GLOBAL ISSUES – Page 162 – IDN-InDepthNews

GLOBAL ISSUES2016-03-182023-07-10

Strong Plea for a Female UN Chief, Kudos for Ban Ki-moon

By Ramesh Jaura | IDN-InDepthNews Analysis

BERLIN | NEW YORK (IDN) – United Nations General Assembly President Mogens Lykketoft and Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon have expressed their support for choosing a woman as the next UN Chief.

Speaking on ‘women’s empowerment and its link to sustainable development’ at the opening of the sixtieth session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) on March 14, Lykketoft said: “. . .the drive for Gender Equality has been the business of this Commission long before the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

“And the empowerment of women and girls has been advanced by courageous feminists, women activists, government officials and others long before the 2030 Agenda was agreed.”

GLOBAL ISSUES2016-03-182023-07-10

Doubling Renewables by 2030 Can Save Trillions

By Rita Joshi | IDN-INPS News Analysis

BERLIN (IDN | INPS) – Doubling renewables in the global energy mix by 2030 is not only feasible, but cheaper than not doing so. It can save up to USD 4.2 trillion annually by 2030 – 15 times more than the costs, says a new report. Under existing national plans, the global renewables share would only reach 21 per cent by 2030. The report recommends options to boost the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix from just over 18 per cent today, to as much as 36 per cent by 2030.

GLOBAL ISSUES2016-03-182023-07-10

High-level Talks in Brussels to Adopt ACP Climate Action Plan

By Reinhardt Jacobsen | IDN-InDepthNews Report

BRUSSELS (IDN) – In an unprecedented move, representatives from the 79 member states of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group are meeting with top officials from the United Nations agencies as well as other influential international and regional groupings to accelerate work towards implementing the historic Paris Agreement on climate change.

High level participants in the gathering in Brussels on March 22-23 include: the European Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy, Miguel Cañete, who will deliver the keynote address; UN Environment Programme Director Achim Steiner; the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Director General José Graziano Da Silva; and Secretary General of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Petteri Taalas.

USA and Canada2016-03-172023-07-10

18 Elephants Jetted Out of Swaziland to U.S. Zoos Despite Protest

NEW YORK (INPS | GIN) – If moving one elephant and escaping notice sounds like a challenge, imagine moving 18. Yet three American zoos quietly moved 18 elephants out of Swaziland and into U.S. zoos.

Animal rights activists, who had a court date to block the action, condemned the transfer. Removing elephants from the wild for display in zoos is cruel and outdated, they said.

The operation involved sedating three males and 15 females, crating and hoisting them aboard a cargo plane in Swaziland. They range in age from 6 to 25 years.

GLOBAL ISSUES2016-03-152023-07-10

Thai Youth Learn to Develop a ‘Mindful’ Economic Behaviour

By Kalinga Seneviratne* | IDN-InDepthNews Feature

This article is the fourth in a series of joint productions of Lotus News Features and IDN-InDepthNews, flagship of the International Press Syndicate.

CHIANG MAI (IDN | Lotus News Features**) – The Mindfulness fad sweeping across the West today may be the new money-spinner for those “gurus” who charge hundreds of dollars for each session to teach its applications, often to improve one’s ability to navigate the global capitalist system to make more money for yourself. But, for the Thais it’s a 2500-year old philosophy taught by Gautama the Buddha to encourage moderation, self-reliance and contentment in your daily life.

GLOBAL ISSUES2016-03-152023-07-10

Biting on a Bitter Kernel of a Truth of Human Experience

By Jonathan Power | IDN-INPS Viewpoint

LUND, Sweden (IDN | INPS) – Was the cultured and sophisticated Italian writer, Oriani Fallaci, speaking for the large numbers of working class people who end up being the ones who usually play host to immigrants, when she wrote in a leading liberal newspaper, Corriere della Serra, of her experience of trying to get rid of Somali immigrants living in a tent, performing all their bodily functions next to Florence’s cathedral?

ARMAMENTS2016-03-142023-07-10

2016 Crucial for Promoting a Nuclear Weapons Free World

By Jamshed Baruah | IDN-INPS News Analysis

BERLIN | NEW YORK (IDN | INPS) – The 25th anniversary of the closure of the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site, the twentieth year of the opening for signature of the treaty to ban all kinds of nuclear tests and the unanimous advisory by the world’s highest court in 1996 are three significant hallmarks of the year 2016.

“These historical dates are an important occasion for pooling the efforts of all countries to promote a nuclear-free world,” said Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev on March 2 during a meeting in Astana with the heads of foreign diplomatic missions accredited in the republic.

GLOBAL ISSUES2016-03-112023-07-10

Dutch Govt. Supports Sustainable Garment Production & Textile Industry

By Reinhardt Jacobsen | IDN-InDepthNews Report

THE HAGUE (IDN) – A broad coalition of industry organizations, trade unions, civil society organizations and the Dutch government have tabled an agreement on international responsible business conduct in the garment and textile sector.

The parties to the agreement join forces in an effort to achieve practical improvements in and ensure the sustainability of the international garment and textile supply chain. For example, they want to address problems such as dangerous working conditions and environmental pollution.

GLOBAL ISSUES2016-03-102023-07-10

ACP and EU Pave the Way for a Crucial Meeting in Senegal

By Jaya Ramachandran | IDN-InDepthNews Analysis

BERLIN | BRUSSELS (IDN) – The future of relations between the ACP Group of 79 countries and the 28-nation EU after 2020, when the current partnership agreement comes to a close, promises to be a critical issue for the Joint Council of Ministers gathering in Senegal’s capital Dakar on April 28-29.

Though, according to the draft agenda endorsed by representatives of member states of the European Union and the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on climate change will draw the focus of the upcoming meeting.

GLOBAL ISSUES2016-03-102023-07-10

European Parliament Adopts a Historic Resolution on Eritrea

By Klara Smits and Florence Tornincasa | IDN-InDepthNews Report

STRASBOURG (IDN) – The European Parliament has adopted a resolution on Eritrea, which sends a strong signal to the European Commission, the EU Council, member states and the Eritrean government that human rights violations in the country need to be addressed.

The resolution approved on March 10 clearly identifies that Eritrean refugees are fleeing serious human rights violations and an indefinite national service which constitutes slavery.

The resolution also addresses the systematic extortion of refugees, a concern expressed earlier in resolutions adopted by the UN Security Council.