Languages
Saturday, May 2, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
Active Citizens
SRI LANKA: War Long Over, Media Still Muzzled
It has been two years since the end of Sri Lanka’s decades long war, and life in general has begun to slowly edge back towards normalcy here. Not so for the country’s besieged media community, according to observers and journalists alike - reporting still feels hemmed in and muzzled, they say.The Royal Are More Royal Outside Britain
Quite a treat Britain has on offer for the world these days. Or who would ever have been talking - in this day and age - about a prince and princess riding in splendour into a world of pageboys and palaces.
SIERRA LEONE: Renewed Commitment to Local Government
The re-establishment of local councils in Sierra Leone in 2004 was intended to give people a greater voice in their government, reversing long years of marginalisation for rural districts in particular. But nearly seven years later, it has still not been fully implemented. A local NGO, Campaign for the Voiceless, is working to strengthen the performance of this most accessible tier of government.ZAMBIA: Constitutional Baby Out With the Bathwater
After two commissions and close to a decade of consultations, Zambia's constitutional redrafting process crashed when the new constitution failed to win parliamentary approval. Politicians, civil society and ordinary citizens seem uncertain whether to laugh or cry.
TAIWAN: Opposition Urges Nuclear Phase-out By 2025
Opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairwoman and former Vice Premier Tsai Ing-wen have announced a proposal for a "2025 Non-Nuclear Home Plan" that would allow Taiwan to eliminate reliance on nuclear power by the end of 2025.
PAKISTAN: And Then There Was Light
Hasan Ibrahim’s tea stall is the busiest place in the sleepy, sand-dune covered village of Sholani, proof of the economic and social change the arrival of electricity has ushered in.
INDIA: EU Trade Deal May Curb Affordable Drug Supply
As India prepares to seal a sweeping trade and investment deal with the European Union (EU) in April, civil society groups are campaigning to limit the agreement's repercussions within the local generic drug industry here upon which millions of people around the globe depend.
ZAMBIA: Young Voters Push Grassroots Issues to the Fore
Concina Haajila was only a year old in 1991 when Zambia turned from 27 years of autocracy and dictatorship to political pluralism and democratic governance. During the past 20 years she and millions of her peers have grown to adulthood and become disenchanted with the politics of their nation which have swung from an issue base to hero worship and personal purse enlargement.CHINA: Sympathy for Japan Drowns Out Historic Hate
Despite deep historic tensions between the two Asian powers, a surge of sympathy has emerged among Chinese toward victims of last week’s earthquake and resulting tsunami in northern Japan, which has left an estimated 10,000 dead or missing.Malawi Donor Funding Threatened by Rights, Governance Issues
Malawi is bracing itself for difficult economic times following a decision by the country’s main donors to withhold financial aid amounting to $400 million. Donors say they are responding to a range of governance and human rights issues in the country.
TAIWAN: Public Demands Safety Review of New Reactor
The unfolding disaster at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant has reignited debate over Taiwan’s own nuclear power programme and the controversy over continuing construction of a fourth nuclear facility here.
CAMBODIA: Botched World Bank Project Leads to Thousands of Evictions
The World Bank botched the handling of an ambitious multi-million-dollar land- titling project in Cambodia and has done little to protect thousands of people in a lakeside slum from eviction.Japan’s Nuclear Nightmare Triggers Fears in France
Until the nuclear crisis started unfolding in Japan last week, most French citizens did not doubt that the country's 58 nuclear reactors were safe enough to continue operating for scores of years to come.
INDIA: Tech to the Rescue of School Lunch Model
Surrounded by lush green wheat and yellow flowering mustard fields at Ekdanta primary school, it is noon and the 57 children in two combined classes are fidgety - impatient for the school served midday meal.Sri Lanka: NGOs Face Funding Gap and Government Scrutiny
Lack of donor funding, state phobia against western NGOs, and restrictive work permits for foreign aid workers have together hit the operations of several dozen Sri Lankan NGOs and their foreign counterparts.Japan Atomic Woes Trigger Policy Review in Germany
The unfolding nuclear catastrophe in Japan, triggered by last Friday's massive earthquake and tsunami, followed by a chain of explosions in atomic power plants, has forced the German government to rethink its own nuclear energy policy.Japan Bracing For Nuclear Meltdown
Desperate efforts by the government to avoid the looming nightmare of a nuclear meltdown in tsunami damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plants, 240 kilometres north of Tokyo, have brought no relief to the public who face the possibility of another explosion that could spew deadly radiation across the country.INDIA: Japan Quake Focuses Anti-Nuclear Message
Anti-nuclear campaigners in India see the earthquake that hit Japan last week, which threatens the meltdown of the Fukushima atomic power facility there, as a wakeup call for this country’s ambitious nuclear power programme.WOMEN’S DAY: Without Grassroots, the Tree Will Not Stand
Women from grassroots organisations all across the globe arrived in New York this week for a five-day summit dedicated to bolstering female and community- based representation at all levels of political decision making.Save Climate and Double Food Production With Eco-Farming
Eco-farming could double food production in entire regions within 10 years while mitigating climate change, according to a new U.N. report released Tuesday in Geneva.US: Fundamentalist Protest Is Protected
In a contentious free speech case, the nation’s highest court has ruled that the right of a fundamentalist church group to protest at military funerals is protected by the First Amendment free speech clause of the constitution when the protest takes place in public and addresses issues of public concern.« Previous Page — Next Page »
Active citizens are committed to social change because they know that it is achievable. Yet, for most Africans, 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 using evidence based approaches - funded by DFID's Governance and Transparency Fund - seeks to raise their voices. Through its 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.
The Week with IPS
NEXT STOP - SDGs
Tracking global progress towards a sustainable world
Tracking global progress towards a sustainable world
