The week with IPS 4/25

	India Finds Fishy Ways to Fight Malaria Stella Paul Thirteen-year-old Sampreeth Monteiro’s neighbours are suddenly taking his advice seriously. “Buy a Guppy fish, it will eat all the mosquito eggs in your house. You will not get malaria again.” Last month the St Aloysius’ high school in Mangalore city of southern India where Monteiro studies, ... MORE > >
	Zimbabwe’s Struggle to Formalise the Informal Tatenda Dewa Zimbabwe’s extensive informal sector could help boost government revenue if regularised, but this won’t happen unless the government creates incentives for the informal sector to register, economists say. “Formalisation of the informal sector would significantly improve revenue inflows through ... MORE > >
	U.S. Apache Delivery Highlights Mixed Messaging on Egypt Jasmin Ramsey Last October, the Barack Obama administration suspended the delivery of attack helicopters to Egypt’s interim government following the Jul. 2 military ouster of Egypt’s democratically elected president, Mohamed Morsi. “Delivery of these systems could resume pending Egypt’s progress toward an ... MORE > >
	Argentina’s Informal Economy Shrinks, But Not Fast Enough Fabiana Frayssinet At the age of 22, Franco finally landed his first job, although he is not on any payroll and receives no labour benefits. He is part of Argentina’s informal economy, where one out of three workers are employed – a proportion the government aims to reduce by means of a new law. Franco, who asked ... MORE > >
	Japan Seeks Foreign Workers, Uneasily Suvendrini Kakuchi Desperate for more workers to support a construction boom, Japan has proposed to expand its controversial foreign trainee programme to permit more unskilled labour from Asia to work in Japanese companies for five years from the current three years. The internship plan launched in 1993 invites ... MORE > >
	Culture Increasingly Unaffordable for Cubans Ivet González Standing in line for a concert at the Centro Cultural Fábrica de Arte, a cultural centre in the Cuban capital, Alexis Cruz anxiously checks his billfold, where he has the price of the ticket – 50 Cuban pesos (two dollars) - and three CUCs (equivalent to one dollar each) to buy something to ... MORE > >
	Bringing the Bridges Home Francesca Dziadek As foreign forces withdraw slowly from Afghanistan, they leave behind a vulnerable band of people who were their ears and guides on the ground. These people who served as interpreters, face a life of threats and uncertainties. Many have been killed. Increasingly, linguists, media professionals, ... MORE > >
	U.S.-Russia Sabre Rattling May Undermine Nuke Meeting Thalif Deen The growing tension between the United States and Russia over Ukraine has threatened to unravel one of the primary peace initiatives of the United Nations: nuclear disarmament. As they trade charges against each other, the world's two major nuclear powers have intensified their bickering - ... MORE > >
	Cuba’s Burgeoning Private Sector Hungry for Flora and Fauna Ivet González The lack of markets to supply raw materials for Cuba’s new private sector, along with the poverty in isolated rural communities, is fuelling the poaching of endangered species of flora and fauna. In 2010, the socialist government of Raúl Castro gave the green light to private enterprise in a ... MORE > >
	Imprisoning Themselves to Stay Safe Karlos Zurutuza "I don’t dare tell you who the murderers are but their target is just us, Turkmens," says Ahmed Abdulla Muhtaroglu, sitting by the portrait of his brother who was killed last year. IPS met Muhtaroglu in Tuz Khormato, a predominantly Turkmen district 170 km north of Baghdad. Iraqi Turkmens are ... MORE > >
	India’s Women Lose the Election Manipadma Jena “Men just do not want to give up their seats, it’s as simple as that,” says 67-year-old candidate in the Indian election Subhhasini Ali, voicing a gloomy view across women’s groups in India. Ali, a two-time member of Parliament and key functionary of the All India Democratic Women’s Association ... MORE > >
	Poland Uses Ukraine to Push Coal Claudia Ciobanu A European ‘energy union’ plan proposed by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk as an EU response to the crisis in Ukraine could be a Trojan horse for fossil fuels. On account of Poland’s proximity and deep historical ties to Ukraine, the country’s centre-right government led by Donald Tusk has ... MORE > >
	When Not To Go To School Ranjita Biswas In large parts of rural India, the absence of separate toilets for growing girls is taking a toll on their education. Many are unable to attend school during their menstrual cycle. According to the country’s Annual Status of Education Report in 2011, lack of access to toilets causes girls ... MORE > >
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