Bryant Harris interviews MTHULI NCUBE, Chief Economist for the African Development Bank

The post Q&A: The Case for Cutting African Poverty in Half appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Although half the world’s population is under 25 years old, young people in more than two dozen countries feel that their opportunities for educational, economic and societal advancement are limited, according to new research released here Thursday. Researchers say the results should help to drive and prioritise both public and private investment in services. In order […]

The post Youth Around the World See Meagre Opportunities appeared first on Inter Press Service.

As the international community and the U.S. government place a heightened emphasis on reducing carbon emissions as a way to combat global climate change, shareholders have convinced the oil-and gas giant ExxonMobil to publicly disclose the risk that strengthened regulation could pose to its profits. The Texas-based company announced its intentions last week and agreed […]

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Civil society and advocacy groups are warning that a prominent carbon-reduction initiative, aimed at curbing global emissions, is undermining land tenure rights for indigenous communities, putting their livelihoods at risk. On Wednesday, an international dialogue here focused on the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation Plus (REDD+) programme, overseen primarily by the United Nations and […]

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U.S. President Barack Obama released a 3.9-trillion-dollar budget proposal for the coming fiscal year, shaping an ideological battle over the role of government in reducing poverty that will likely define the coming election year. In addition to conventional support for the economically vulnerable, such as extending unemployment insurance, Obama’s proposal, released Tuesday, seeks to expand tax credits […]

The post Duelling U.S. Budgets Herald Showdown over Poverty appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni’s authorisation of the Parliament’s so-called “kill the gays” bill has led Washington officials to announce a review of U.S. aid to the African country. While the new law no longer provides the death penalty for LGBT people, as it did when parliament first introduced it, it escalates existing penalties on homosexuality, […]

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U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and several key Republican and Democrat senators agree on the need for criminal justice reform, and some are now even seeking to restore voting rights to former felons. “There is no rational reason to take away someone’s voting rights for life just because they committed a crime, especially after they […]

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