SUSTAINABILITY

Photo: Sri Lankan boat intercepted by India.

Taking Lessons from LTTE New Narco-Terrorism Network Takes Shape in South Asia

By Sugeeswara Senadhira

The writer is Director (International Media), Presidential Secretariat, Colombo.

COLOMBO (IDN) — Indian security officials believe the interception of a Sri Lankan boat carrying 300 kilograms of heroin, five AK-47 guns and ammunition off the coast of Vizhinjam in Kerala in South India on March 25 points to a network of narco-terrorism with strong links to a group in Sri Lanka. The Indian officials told the Media the network of narco-terrorism has created sleeper cells in Sri Lanka and other neighbouring countries, and exports drugs to foment trouble. They added that the drug income is then used to fund illegal activities, including extremist activities.

: Asia Editor; THE WORLD; South Asia; 08 April 2021

Image: Ushering in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Source: UNCTAD.

Nepal Is Closely Following the Fourth Industrial Revolution Under Way

Viewpoint by Manish Uprety F.R.A.S. and Jainendra Karn*

KATHMANDU (IDN) — In December 2020, Dr. Leonel Fernández Reyna, former president of the Dominican Republic and President of Fundación Global Democracia y Desarrollo, presented his vision about “The global and regional challenges of the 4.0 world,” where he highlighted the need to facilitate access to technology for all citizens.

His observations are a clarion call to the international community as the world stands on the precipice of a great tectonic shift caused by the Fourth Industrial Revolution currently underway.

: Opinion Editor; SUSTAINABILITY; Sustainable Industrialisation; 08 April 2021

Image Copyright © 2014 Province of British Columbia.

The Menace of Human Trafficking—A Canadian Perspective

Viewpoint by Anusha Jaura-Sindhwani*

Human trafficking is one of the United Nations' 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with 169 targets endorsed by the international community in 2015. Goal 8.7 aims at "immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labour, end modern slavery and human trafficking and secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour, including recruitment and use of child soldiers, and by 2025 end child labour in all its forms". Anusha's Canadian perspective is based on 20 years of experience in the child welfare sector. She is also on the Human Trafficking Committee which looks at prevention and supporting youth at risk of trafficking.

: Opinion Editor; SUSTAINABILITY; Decent Work & Economic Growth; 07 April 2021

Image: Ecological economics views the economy as a subset of the larger ecological environment. Source: ResearchGate

ECOLOGY & ECONOMICS: Humanity Has Reached A Critical Decade

Viewpoint by John Scales Avery*

COPENHAGEN (IDN) — A new report, published on March 14, 2021 in the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences' journal Ambio [https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13280-021-01544-8] points out that humanity is hurtling towards destruction unless we have the collective wisdom to change course quickly.

The article was written as part of the preparation of a meeting of Nobel Prize winners to discuss the state of the planet. The virtual meeting will be held on April 26-28, 2021.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 07 April 2021

Photo: Dr Wim Naudé, Professor of Economics at the Department of Economics with the Cork University Business School in Ireland with the image of AfCFTA from African Union website.

African Free Trade Area Expected to Lift Millions out of Extreme Poverty and Boost Growth

By Busani Bafana

BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe (IDN) — The long-awaited African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)—set to be the world’s biggest free trade zone by size—which entered into force on January 1, 2021, promises a new era for African trade.

An Africa-wide free-trade pact could bolster the region’s income by $450 billion and lift 30 million people out of extreme poverty by 2035, if accompanied by significant policy reforms and trade-facilitation measures, according to the World Bank. When fully operational, the Free Trade area will create a market of 1.2 billion and drive a combined GDP of $2.5 trillion.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 06 April 2021

The West Should Declare It Has No Strategic Interest in Israel

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power*

LUND, Sweden (IDN) — Yesterday morning [April 5] I watched on BBC News the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, walking into the courtroom where he is to be tried for corruption. He is impossible to read—his mask makes it even more difficult. In repose his intentions and personality are inscrutable.

On the most important political issue of all—whether to support a two-state solution—sometimes he has said he is for it, but now he says he doesn’t. He prefers, it seems, to keep to the status quo, which means expanding Jewish settlements on Arab Palestinian land and refusing any political life to the occupied Palestinians. But we don’t really know what his inner thoughts are.

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 06 April 2021

Photo: Two women walk at an IDP camp in Cabo Delgado, Mozambique, after brutal attacks in northern Mozambique. Credit: UNICEF/Mauricio Bisol.

Experts Urge US to End Military Solutions for African Problems

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) — Three noted Africa experts, at a Roundtable with the BBC, are warning of endless “forever wars” if Africa continues to rely on military solutions with weapons and training from the U.S. and the international community instead of addressing local grievances.

The group spotlighted the case of Mozambique where a small ragtag movement demanding religious freedom and a share in the region’s economic wealth morphed into a deadly armed movement of Islamist militants controlling the area called Cabo Delgado.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 05 April 2021

Photo: Older adults are amongst the first Peruvians to receive COVID-19 vaccines at a vaccination site in Lima, Peru. © UNICEF/Jose Vilca

COVAX Programme — US Decision to Lift Sanctions Against ICC — Four Peacekeepers Killed

By Radwan Jakeem

NEW YORK (IDN | UN News) — The UN-backed COVAX scheme aims to get two billion vaccine doses into the arms of around a quarter of the population of poorer countries by the end of 2021. Secretary-General António Guterres has welcomed the United States decision to lift sanctions and visa restrictions against officials with the International Criminal Court (ICC). Furthermore. he has strongly condemned a deadly attack on April 2 against peacekeepers serving with the UN mission in Mali, MINUSMA.

: Radwan Jakeem; UN INSIDER; 05 April 2021

Photo: Waiting in line for vaccine. Credit: Raphael Alves/IMF Photos

The Global Pandemic Is Intensifying and Widening Inequality

By David Amaglobeli, Vitor Gaspar, and Paolo Mauro*

This article was first published on April 1 with the title Giving Everyone a Fair Shot. It is also available in عربي, 中文, Español, Français, 日本語, Português, Русский

WASHINGTON, DC (IDN | IMF Blog) — The COVID-19 pandemic is intensifying the vicious circle of inequality. To break this pattern and give everyone a fair shot at prosperity, governments need to improve access to basic public services—such as health care (including vaccination) and education—and strengthen redistributive policies.

For most countries, this would require raising additional revenue and improving the efficiency of spending. These reforms must be complemented by greater transparency and accountability, which can help increase overall trust in government and contribute to more cohesive societies.

: J C Suresh; SUSTAINABILITY; Health & Well Being; 04 April 2021

Photo: International Criminal Court (ICC) assembly hall. Credit: ICC.

President Biden Repeals Trump Sanctions on the Criminal Court

By Jessica Corbett*

Common Dreams first published this report on April 2, 2021.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (IDN) — Progressives in Congress and human rights organizations on April 2 welcomed the Biden administration's repeal of sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC) imposed under former President Donald Trump in a bid to pressure the Hague-based tribunal to not investigate alleged U.S. and Israeli crimes. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced in a statement that President Joe Biden revoked Trump's Executive Order 13928, "ending the threat and imposition of economic sanctions and visa restrictions in connection with the court."