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Friday, May 13, 2016

The Week With IPS


Progress of The World’s Least Developed Countries to be Reviewed
Aruna Dutt
The United Nations will undertake a major review of progress made in the world’s 48 Least Developed Countries (LDCs) later this month. “Many positive steps have been made by the world’s most vulnerable countries, demonstrating what they can do with the right support, but much more needs to ... MORE > >

Economic Failings Lead to Impeachment of Another Economist in Brazil
Mario Osava
Ironically, the only two economists who have served as president of Brazil are also the only ones impeached for economic failures. Dilma Rousseff, in office since January 2011, was suspended by a vote of 55 to 22 in the Senate on the morning of Thursday, May 12 after a marathon 21-hour ... MORE > >

Raising Walls Against the Sea
Rafiqul Islam
Facing the bleak prospect of millions of its citizens being displaced in coming years due to storms and sea level rise caused by climate change, Bangladesh is building up existing coastal embankments in a bid to protect coastal lands and people. Last November, the Bangladesh Water ... MORE > >

Deadly Algal Bloom Triggers Social Uprising in Southern Chile
Orlando Milesi and Marianela Jarroud
A ban on harvesting shellfish in Chiloé due to a severe red tide outbreak sparked a social uprising that has partially isolated thousands of local residents of the southern Chilean archipelago and revived criticism of an export model that condemns small-scale fishing communities to poverty and ... MORE > >

Breastfeeding Saves Lives But Can't Compete With Agressive Marketing
Lyndal Rowlands
Despite its many lifesaving benefits breastfeeding still struggles to compete with the marketing used by the multi-billion dollar baby formula industry, according to a new report published this week. “Aggressive and inappropriate marketing of breast-milk substitutes, and other food products ... MORE > >

OPINION: Greece, the Punching Ball of Germany
Roberto Savio
Greece is again in the media, because a new negotiation is due between the embattled country and its creditors. The North-South divide of Europe is coming back with force (while the East-West relationship is increasingly looking as beyond repair). The German minister of Finance, Wolfgang Schäuble , ... MORE > >

Widening the STI Net for Implementation of the Sustainable Development Agenda
Shamshad Akhtar
Investment in science, technology and innovation (STI) needs to be the backbone of productivity-led economic recovery and sustainable development. Despite significant increases in productivity over the past few decades, economic growth in developing economies of Asia and the Pacific has been ... MORE > >

Nobel Laureates Join Forces for Food Security and Stability
Maddie Felts and Robert Williamson-Noble
"Where food security can be a force for stability, we have to look to food and agriculture as pathways to peace and security. This is a great challenge, but one that we can meet together as we embark on achieving the 2030 Development Agenda." These were the words of FAO Director-General José ... MORE > >

Biomass Could Help Power Africa’s Energy Transition
Wambi Michael
As fuel, firewood remains the dominant source of energy in Uganda. It has a long history of being unsustainably harvested, leading to severe depletion of the country’s forest cover. But with new technology, biomass is now cleaning up its act. Scientists and energy advocates have found ways of ... MORE > >

Kenyan Refugee Camp Closures will have Disastrous Consequences
Tharanga Yakupitiyage
The Kenyan government's decision to close its refugee camps will have disastrous consequences and must be reconsidered, international organisations have stated. At the end of last week, the Kenyan government announced that the “hosting of refugees has to come to an end”, citing economic, ... MORE > >

MSF Withdrawal Part of Ongoing Debate Over Humanitarian Aid
Tharanga Yakupitiyage
Aid organisations have differing views about the upcoming World Humanitarian Summit, after Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) pulled out last week some still hope the Summit will help bring about much needed change. There is little doubt that the world's humanitarian system is over-burdened as a ... MORE > >

No Farmers, No Food — True But Not Enough
Evelyn Nguleka
Agriculture is the primary sector of all economies. It is the sector responsible for granting food and nutrition security to all human beings. Consequently it is responsible for social stability and health. And it provides work opportunities to families, men, women and youth, and largely ... MORE > >

Mexico Needs to Improve Control of Toxic Chemicals
Emilio Godoy
A recent explosion at a petrochemical plant in southeast Mexico highlighted the need to strengthen monitoring of hazardous substances, step up inspections of factories and update regulations in this country. The Apr. 20 blast at the Clorados III plant in the Pajaritos Petrochemical Complex in ... MORE > >

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