TerraViva Europe

Libya Fights Increased Drug Trafficking

By Maryline Dumas
In Libya, a dose of LSD or the painkiller tramadol costs 78 cents, and a joint of cannabis is 7.80 dollars. Here, drugs are affordable to the poor for a simple reason. “Slashing prices is a way to create demand and open up a market,” a Western diplomat tells IPS in Tripoli, the capital.

For Climate Action, 2013 “Good as It’ll Get”: Nicholas Stern

By Carey L. Biron
A confluence of factors could make 2013 the most fruitful opportunity in years – and for years – for potentially major action on climate change, according to a leading voice on climate change policy, the British economist Nicholas Stern.

Tajikistan Government Critic Missing for Two Weeks

By EurasiaNet Correspondents
Early on Mar. 15, a 58-year-old man put on his tracksuit and left home in Qurghonteppa, a 90-minute drive south of Dushanbe, Tajikistan’s capital. Morning exercise was a regular part of his routine, says Amnesty International.

Beitbridge Still Counting the Cost of Floods

By Ish Mafundikwa
The Beitbridge area in southern Zimbabwe was hit by serious flooding earlier this year. Those affected are still trying to get back on their feet.

Laughter Heals in Cuban Hospitals

By Ivet González
Three-year-old Yanaghy García has been in the William Soler Children's Hospital, in the Cuban capital, for a month. He suffers from epilepsy, but he forgets about it all for a while and smiles at the antics of Mantequilla, a clown.

Building a Better Somali Region

By William Lloyd-George
For over two decades Somali Region, in eastern Ethiopia, has been devastated by a grueling insurgency. Trapped in a time warp, it has been forgotten and underdeveloped. But in the last few years, thanks to the increased security here, a five-star hotel, eco-tourism ventures and even a large abattoir are being built by the former diaspora community.

Escalating Korea Crisis Dims Hopes for Denuclearisation

By Jim Lobe
With all sides seeming to climb further up the escalatory ladder over the last several days, defusing the ongoing crisis on the Korean Peninsula -- let alone persuading Pyongyang to give up its nuclear arsenal as it once promised to do -- looks daunting.

Venezuela’s Elections Crucial to Latin American Left

By Humberto Márquez
The São Paulo Forum, which groups leftist political parties and organisations of Latin America and the Caribbean, sees a victory by Venezuela’s acting President Nicolás Maduro in the Apr. 14 elections as key to the future of the left in the region, and to “containing the right”.

U.N. Greenlights Long-Awaited Arms Trade Treaty

By George Gao
For many in the international community, the iconic sculpture outside the U.N. Visitors’ Centre appears more prominent today, as the majority of member states tightened its knot by adopting the first ever Arms Trade Treaty (ATT).

Veto Returns to Haunt Big Powers in Arms Trade Treaty

By Thalif Deen
When the United Nations set out to draft a politically-sensitive Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), ever since negotiations began in 2006, member states agreed to take the final decision by "consensus".

Lebanon in a ‘Civil War’ Over Wages

By Zak Brophy
The surprise resignation of Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nijab Mikati eclipsed his last major manoeuvre, which was to refer to parliament a highly contentious wage scale hike for the public sector. Teachers and staff across the public sector started an open strike on Feb. 20 when then prime minister Nijab Mikati failed to send the wage scale policy - which had previously been agreed upon by the cabinet - to the parliament for vote.

Border Control by Another Name

By Claudia Ciobanu
Crossing the Belgian-German border in the heart of Europe should be a smooth experience, with no border controls, since the Schengen free movement area came into existence. Yet identity checks at this border and others inside Schengen are not uncommon, despite the contorted logic applied to prove their legality.

Yemen Struggles With Past Crimes

By Rebecca Murray
Yemen has launched its six-month National Dialogue but creating a just law is proving a formidable task.

Refugees of Libyan War Protest at World Social Forum

By Alberto Pradilla
“We need a solution. The U.N. has created the problem, and they should do their work and fix it,” says Bright, a young Nigerian stuck in the Choucha refugee camp in Tunisia, a few kilometres from the Libyan border.

Acid Victims Have a Lot to Undo

By Sujoy Dhar
Her face covered with a maroon  scarf and with large old -fashioned goggles hiding her eyes, Sonali Mukherjee lived one of the most cherished moments of her life when she earned a jackpot on a show hosted by Indian film star Amitabh Bachchan.

The Siege Is Rubbish

By Eva Bartlett
“For the past five years we’ve collected garbage by traditional means: donkey and cart,” says Abdel Rahem Abulkumboz, director of health and environment at the Municipality of Gaza. The municipality of Gaza alone produces 700 tons of waste daily, Kumboz says. More than half of this waste is collected daily by 250 donkey carts.

Women Make Flowers Pay

By Catherine Wilson
In Honiara, capital of the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific, women are taking the lead in developing a burgeoning floriculture industry. At the same time, their enterprise is contributing to community resilience as rapid urbanisation exceeds employment opportunities and challenges the economic wellbeing of many urban families.

Pope Francis Takes Over Sexophobic Church

By Mario Osava
Jorge Bergoglio begins his papacy as Francis I facing the challenge of a Catholic Church caught up in a burdensome contradiction with modern society, because of its negative attitude to sexuality and women.

Mexico, Strong on Human Rights Abroad, Not at Home

By Daniela Pastrana
Mexico has been a prominent defender of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in the battle being waged by some members of the Organisation of American States to curb its authority.

U.S. Unveils Major New Proposal to Cut Vehicle Emissions

By Carey L. Biron
Environmentalists and public health advocates are lauding a key, long-awaited proposal put forward by President Barack Obama’s administration that would require cleaner gasoline and more effective technologies on vehicles, cutting various harmful emissions by 40 to 80 percent.

Arab Spring Shifts Focus of World Social Forum

By Alberto Pradilla
The World Social Forum’s traditional focus on economic, political and social injustice caused by globalisation shifted towards the revolts and unrest of the Arab Spring, in the current edition of the global gathering in Tunisia.
« Previous Page — Next Page »
*#*