IPS is pleased to announce that our journalist Catherine Makino has been elected President of the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan. According to official results, Makino beat Bradley Martin of Bloomberg News, the FCCJ Election Committee said after the press club’s five-day balloting last week that Makino collected 124 votes and Martin 59 votes.

She will succeed Martyn Williams, Tokyo bureau chief of the U.S. high- tech IDG News Service, for a one-year term starting July 1. Read more »

Sabina Zaccaro, ROME, Jun 25 (IPS) - The IPS International Association has chosen Federico Mayor as new chair of its Board of Directors. He replaces Mario Soares, former President of Portugal (1986-1996), who has been guiding the IPS Board since 2002.

IPS also elected its Board of Trustees, which includes two former U.N. secretaries general, Kofi Annan and Boutros Boutros-Ghali; two former presidents, Mario Soares (Portugal) and Martti Ahtisaari (Finland); two former prime ministers, Toshiki Kaifu (Japan) and Inder Kumar Gujral (India); and IPS founder Roberto Savio. Read more »

Civicus, the Johannesburg-based international NGO is holding its 8th World Assembly in Glasgow, Scotland, Jun 18 - 21, gathering hundreds of civil society groups from around the world. Along with the World Social Forum, Civicus’ World Assembly is one of the most comprehensive and representative international meeting of social activists. Read more »

IPS is pleased to announce that our journalist Keya Acharya has been awarded the influential Prem Bhatia Award for the Best Reporting on Environment of 2008. The prize is awarded by the India-based Prem Bhatia Memorial Trust, set up in 1995 to honour prominent journalist Prem Bhatia. Read more »

IPS is delighted to announce that Tierramerica, the IPS Latin America specialized information service on environment and development is a joint winner of the Zayed Prize in the category of Environmental Action Leading to Positive Change in Society.

The Zayed Prize is the world’s most valuable environmental award, worth US$1 million, shared by awardees led this year by Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland. In announcing the award, the organisers said that Tierramerica serves as a space for debate, drawing a wide range of social actors from Latin America and the world. Read more »