By Friday Phiri | IDN-InDepthNews Analysis
VICTORIA FALLS, Zimbabwe (IDN) – Just as climate change has been getting popular in development discourse over the past two decades, so has been climate financing, which refers to local, national or transnational funding, drawn from public, private and/or alternative sources.
By Mirjam van Reisen* | IDN-InDepthNews Viewpoint
BRUSSELS (IDN) – With the 28-nation EU desperately trying to find a solution to the unprecedented inflow of people seeking international protection and a better life, the size of the problem and the political battlefield are seriously damaging European cooperation and undermining citizens’ trust in the European project.
However, the proposals presented by the European Commission six months ago were reasonable and fair. Strengthening EU’s diplomacy to resolve the Syrian conflict, stepping up assistance to the countries neighbouring Syria, reinforcing external border controls and relocating 40,000 refugees based on a fair distribution key – all these made complete sense and could have been an adequate answer to the situation, at that point in time.
But Member States didn’t play ball. The shameful lack of solidarity, pure selfishness and political short sightedness of a number of (especially new) Member States frustrated any attempt to manage the situation in a reasonable and serene way. Despite all the (European) Councils, precious time has been lost and the situation today is worse than ever before, threatening to hurt the very fundaments of the EU.
By Robert Johnson | IDN-InDepthNews Feature
BERLIN | MILAN (IDN) – “To safeguard the future of the planet and the right of future generations everywhere to live healthy and fulfilling lives. This is the great development challenge of the 21st century,” declared the Human Development Report 2011, an independent publication commissioned by the United Nations Development Programme.
By Michael Leigh* | IDN-InDepthNews Viewpoint
Sir Michael Leigh is a Senior Advisor at the German Marshall Fund of the United States.
WASHINGTON (IDN | GMF) – German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s dash to Istanbul on October 18 was a gift to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Erdoğan is hoping that his Justice and Development Party (AKP) will regain its majority in the November 1 general election, after a setback last June, enabling him to call a referendum to strengthen the president’s constitutional powers.
The outcome of the general election could, therefore, settle Turkey’s political fate for years to come, and accentuate the country’s drift toward authoritarian, sectarian rule.
The chancellor’s visit, in the midst of the refugee crisis and after Turkey’s most lethal terrorist attack in decades, was intended to win the Turkish president’s support for a joint action plan to stem refugee flows that are undermining the EU’s internal open borders policy. Merkel’s trip followed the postponement of the European Commission’s annual report on Turkey until after the Turkish election. Insiders claim that the delay occurred for internal procedural reasons.
By Ramesh Jaura | IDN-InDepthNews Report
BERLIN (IDN) – With a view to promoting entry-into-force of the nuclear test ban treaty, the European Union (EU) has decided to increase its support to the Preparatory Commission of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organisation (CTBTO) by contributing an additional amount of 3 million euros (about 3.9 million dollars). This brings the bloc’s voluntary financial contributions since 2006 to a total of some 19 million euros (nearly 21.5 million dollars).
By Jeffrey Moyo | IDN-InDepthNews Feature
HARARE (IDN) – As the battle to attain the Sustainable Development Goals hits up across the globe, the government of Japan through its development organisation, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has covered a myriad of development areas in this Southern African nation.
By Shailendra Singh* | IDN-InDepthNews Analysis
SUVA, Fiji (IDN) – Discussions about the concept of ‘Global Citizenship’ are gaining momentum in various international forums, but remain largely unexplored in the Pacific Islands.
According to Ron Israel, co-founder of The Global Citizens’ Initiative, Global Citizens think beyond communities based on shared group identities, and see themselves as part of a larger, emerging world community.
In the Pacific, the late Tongan academic and philosopher, Professor Epeli Hau’ofa, had gone as far as proposing a common regional identify he called the “new Oceania”, comprising of people with a common Pacific heritage and commitment, rather than as members of diverse nationalities and races.
By A.D. McKenzie | IDN-InDepthNews Analysis
PARIS (IDN) – Tourists and locals walking along the River Seine, near the famed Musée d’Orsay, are currently able to charge their mobile phones at three unlikely installations: solar-powered street lamps.
By J Nastranis | IDN-InDepthNews Analysis
NEW YORK (IDN) – As part of the U.S. “rebalance to the Pacific”, the growing convergence of their respective countries’ interests in the Indo-Pacific region, and with an eye on China’s increasing assertiveness in the South China Sea, Washington has initiated a trilateral dialogue involving both India and Japan.
By Robert Johnson | IDN-InDepthNews Analysis
BRUSSELS (IDN) – The 28-nation European Union (EU) has decided to strengthen relations through “high level dialogues” with the world’s fourth largest uranium producer Niger during the EU foreign and security affairs chief Federica Mogherini’s first visit to Sub-Saharan Africa. Uranium is of critical importance for both civilian and military purposes.
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