IPS correspondents sit down with officials, activists and people like you to discuss the issues important to them — and to the rest of the global community.
www.ipsnews.net/new_focus/QandA/index.asp
“Confessions Are Not Always True”
— Sakae Menda, 81-year-old exonerated death row inmate
UNITED NATIONS – Japan is the only member of the Group of Seven industrialised nations other than the United States to retain capital punishment. And unlike capital punishment in the U.S., Japan’s use of the death penalty is on the rise.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=39790
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“We Don’t Believe Gbagbo Will Organise Transparent Elections”
— Alassane Ouattara, would-be presidential candidate
ABIDJAN – Will it be third time lucky for Ivorian opposition leader Alassane Ouattara during presidential elections which many hope will take place in Cote d’Ivoire next year?
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=39769
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How the MDGs Could Curtail Development
— Inge Kaul, former UNDP official
BERLIN – Some of the ways in which the Millennium Development Goals are being pushed could actually limit development, says Inge Kaul, former director of the UN Development Programme’s Office of Development Studies.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=39761
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“Women Need Help to Deliver”
— Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, UNFPA
LONDON – The Women Deliver conference held in London last week has reminded a lot of people in the world of healthcare how much more they need to deliver to make pregnancy and childbirth safer for women.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=39751
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“We’ve Stopped Believing in Ourselves”
— Michael Byers, Canadian author and political analyst
VANCOUVER – Dr. Michael Byers, a professor of politics and international law at the University of British Columbia, recently released a provocative book titled “Intent for a Nation – A Relentlessly Optimistic Manifesto for Canada’s Role in the World.”
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=39693
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“Where Europe Has Failed These Europeans”
— Thomas Hammarberg, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights
ATHENS – Thomas Hammerberg was elected Commissioner of Human Rights of the Council of Europe in October 2005. He plays a crucial role in promoting implementation of the recommendations of the human rights system of the Council. He spoke with IPS about the problems that Roma, one of the most discriminated against groups in the EU face today.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=39667
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“The Government Is Not Our Enemy”
— Juan Javier Zeballos, Bolivia’s National Press Association
LA PAZ – As relations between Bolivia?s leftist President Evo Morales and the local media are becoming increasingly tense, the National Press Association adopted a code of ethics which, for the first time, urges the media to stick to principles aimed at guaranteeing responsible, unbiased coverage.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=39595
Read more IPS interviews at:
www.ipsnews.net/new_focus/QandA/index.asp
And much more global news at: www.ipsnews.net/