By Rodrigo Pérez MIAMI, USA | 27 October 2025 (IDN) — In an unexpected step for one of the world’s most tightly managed economies, Cuba has approved a new policy that allows international hotel chains to lease — not merely operate — state-owned hotels. The move marks a historic departure from decades of rigid central control […]
Morocco’s Sustainability Forward Today
By Yossef Ben-Meir* MARRAKECH, Morocco | 16 October 2025 (IDN) — So much of world poverty today can be accounted for by the gap between vision, intention, and the codification of policies to support people’s own driven change and growth juxtaposed against unsatisfactory implementation, the lack of application, and a deepening stratification. The disappointment, very […]
Sewing Sustainability: The High Atlas Foundation’s Zero-Waste Initiative
By Bryn Galumbeck* MARRAKECH, Morocco | 1 April 2025 (IDN) — On 30 March, which marked the third annual International Day of Zero Waste, the international community recognized the urgent need to transform waste management and promote sustainable consumption and production. This year’s theme, Towards Zero Waste in Fashion and Textiles, highlights the pressing environmental […]
Indonesia: The Waste Emergency in Yogyakarta
By Mirna Layli Dewi* YOGYAKARTA, Indonesia | 11 February 2025 (IDN) — Indonesia’s Yogyakarta Piyungan landfill, officially closed due to overcapacity, continues to receive waste, exacerbating environmental and health crises for local communities. Yogyakarta’s Piyungan landfill, officially closed since May 2024, continues to receive waste via motorbikes, worsening pollution and health risks for nearby residents. […]
India Takes Yet Another Step Toward Sending Humans to the Moon
By Devinder Kumar* NEW DELHI | 17 January 2025 (IDN) — The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)—which has been working on key technologies to realise its vision of setting up a space station by 2035 and sending humans to the Moon by 2040—on January 16 morning successfully demonstrated space docking, or the joining of two […]
Ecuador Opens World Heritage Natural Site Galapagos Islands to US Military
By Pablo Meriguet and Benjamin Zinevich* QUITO, Ecuador | 23 December 2024 (IDN) — On 15 February 2024, Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboasigned a series military cooperation treaties with the US government, allowing ships, military personnel, armament, equipment, and submarines to be installed in the natural reserve, which UNESCO declared a World Natural Heritage Site in […]
World Trade Is on Track to Hit a Record USD33 Trillion In 2024
By Jaya Ramachandran GENEVA | 5 December 2024 (IDN) — Global trade is poised to hit an all-time high of nearly $33 trillion in 2024. This marks a growth of 3.3% or $1 trillion increase driven by a 7% rise in trade in services, according to the latest Global Trade Update by UN Trade and […]
Volunteerism: The Untapped Force to Help Tackle World’s Problems
By Simone Galimberti International Volunteer Day, commonly known as IVD, is celebrated on 5 December every year. It started as an international observance mandated by the United Nations General Assembly in 1985. It is a day where volunteers are acknowledged, and the spirit of volunteerism is promoted at the local, national and international levels. United […]
Sustainable Transport Key to Achieving Asia-Pacific Region’s Development Ambitions
By Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana* BANGKOK, Thailand | 26 November 2024 (IDN) — Across the Asia-Pacific region, especially in urban centres, electric cars and buses are increasingly replacing gasoline-powered ones as a means of transportation. Aided by the ubiquity of smart devices, smart mobility and other transport innovations are significantly reshaping everyday life through ride-sharing apps, […]
Strengthening Tsunami Preparedness in a Changing Climate
By Sanjay Srivastava, Temily Baker and Nawarat Perawattanasakul* BANGKOK, Thailand | 4 November 2024 (IDN) — This year’s World Tsunami Awareness Day (5 November) presents a moment of reflection 20 years on from the catastrophic Indian Ocean Tsunami in 2004. The tsunami resulted in 225,000 fatalities across 14 countries and emphasized the urgent need for […]