Active Citizens

Mozambique’s “People from Germany” Wait Decades for Salaries

By Louise Sherwood
Every Wednesday at 11.00am José Alfredo Cossa unfurls his East German flag and leads a march of around 150 men and women down the main streets of Maputo, Mozambique’s capital. In a struggle for justice that has been going on for more than 20 years this group, known as the “Magermans”, represent the 16,000 to 20,000 Mozambicans who were sent to the former East Germany in the early 1980s to work and serve their country.

Crisis Sows Community Gardens in Spain

By Inés Benítez
The economic crisis is fuelling the search for less individualistic ways of life in Spain, and a growing interest in urban agriculture has given rise to flourishing community gardens on vacant lots in cities and towns.

Q&A: “Social Unrest Can Be a Creative Force”

By Gustavo Capdevila
Social unrest and demands for change are not a negative thing during times of crisis like today, says Rubens Ricupero, a Brazilian diplomat and thinker.
Heads of the Group of 20 (G20) major economies meet at this year's summit in Cannes, France. Credit: UN Photo/Evan Schneider

G20: Final Push for Financial Transactions Tax

By Cléo Fatoorehchi
While the Greek bailout and stimulus package dominated discussion among the Group of 20 (G20) major industrialised and emerging market economies at the high-level summit in Cannes, France, this week, the proposed financial transactions tax (FTT) received meagre attention.

U.S.: CIA-NYPD Alliance = Systematic Racial Profiling

By Kanya D'Almeida
While some Muslim Americans might have been hoping for a relaxation of the decade-long counterterrorism onslaught on the tenth anniversary of 9/11, a report published by the Associated Press - unearthing new and shocking realities on the extent of intelligence-gathering operations in New York City - suggests that the offensive on "terror" is only just beginning.
Gaza women demonstrate to demand release of their loved ones in prison in Israel. Credit: Mohammed Omer/IPS.

MIDEAST: In Prison, and Denied Education

By Mohammed Omer
Access to education for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails is getting worse as international organisations remain unwilling or unable to intervene. Secondary- school students here completed their exams in June, and received their results by end of July. However, the 1,800 Palestinian prisoners who were supposed to complete their exams were not permitted to do so by the Israeli Prison Service.
Children at work in Zintan in Libya

LIBYA: Where Resistance to Gaddafi Runs High

By Karlos Zurutuza
Recent victories in Libya’s western mountains have led to a brief reprieve from violence and local fighters and civilians are slowly trying to piece their lives back together.

Between Libya and the Deep Sea

By Simba Shani Kamaria Russeau
NATO’s five-month bombing campaign in Libya, run under the guise of protecting civilians, is also killing victims fleeing the conflict, directly and indirectly.

TURKEY: Resignations Herald the Demilitarisation of Politics

By Jay Cassano
The simultaneous resignations of Turkey's top military brass last week indicates that the civilian government may finally have more sway over politics than the top generals, according to analysts and activists.

Civil Society Unifies Position Ahead of Aid Summit

By Irwin Loy
Civil society groups say they want to have a stronger voice in setting the development agenda ahead of a key global summit on aid effectiveness later this year.

Developing Countries Pledging More Emissions Cuts Than Industrial North

By Stephen Leahy
Negotiations over a new international climate agreement are on the brink as new analyses show that carbon emission reduction promises by industrialised nations are actually lower than those made by China, India, Brazil and other developing nations. Even with all the promises or pledges added together they are still far short of cuts needed to prevent global temperatures from rising two degrees Celsius, experts reported here.

ICC Urged to Accept ‘Ecocide’ as an International Crime

By IPS Correspondents
Images of the immense, dark stain of oil covering the waters of the Gulf of Mexico made their way across the globe last year as one of the largest oil spills in history unfolded. Other images - of the ‘Great Pacific Garbage Patch’, a gigantic pile of litter floating in the North Pacific Ocean; of countless felled trees in the Amazon; of tar sands in Canada - have gained much fewer headlines, but are likely to remain as monuments to the price tag of wanton human appetites.

Climate Regulatory Gap Could Result After 2012 Kyoto Expiration

By Julio Godoy
The growing awareness that the ongoing U.N. climate change talks here won't deliver a treaty to extend the international governance regime on reducing greenhouse gas emissions after 2012, is driving environmental experts to foster alternative solutions to global warming.

PAKISTAN: Women Shield Children From Extremism

By Mehru Jaffer
When Farah’s 16-year-old son began to disappear for several nights a week without saying where he went, she was naturally worried. After he returned one day and shattered the television screen in their Peshawar home, the mother of three decided it was time to quit her job as a teacher and to find out what was making her youngest child so angry.

EUROPE: Turkish election campaign enters final hours

By Correspondents
The leaders of Turkey's political parties have staged their final rallies before the country goes to the polls on Sunday in parliamentary elections with crucial consequences for the nation's future.

BELARUS: Despite Crackdown, Opposition is Defiant

By IPS Correspondents
President Alexander Lukashenko has locked most of his rivals in jail, but the Belarus opposition continues to work diligently to isolate the dictator.

Germany to Boost Renewables

By Julio Godoy
The decision by the German government of Chancellor Angela Merkel to phase out nuclear power by 2022 will increase efficiency in the use of energy, boost investment and accelerate technical progress in renewable energy sources, and promote international energy cooperation, according to numerous experts.

SOUTHERN AFRICA: Little ‘Extraordinary’ About Latest SADC Summit

By Servaas van den Bosch
Inaction marked the Extraordinary Summit of Southern African Development Community heads of state in Windhoek this weekend, despite an agenda covering Zimbabwe elections, political deadlock in Madagascar, the suspension of the regional court and allegations of corruption within SADC itself.

WORLD: Better Global and Local Governance Keys for LDCs

By IPS Correspondents
The world’s poorest citizens must struggle for more democratic governance and demand that their leaders fulfill their duties and responsibilities if their countries are to graduate from the group of 48 least developed countries, say civil society representatives.

AFRICA: Coalition Against the High Cost of Living

By Miriam Gathigah
In Burkina Faso, Niger, Kenya, Uganda: governments are worried by soaring prices - and by newly confident and enraged civil society. Governments are being challenged to take decisive action, despite lacking the tools to address rising global oil prices. Their responses could have important consequences for their legitimacy and survival.
Sierra Leoneans want to see local govt take an active role on services like providing water. Credit: Anna Jeffreys/IRIN

SIERRA LEONE: Growing Pains for Local Councils

By Mohamed Fofanah
He was all over the place during the 2008 local council election campaign, but no one's seen the councillor since he won his seat, says Freetown journalist Ismael Bakarr. "He just disappeared."
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