The closing plenary of INC-5.1 in Busan, Republic of Korea. Credit: UNEP/Duncan Moore By Maximilian MalawistaNEW YORK, Aug 5 2025 (IPS) They are lightweight, cheap, and able to be used in every sector of every supply chain. Few materials have revolutionized manufacturing and the global economy as much as plastics have. They are essential in…
Credit: World Organisation for Animal Health By Appolinaire Djikeng and Emmanuelle SoubeyranNAIROBI, Kenya / PARIS, France, Aug 5 2025 (IPS) One would expect that this year’s wetter than average rainy season in parts of Africa would be viewed with relief, not fear. Yet many areas in the region sits at a knife’s edge—still recovering from…
Credit: Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters via Gallo Images By Andrew FirminLONDON, Aug 4 2025 (IPS) Rice queues – something once unthinkable – began appearing around May. As the country’s staple food hit record prices, frustrated shoppers found themselves breaking a cultural taboo by switching to rice from South Korea. It was a symbol of how far Japan’s…
The shift towards clean energy, such as solar power, is accelerating globally. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres declares fossil fuel era is fading; presses nations for new climate plans before COP30 summit. Credit: UNEP/Reza Shahriar Rahman By Felix Dodds and Chris SpenceSAN FRANCISCO, California / APEX, North Carolina, US, Aug 4 2025 (IPS) There is no…
Erico Platt looks at the disarmament exhibition that she staged, “Three Quarters of a Century After Hiroshima and Nagasaki: The Hibakusha—Brave Survivors Working for a Nuclear-Free World”. On 6 and 9 August 1945, the United States detonated two atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, during World War II. Credit: UNODA/Diane Barnes…
By Mandeep S.TiwanaNEW YORK, Aug 2 2025 (IPS) Successive United States governments have prided themselves on being governed by the Constitution of 1788. The First Amendment introduced in 1791 lays the foundations for secularism, respect for fundamental freedoms, and the right to seek redress of grievances. Notably, presidential administrations since the Second World War and…
Uganda’s Malaba town borders Kenya to the east and is a major entry point for goods destined for landlocked Uganda, Rwanda, and South Sudan from Kenya’s Mombasa Port. Credit: Joyce Chimbi/IPS By Joyce ChimbiNAIROBI, Aug 1 2025 (IPS) Landlocked developing countries face a unique set of challenges. Without coastal ports, they rely on transit nations,…
“Hello dad,” a Black girl in Houston, Texas, says to her father, “Are we going back to Jim Crow?” Dad bows his head, struggling to come up with an answer.“I’ll tell you this child,” he continued. “I think as Black people, we need to look out for each other. We must learn what it is…
18 states, the District of Columbia, and the city of San Francisco have filed a federal lawsuit against President Donald Trump following his executive order ending birthright citizenship. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts on January 21, 2025, asserts that Trump’s actions violate the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which…
On January 20, 2025, Donald Trump will be inaugurated as the 47th president of the United States, marking his return to the White House after a tumultuous four-year absence. This inauguration not only symbolises the transfer of power from the Biden administration but also represents a significant moment in U.S. political history, as Trump becomes…
