Chavez’s 21st century socialism has failed, pushing Venezuela to the brink of a major humanitarian crisis.
Chavez’s 21st century socialism has failed, pushing Venezuela to the brink of a major humanitarian crisis.
Considering the violent political unrest in various parts of the world, many accept the claim that the 21st century will go down in history as a period of global reorder, perpetual insecurity and bloodshed. If the grim headlines of the first decade could be taken as forecasts of the storms ahead, many nation-states are […]
It appears that when the world was praising the BRICS nations a few years ago, that Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa were seen as the countries that would dominate the world economy in the future, and that any opportunity to link a company or organization to these mega-economies would pay off without any […]
The Irish playwright Brendan Behan once opined that, “I have never seen a situation so dismal that a policeman couldn’t make it worse.” Behan was hardly an unbiased commentator, having misspent his youth in activities that assured a mutual antipathy between the literary giant and the law enforcement community, but the findings of Transparency […]
Ten years ago, it was typical for 20 percent or more of the money a migrant worker sent to his or her family in a developing nation to be eaten up by transmission costs. Thanks to factors including increased competition and technological advances, that percentage has dropped steadily over the past decade, so that […]
This week, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) published a new tool to address the growing health risks associated with climate change. The “Atlas of Human Health and Climate” explores the exacerbation of “diseases of poverty” (including those related to food and water insecurity), emergency medical situations related to extreme […]
Ending illiteracy could also mean ending poverty, hopelessness An estimated 775 million adults and 122 million children are unable to read or write, missing out on the positives of globalization while disproportionately bearing its negatives, write Irina Bokova, director-general of UNESCO, and Laura Bush, an honorary ambassador with the U.N. agency, in recognition of […]
I can recall being in graduate school in New York having a conversation about Third World development with a fellow student, an American originally from Connecticut. At the time, the end of 2010, I had just returned from a stint with the South African Human Rights Commission and was pretty sour on the potential for […]
Children of the Earth summit — 1992 and 2012 As young people weigh in with their impressions of the ongoing Rio+20 conference, this documentary series, Zero Ten Twenty, looks back on the lives of children born in 1992–the year of the groundbreaking Earth Summit. Working to include women in development recipe The United Nations is hosting […]
Despite its oil and gas resources and its vast agricultural lands, Yemen is the poorest country by far of the Arabic Peninsula with the majority of its population leaving under US$2 per day. For several years now UNICEF and other humanitarian agencies have been working in Yemen towards finding a solution to solve malnourishment […]
They may no longer be on the opposites side of the Cold War, but Russians and Americans still see the world in opposite ways. While even most blue collar Americans believe they are middle class, 45% of Russians consider themselves to be poor, according to Svetlana Kononova’s piece in Russia Profile, which relies on new […]
With the possible exceptions of soccer and samba, Brazil’s global reputation is shaped more by its high rates of violent crime than anything else. Romanticized in popular films and culture, the country’s favelas are the most visible symbol of the issue. But according to the Map of Violence 2010, a new report from the São […]
Two events occurring within hours of each other earlier this week illustrate India’s potential for great power status as well as the vast distance the country still has to travel to fulfill its global ambitions.
South Africans, Africans across the continent and diaspora, and Africa-lovers are rightfully proud of the first World Cup on African soil. With billions invested in infrastructure and a drastic increase in international airtime, South Africa is presenting a refurbished image as it affirms its presence on the world stage. However, strikes this week have […]
Bamyan province is one of the largest in the Hazarajat region of Afghanistan. It is located in the centre of the country and the majority of the people are Hazaras. According to government officials, throughout the country, twenty million people are living under the poverty line, from which 40% make a home in Bamyan. Poverty […]