THE WORLD

South African War on Corruption Moves into High Gear

By Global Information Network

NEW YORK | PRETORIA (IDN) – A shakeup in the African National Congress has boosted hopes that new party officials will make a clean sweep of the backroom dealings that have made millionaires out of a small South African elite and punished the majority with high unemployment and a national credit rating downgraded to “junk status.”

Business tycoon Cyril Ramaphosa, newly elected president of the African National Congress, has raised hopes that he will stamp out corruption, expedite job creation, improve the lacklustre economy and speed up the transfer of land to black people.

: Global Information Network; NEWSBRIEFS; 02 January 2018

Liberian Soccer Icon Plans Sweeping Changes as New President

By Global Information Network

NEW YORK | MONROVIA (IDN) – George Weah, Liberia’s president-elect, declared the country open to investment and pledged to tackle entrenched corruption, in his first speech to the nation since decisively winning an election on December 30, 2017.

Speaking at a press conference at his party headquarters, Weah thanked his predecessor, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, for enabling Liberia's first democratic transition in over 70 years but said he was determined to usher in sweeping changes.

Weah, 51, faces sky-high expectations from young supporters who are desperate for jobs and better wages.

: Global Information Network; NEWSBRIEFS; 02 January 2018

As the First Central Asian Country Kazakhstan Assumes Security Council Presidency

By Ramesh Jaura

BERLIN | UNITED NATIONS (IDN) – When Kazakhstan joined the 15-nation United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on January 1, 2017 as a non-permanent member for two years, President Nursultan Nazarbayev pledged "adapting the . . .Council and the entire UN system to the threats and challenges of the 21st century."

"We will seek to strengthen the understanding of Security Council members on the importance of creating a renewed model of international relations that accurately reflects the realities of the 21st century and shapes a collective responsibility for meeting global and regional challenges," President Nazarbayev declared.

: Ramesh Jaura; UN INSIDER; 01 January 2018

Photo: Demonstration in Tel-Aviv against nuclear weapons. Credit: The Israeli Disarmament Movement.

Israeli Disarmament Movement Steers Through Nuclear Ambiguity

By Bernhard Schell

AMMAN (IDN) – The Israeli media ignored the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in honour of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) on December 10, 2017 in Oslo. The Israeli Ambassador to Norway however attended the event.

The silence of the Israeli media, according to observers, was not surprising though ICAN's eminent partner in the Middle East, the Israeli Disarmament Movement (IDM), founded and chaired by Sharon Dolev, has influenced the Israeli public discourse for the past six years.

ICAN also has partners in Egypt, Iran, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria and Yemen.

: Bernhard Schell; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 27 December 2017

Photo: President Trump delivers remarks on tax reform in the Grand Foyer of the White House on 13 December 2017. Credit: Official White House Photo by Stefanie Chazes.

Uncertainties Abound on the Threshold of 2018

By Martin Khor

Martin Khor is the Executive Director of the South Centre. He can be contacted at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. This analysis first appeared on South Bulletin 100, December 2017 with the caption: 'In 2017, Donald Trump dominated the year by using US clout to change many aspects of global relations, and not for the better.'

GENEVA (IDN-INPS) – What a year it has been! As 2017 slips away, and 2018 dawns, many wonder if the world will ever be the same. Credit or blame goes mainly to United States President Donald Trump for this radical change. This time last year, after he won the presidential elections, it was a toss-up whether Trump would implement his campaign promises or become a more statesmanlike President.

: Martin Khor; OPINION; 27 December 2017

Photo: Fumiyasu Akegawa addressing an audience during one of his visits to Thailand and Vietnam. Credit: DEVNET Japan

Promoting Sustainable Development in Southeast Asia

Viewpoint by Fumiyasu Akegawa

Fumiyasu Akegawa is founder and president of DEVNET Japan.

TOKYO (IDN) – Since DEVNET Japan participated in August 2015 in Expo 2015 hosted by the Italian city of Milan, the organization set up in March 2013 to promote Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) particularly in Southeast Asia has made considerable strides.

It was one of the notable non-official participants of the universal exhibition. Then known as DEVNET Tokyo Foundation, we availed of Milan Expo 2015 to throw light on our agenda focused on promoting seven themes: poverty alleviation; food security; humanitarian support; environmental protection; advanced technology and energy saving; support of women entrepreneurs and improvement of women's status; and the establishment of sustainable developing society.

: Global Cooperation Council; OPINION; 27 December 2017

Photo: The Security Council unanimously adopts resolution 2397 (2017), condemning in the strongest terms the ballistic missile launch conducted by the DPRK on 28 November 2017 in violation and flagrant disregard of the Security Council's resolutions on non-proliferation. UN Photo/Manuel Elias

UN Chief Expects New Sanctions To Help Make 2018 'A Pivotal Year' for the Korean Peninsula

By J Nastranis

UNITED NATIONS (IDN) – The United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres desires to make 2018 "a pivotal year" for the achievement of sustainable peace on the Korean Peninsula.

In a statement attributable to his spokesperson, following the adoption of a new Security Council resolution (UNSCR 2397), he said: "The only way forward for a comprehensive peaceful and political solution requires de-escalation and open communication channels, now."

The resolution was approved on December 22 in response to the latest intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launch by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), widely known as North Korea, on November 28.

: J Nastranis; UN INSIDER; 26 December 2017

Photo: City officials in New York allowed a developer to segregate a high-rise condo between rich and poor. According to reports by New York Post, developers of Extell, a condo on the Upper West Side, got the Department of Housing Preservation and Development to approve a separate entrance for poorer residents. Credit: Rolling out

It's Getting Better Except in Trump's America

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power*

LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – Every so often reports emerge that attempt to measure which are the best countries to live in. The Nordic countries plus New Zealand, Holland and Switzerland, usually come out top. Sweden is number one just for the sheer stability of life and security. Denmark is seen as the most agreeable place to live. The highest rate of longevity is found in Japan. The best schools are in Finland, New Zealand and Canada. Political and press freedom put the Nordics at the top of the league.

Last month, the Legatum Institute based in London published a report looking at inequality. Its timing could not be more perfect with the U.S. Congress last week (December 20) passing President Donald Trump’s tax bill which increases inequality by a substantial amount.

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 26 December 2017

Photo: Poverty in America Documentary 2017 on YouTube

UN Expert Reveals Shocking Facts about Poverty in the U.S.

By J C Suresh

TORONTO (IDN) – More than one in every eight Americans, numbering 40 million, equal to 12.7 % of the population, are living in poverty, and almost half of those – 18.5 million – in abysmal poverty, according to a new report.

Though the United States is one of the world’s richest, most powerful and technologically innovative countries, "neither its wealth nor its power nor its technology is being harnessed to address the situation," stresses Professor Philip Alston, United Nations Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights in his statement on a two-week visit to the USA.

Alston, an international law scholar and human rights practitioner, is John Norton Pomeroy Professor of Law at New York University School of Law, and co-Chair of the law school's Center for Human Rights and Global Justice.

: J C Suresh; THE WORLD; USA and Canada; 25 December 2017

Photo: Eritreans protest next to the European Commission headquarters in Brussels. Credit: Klara Smits.

Eritrean Refugees in the Netherlands Want Ban on Diaspora Tax by Asmara

By Reinhardt Jacobsen and Klara Smits

AMSTERDAM | BRUSSELS (IDN) – Hundreds of Eritreans have been taking to the streets in various cities and refugee camps all over the world against the Eritrean regime to express solidarity with the unusual protests that took place in Asmara, the country's capital, on October 31. The latest in the protest series was on December 22, 2017 in Brussels next to the European Commission headquarters.

Among the protesters' demand is the closure of the Eritrean embassy in Brussels, which is responsible for the Netherlands, because people who have fled the country must fear the ‘long arm' of the regime and a culture of fear perpetrated by Asmara, according to a Dutch research report. This has prompted a debate in the Netherlands about the Eritrean regime's repressive activities in the country.