INDIA: Toxins Still Killing 25 Years After Bhopal Gas Leak

Chryso D’Angelo

NEW YORK, Dec 2 2009 (IPS) – When I saw the leaves on the trees curl and turn black and birds fall dead out of the sky, I knew that this was Death, come among us as foretold. My regret is that I survived, said a native of Bhopal, India after a gas leak at a pesticide plant killed 8,000-10,000 people in 1984.
The abandoned Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal, India. Credit: Bhopal Medical Appeal

The abandoned Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal, India. Credit: Bhopal Medical Appeal

A quarter century later, the disaster continues to unfold, an …

Monetising Human Waste and 101 (Slightly) Crazy Other Ideas

A contaminated stream in Kimicanga, a suburb of Kigali, Rwanda. What if human and other waste could be turned into an energy and revenue-producing bio-gas? Credit: Aimable Twahirwa/IPS

UXBRIDGE, Canada, Apr 30 2013 (IPS) – One, two or more of the 102 newly launched out-of-the box ideas to improve global health could be world-changing breakthroughs.

It might be someone s idea to create a test strip you touch with your tongue to see if you have a deadly disease. Or a mobile phone game to prevent HIV. Or the idea that untreated human waste from slums could be turned into marketable products.

Breakthroughs can t happen without a genius idea and the opportunity…

Draconian Ban on Abortion in El Salvador Targeted by Global Campaign

One of her defence lawyers hugs Carmelina Pérez when an appeals court in eastern El Salvador declares her innocent of homicide, on Apr. 23. She had been sentenced to 30 years in prison in June 2014 after suffering a miscarriage. In El Salvador women, especially the poor, suffer from the penalisation of abortion under any circumstances. Credit: Edgardo Ayala/IPS

One of her defence lawyers hugs Carmelina Pérez when an appeals court in eastern El Salvador declares her innocent of homicide, on Apr. 23. She had been sentenced to 30 years in prison in June 2014 after suffering a miscarriage. In El Salvador women, especially the poor, suffer from the penalisation of abortion under any…

Working Class Bears Disproportionate Burden of COVID-19 Economic Fallout

Recent changes in India’s labour laws show their disguised priority towards businesses over workers. On one hand, one could be hopeful that such support in strengthening business’ capacity to be resilient would ultimately trickle down to workers in terms of employment and growth opportunities. However, in the absence of proper checks and balances, this can snowball into unfair working conditions for a certain class of workers.

With upwards of 200 separate pieces of labour legislation, there is no strict definition in India of ‘labour laws’ to draw any boundaries. | Picture courtesy: Nayantara Parikh

DELHI, India, Nov 13 2020 (IPS) – Back in May 2019, we were visitin…

Water Graves: Nightmare for Mexican Fishermen

MEXICO CITY, Feb 4 2021 (IPS) – All of Erizo s nightmares are the same. Since his return from the ocean almost unrecognizable every bad dream is identical. A wave punches his little boat and throws him into the deep sea where everything is so dark that he can t even see his own hands.

Rosi Orozco

Even when he swam with all his energy, this 31 year old fisherman was never able to set foot on the mainland and to him, the Mexican Pacific ocean slowly became a grave formed only of water.

When Erizo dies in his nightmare, he wakes up in real life, opening his mouth like a dying fish that desperately tries to gasp some air. Then, he and his wife are on a midnight routine…