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IPS Media
Globalisation is more than free trade: it means real-time interconnection of peoples, no matter the distance. And development is more than economic growth: it is access to information, freedom of expression, and bridging the digital gap between rich and poor. IPS tracks the vital role that communication -- in all its various forms -- plays in our ever-changing world.
Updated: 11 hours 7 min ago
India Weighs Social Media Curbs
After India's agriculture minister Sharad Pawar was slapped by
a young Sikh man at a function in New Delhi, to record his
protest against corruption in high places, social media sites
went viral with musical spoofs and caricatured images of the
incident.
Categories: Public Discussion
Kenyan Chief Tweets His Way to Reducing Crime
Using 140 characters or less, Chief Francis Kariuki in Kenya, has tweeted his
way to reducing crime in his and surrounding villages.
Categories: Public Discussion
Radio Static for Ghana's Community Stations
There is a tension resonating through Ghana's airwaves, an electric
current fueled by rivaling interests between community radio advocates
and Ghana's National Communications Authority.
Categories: Public Discussion
BRAZIL: Community Radio Flourishes Online
Community radio stations in Brazil are finding the internet
and user-friendly information technologies to be valuable
allies for their broadcasts, which focus on citizenship,
social equity and human rights.
Categories: Public Discussion
TURKEY: Filtering Out Internet Freedom
Fifteen respected academics from different Turkish universities signed a
declaration in Ankara last week protesting recent state regulations restricting
access to a variety of websites on ‘moral' and ‘national integrity' grounds.
Categories: Public Discussion
Websites Black Out over "SOPA Censorship"
The number one rule young journalists are taught when starting
radio broadcasting is simple: No dead air. Cough into the
microphone if you must, but don't allow silence to creep in.
Categories: Public Discussion
BURMA: Political Prisoners Freed - Conditionally
The release of 651 prisoners, a process which started this month, is being seen
as a victory for activists and families who have had to contend with Burma's
notorious prison system.
Categories: Public Discussion
U.S.: "Arab Spring" Dominated TV Foreign News in 2011
The so-called "Arab Spring" led U.S. network television
evening news coverage during 2011, comprising a total of about
10 percent of all the news coverage provided by the three
major commercial networks during 2011, according to the latest
annual review by the authoritative Tyndall Report.
Categories: Public Discussion
OP-ED: This Spring Breeze Did Not Arise in the West
So here I am, an Arab journalist in Silicon Valley, where four
out of every four people I meet believe Facebook invented the
Arab Spring. Three more weeks here and I may start to
hallucinate that Mark Zuckerberg was a Cairo-slums native
named Hassouna El-Fatatri, who rotted in a Mubarak prison for
advocating personal privacy rights.
Categories: Public Discussion
Jailed Journalists Reflect Greater Struggle for Internet Freedom
The number of journalists in prison worldwide has spiked to
its highest level in 15 years. Of them, nearly half worked
online, raising larger questions about Internet freedom for
more than just reporters, but average citizens as well.
Categories: Public Discussion
BOOKS-US: Deconstructing Thomas Friedman
A new book on the influential New York Times columnist Thomas
Friedman sets out to debunk his hawkish, neoliberal views,
accusing him of overt racism, factual errors and skewed
judgments on issues ranging from the U.S. invasion of Iraq to
the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Categories: Public Discussion
Opening Virtual Doors for People with Disabilities
As the International Day for Persons with Disabilities
approaches this Saturday, one institution is working to remove
some of the barriers that prevent disabled people from taking
a leading role in policies that affect their lives.
Categories: Public Discussion
PHILIPPINES: These Shots Target AIDS
A unique campaign in the Philippines is using stylised online photos to raise
awareness on HIV/AIDS. Fashion and conceptual photographer Niccolo Cosme
first initiated Project Headshot Clinic in 2007 as a way of merging profile
photos online and advertising.
Categories: Public Discussion
PAKISTAN: At the Butt of a Joke
The Butts of Punjab have become the butt of jokes after Pakistan's telecom
authorities moved to ban "obscene" content on short messaging service (SMS)
texts over mobile phones.
Categories: Public Discussion
DEVELOPMENT: UNESCO Turns On the Radio
The demise of radio has been predicted for many years, but the medium is
adapting, transforming and proving to be a cost-effective tool in development,
experts say.
Categories: Public Discussion
INDIA: Massive Digital Divide in the Land of IT
In a remote Indian village in the Western state of Maharashtra, a fourth-grader
named Suraj Balu Zore proudly told IPS that he can now effortlessly operate a
laptop computer.
Categories: Public Discussion
Q&A: Female Empowerment, In-Depth: More Than Just a Resolution
The first United Nations (U.N.) Security Council resolution to
specifically address women's contributions to conflict
prevention and sustainable peace was passed just 11 years ago,
on Oct. 31, 2000.
Categories: Public Discussion
U.S. Carbon Emissions Down Seven Percent In Four Years
Between 2007 and 2011, carbon emissions from coal use in the
United States dropped 10 percent. During the same period,
emissions from oil use dropped 11 percent.
Categories: Public Discussion
Syria Agrees to Arab League Plan
The Syrian government has accepted several measures suggested
by the Arab League aimed at halting the violence in the
country, including the removal of tanks and armoured vehicles
from the streets.
Categories: Public Discussion
EDUCATION: Bangladeshi Humanitarian Wins Half-Million Prize
A Bangladeshi humanitarian with a British knighthood - and
head of one of the world's largest non-governmental
organisations (NGOs) promoting the cause of education -
walked way with half a million dollars in prize money and a
gold medal at the World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE)
in the Qatari capital of Doha.
Categories: Public Discussion