New Zealand: Political Volatility under Cost-of-Living Crisis

Credit: Fiona Goodall/Getty Images

LONDON, Oct 20 2023 (IPS) – It’s a rapid reversal for New Zealand’s Labour Party, in power for six years. At the in 2020 it won an outright majority, the first party to do so under the current voting system. But three years on, it’s finished a distant second in the election held on 14 October. The result speaks to a broader pattern seen amid economic strife in many countries – of intense political volatility and the rejection of incumbents.

Jacindamania fades

Former Labour leader Jacinda Ardern captured the public imagination when she took the helm of her party in August 2017. Labour had been floundering bu…

Lawmakers Told: Plan From the Cradle For Healthy Aging

Dr Jetn Sirathranont, member of the Senate of Thailand and AFPPD Secretary-General addresses the conference on International Conference on Demographic Resilience in Uzbekistan. Credit: UNFPA Uzbekistan

Dr Jetn Sirathranont, member of the Senate of Thailand and AFPPD Secretary-General addresses the conference on International Conference on Demographic Resilience in Uzbekistan. Credit: UNFPA Uzbekistan

JOHANNESBURG & TASHKENT, Dec 4 2023 (IPS) – Lawmakers were reminded of the benefits of long-term planning and the benefits of evidence-based decision-making in policymaking while grappling with demographic trends, be they an aging population or one with significant growth in yo…

Amidst a Horrendous 2023, Civil Society is Fighting Back Society

TORONTO, Canada, Dec 22 2023 (IPS) – The year 2023 has brought so much tragedy, with incomprehensible loss of lives, whether from wars or devastating ‘natural’ disasters, while our planet has seen yet more records broken as our climate catastrophe worsens.

And so as the clock ticks towards the (mostly western) New Year, readers are traditionally subjected by media outlets like ours to the yearender —usually a roundup of main events over the previous 12 months, one horror often overshadowed by the next.

Farhana Haque Rahman

So forgive us if, for 2023, IPS takes a somewhat different approach, highlighting how humanity can do better and how the big depressing pi…

‘I Haven’t Forgotten Where I Came From,’ says Yvonne Pinto, Incoming IRRI Chief

Yvonne Pinto, the incoming Director General of the International Rice Research Institute, at the 5th All Africa Horticulture Conference in Marrakesh, Morocco, February 26 to March 1, 2024. Photo Credit: Supplied by Yvonne Pinto

Yvonne Pinto, the incoming Director General of the International Rice Research Institute, at the 5th All Africa Horticulture Conference in Marrakesh, Morocco, February 26 to March 1, 2024.
Credit: Supplied by Yvonne Pinto

SYDNEY, Feb 28 2024 (IPS) – Growing up on a small farming station in Holetta (Ethiopia), Yvonne Pinto would accompany her agriculturist father to the farm, where she would spend her time cross-fertilizing plants. Her tiny fingers…

Afghan Women Struggle with Soaring Mental Health Issues

The author is an Afghanistan-based female journalist, trained with Finnish support before the Taliban take-over. Her identity is withheld for security reasons

Since the Taliban s return to Afghanistan in 2021, numerous women grapple with profound mental health challenges, often in silence, fearing repercussions for speaking out. Credit: Learning Together

Since the Taliban’s return to Afghanistan in 2021, numerous women grapple with profound mental health challenges, often in silence, fearing repercussions for speaking out. Credit: Learning Together

May 16 2024 (IPS) – Afghanistan is grappling with a growing crisis of mental illness, particularly among its women, a…

Navigating Mental Health Challenges in West Africa

The acute shortage of qualified mental health specialists in West Africa is a major obstacle to tackling mental health issues in the region. Credit Credit: Unsplash /Melanie Wasser - An analysis of mental health in West Africa, highlighting the shortage of specialists and efforts to integrate traditional and modern treatments

The acute shortage of qualified mental health specialists in West Africa is a major obstacle to tackling mental health issues in the region. Credit Credit: Unsplash /Melanie Wasser

NAIROBI, Jul 24 2024 (IPS) – Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, people in the African region were living with mental health conditions. A large proportion of mental dis…