THE WORLD – Page 221 – IDN-InDepthNews

Europe2012-12-102023-07-10

Germany among World’s Largest Arms Sellers

By Jaya Ramachandran
IDN-InDepth NewsReport

STOCKHOLM (IDN) – Germany is among the world’s largest arms exporters, though estimates of the magnitude of the country’s arms sales and of its ranking among arms traders differ. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), Germany was the ﬁfth largest exporter of major conventional weapons in 2011 behind the USA, Russia, France and China.

The U.S. Congressional Research Service (CRS) on the other hand ranks the country as the sixth largest arms exporter. The CRS estimates the ﬁnancial value of German arms deliveries in 2011 at $1.6 billion (in 2011 U.S. dollars), or approximately 4 per cent of global arms exports. This ranked Germany behind the USA, Russia, the UK, France and Italy.

Africa2012-12-082023-07-10

International Outcry on the Congo Must Be Louder

By Bernadette Paolo*
IDN-InDepth NewsViewpoint

WASHINGTON DC (IDN) – The people of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have long been savaged. Perhaps that is why the international outcry over the M23 rebels overtaking Goma and wreaking humanitarian devastation has been muted. Everyone has grown used to hearing about the violence that has become endemic in the DRC.

Africa2012-12-062023-07-10

UN Urges Aid to Turn a New Chapter in Somalia

By Jerome Mwanda | IDN-InDepth NewsReport

NAIROBI (IDN) – The United Nations has launched a $1.3 billion humanitarian appeal in Mogadishu to address the immediate needs of the Somali people over the next year and enhance resilience in the country, which has for decades been mired by conflict, drought, floods and food insecurity.

The appeal issued on December 4 is part of three-year strategy. It is expected to benefit 369 humanitarian projects targeting 3.8 million Somalis in need, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). The strategy will be implemented by 177 national and international non-governmental organizations and UN agencies operating in Somalia.

Middle East2012-12-042023-07-10

Israel’s Punitive Expansion Plans Condemned

By Ernest Corea*
IDN-InDepth NewsAnalysis

WASHINGTON DC (IDN) — The Israeli government’s desire to extract revenge from the Palestinians for the recognition that the international community has bestowed on the Palestinian Authority (PA) is offensive and inconsistent with the norms of appropriate diplomatic conduct.

The planned revenge is doubly repugnant because Israel wants to direct its punitive ire at Palestinians for action taken by 138 of the world’s established nations.

Asia-Pacific2012-11-302023-07-10

Promise of a ‘Great Renewal’ Wafts from China

By Shastri Ramachandran*
IDN-InDepth NewsAnalysis

NEW DELHI (IDN) – In the weeks, and months, ahead, there will be tomes written on the significance of the change in China’s leadership with 62-year-old Xi Jinping succeeding Hu Jintao as the new helmsman. The import of the epochal shift, like all things Chinese, may unravel rather slowly.

The obvious text, replete with promises of political reform, more equitable economic development, fighting corruption and the great renewal of the Chinese nation, would be read closely for underlying meaning by the world, including India, for the likely impact, big and small, of the new spearhead of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

Middle East2012-11-262023-07-10

Understanding the Latest Episode in Gaza Drama

By Roberto Savio*
IDN-InDepth NewsViewpoint | Other News

Hamas, Israel, Egypt and the Obama Administration have all emerged as triumphant heroes in the latest episode in clashes between the Hamas and Israel. Palestinian National Authority (PNA) president Mahmoud Abbas played hardly any role. As scenes unfolded in this ‘Gaza Drama’, the mainstream media offered a one-for-all menu to readers worldwide.

Europe2012-11-202023-07-10

Churches Express Solidarity with Greece

By R. Nastranis
IDN- InDepth NewsReport

ATHENS (IDN) – Church leaders from around the world have expressed solidarity with the much pooh-poohed and crisis-ridden Greece in a two-day visit to the country during which they met Archbishop Ieronymos II of Athens and All Greece as well as the Deputy Foreign Minister Constantinos Tsiaras.

Asia-Pacific2012-11-192023-07-10

Sri Lanka Army Joins People in Rebuilding Activity

By Kalinga Seneviratne
IDN-InDepth NewsReport

SINGAPORE (IDN) – Amid reports that an internal document, made public on November 14 by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, has triggered soul-searching in the world organisation on its failure to protect non-combatants in Sri Lanka’s civil war, a visit to the country shows that the army and the people in the Northern Province are busy rebuilding the infrastructure destroyed by 30 years of a gruesome conflict.

Asia-Pacific2012-11-172023-07-10

China: Internal Problems New Leaders’ Top Priority

By Bernt Berger*
IDN-InDepth NewsViewpoint

STOCKHOLM (IDN) – The 18th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party officially endorsed on November 15 the members of the new Politburo Standing Committee, China’s top leadership body. Despite the secrecy, speculation and rumours in the run-up to the announcement, the make-up of China’s fifth generation of leaders was predictable. Although it reflects the outcome of protracted behind the scenes power struggles, generally speaking the result might have little impact on the government’s political directions.

Besides Party Secretary-General (and de facto president-in-waiting) Xi Jinping and Li Keqiang, who is expected to become prime minister in the official transition of power in March 2013, the five new Standing Committee members are: Zhang Dejiang, Yu Zhengsheng, Liu Yunshan, Wang Qishan and Zhang Gaoli. Two candidates said to have an inclination towards greater public participation, Li Yuanchao and Wang Yang, did not make it into the inner circle.

Middle East2012-11-162023-07-10

Half-truths Prevail in the Middle East

By Julio Godoy
IDN-InDepth NewsViewpoint

BERLIN (IDN) – Late last August, during the conference of the non-aligned countries in Tehran, the Iranian press quoted the Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi saying that the government of Bahrain, given its dismal human rights record, had lost whatever legitimacy it had. Nothing surprising in this quote: The regime of Bahrain has indeed a dismal human rights record, it latest performance being to strip opposition leaders of the Bahraini nationality, after harassing them for many months.