Inter Press Service

BRUSSELS, Belgium, Apr 11 (IPS) - Europe must understand that the only reasonable and humane way to tackle migrant smuggling is to open regular routes for people to reach Europe in safety and dignity.

WASHINGTON DC, Mar 31 (IPS) - Southeast Asia's major economies have made major strides over the last couple of decades. The largest have seen income per capita grow at least three-fold over the past 20 years amid global integration and prudent policymaking.

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BRATISLAVA, Mar 24 (IPS) - Governments and donors must ensure funding is sustained to fight tuberculosis (TB), organizations working to stop the disease have said, as they warn the recent US pullback on foreign aid is already having a devastating effect on their operations.

COX'S BAZAR, Bangladesh, Mar 15 (IPS) - When United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres appeared before the Rohingya refugees wearing a traditional white panjabi, a costume of Muslims, to join an iftar party in Ukhiya refugee camp, thousands who had gathered waved to welcome him.

LONDON, Mar 11 (IPS) - After three years of bloodshed, extraordinary courage and immense sacrifices in resisting Russia's invasion, the people of Ukraine are in limbo as peace negotiations to end the war, instigated by United States President Donald Trump, remain unpredictable.

UNITED NATIONS, Mar 10 (IPS) - Faced with an impending cash crisis primarily due to non-payment of dues by the US and over 100 other member states — along with threats of a US withdrawal from the world body — there were widespread rumors the United Nations was re-costing and reducing its approved budget for 2025 while deciding to freeze hiring new staffers.

ADDIS ABABA, Feb 27 (IPS) - Renewable energy and climate change activists have challenged African heads of state to take a united stance to safeguard essential mineral resources, particularly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and other parts of the continent, which are selfishly exploited by foreign miners with disregard for poverty-stricken local communities.

UNITED NATIONS, Jan 30 (IPS) - The Trump administration which regained the White House last week after a four-year hiatus, has come down heavily on thousands of illegal immigrants and hundreds of perceived enemies - triggering a rash of executive orders on military and federal agenciesBut in the ensuing political chaos, Trump has not spared the United Nations either.

BUDAPEST, Jan 27 (IPS) - The Central European nation of Hungary is officially a democracy. But civil society, the media and democratic norms have increasingly come under threat as the Fidesz-KDNP coalition government, led by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, has entrenched autocratic rule over the past 14 years. Now a new wave of energy and popularity is driving the younger opposition movement into the spotlight ahead…

NEW YORK & NAIROBI, Jan 24 (IPS) - A report released today on the International Day of Education sounds alarm as the number of school-aged children in crisis worldwide requiring urgent support to access quality education reaches a staggering 234 million—an estimated increase of 35 million over the past three years fueled by intensifying armed conflict, forced displacements, more frequent and severe weather and…

UNITED NATIONS, Jan 16 (IPS) - A ceasefire agreement between the states of Israel and Palestine was reached on 15 January, 2025 , effectively putting an end to hostilities in the Gaza Strip. This comes after nearly 15 months of conflict, which has caused immense damage to Palestinian infrastructure, development, and civilian life. The three-phase plan proposed for the ceasefire agreement consists of the return of…

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Jan 07 (IPS) - The forthcoming fourth United Nations Financing for Development conference must address developing countries' major financial challenges. Recent setbacks to sustainable development and climate action make FfD4 all the more critical.

NEW YORK, Jan 06 (IPS) - Trump, who wants an end to the Israeli-Hamas war even before he reassumes the Presidency, must know that denying the Palestinian right to statehood and conceding further Palestinian land to Israel is a recipe for the next horrific inferno that will overshadow even the present calamitous Israel-Hamas war.

BRATISLAVA, Jan 06 (IPS) - "A lot of people are very scared," says Zalina Marshenkulova. "This is obviously another tool of repression. The state is waging war on the remnants of free-thinking people in Russia and trying to suppress all dissent and freedom," the Russian feminist activist tells IPS.

LONDON / MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay, Dec 24 (IPS) - It's been a tumultuous year, and a tough one for struggles for human rights. Civil society's work to seek social justice and hold the powerful to account has been tested at every turn. Civil society has kept holding the line, resisting power grabs and regressive legislation, calling out injustice and claiming some victories, often at great cost. And things aren't about…

NEW YORK, Dec 20 (IPS) - As 2024 comes to a close, I dare to say that this has been an especially gruesome year for millions upon millions of young children, their parents and their teachers. The world has witnessed one horrific crisis of cruelty, dispossession and human suffering after another.

LONDON, Dec 20 (IPS) - Democracy is alive and well in South Korea. When President Yoon Suk Yeol tried to impose martial law, the public and parliamentarians united to defend it. Now Yoon must face justice for his power grab.

UNITED NATIONS, Dec 03 (IPS) - In 2025, South Africa will assume the presidency of the G20, a pivotal moment in the African country's international diplomatic efforts.The Group of Twenty (G20), is an intergovernmental economic forum comprising 19 countries and two regional unions - the European Union (EU), and recently the African Union (AU). It represents 85 per cent of the global economy, 75 per cent of world…

UNITED NATIONS, Nov 29 (IPS) - The humanitarian crisis in Sudan continues to deepen as a result of the ongoing Sudanese Civil War. Intensified conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has led to widespread food insecurity, with many humanitarian organizations expressing concern that starvation is being used as a method of warfare. Additionally, heightened violence has…