By Shuvojit Banerjee* BANGKOK, Thailand | 12 August 2024 (IDN) — High prices of essential goods and services have become a pressing issue for the poor and vulnerable in Asia and the Pacific despite decent economic growth and declining inflationary trends so far in 2024. This cost-of-living crisis since the onset of the war in […]
Kazakhstan Willing to Share Nuclear Disarmament Expertise with N. Korea
By Ji Da-gyum, The Korea Herald ASTANA, Kazakhstan | 11 August 2024 (IDN) — Kazakhstan is willing to share its nuclear disarmament expertise with North Korea, emphasizing its own journey of voluntarily relinquishing nuclear weapons inherited from the Soviet Union and subsequently achieving substantial economic growth, Kazakhstan’s Deputy Foreign Minister Roman Vassilenko said. “We want […]
Cyberattackers Use Easily Available Tools to Target Media Sites
By Sonjib Chandra Das The writer is a Staff Correspondent of Weekly Blitz. DHAKA | 10 August 2024 (IDN) — In mid-April, the exiled Russian media website Meduza experienced its largest distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack in its 10-year history. The attack, which flooded the site with traffic and blocked publishing for over four […]
Nepal: Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities Maintain Symbiotic Bonds with Forests
By Devinder Kumar NEW DELHI | 10 August 2024 (IDN) — Nepal is richly endowed with forest resources, with a coverage of about 6.4 million hectares. Between 1992 and 2016, the country nearly doubled its forest cover, moving from 26 percent to 45 percent of its land area. The progress in forest regeneration and improvement […]
A Ukrainian Gamble For Peace Negotiations?
By Stephen Bryen* This article was issued by Weapons and Strategy and is being republished with their permission. WASHINGTON, D.C. | 9 August 2024 (IDN) — The Russians got caught with their pants own in Kursk. The Ukrainians pulled off a large-scale invasion using new tactics. They advanced far into Russian territory, mostly unopposed, or […]
Indigenous Peoples: An Antidote in A World of Crisis
Equator Prize winners announced By Jamison Ervin and Anna Giulia Medri* NEW YORK | 9 August 2024 (IDN) — This year’s Equator Prize winners are the antidote we need in a world of crisis. Earlier this year, the World Economic Forum released its annual Risk Report. The key findings highlighted the inescapable trend over the […]
World Bank Shows Way Out of Extreme Poverty for Two-thirds of Global Population
By J Nastranis NEW YORK | 6 August 2024 (IDN) — Bad news for two-thirds of the global population. They comprise six billion people and inhabit 108 countries—including China, India, Brazil, and South Africa—classified as “middle-income”, each with annual GDP per capita in the range of $1,136 to $13,845. Two out of every three people […]
Now Is the Time to Help Countries Faced with Liquidity Challenges
By Ceyla Pazarbasioglu, Pablo Saavedra* With elevated debt service squeezing the space available to finance much needed investment in many countries, urgent action is needed to boost fiscal space, maintain adequate international support, and reduce debt servicing costs. WASHINGTON, DC | 5 August 2024 (IDN) — Many countries are being squeezed by increasing interest payments […]
Global Hunger Persists at High Rates — UN Target Missed
By Jaya Ramachandran ROME | 4 August 2024 (IDN) — “Zero Hunger” is second of the ambitious 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by world leaders at an historic summit in September 2015. These were to be achieved by 2030. But the distressing fact is that global hunger persists at high rates: one in eleven […]
UN Forum Stresses Significance of South-South and Triangular Cooperation
By Caroline Mwanga NEW YORK | 3 August 2024 (IDN) — The 2024 High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) on Sustainable Development from 8 to 17 July spotlighted the pivotal role of South-South and triangular cooperation in advancing the global development agenda. The Forum emphasized the need to strengthen and expand South-South and triangular cooperation to enhance […]