UN Staff Celebrates Holi, Hindu Festival of Colours Lusha Chen UNITED NATIONS, 2 Apr (IPS) - March 27 officially declared the arrival of spring to the Hindu community, celebrated with the Holi festival. Known as the festival of colours, Holi has a broad appeal in and outside India, particularly among youth. Hindus send their greetings and welcome good luck by throwing coloured powder to others and smearing people's clothes with paint. The celebration of Holi will usually last for several weeks and will also take place in different areas across America. At the UN, the United Nations Staff Recreations Council initiates the celebration to embody the festival's spirit of bridging social barriers of language and status. United Nations Staff Celebrates Holi, the Hindu Festival of Colors from IPS Inter Press Service on Vimeo. This year also marks the fifth annual Holi Festival in New York City, which, with the theme "Green Holi", stressed the use of new herbal and non-toxic colours. more...   New York Farmers Aid the City's Hungry Stephanie Parker , 25 Jul (IPS) - At a time when big grocery stores like Trader Joe's and Whole Foods are attracting scores of hungry customers, many local family-run farms are fighting to keep afloat. more...   New York Farmers Aid the City's Hungry Stephanie Parker , 25 Jul (IPS) - At a time when big grocery stores like Trader Joe's and Whole Foods are attracting scores of hungry customers, many local family-run farms are fighting to keep afloat. more...   Q&A Film "Invisible War" Reveals Epidemic of Rape in U.S. Military Coralie Tripier UNITED NATIONS, 20 Jun (IPS) - The US military is facing one of its biggest scandals, depicted in "Invisible War", Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering's latest documentary. more...   U.S. New Steps by Obama to Curb Atrocities in Syria, Elsewhere Jim Lobe* WASHINGTON, 23 Apr (IPS) - In a major speech commemmorating the Nazi Holocaust, U.S. President Barack Obama Monday announced several steps his administration will take to curb mass atrocities abroad, including in Syria where he is under continuing pressure to intervene with military force. more...   OP-ED Tweeting Democracy Across the Arab World Guy Golan, Ph.D.* SYRACUSE, New York, 18 Apr (IPS) - Over the past few years, the political landscape of the Middle East was wholly transformed by the diffusion of social media across the region. Accounting for 50-65 percent of the region's population, young Muslims quickly embraced these new platforms of mass communication and soon thereafter, they became leaders of revolutions. more...   U.S. "Arab Spring" Dominated TV Foreign News in 2011 Jim Lobe* WASHINGTON, 2 Jan (IPS) - 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. more...   BOOKS-US Deconstructing Thomas Friedman Sandra Siagian NEW YORK, 6 Dec (IPS) - 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. more...   U.S. Carbon Emissions Down Seven Percent In Four Years Analysis by Lester R. Brown* WASHINGTON, 2 Nov (IPS) - 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. more...   Syria Agrees to Arab League Plan Correspondents* - IPS/Al Jazeera DOHA, Qatar, 2 Nov (IPS) - 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. more...