The Week With IPS 4/28/2017

2017/4/28	Click here for the online version of this IPS newsletter
	Multilateralism, Key Element in Promoting the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Alicia Bárcena The end of last year and the start of the current one were marked by major changes and enormous uncertainties, although there were also some notable advances and great opportunities, both at the global level and for Latin America and the Caribbean. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and ... MORE > >
	20 Million People Could ‘Starve to Death’ in Next Six Months Baher Kamal Urgent action is needed to save the lives of people facing famine in North Eastern Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen, the UN leading food and agriculture agency’s chief on April 28 warned. "If nothing is done, some 20 million people could starve to death in the next six months." ... MORE > >
	Marching for a Green and Just Future Tharanga Yakupitiyage People around the world will be banding together to fight one of the world’s most pressing problems: climate change. Thousands are set to gather at the People’s Climate March in Washington, D.C. on 29 April to mark the 100th day of President Donald Trump’s administration and push for solutions ... MORE > >
	FEATURED VIDEO: Harnessing the Eco Superpowers of Bamboo Desmond Brown The bamboo plant can be found in abundance in several Caribbean countries, but the director of the International Network for Bamboo and Rattan (INBAR), Dr. Hans Friederich, says its importance in dealing with climate change has been missed by many of these countries. “Bamboo and rattan, to a ... MORE > >
	Indigenous Women: The Frontline Protectors of the Environment Tharanga Yakupitiyage Indigenous women, while experiencing the first and worst effects of climate change globally, are often in the frontline in struggles to protect the environment. A forum organized by the Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN) brought together indigenous women from around the world to ... MORE > >
	Informal Labour, Another Wall Faced by Migrants in Latin America Fabiana Frayssinet A large proportion of the 4.3 million migrant workers in Latin America and the Caribbean survive by working in the informal economy or in irregular conditions. An invisible wall that is necessary to bring down, together with discrimination and xenophobia. “Looking for work is just one of the ... MORE > >
	IPS Journalists Who Perished in the Line of Duty Thalif Deen In the politically-risky world of professional journalism, news reporters are fast becoming an endangered species. The numbers are staggering: some 1,236 journalists have been killed since 1992, according to the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). In 2016 alone, 48 ... MORE > >
	Double standards: Do all journalist lives matter? Shafik Mandhai Taha avoids giving his last name to journalists, but not out fear of the Sudanese government, whose harassment he fled in 2015. "I don't want any of the people I worked with to know I'm here," he tells Al Jazeera, writing by instant messaging from a temporary residence for refugees in the ... MORE > >
	Worrying about Fake News Has Become All the Rage Farhana Haque Rahman, Director General, Inter Press Service Rogue interests, perhaps even foreign, are said to be trying to interfere with the electoral process in the U.S. and European Union members. Senior government officials glibly endorse what they themselves call “alternative facts” and even openly describe the media as their enemy. Farhana ... MORE > >
	No Trace of the Nicaraguan Interoceanic Canal José Adán Silva Less than three years from the projected completion in Nicaragua of a canal running from the Caribbean Sea to the Pacific Ocean, there is no trace of progress on the mega-project. IPS traveled to both ends of the routet: Bluefields, on the Caribbean coast in eastern Nicaragua, 383 km from ... MORE > >
	Long Way to Go for Indigenous Rights Protection Tharanga Yakupitiyage Despite progress, many gaps remain in international indigenous rights protection, said representatives during an annual UN meeting. More than 1000 indigenous representatives from around the world have gathered at the UN for the 16th session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues ... MORE > >
	FEATURED VIDEO: World Press Freedom Day 2017 IPS World Desk Journalists are not only major users of the cherished right to freedom of expression but also symbols of the extent to which a society tolerates and promotes freedom of expression. The current state of safety of journalists worldwide is alarming. Over the last decade 827 journalists and media ... MORE > >
	With an Eye on Electoral Violence, Kenya Keeps Tight Rein on Media Justus Wanzala As the clock ticks down to Kenya’s general elections slated for Aug. 8, a move by the Kenya Communication Authority (CAK) to make journalists adhere to guidelines on election coverage has elicited fear that the government could be trying to control how they report on the polls. The rules, ... MORE > >
	Women Clearing Bombs in Cambodia Erik Larsson Mao Neav takes a few quick steps out into the field, followed by her faithful dog Onada, tail wagging, tongue out and panting, ready for what is out there. The field is peppered with cluster bombs. Mao Neav is the leader of a small group of bomb and mine clearers working in the Ratanakiri ... MORE > >
	Trump’s First 100 Days: a Serious Cause for Concern Martin Khor This week, Donald Trump will mark his first hundred days as US President. It’s time to assess his impact on the world, especially the developing countries. It’s too early to form firm conclusions. But much of what we have seen so far is of serious concern. Recently there have been many ... MORE > >
	Building resilient rural livelihoods is key to helping Yemen José Graziano da Silva People in Yemen are currently suffering from the world’s largest humanitarian crisis. More than 17 million people around Yemen’s rugged landscape are acutely food insecure, and the figure is likely to increase as the ongoing conflict continues to erode the ability to grow, import, distribute ... MORE > >
	Bamboo Gaining Traction in Caribbean as Climate Savior Desmond Brown Keen to tap its natural resources as a way to boost its struggling economy, Guyana struck a multi-million-dollar deal with Norway in 2009. Under the deal, Norway agreed to pay up to 250 million dollars over five years, if Guyana, a Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country in South America, ... MORE > >
	Nicaragua’s South Caribbean Coast Improves Readiness for Climate Change José Adán Silva The effects of climate change have hit Nicaragua’s Caribbean coastal regions hard in the last decade and have forced the authorities and local residents to take protection and adaptation measures to address the phenomenon that has gradually undermined their safety and changed their way of ... MORE > >