By Jaya Ramachandran
IDN-InDepth NewsAnalysis
BRUSSELS (IDN) – Hardly one year after the election of Alpha Condé as President of Guinea, the West African state is faced with a rather vulnerable situation that political analysts fear may open the army’s way back to power.
By Shastri Ramachandaran*
IDN-InDepth NewsAnalysis
NEW DELHI (IDN) – India cannot be a global player unless it has peaceful relations with its neighbours. A sustained growth rate of 9% to 10% needs more than a peaceful South Asia. It calls for a new economic vibrancy in the region driven by better and more trade, business, connectivity, infrastructure, communication and transportation; and, these in a way that touch the lives of the majority in South Asia.
By Raul de Sagastizabal*
IDN-InDepth NewsEssay
MONTEVIDEO (IDN) – The United Kingdom proposes to overhaul the country’s banking system to diminish risks to taxpayers and public finances in future financial turmoil, by acting upon recommendations of the Independent Commission on Banking (ICB), which presented its report on September 12, 2011.
By Joan Baxter*
IDN-InDepth NewsReport
Palm oil is expected to be the world’s most produced and internationally traded edible oil by 2012. At what price? As foreign investors descend on Africa to develop large-scale palm oil plantations, the survival of local people is being threatened. They are losing control of the land and water on which they depend for their food production and livelihoods.
By Jerome Mwanda
IDN-InDepth NewsReport
NAIROBI (IDN) – In run-up to an important global forum on aid effectiveness, African leaders from fragile and conflict-affected countries have called for new approaches to development in the region and a reassessment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
The call emerged from a regional meeting on peace- and state-building in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, September 7-9, 2011. Recognizing that not a single fragile state has achieved any of the eight MDGs, the African Development Bank (AfDB), along with the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the African Union Commission (AUC), organized the meeting.
By Rajaram Panda*
IDN-InDepth NewsAnalysis
The new Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda’s long list of challenges includes rebuilding the country after the devastating tsunami, the nuclear crisis triggered by it and reining in the huge public debt. On the foreign policy front, he will have to ensure that Japan’s relations with the United States, China, Australia and India remain on an even keel. If he falters, Japan’s importance in the global community would be considerably diminished.
By Shastri Ramachandaran*
IDN-InDepth NewsPortrait
NEW DELHI (IDN) – Ranjan Mathai has got off to a good start as Foreign Secretary (the top diplomat for the country’s external relations) and enjoys a lot of goodwill. His seniority being generallyaccepted, his ascent to the top diplomatic post washardly contentious. He is well regardedby seniors, respectedby his peers and admired by more than a few in the service for his leadershipand people skills. “He is a team player, not egocentric,” commented a seasoned diplomat.
According to former Foreign SecretaryLalit Mansingh, he has therequisite professional experience as he has servedin the neighbourhood and incapitals such as Tehran,Tel Aviv, Vienna, Brussels, London and Washington. In his very first statement, Mansinghpointed out, Mathai rightly emphasized the importance of the neighbourhood. The region has not receivedenough attention althoughthe present government gave it the importance it deserveswith the Prime Minister speaking of “asymmetrical relations”.
By Ramesh Jaura
IDN-InDepth NewsAnalysis
BERLIN (IDN) – While a frantic search is on for Muammar al-Gaddafi’s whereabouts, the NATO-backed Battle for Libya is far from over. Not only because a scramble for the North African state’s opulent resources has just started, but also because the Benghazi ‘revolutionaries’ are confronted with tough battles on several fronts.
By Alemayehu G. Mariam*
IDN-InDepth NewsAnalysis
“Why are Ethiopians starving again? What should the world do and not do?” These are the two enduring questions Time Magazine of December 21, 1987 asked in a cover story. The reply in short was couched as a question: “Is the latest famine wholly the result of cruel nature, or are other, man-made forces at work that worsen the catastrophe?” Something that should strike as déjà vu 24 years later.
By Shastri Ramachandaran*
IDN-InDepth NewsAnalysis
KATHMANDU (IDN) – The sham that multiparty democracy has become in Nepal is turning into a cruel joke on the people. The resignation of Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal of the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) underscores how voters are stuck with a self-serving elected elite, no less privileged and protected than the ousted monarchy.
The resignation of Khanal, as much as his continuation since May 29 (when he had promised to step down, but did not), exemplifies the collective opportunism of Nepal’s three major parties.
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