The Week with IPS 9/29/2017

2017/9/29	Click here for the online version of this IPS newsletter
	Merkel’s Defeat Confirms Dismail Trend for Europe Roberto Savio Generally, media have failed to analyse why the result of German elections is the worst possible. Merkel is not a winner, but a leader now in a very fragile position, who will have to make many compromises and pay now for her mistakes. Let us make at least the most important four points of ... MORE > >
	Finally, Argentina Has a Law on Access to Public Information Daniel Gutman After 15 long years of public campaigns and debates in which different political, social and business sectors held marches and counter-protests, Argentina finally has a new law that guarantees access to public information. This step forward must now be reflected in reality, in this South ... MORE > >
	To Be an Egyptian Migrant in Rome (And Also Make Great Pizza) Baher Kamal “I asked him: do you want to come with us to Greece? He said: ‘Why not?’ So my wife and myself packed up and drove to Athens to open our ‘trattoria’ there.” Mario* (63) and his wife Concetta* (57) started telling their story while waiting for the chef to prepare three pizzas and one spaghetti ... MORE > >
	Marginalised Minorities and Homeless Especially Hard-hit by Mexico’s Quake Emilio Godoy Maricela Fernández, an indigenous woman from the Ñañhú or Otomí people, shows the damages that the Sept. 19 earthquake inflicted on the old house where 10 families of her people were living as squatters, in a neighbourhood in the center-west of Mexico City. The magnitude 7.1 quake, mainly felt ... MORE > >
	Malawi’s Communal Fight Against Deadly Avian Disease Charles Mkoka Lydia Katengeza, a community vaccinator with the Nathenje Community Vaccination Association (NCVA), wakes up as early as 5 a.m., ready with her I-2 vaccine vial in a storage container in her hand. She moves from one house to another, visiting each poultry farmer. All of them are alerted a day in ... MORE > >
	Where Do 50 Million Tonnes a Year of Toxic E-Waste Go? Baher Kamal Each year, the electronics industry generates up to 41 million tonnes of e-waste, but as the number of consumers rises, and the lifespan of devices shrinks in response to demand for the newest and best, that figure could reach 50 million tonnes this year, according to specialised studies. Of ... MORE > >
	Mercury Mining Awaits International Control in Mexico Emilio Godoy For environmentalist Patricia Ruiz the only word that comes to mind is “devastating,” when describing the situation of mercury mining in her home state of Querétaro in central Mexico. “There are a large number of pits (from which the mercury is extracted), and there are the tailing ponds ... MORE > >
	More Public Spending, Not Tax Cuts, for Sustainable, Inclusive Growth Anis Chowdhury and Jomo Kwame Sundaram The Trump administration’s promise to increase infrastructure spending should break the straightjacket the Republicans imposed on the Obama administration after capturing the US Congress in 2010. However, in proportionate terms, it falls far short of Roosevelt’s New Deal effort to revive the US ... MORE > >
	Crisis in Cameroon Spurs Govt Crackdown on Press Mbom Sixtus “For too long we have been afraid to speak out against injustices and all sorts of atrocities happening in Cameroon, thinking it will protect us. If I were to repeat what I have done on Canal 2 English , I will do it again. I now stand ready for any eventuality,” says Cameroonian journalist Elie ... MORE > >
	The Urbanization of Malnutrition Manipadma Jena Rapid urbanization is increasingly shifting the impacts of malnutrition from rural to urban areas. One in three stunted under-five children out of 155 million across the world now lives in cities and towns. Degrading land productivity, deepening impacts of changes in climate, conflict, and food ... MORE > >