By Ramesh Jaura BERLIN | GENEVA (IDN) – May 24, 2018 smacks of a ‘historic day’ marked by a smokescreen of uncertainty and speculations in the aftermath of U.S. President Donald Trump calling off his summit meeting with Kim Jong-un, the leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), commonly known as North Korea. […]
Governments Do Little as West African Countries are Plundered
By Will Fitzgibbon In the region’s largest-ever journalism collaboration, reporters from 11 countries expose the financial secrets of some of West Africa’s most powerful politicians, moguls and corporations. The following article first appeared on the website of International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) on 22 May 2018 with the headline WEST AFRICA LEAKS: How Officials, […]
79 ACP Ministers Meeting in Lomé to Discuss Strategy for New Accord with EU
By Robert Johnson BRUSSELS (ACP-IDN) – Seventy-nine African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries are set to speak with one voice as they prepare to adopt a negotiating mandate for a pact with the European Union (EU) after the Cotonou Agreement expires in February 2020. ACP Government Ministers will convene on May 27 for preparatory discussions […]
China Extending Capabilities In Reengineering Global Opinion
Viewpoint by Zi Yang* SINGAPORE (IDN) – On March 21, 2018, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) released its ‘Plan for Deepening Reform of Party and State Organs’. Among the 60 items added to China’s reform agenda, four were related to state media. That month, the CCP greatly increased the power of China’s so-called ‘Ministry of […]
The ‘Libyan Model’ is Unhelpful: Korea needs its Own Process for Peace and Nuclear Disarmament
By Rebecca Johnson* SEOUL (IDN) – I’m now in Seoul, taking part in the peace actions and international meetings organised by Women Cross the DMZ, referring to the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea. News has been dominated by fears that the US National Security Advisor, John Bolton, may have jeopardised the hoped-for Singapore […]
How About Beginning With Sport To Face Down Trump?
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – Can you smell the whiff of smoke? You surely can. But the gunfire? Not yet. But it must start soon if the battle has any chance of success. President Donald Trump has to be faced down. Not only because of his sabotage of the Iran nuclear deal […]
China Is Making Friends With Five Mekong States
Viewpoint by Nguyen Khac Giang* HANOI (IDN) – Since Chinese President Xi Jinping took over power in 2012, Southeast Asia has become a focal point of China’s geopolitical ambitions. Instead of the clandestine and illegal tactics seen under Mao Zedong, the current strategy combines two major approaches: building Chinese-led institutional mechanisms and buying support with […]
Blockchain Technology Could Be Vital in Helping Improve Humanitarian Aid Across the World
Viewpoint by Natalia Fuller TOKYO (IDN) – Several aid groups are now looking at blockchain’s potential to improve humanitarian aid. By providing refugees with a virtual identity, and assuring the public that their money is being properly spent, aid groups are hopeful that they can attract more donors. UNICEF is one of the largest charitable […]
Multilateralism in Action is Something We Need to See More Of
By Miroslav Lajčák Miroslav Lajčák is President of the 72nd session of the United Nations General Assembly. Following are extensive excerpts from his Statement at 74th session of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) with focus on Inequality in the Era of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development on 14 […]
Kazakhstan Promotes Sustainable Development Goals in Global Diplomacy and International Activities
By J Nastranis NEW YORK (IDN) – When Kazakhstan took over the presidency of the UN Security Council in January 2018, it set out with a seven-point agenda: a world free of nuclear weapons; preventing and ending military confrontations at regional and global levels; making Central Asia a model for a regional zone of peace, […]