasco, a new political crisis brews that could prove to be just as disruptive -- a nationwide miners' strike threatened to start on Sunday, Aug. 25, Russia's traditional Miners' Day.RUSSIA-CHECHNYA: Lebed Asks – Who’s In Charge Here?
Russian national security chief Alexander Lebed left Moscow Wednesday to talk peace with Chechen rebels just hours before a scheduled Russian military blitz on the breakaway region, highlighting the conflict of policy surrounding the crisis.RUSSIA: Far East Faces Major Energy Crisis And Power Rationing
With energy shortages reaching catastrophic levels and an all-out miners' strike expected in a few days, Moscow officials have publicly reprimanded the governor of Russia's far eastern territory and given him a deadline to put things right.ENVIRONMENT-RUSSIA: Yeltsin’s Ecology Adviser Threatens To Resign
Alexei Yablokov, chairman of a top Russian presidential commission on ecological safety, has threatened to resign, alleging that environmental matters are being sidelined by the new administration and its all-powerful Security Council.RUSSIA-CHECHNYA: Lebed Takes Charge – Yeltsin Takes Holiday
Alexander Lebed's authority over talks with Chechen separatists was underlined Monday not only their rapid results but also by news that president Boris Yeltsin is to go on holiday shortly, leaving the ex-general in sole charge.RUSSIA-CHECHNYA: No Desire To Resolve Conflict By Political Means
As the recent outbreak of fighting in Chechnya shows, the Russian elections may be over, but the war is not and will not be any time soon.RUSSIA: All-Out Miners’ Strike Still Planned Despite Far East Deals
A general coal miners' strike will begin on Aug. 25 -- Miners' Day in Russia -- unless unpaid salaries from as long ago as last January are paid in full, says Russian Independent Miners' Union Chairman Vitaly Budko.RUSSIA: A New Nationalism For A New Russia
This Friday the 12th century bells of Moscow's Spassky Tower will once more ring out to herald a Russian leader. But this time they will play a new tune for re-elected president Boris Yeltsin.RUSSIA: Scientific ‘Brain Drain’ Now Running East To Asia
Russian scientists are heading east to Asia in search of better pay, taking their ideas and new product concepts with them -- and possibly giving Asian business a headstart in the commercial race for technological innovation.« Previous Page — Next Page »
Global Citizen Festival in New York. Credit: UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe
Active citizens are committed to social change because they know that it is achievable. However, major political challenges face active citizens across the world. For example, in authoritarian regimes in Latin America where the hegemonic party has been in power for decades on end, protestors and human rights activists face enormous repression and struggle to materialize their advocacy into concrete results. The same can be said for Africans, where a shift towards elected government in recent decades has yet to translate into an effective voice in decision-making. Now, the Strengthening Citizen Demand for Good Governance, which uses evidence-based approaches – funded by DFID's Governance and Transparency Fund – seeks to raise their voices.
In 2025, the CIVICUS Monitor’s People Power Under Attack report revealed that civic freedoms are severely limited in 122 of 198 countries and territories, and only 7.2% of the global population now lives in countries where civic space is open. Through partnership with the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) and CIVICUS, IPS reporters across the continent will seek to define the extent and limits of state capability, government accountability and the responsiveness of leaders to the needs of citizens.
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Tracking global progress towards a sustainable world
