THE WORLD – Page 187 – IDN-InDepthNews

Africa2017-04-042023-07-10

Local Construction Materials Hold the Key to Jobs Across Southern Africa

By Ronald Joshua

BRUSSELS | MAPUTO, Mozambique (ACP-IDN) – Once neglected minerals and materials may hold the key to millions of jobs across Southern Africa at a time when oil and metal exporting countries are grappling with low commodity prices.

Mega infrastructure projects agreed by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Heads of State are projected to draw in 986 billion dollars in investments over the next ten years, ramping up the demand for construction materials exponentially. Estimates from the African Development Bank indicate that for each billion invested in African infrastructure, between 3-7 million jobs are created.

Asia-Pacific2017-03-302023-07-10

Education & Jobs Crucial As Cambodia Records Pro-Poor Growth

By Neena Bhandari

SIEM REAP/BATTAMBANG, Cambodia (IDN) – The once conflict ridden, impoverished country of Cambodia has made significant strides towards stability and progress, but it is still facing several socio-economic development challenges.

In 2016, it became a lower middle-income country after recording an annual average economic growth of seven percent over the past decade. “The country’s economy has trebled and the number of people living in poverty has halved in the last 15 years. We have to set development issues in the context of those successes,” says Nick Beresford, United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) Cambodia Country Director.

Asia-Pacific2017-03-272023-07-10

Bringing Science, Ethics & Buddhism Together To Save Humanity

By Kalinga Seneviratne

This article is the14th in a series of joint productions of Lotus News Features and IDN-InDepthNews, flagship of the International Press Syndicate.

RAJGIR, India (IDN) – Participants at a conference convened in this historic capital of the Magadha kingdom of the Buddha’s time by the Nava Nalanda Mahavihare (NNM) shared the view that, for humanity to survive, science, ethics and Buddhism’s mind-centric approach to understanding nature and society could help.

Funded by the Indian government, the March 17-19 conference brought together Buddhist leaders, scholars and scientists to discuss the role of Buddhism in addressing the challenges of the 21st century and, ignoring protests from China, the Indian government invited His Holiness the Dalai Lama to give the inaugural address and also launch NNM’s new Department of Buddhist Sciences.

Asia-Pacific2017-03-272023-07-10

In Sri Lanka’s Deep Waters, Marine Conservation Goes Hi-Tech

By Stella Paul

KALPITIYA, Sri Lanka (IDN) – As the midday sun rises higher over Gulf of Mannar, a drone hovers over the blue mass of sea water. Below, a motley crowd of fishermen gathers, straining their eyes at a drone.

A few metres from the crowd, conservationist Prasanna Weerakkody operating the drone raises it to 500 metres, before moving it slowly in different directions, allowing the device to film a large swathe of water.

One day, he believes, the roving camera of this drone will send images of one of the most elusive sea mammals in this ocean: the dugong.

Asia-Pacific2017-03-252023-07-10

India and UN Agency Agree To Train Nuclear Professionals

By Devinder Kumar

NEW DELHI (IDN) – International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), set up in 1957 as the world’s ‘Atoms for Peace’ organization within the United Nations family, and the Atomic Energy Commission of India have agreed on an extended cooperation to the benefit of nuclear professionals from across Asia.

IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano and Sekhar Basu, Chairman of India’s Atomic Energy Commission, achieved the agreement during the former’s three-day visit to India from March 13 to 15.

Asia-Pacific2017-03-252023-07-10

India’s Yogi Chief Minister May Rewrite Democracy Textbooks

Analysis by Kalinga Seneviratne

NEW DELHI (IDN) – From across Asia to Europe and the United States voters have shown their dismay at corrupt political systems by voting in unconventional politicians who promise to “clean the swamp”.

So the election mid-March of a Yogi Chief Minister in Uttar Pradesh – India’s most populous state – may well herald in a new era for Asian politics, where religion could step in to clean up the corruption in politics.

Asia’s ancient religious philosophies – Hinduism and Buddhism – have a strong secular streak where their values could be practised by anyone without converting to a religion. The global spread of Yoga and Mindfulness as lifestyle choices bear witness to this.

Africa2017-03-142023-07-10

Digital Era Aids Human Trafficking of Eritrean Refugees

By Klara Smits

LEIDEN, The Netherlands (IDN) – The digital era brings opportunities for international cooperation and development, such as e-health and large-scale data sharing, but it also brings dangers. One of the prime examples of such dangers is the billion-dollar human trafficking business of Eritrean refugees by their own regime.

Modern technologies such as mobile money and mobile phones play a crucial role in this trade, according to a new book titled ‘Human Trafficking in the Digital Era: The Ongoing Tragedy of the Trade in Refugees from Eritrea’, edited by Prof. Mirjam van Reisen and Prof. Munyaradzi Mawere.

Africa2017-03-052023-07-10

Southern Africa’s Khoisan Tribe Victimised by War on Climate Change

By Jeffrey Moyo

HARARE (ACP-IDN) – Ndliso-Ndliso Sibanda, a descendant of Southern Africa’s ancient Khoisan tribe, still practises a semi-nomadic life style in Zimbabwe despite his 75 years, and is constantly on the move looking for wood to construct shelter, and wild fruits and tubers when they are in season.

Ndliso-Ndliso, who lives with his family in Tsholotsho, a district in Matabeleland North Province, has continued his life style despite the stringent rules enacted by the government country to protect the environment as it wages war against the impact of climate change.

Africa2017-02-282023-07-10

Trump in the White House Worries Southern Africa

By Jeffrey Moyo

HARARE, Zimbabwe (IDN) – Sitting in front of a heap of damaged shoes waiting to be mended, 32-year-old Evans Tirivangani, a graduate in accountancy but forced to work as a cobbler because of lack of job opportunities, is anything but convinced that the arrival of a new president in the White House will mark a change in his, and his country’s, prospects.

“We had always had hope since the time Barrack Obama came into power in the United States about a decade ago; we thought he was going to make so much noise about the dictatorship that has damaged our country, but 37 years after our country gained independence, we are still suffering and as you can see, I’m a cobbler even with my degree,” Tirivangani, who plies his trade in a makeshift shed by the roadside in Mabvuku, a high density suburb of Harare, told IDN.

Asia-Pacific2017-02-272023-07-10

ASEAN Chairman Duterte Pushes For Migrant Protection Treaty

By Kalinga Seneviratne

BANGKOK (IDN) – Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has signaled his intention to push harder for the adoption of a binding regional treaty to protect the human rights of migrant workers during his chairmanship of ASEAN (Association of South east Asian Nations) this year.

Though he is strongly supported by Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo, human rights advocates in the region fear that ASEAN’s “consensus” based decision making process may hinder these attempts because Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand may not agree to a binding treaty to protect migrant workers in their countries.

Though the ‘ASEAN Declaration on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers’ was adopted a decade ago, there has been no attempt until now to give it some teeth in terms of a binding treaty.