By Rita Joshi BONN | SAMARKAND. 13 September 2023 (IDN) — At least 100 million hectares of healthy and productive land were degraded every year between 2015 and 2019, affecting food and water security globally and directly impacting the lives of 1.3 billion people, according to the latest UN data. This adds up to 420 […]
Kazakhstan Committed to a Nuclear-Weapons-Free World
By Katsuhiro Asagiri and Kunsaya Kurmet-Rakhimova* ASTANA. 10 September 2023 (IDN) — The Central Asian Republic of Kazakhstan is playing a key role in implementing the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW)—as the designated president of the third meeting of states parties of the TPNW, and the co-chair of the working group on […]
Indonesia Favours “Cooperation” as Tensions Simmer at ASEAN Summit
By Kalinga Seneviratne SINGAPORE. 9 September 2023 (IDN) — At the just concluded ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) summit in Jakarta, President of Indonesia Joko Widodo pleaded with the world’s big powers to “strengthen cooperation, not sharpen rivalries”. “I don’t know how many words of peace and stability we utter at every meeting… […]
The World Must Come Together to Address Global Challenges
By Kristalina Georgieva and Ajay Banga Following are excerpts from the Joint Statement issued by Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and Ajay Banga, President of the World Bank, on 7 September 2023. WASHINGTON, DC. 8 September 2023 (IDN) — The world confronts significant economic challenges, the existential threat of climate […]
Ukrainian Refugees—Mostly Women—Reluctant to Return Home
Ukrainian Refugees—Mostly Women—Reluctant to Return Home By Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury* DHAKA. 7 September 2023 (IDN) — In the wake of the conflict in Ukraine that erupted on 24 February 2022, millions of Ukrainians sought refuge in various countries across Europe and beyond. A unique feature of this refugee flow, however, is its striking gender […]
Establishment of a U.S.-ASEAN Center in Washington, D.C.
JAKARTA. 6 September 2023 (IDN) — At the U.S.-ASEAN Summit in Indonesia on September 6, US Vice President Harris joined with the leaders of ASEAN in announcing their intent to establish, through a public-private partnership, a U.S.-ASEAN Center in Washington, D.C. To that end, the State Department has established a public-private partnership with Arizona State […]
Global Heatwave Tells North and South that Climate Change Is Here
Analysis by Kalinga Seneviratne SINGAPORE. 5 September 2023 (IDN) — When heatwaves hit Southeast Asia, India and China in July, breaking temperature records across Asia, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said the “global boiling” era has arrived. And it didn’t take long for wildfires fuelled by high temperatures to spread across North America, Hawaii and Europe. […]
China’s Shandong Province Expands Its Footprint to The Pacific
By Kalinga Seneviratne SUVA, Fiji. 2 September 2023 (IDN) — A high-powered delegation of Chinese ocean and marine scientists and Asia-Pacific scholars from Shandong Province visited Fiji promoting South-South cooperation to mitigate climatic change—Pacific Islands’ biggest security threat. Facilitated by the Chinese Embassy here, Shandong Province and Fiji signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to […]
A Wake-Up Call For Kosovo’s Prime Minister Kurti
By Alon Ben-Meir* NEW YORK. 1 September 2023 (IDN) — Prime Minister Kurti was elected on the premise that he would attend to Kosovo’s socio-economic malaise, lift its people from the ashes of the war, give them hope, and restore their dignity. Sadly, more than two years later, Kurti has little to show for his […]
Backers of Endless War Deplore That Many Trump Supporters Favor Use of Violence
By Norman Solomon* SAN FRANCISCO. 31 August 2023 (IDN) — Ever since Donald Trump became a former president, news outlets and commentators have cited polls showing that many Republicans believe violence might be needed to save the country. As Trump’s legal woes increase, so do mainstream media alarms about the specter of violent responses. But […]