Patricia Grogg

HAVANA, Jan 25 2011 (IPS) – The trial of staff at the Havana Psychiatric Hospital for the deaths of 26 patients who died of cold and neglect revealed a dark chapter in an institution that was once a shining symbol of Cuba s much lauded health care system, and drew reactions of shock and criticism.
Cuba s main newspaper, Granma, broke the silence Monday surrounding the case, which occurred just over a year ago. The paper reported that prosecutors are seeking prison terms of six to 14 years for an unspecified number of administrators and staff, who were on trial from Jan. 17 to 22.

They were charged with abandonment and neglect of minors, disabled and ill people, and with embezzlement.

The sentences are expected to be handed down in the next few d…

Analysis by Suvendrini Kakuchi

TOKYO, Mar 31 2011 (IPS) – As authorities struggle to control dangerous radioactive material spilling from the quake ravaged Fukushima nuclear power reactors, a more difficult question has begun to unsettle Japan: is the country s post-war prosperity as invincible as was believed till now?
The picture emerging today is a sobering one and consumes us, says Yoshiaki Kawata, a researcher in disaster management at Kansai University. The devastation is a harsh reminder of the vulnerability of our economic and technological might we had worked so hard to create.

The Mar. 11 earthquake and tsunami that turned vast stretches of once thriving Tohoku into muddy wastelands and spewed radioactive material contaminating residential and farming area…

Isolda Agazzi

GENEVA, Apr 28 2011 (IPS) – The fifth conference of the 173 parties to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, Apr. 25-29, could bring to 22 the total number of internationally agreed forbidden pollutants. Alternatives to DDT one of the persistent organic pollutants (POPs) used in the fight against malaria are gaining popularity, but its complete ban is not on the agenda.

POPs in recycled and new products. Credit: Isolda Agazzi/IPS

POPs are the worst substances man has ever created. They give toxic legacy to future …

Julio Godoy

BERLIN, Jun 2 2011 (IPS) – The decision by the German government of Chancellor Angela Merkel to phase out nuclear power by 2022 will increase efficiency in the use of energy, boost investment and accelerate technical progress in renewable energy sources, and promote international energy cooperation, according to numerous experts.
These factors are indispensable for Germany, the leading industrial powerhouse in Europe, to substitute the present share of nuclear energy of some 23 percent of the country s total consumption of electricity and to guarantee a steady supply of alternative energy, the experts say.

The German government announced Monday that all nuclear power plants operating in the country would be shuttered by 2022. The seven nuclear power plants…

Denis Foynes

UNITED NATIONS, Jul 19 2011 (IPS) – I have never seen anything like it. Many mothers have lost three or four children. It s a tragedy out here, Austin Kennan, regional director for the Horn of Africa for Concern Worldwide, told IPS from within the crisis zone.

A Somali woman holds a malnourished child, waiting for medical assistance from the African Union Mission in Soma…

Thalif Deen

STOCKHOLM, Aug 23 2011 (IPS) – The rapid growth of urban population described as one of the world s major demographic trends has triggered an explosion of mega cities in Asia, Latin America and Africa, causing a breakdown in basic services, including water supplies and sanitation facilities.
And by 2050, about 70 percent of the world s population will live in urban areas causing horrendous problems, predicts a new 80-page study released here by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

The current world population of over 6 billion is expected to reach a historic high of 7 billion by the end of October, according to figures released by the U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA), which also estimates a figure of 9.1 billion for 2050.

As city infrastructure cannot keep p…

BELGRADE, Jan 19 2012 (IPS) – According to an old Serbian fairy tale, God tells a poor man who enters a gold mine that no matter what he chooses to do inside, he ll be sorry when he leaves. If he takes some gold, he ll be sorry for not taking more; if he doesn t, he ll be sorry for not taking any at all.
Modern Serbia now finds itself in a similar situation to the hero of that ancient tale.

Experts have revealed that parts of South-eastern Serbia lie on two billion tons of oil shale that could be processed into oil worth roughly 60 billion dollars in the next decade.

Further, the introduction and implementation of sufficient technology to turn the crude into derivates could reap between 120 and 180 billion dollars, according to studies by several domestic and intern…

CONAKRY, Mar 1 2012 (IPS) – Guinea faces acute problems in the supply of clean water and electricity to its citizens, slowing the country s economic development. A major project to address this is now under way, but some Guineans are sceptical of its promises.

Guinea enjoys more rainfall than any other country in West Africa; the country is known as the water tower of the sub-region, with the headwaters of the Niger, Senegal and Gambia rivers all found within its borders. The country’s many rivers and tributaries should be valuable assets for the provision of fresh water, extensive irrigation agriculture, and large-scale hydroelectric power generation.

But despite its natural resources, this country of 10.6 million people faces problems providing adequate electricity a…

GUATEMALA CITY, Apr 6 2012 (IPS) – Teenage pregnancies are on the rise in Guatemala, along with the drop-out rate in schools, family breakdown and many other related social ills.

More and more girls in Guatemala are having babies. Credit: Fiat Luxe/CC BY-ND 2.0

A graph of statistics from the Ministry of Health and Social Assistance shows a rising trend, with 41,529 pregnancies in girls aged 10 to 19 in 2009, 45,048 in 2010 and 49,231 in 2011, giving an average of 135 a day last year.

A long list of…

A family inside its home in Cannon Camp in Haiti. Credit: Susan Robens-Brannon/IPS

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Jun 21 2012 (IPS) – In the remote, dusty and barren area of northern Port-au-Prince, Cannon Camp houses nearly 6,000 displaced Haitians in tiny and cramped spaces. Nestled among the smattering of tents is the home of a 50-something-year-old mother of 12.

The mother, who asked that her name not be used, was moved to the camp after she lost her small home after the earthquake in Haiti in January 2010. Her new home is a battered one-room tent extended by a partial tarp to make a second room.

Inside are two broken chairs, some blankets, a yellow laundry basket and a …