Post-Quake Haiti Severely Dependent on Private Sector Carey L. Biron WASHINGTON, 15 May (IPS) - More than two years after the January 2010 earthquake in Haiti, NGOs and private contractors are continuing to provide 80 percent of the country's social services. more...   U.S. Occupiers Reclaim Land for Sustainable Farming Judith Scherr ALBANY, California, 14 May (IPS) - With hoes, shovels, some 15,000 seedlings and a bolt cutter to break the locks that kept them out, students, community members and participants from nearby Occupy movements have laid claim to an undeveloped 10-acre parcel since Earth Day, Apr. 22, in Albany, California. more...   U.S. Ethnic Minority Youth Lead New Wave of Student Activism Gabriel Schivone TUSCON, Arizona, 8 May (IPS) - In December 1985, The New York Times reported on what was believed to be the first anti-apartheid conference of U.S. high schools discussing divestment from corporations operating in South Africa. more...   Calls Mount for Stronger U.S. Stance as Bahrain Resists Reform Jim Lobe* WASHINGTON, 4 May (IPS) - Citing growing violence and polarisation along sectarian lines, human rights groups and independent experts here are urging Washington to exert more pressure on the government of Bahrain to free political prisoners and launch a serious dialogue with its opposition on major democratic reforms. more...   Standing Up for the Planet and the Future Stephen Leahy UXBRIDGE, Canada, 4 May (IPS) - What are you doing on Saturday? Peter Nix, a retiree, will be standing on a railway track on Canada's west coast blocking a coal train destined to ship U.S. and Canadian coal to Asia. more...   OP-ED Nobel Laureates and Students Discuss Role of Women in Human Rights Kerry Kennedy* CHICAGO, Illinois, U.S., 3 May (IPS) - Last week, in a lecture hall at the University of Illinois Chicago, 2003 Nobel Peace Laureate Shirin Ebadi took a reality many of us working in human rights know well, and drove it home with a story from her own nation, a land her government says she is no longer allowed to call home. more...   U.S. Marches and Militancy at Occupy Oakland's May Day Judith Scherr OAKLAND, California, 2 May (IPS) - It was May Day and Oakland was bathed in sunshine. Union workers staged militant actions; immigrants and allies marched for justice with brass bands and drummers; spontaneous street parties erupted. more...   Filipinos Decry New U.S. Military Agreement Carey L. Biron WASHINGTON, 1 May (IPS) - Civil society groups and local politicians are reacting with anger to a new agreement by the United States that would increase its military engagement with the Philippines. more...   U.S. Workers, Students Reclaim May Day Haider Rizvi NEW YORK, 1 May (IPS) - Tens of thousands of people took to the streets here and around the United States Monday calling for an end to what they described as the mounting and corrosive influence of money in politics. more...   Q&A How to Empower Youths to Take Charge of Their Health and Sexuality Mathilde Bagneres interviews ORIANA LOPEZ URIBE, youth activist for sexual and reproductive health s UNITED NATIONS, 28 Apr (IPS) - Young people aged 15-24 make up a quarter of sexually active individuals, yet they comprise half of new sexually transmitted infections (STIs) infections each year. more...