Viewpoint by Zi Yang* SINGAPORE (IDN) – On March 21, 2018, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) released its ‘Plan for Deepening Reform of Party and State Organs’. Among the 60 items added to China’s reform agenda, four were related to state media. That month, the CCP greatly increased the power of China’s so-called ‘Ministry of […]
China Is Making Friends With Five Mekong States
Viewpoint by Nguyen Khac Giang* HANOI (IDN) – Since Chinese President Xi Jinping took over power in 2012, Southeast Asia has become a focal point of China’s geopolitical ambitions. Instead of the clandestine and illegal tactics seen under Mao Zedong, the current strategy combines two major approaches: building Chinese-led institutional mechanisms and buying support with […]
Multilateralism in Action is Something We Need to See More Of
By Miroslav Lajčák Miroslav Lajčák is President of the 72nd session of the United Nations General Assembly. Following are extensive excerpts from his Statement at 74th session of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) with focus on Inequality in the Era of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development on 14 […]
Morocco Protects Traditional Crops and Wild Medicinal Plants
By Abderrahim Ouarghidi* MARRAKECH (IDN) – The Moroccan proverb ‘New things have a charm and old ones should be preserved’ has wide applicability in current Moroccan agricultural practices and attitudes toward conventional and local crop varieties. The revealing adage is part of the Moroccan identity and way of life. Moroccan people are committed to establishing […]
Families in Asia-Pacific Could Benefit Much More from Growing Remittances
By Krishan Dutta KUALA LUMPUR (IDN) – Around US$6 trillion in remittances are expected to be sent to developing countries by 2030: over half of these flows will arrive in the Asia Pacific regions, very often in small towns and villages, says a new report. Remittances to the Asia-Pacific region amounted to US$ 256 billion […]
Conference Calls for Action on Access to Justice for Children in Africa
By J Nastranis NEW YORK | ADDIS ABABA (IDN) – The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child obliges all members of the world body to respect and ensure the rights of each child “within their jurisdiction without discrimination of any kind”. While some progress has been made to fulfil the objectives set out […]
Trump Apparently Met His Match in Nigerian President Buhari
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) – Try as he might, President Trump couldn’t land a deal with Nigerian leader Muhammadu Buhari at their tête-à-tête in Washington end of April 2018. Deploying his usual tough talk on trade, the U.S. president was shooting for a deal that would open the doors to […]
Inequality on the Rise in Asia-Pacific – UNESCAP Reports
By Rita Joshi BERLIN | BANGKOK (IDN-INPS) – The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, approved by the United Nations in September 2015, pledged to “leave no one behind”. But two years since the Agenda began to be implemented, inequality in Asia and the Pacific is on the rise. This is affirmed by a study launched […]
Access to End-Use Technologies Key to Catalysing Development in Africa
By Joshua Masinde NAIROBI (IDN) – Productive use of energy holds the key to livelihood transformation in Africa’s rural areas. Small industries could improve their production processes and efficiency if they had better access to electricity and technologies. Without electricity, rural micro-enterprises make do with labour intensive and time-consuming manual tools, and often pass up […]
Cheers For Zimbabwe’s Musical ‘Lion’ Returning From Exile
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK | HARARE (IDN) – Welcome home Mukanya! After 14 long years in the U.S. state of Oregon, singer, composer and bandleader Thomas Mapfumo has come home to Zimbabwe. His recent performance, for some 20,000 ticket holders at the open-air Glamis Arena, only slowed down as the sun […]