COVID-19 developments, public-health policy and the pandemic's global fallout.
Active Citizens
By Anna Trushova KYIV, Ukraine, Oct 14 2026 (IPS) Medicine is supposed to protect human life and dignity. Yet testimonies from Ukrainians released from Russian captivity reveal a disturbing reality: medical personnel in…
Opinion
External
Some of America's allies apparently still have not understood Donald Trump's slogan, "America First". For some reason, they assumed that their own interests were part of the programme, too: Israel's security, Ukraine's…
Corruption
Capitalism is becoming ever more dominated by large firms, and the owners of the small companies getting squeezed are naturally becoming increasingly disenchanted with the system. Dr Tommaso Crescioli is an Economist at…
Activism
Something stinks. Astoria is one of my favorites on the Oregon coast, a small town of around 9,000 people with great restaurants and craft shops. Two of them, a coffee shop and ceramics studio, are owned by a small…
External
In this issue: 1. Guidelines for developing new quality productive forces 2. Outcomes from EU-China trade talks 3. Improving new car design safety and quality 4. Cracking down on food safety violations The Feed…
Americas
External
A Licence Signed Before the Ink Was Dry On 9 October, three weeks after Donald Trump signed the most sweeping Russia sanctions statute of his presidency, the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (the agency that…
#Culture
While the caravan struggles along a muddy riverside path, tempers fray, Chen catches fish, merchants risk their necks for pistachios, and Darius waits anxiously for Ahmed and Weili to return. Read Part 1 | Part 2 | Part…
Opinion
External
China’s nomination of Chinese national Song Li to lead the World Health Organization has been filed under the wrong heading. Most of the coverage treats it as a chapter in a bigger story: Washington has walked out…
External
RAMALLAH, Palestine / PNN / Seven independent Palestinian media organizations from the occupied West Bank, Gaza Strip and Palestinian communities inside Israel have launched a joint public survey aimed at identifying the…
Uncategorized
Introduction This is a follow-up to my previous piece on the economic effects of the Persian Gulf sulfur and urea cutoff. In that piece I argued that the public conversation about the Strait of Hormuz has fixated on…
Business & Economy
Look, I’ve been around the block. I know what it means when a feature of my life is suddenly appended with words like -coded and -core . It means the things about myself that I can’t or don’t want to change are being…
3D IC
External
Intel Foundry published a two article series on chip power delivery that are worth reading. Here is a quick summary: Artificial intelligence is changing the requirements for semiconductor innovation. Faster transistors…
Corporations
For 13 years, British tankers have filled up on Angolan crude oil and left behind a trail of what residents describe as systematic, routine destruction. One small patch of BP co-owned Angolan seabed – known as Kizomba A…
Iran-war
In September, as the media focused its attention on the conflict in the Strait of Hormuz and the debates at the U.N. General Assembly, some internal developments in Iran went all but unnoticed. On September 28, 32…
Opinion
External
We are fortunate to live at an incredible moment in history. As more and more AI applications have become available, people have turned to them to seek advice, build businesses, express ideas, learn, and improve their…
Geopolitics
Three years into Israel’s genocide in Gaza, the consequences of a decision driven by siege, settlement expansion and assaults on Al-Aqsa are still unfolding Sami Al-Arian is the Director of the Center for Islam and…
AMMAN, Jordan / JERUSALEM — Médecins Sans Frontières, or Doctors Without Borders, warned Wednesday that Israel is progressively restricting the space available to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip while conditions needed…
Column
Three years after the Oct. 7 attack, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is presenting Israel’s response as a story of resilience and overwhelming military success. Speaking at the United Nations last month…
Immigration
Nearly two years after the end of Biden’s presidency, the U.S. southern border has undergone a complete reversal. The millions of arrivals, the Central American caravans, and the unaccompanied children that the Trump…
BETHLEHEM, West Bank / PNN / The idea for Um Eyad’s small business grew out of the difficult economic circumstances facing her family and her and her husband’s desire to create an additional source of income to help meet…
Asia Narratives prepares periodic briefings. One of my clients suggested I share it. China Systems Weekly covers political, economic, and social developments through the lens of individual and societal needs, alongside…
Photography
External
The Ethiopian photographer Sosina Mengistu’s self-portraits draw on personal experience to reflect young people’s anxiety and frustration This self-portrait is part of my project So I See Me, which I began in 2020 during…
Finance
External
TOKYO – For decades, the US enjoyed a remarkable luxury: its two biggest creditors, Japan and China, kept showing up at Treasury auctions with checkbooks open. Now, Donald Trump’s trade wars, tariff threats and widening…
Benjamin-netanyahu
Three years after the Oct. 7 attack, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is presenting Israel’s response as a story of resilience and overwhelming military success. Speaking at the United Nations last month…
Democracy & Governance
The world leaders that gathered at the United Nations last month speaking about trust, reform, and the future of cooperation. Down the hall, the organization’s finance office was working on a plainer question: whether…
Survival of the fiercest: How involution helps China dominate green tech globally H.Seidl Tue, 10/06/2026 - 10:57 picture alliance / Xinhua News Agency | Lin Shanchuan Download (pdf - 786.14 KB) Report Oct 09, 2026 27…
Africa
An IPES-Food report warns that workers in the global food system face high exploitation in keeping the world fed. Credit: Busani Bafana/IPS By Busani Bafana BULAWAYO, Oct 6 2026 (IPS) A new report reveals widespread…
Larry C. Johnson
Benjamin Netanyahu likes to translate Israel’s grief into American. At the United Nations last month, he took the dead of October 7 and multiplied them by the ratio of America’s population to Israel’s. The 1,200 Israelis…
This monthly report is prepared for Sinocism by the excellent Sinification , an invaluable resource for understanding how domestic and international affairs are debated within the Chinese establishment. Thomas des Garets…
US-China
External
On September 19, Dou Xiankang, who heads the National Natural Science Foundation of China, described a grant that most young scientists anywhere would envy. Researchers under 35 will get 15 years of support. The money…
Africa
A community health worker examines a pregnant woman inside her home while family members look on, highlighting the growing challenges mothers face as extreme heat and climate-related pressures strain access to healthcare…
Zimbabwe
External
My friend and former colleague Knox Chitiyo, who has died aged 65 of bowel cancer, was a Zimbabwean academic and later an important voice in Britain on his homeland and its future. He was regularly consulted by…
#Culture
Darius helps select new guards for the Five Star caravan, and a fun trip to the suq comes to a sudden, chaotic end. Read Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11…
This statement was originally published on mfwa.org on 4 September 2026. In this piece, our Senior Manager for Freedom of Expression and Digital Rights, Vivian Afoah, unpacks Mali’s shrinking civic space, examining the…
Brussels /PNN/ Palestinian Ambassador to the European Union, Belgium and Luxembourg Amal Jadou Shakaa met with the EU’s Special Representative for the Middle East Peace Process, Christophe Bigot, to discuss the latest…
Larry C. Johnson
Donald Trump would like you to know that the Strait of Hormuz is in tremendous shape. Possibly the best shape in its history. On September 27, he told reporters that “last night, we took a record amount of oil out of the…
Economics
You have been trained to believe that inflation must be controlled with rises in interest rates. Now take two seconds to stop and ask why and you’ll start seeing just how nuts a lot of economics is. Robin McAlpine is…
Foreign Affairs
Scrambling to halt the ongoing offensive of Yemen’s Armed Forces, Israel and Saudi Arabia have strengthened ties through a joint covert campaign aimed at salvaging what remains of their supremacy in the Red Sea region…
Activism
For years, a subculture of amateur investigators has been publicly performing a by-now familiar script. Posing as children online, they arrange meetings with unsuspecting adult men, then show up with cameras and…
After the loans, the contracts remain: China’s new Balkan model H.Seidl Fri, 10/02/2026 - 13:19 picture alliance / Xinhua News Agency | Wang Wei Comment Oct 05, 2026 10 min read After the loans, the contracts remain…
#Islam
The deserts were deserted but for traveling on foot or by animals. From city to city were scattered thorny bushes, hot sand, and a lonely well – much like our 21st-century pit stop exits for rest, gas, and lavatory…
Active Citizens
At the Africa Food Systems Forum in Kigali, Rwanda, experts explored how renewable energy can ease the burden on farmers. Here Shifra Ainomugisha poses beside a solar-powered irrigation system in Uganda. She was named…
Middle East
External
The war between the United States and Iran is no longer just a confrontation between Washington and Tehran. A second contest is taking shape alongside and behind it. China is not fighting the United States directly, but…
Aid
Mariam Daher preparing for her Tawjihi examinations in the temporary learning spaces in Gaza. Credit: Education Above All Foundation By Hani Shehada DOHA, Qatar, Oct 2 2026 (IPS) In the 21st century, getting a pencil…
Asia-Pacific
As wells and other water sources dry up, women and girls in Kabul must travel increasingly long distances to secure enough water for their families. Credit: Learning Together. By External Source KABUL, Oct 1 2026 (IPS)…
Americas
External
Two Sets of Numbers, One Week On 22 September, two polls put Brazil’s presidential runoff within the margin of error. Quaest had Senator Flávio Bolsonaro on 42% and President Lula da Silva on 41%. BTG Pactual/Nexus had…
Africa
By James Alix Michel VICTORIA, Seychelles, Oct 1 2026 (IPS) From a distance, an island nation can appear to possess everything: pristine waters, a thriving tourism industry and a strong cultural identity. Its income…
Americas
External
US President Donald Trump is unlikely to receive this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, but his confrontation with the international institutions and political actors involved in the award may still influence the Nobel…