Alternative Media Fights Back in Argentina

Sustained by editors and readers convinced that another kind of communication is possible, independent magazines are growing and strengthening in Argentina, offering a view different from the mainstream media coverage of political, cultural and advocacy issues.

Morphine Kills Pain but its Price Kills Patients

It took Gily Ncube’s daughters two weeks to sell enough chickens to raise the 18 dollars needed to buy the morphine tablets their mother takes every four hours.

Netanyahu Suffers From Being Too Popular

“We feel like we finally live a normal life in a normal country,” marvelled a popular radio host. Normalcy – this rare appreciation by Israelis of the privilege to indulge in small talk about the stormy weather that’s wreaked the whole region – is so abnormal here.

Fighting for a Future in Rio’s Toughest Neighbourhoods

Teachers at a local primary school here, the Escola Municipal IV Centenário, are trained to help their pupils find cover in case of gun battles.

Slum Dwellers Say “No” to Blood Money

With less than two months before Kenyans head to the polls for what is shaping up to be the most competitive and polarised general election in the country’s history, many fear that this East African country of over 40 million has not seen the last of electoral violence.

Brazil Measures Rain Against Dengue

Mosquitoes that transmit dengue fever need clean, still water and warm night temperatures to reproduce and thrive. That is common knowledge, but now scientists in Brazil have managed to measure the relation between increased rainfall and temperatures and the risk of dengue epidemics in this city.

Government “Continuity” Winning Over in Venezuela

While Hugo Chávez is being treated for serious illness in Havana, the premise of government “continuity” is winning out in his home country, along with plans to postpone his swearing-in ceremony for a new term as president of Venezuela, due to take place on Thursday Jan. 10.

Cuban Sugar Sector Aims for Recovery in 2013

The Cuban sugar industry seems to be experiencing a rebirth thanks to an economic modernisation programme that has allowed for an injection of foreign capital as part of a strategy to strengthen and diversify this key sector.

Historic Mapuche Land Conflict Flares Up

A string of attacks in the southern Chilean region of Araucanía, where native Mapuche people are struggling for their land rights, puts the spotlight squarely on what analysts call the “supine ignorance” displayed by authorities about the country’s history.

OPED – Gun Control: Better Late Than Never

Millions across the country, still reeling from the worst mass shooting in the country’s history that killed 20 school children, just 6 years old, and six teachers, are hoping that 2013 may turn up to be a landmark year that Washington lawmakers pass meaningful legislation to curb the culture of gun violence in America.

Groups Decry Obama’s Failure to Close Guantanamo

Human rights groups are denouncing President Barack Obama’s failure to veto a defence bill that will make it far more difficult for him to fulfill his four-year-old pledge to close the Guantanamo detention facility this year.

Paediatricians for a Healthy Environment

A group of Argentine paediatricians has been combining work on environmental protection and child health for more than 10 years. It appears a basic principle to apply, but the task is turning out to be increasingly challenging and complex.

Controversial Anti-TB Drug Approved in U.S.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the sector’s primary regulator, has given accelerated approval to a controversial new drug for use by patients suffering from forms of tuberculosis that have proven resistant to other medicines.

The Rise of Ethiopia’s Sole Rebels

Innovative Ethiopian footwear manufacturer Sole Rebels will open its second retail outlet in Taiwan this year. With ambitions to open 30 more franchise stores across the world in countries like the United States, Australia, Italy and Japan, Sole Rebels, the largest African footwear brand, is now fast becoming a global competitive brand.

General Assembly Votes to Ban Female Genital Mutilation

The international NGO Coalition to Ban Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) held a press conference Thursday to celebrate the adoption of the recent General Assembly resolution “Intensifying Global Efforts for the Elimination of Female Genital Mutilation.”

Full List of Recent Actions by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (Credit: EPA)

Emotional Creatures Around the World

‘‘I am sixteen. I am owned by them. They do what they want. Sometimes they refuse to use condoms. If we refuse them, we are beaten,’’ said Molly Carden who portrayed a girl who tells of being sex trafficked in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Migrant Movement Linked to Population Growth

Sally and I wanted to respond to your excellent piece on migration, which you certainly correctly identify as a "political hot potato" . https://www.ipsnews.net/2012/12/despite-crises-migration-still-a-political-hot-potato/

Migrant women as sources of change, decisions and progress

Commemorating International Migration Day, the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) organised a workshop which centralised the “effects of migration on the education and empowerment of women.”  The workshop was organised in collaboration with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

Social Media & Political Participation: Setting a Democratic Agenda

“To engage with emerging forms of civic behaviour, governments need to adopt strategies and use technologies that respond to citizens’ demands,” said Massimo Tommasoli, Permanent Observer for the  Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA)  at a workshop Monday on “Social Media and Democratic Governance.” The meeting was co-organised by the New York office of the UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) and Estoril Conferences.

Frolic Barefoot, But Don’t Leave a Carbon Footprint

As the world’s most tourism-dependent region, with the sector accounting for one in every eight jobs, the Caribbean has much to fear from climate change.