News headlines for “Consumption and Consumerism”, page 27
Explainer: Why Venezuela Needs To Reduce Its Gas Flaring
- Inter Press Service
CARACAS, Sep 18 (IPS) - The red and orange illuminated night in Venezuela may look beautiful, but they are a result of gas flaring in the oil fields of Monagas. To meet its Paris Agreement goals, the Caribbean country needs to address gas flaring. How easy will this be in a country where it's mostly gas and oil energy sector accounts for more than two-thirds of its greenhouse gas emissions?
The most visible part of gas flaring in Venezuela is the so-called "Monagas illuminated nights." These are red and orange skies, which are visible from the homes of the locals at night and which show the gas flaring in the oil fields of Monagas, a state located in the east of the Caribbean country and key in its oil production.
Where Has Poverty Gone?
- Inter Press Service
NEW YORK / OXFORD, UK, Sep 18 (IPS) - Political polarization, the climate emergency, organized crime, migration, and low economic growth currently dominate the public debate in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), and rightly so. However, there is a significant structural challenge to human development and democracy itself that, along with inequalities, lies at the root of these crises: poverty.
ECW Delivers Holistic Education Against All Odds, But More Funding Needed
- Inter Press Service
UNITED NATIONS, Sep 17 (IPS) - Education Cannot Wait (ECW) has delivered quality education to children in crisis "against all odds," ECW Executive Director Yasmine Sherif said at the United Nations today. "And you can imagine the odds. We are seeing more armed conflict, a growth of climate-induced disasters and the biggest refugee movement since World War 2."
Humanitarian Crisis in Gaza Worsens While Polio Vaccine Campaign Succeeds
- Inter Press Service
UNITED NATIONS, Sep 17 (IPS) - Today, the chief of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, confirmed that the first round of Gaza's polio vaccination campaign had ended successfully, reaching 90 percent coverage. The second round of this campaign is set to begin by the end of September, delivering Gaza's children with a critical second dose of the polio vaccine.
Odious Debts: What Can Bangladesh Learn from Ecuador?
- Inter Press Service
SYDNEY, NEW YORK, Sep 16 (IPS) - Bangladesh's White Paper committee will review foreign loan deals signed by the fallen kleptocratic regime. We recommend that it identifies and declares the loans or portions of loans that did not benefit the nation as unpayable, because they were siphoned off the country by corrupt politically powerful elites, or worse used to buy deadly weapons and surveillance equipment to oppress people. Such loans are "odious" – they stink and are detestable.
15 Years After the Civil War Ended, Sri Lanka Faces Another Crucial Election
- Inter Press Service
MULLIVAIKAL, Sri Lanka, Sep 16 (IPS) - Thousands of Tamils are heading to Mullivaikal on the northeast coast of Sri Lanka, many of whom were here 15 years ago and still live in the region. They are there, May 18, to commemorate the massacre of civilians in a ‘no fire zone' during the final stages of the civil war.
Leaders Can Rise to the Summit, Together
- Inter Press Service
NEW YORK, Sep 16 (IPS) - As heads of state and government fly into New York for the United Nations General Assembly and the Summit of the Future (September 22-30), 2.3 billion mothers, fathers, and children are unsure where their next meal will come from. Millions face the terror of brutal, protracted armed conflicts that make no distinction between civilians and soldiers.
How Much is Too Much for Mount Everest? Isn't it Time For Sagarmatha to Rest
- Inter Press Service
KATHMANDU, Sep 16 (IPS) - When Kancha Sherpa, the only surviving member of the first successful Mt. Everest expedition, says it is time for Sagarmatha, as the world's tallest mountain is known in Nepal, to rest, isn't it time that the world listened?"That's Mt. Everest!" I overheard this from a trekking guide to his trekkers team. I stopped and asked him—which one! He was not our guide, but I approached. He pointed a finger and showed me Mt. Everest and I cried—I don't know why. I was overwhelmed and humbled to finally witness the world's tallest mountain—it was not from the base camp but from Thyangboche while returning.
The push to connect a digitally divided world and counter AI threats
- UN News
A surge in the development of powerful artificial intelligence (AI) tools is already improving lives but is also bringing fresh urgency to calls for regulation, as more and more governments wake up to the risks. Effective global regulation to ensure that AI is developed safely for the benefit of all is urgently needed.
‘Failing the stress test': UN chief calls for global finance overhaul
- UN News
Some of the world’s poorest countries spend more on debt repayments than health, education and infrastructure combined, severely hampering their chances of developing their economies. The UN is calling for an overhaul of the entire international financial system, to reduce inequality and improve people’s lives.