By Ramesh Jaura UNITED NATIONS (IDN) – The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) spanning an area home to 4.1 billion people, or two thirds of the world’s population, sprang a surprise when it admitted that at the current rate of progress in the region only one of the […]
Elections Pose Yet Another Challenge To Pakistan
By Sajjad Ashraf* ISLAMABAD (IDN-INPS) – Though some legal challenges on constituency delimitation remain, Pakistan is well on its way to a general election. Caretaker Prime Minister Nasir-ul-Mulk took the oath of office at the beginning of June, setting the stage for elections to take place on July 25, 2018. Punjab province is the main […]
Mahathir Appears To Be Setting The Stage For A New Malaysia
By Shankaran Nambiar* KUALA LUMPUR (IDN-INPS) – Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad appears to be setting the tone for a revision of Malaysia’s geo-economic policy, if the bilateral meetings with his Indian and Japanese counterparts in the early days of his administration are anything to go by. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called on Mahathir not […]
India Supports Sustainable Development Through UN Tax Fund
By J Nastranis NEW YORK (IDN) – India has provided a voluntary contribution of US $100,000 to encourage the participation of developing countries in the work of a key UN committee on tax matters tasked with finding ways of mobilizing resources for sustainable development. This is the second year India has contributed to the UN […]
Lao Women Village Weavers Pursue Moderate Livelihoods
By Toung Eh Synuanchanh This article is the 24th in a series of joint productions of Lotus News Features and IDN-InDepthNews, flagship of the International Press Syndicate. BUNGSANTHUENG, Laos (IDN) – The consciousness of finite resource and traditional wisdom are inspiring a group of women in the Southeast Asian country to pursue business practices based on the Buddhist […]
UN Report Bashes India and Pakistan for Multiple Human Rights Violations in Kashmir
By Ramesh Jaura BERLIN | GENEVA (IDN) – In its first ever report on the human rights situation in Indian- and Pakistan-Administered Kashmir, the UN has listed human rights violations and abuses on both sides of the Line of Control, and highlighted a situation of chronic impunity for violations committed by security forces. “There is […]
The South Indian State of Kerala Shows the Way By Embracing Migrant Workers
By Shastri Ramachandaran* NEW DELHI (IDN) – By any yardstick of human and social development, Kerala in South India is ahead of most Indian states. It provides social security to all sections of employees and workers through schemes that are superior to what obtains in most other states. Its labour policies are progressive. Minimum wages, […]
SPECIAL REPORT: Ten Years After the Abolition of Monarchy, Communists Blaze a New Trail in Nepal
By Shastri Ramachandaran* NEW DELHI (IDN) – The coming together of Nepal’s two communist parties – Unified Marxist-Leninist and Maoist Centre – which are already in office as the Left Alliance is a landmark development signifying a decisive political turn in the Himalayan country. The unified Nepal Communist Party (NCP) is South Asia’s largest communist […]
SPECIAL REPORT: India-Nepal Ties on Uncharted Terrain
By Shastri Ramachandaran* NEW DELHI (IDN) – As Nepalese Prime Minister K. P. Sharma Oli embarks on a six-day visit to China on June 19, his effort to assign the northern neighbour a larger role in Nepal’s infrastructure development would be watched with immense interest in New Delhi and several world capitals. The visit, although […]
Karzai Blames U.S., Pakistan For Afghanistan Chaos
By Kalinga Seneviratne BONN (IDN) – Former Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai has blamed the United States and Pakistan for the chaos created in his country over the past two decades. He firmly believes that the West, including Germany, should admit to their failures in his war-torn country. He followed up on this argument, initially advanced […]