The Week with IPS

	A Nation Chewing Itself to Death Cam McGrath The Yemeni capital of Sanaa is reputed to be over 2,500 years old, making it one of the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world. But it is living on borrowed time. Economists warn that if poverty trends continue, by 2030 more than half of the Sanaa’s projected four million inhabitants ... MORE > >
	Cyber Bullies Target Kenya’s Women David Njagi For a seasoned politician like Kenya’s Rachael Shebesh, few things hold her back from rallying for women’s rights. But when it comes to furthering her platform on social media - it is the one thing that this Nairobi County women’s representative avoids. Like all women hooked on technology here, ... MORE > >
	Nowhere to Come In From the Cold Ashfaq Yusufzai As the temperature dips to zero degrees Celsius, a chill has set into the lives of people like 44-year-old Rasool Khan at the Jalozai camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Pakistan. Huddled in tiny tents, with just a plastic sheet over their heads and no heat, they pass sleepless nights ... MORE > >
	U.S. Sanctions Closing Doors to Iranian Students Bryant Harris Even as the United States and European Union begin to lift some sanctions on Iran, U.S. law continues to prohibit some businesses that provide non-controversial services, such as online education, from operating in Iran and other countries. Coursera, a California-based company that works with ... MORE > >
Pacific Nations Need Help Away From Aid Catherine Wilson Long-term dependence on development aid in Pacific Island nations, many of which have been independent for 30-40 years, continues to cause concern. The World Bank reports that overseas development assistance (ODA) to the region amounts to 469 dollars per capita, compared to 64 dollars in ... MORE > >
	Nile Delta Disappearing Beneath the Sea Cam McGrath It only takes a light covering of seawater to render land infertile, so Mohamed Saeed keeps a close watch on the sea as it advances year after year towards his two-hectare plot of land. The young farmer, whose clover field lies just 400 metres from Egypt's northern coast, reckons he has less than a ... MORE > >
	Caribbean Walks the Talk on Clean Energy Policy Desmond Brown Despite having an abundance of wind and sunshine, Caribbean countries have found that going green is requiring significant shifts in policy, and most importantly, significant financing. But despite these challenges, they are not daunted. Barbados, for instance, which spends an estimated 400 ... MORE > >
	Moroccan Women Porters – Heroism and Hardship on the Border Inés Benítez Before sunrise, a Moroccan woman waits her turn at the pedestrian border control separating her country from the Spanish city of Melilla. Hours later she crosses over, takes up an 80-kilo bundle of merchandise and carries it back to her country, for a payment of less than six dollars. Every day ... MORE > >
	Political Duels Collapse Into Sexist Squabbles Marwaan Macan-Markar Supaa Prordeengam, a 48-year-old businesswoman, came to take part in the anti-government rallies that have been continuing in the Thai capital for nearly three months now. But disturbed by the sexist speeches emanating from the protest platforms, she said, “We need to be critical, not invade ... MORE > >
	New Writing on a School Wall Pierre Klochendler Welcome to Bridge Over the Wadi primary school, one of five bi-national schools under the "Hand-in-Hand" initiative of the Centre of Jewish-Arab Education in Israel. The centre strives to bring children from both communities to learn together in Hebrew and Arabic in the hope that they’ll bridge the ... MORE > >
	South Sudan's Ceasefire Far from Conclusive Jacey Fortin When representatives of the warring factions of South Sudan signed an agreement to end hostilities at a luxury hotel in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on Thursday, Jan, 23, fervent applause and some high-pitched ululations erupted from the audience. The cessation of hostilities called for both sides ... MORE > >
	When the Suicide Pilots Said Goodbye Suvendrini Kakuchi They were known as the Kamikaze who swooped down on enemy ships with their bomb-laden planes – with the pilots inside. A museum here is now planning to register the last letters of Japan’s famed World War II suicide bombers as a Unesco Memory of the World document. The museum is calling these ... MORE > >
	Ukraine Crackdown Hits Fight Against AIDS Pavol Stracansky Groups battling one of the world’s worst HIV/AIDS epidemics say their task may get “catastrophically” harder following the introduction of controversial laws in Ukraine in response to months of anti-government protests. Among legislation introduced this week – dubbed a “charter for oppression” ... MORE > >
	Swiss Spring for Syrian Refugees Passes Ray Smith Switzerland facilitated family reunification for Syrians in September. So far, more than 1,100 Syrian refugees have benefited from the programme, while thousands are waiting at Swiss embassies in the region, hoping for a similar chance. Surprised by these numbers, Switzerland put an end to the ... MORE > >
	South Sudan’s Ceasefire Brings Hope For Half a Million Displaced Andrew Green The overwhelming job of providing relief to the more than half a million displaced and wounded in South Sudan may have gotten a little easier with the signing of a ceasefire agreement last night in Addis Ababa, which is set to go into effect today. The government and rebel groups, who have ... MORE > >
	Kenya’s Scorched Earth Removal of Forest’s Indigenous Matthew Newsome Kenyan government security forces are forcefully evicting thousands of people, including the indigenous Sengwer tribe, from the Embobut forest in western Kenya by burning homes and possessions in an effort to promote forest conservation, safeguard urban water access and “remove squatters”. “The ... MORE > >