News headlines in April 2019, page 7

BERLIN, Apr 10 (IPS) - What happens worldwide on Fridays, a regular working day and consequently, a school day? We are all witnessing that students do not attend their classes: During the week of March 15, 2019, according to www.fridaysforfuture.org, there were at least 1.6 million striking students in more than 125 countries on all continents.

Students ask their governments and parents: "Why should I be studying for a future that soon may exist no more, if no one does anything to save that future?" And they pledge: "Dear adults, use your power!" The youngsters gather in front of their town halls, exposing signs and pictures #Fridaysforfuture or #Climatestrike.

BELGRADE, Apr 10 (IPS) - This article is part of a series on the current state of civil society organisations (CSOs), which will be the focus of International Civil Society Week (ICSW), sponsored by CIVICUS, and scheduled to take place in Belgrade, April 8-12.

The murder of Brazilian politician and human rights activist Marielle Franco just over a year ago and attacks on other rights activists around the world have galvanised civil society organisations, with the United Nations heightening its own strategy to protect rights defenders.

NAIROBI, Kenya, Apr 10 (IPS) - Joyce Msuya is Acting Executive Director, UN Environment.

Our planet is heating up. 2018 was the fourth-warmest year on record, with peak temperatures engulfing the planet – from 43°C in Baku, Azerbaijan, to the low 30s across Scandinavia. The last four years have been the hottest since records began in 1880.

UNITED NATIONS, Apr 10 (IPS) - This article is part of a series on the state of civil society organisations (CSOs), which is the focus of International Civil Society Week (ICSW), sponsored by CIVICUS, and currently taking place in Belgrade, concluding April 12.

A former UN Secretary-General, the late Kofi Annan, once described civil society organizations (CSOs), as "the world's new superpower" – perhaps ranking behind the US and the former Soviet Union.

MEXICO CITY, Apr 09 (IPS) - This article is part of IPS special coverage on slavery and human trafficking around the world, supported by the Riana Group.

"They mislead the workers, tell them that they will be paid well and pay them much less. The recruiters and the employers deceive them," complained Marilyn Gómez, a migrant farm worker in Mexico.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Apr 09 (IPS) - This article is part of a series on the state of civil society organisations (CSOs), which is the focus of International Civil Society Week (ICSW), sponsored by CIVICUS, and currently taking place in Belgrade, April 8-12.

Josef Benedict is a civic space researcher with global civil society alliance, CIVICUS. Around the globe, cyberspace has become the new battleground in the fight for the heart and soul of democracy. And Southeast Asia is fast becoming one of the global hotspots where the screws are being tightened on freedom of expression online.

AUSTIN, United States, Apr 09 (IPS) - Food waste and loss is of increasing concern due to the wide implications ranging from health care to the environment. Finding a solution requires everyone to look at how they eat.

There's much to think about regarding food this month. April is Reducing Food Waste Month in the United States, as efforts mount here to reduce food loss and waste, while globally Sunday Apr. 7 was World Heath Day.

KUALA LUMPUR and SYDNEY, Apr 09 (IPS) - The World Bank has successfully built a coalition to effectively advance its ‘Maximizing Finance for Development' (MFD) agenda. The October 2018 G20 Eminent Persons Group's (EPG) report includes proposals to better coordinate various international financial institutions (IFIs) in promoting financialization.

NEW YORK, Apr 09 (IPS) - Taina Bien-Aimé is the Executive Director of the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women (CATW). Prostitution policies are bubbling up again in legislative circles across the United States, but few representatives seem to have much clarity on the issue. 2020 presidential candidate Senator Kamala Harris has given mixed messages on her thinkingwhile Bernie Sanders has said he simply has "no answer."

POHNPEI, Apr 08 (IPS) - IPS Correspondent Stella Paul interviews MARCUS SAMO Assistant Secretary in Micronesia's Department of Health Services.

During his 22-year career in the health sector, Marcus Samo has seen the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) suffer from an increased burden of disease while at the same time the resources to address them have either remained the same or decreased.