THE WORLD

Photo: Nepal still trying to recover from the devastating earthquake of October 2015. Credit: Kalinga Seneviratne |IDN-INPS

Government Exam for Journalists in Nepal Riles the Profession

By Kalinga Seneviratne

KATHMANDU (IDN) – The democratically elected Communist Party government in this former Hindu Kingdom is trying to change decades old media laws that were enacted before the digital age and is running into opposition from journalists who fear that the government is trying to muzzle a free media.

“The communist party came to power with a two-thirds majority in 2017 and they didn’t come to enhance media freedom,” argues Kunda Dixit, Editor and publisher of the popular weekly Nepali Times. But he believes that the government does not want to do it suddenly.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 06 September 2019

Photo Khorog airport. Source: Wikimedia Commons | CC BY-SA 3.0

As Capitalism Fails in Tajikistan, Older Tajiks are Nostalgic About the Communist Era

By Alisher Kukanbekov

KHOROG (IDN) – “I’m surely grateful to have lived in the Soviet Union. Our lives moved rather slower back then, we didn’t have to worry about putting food on the table. Everyone was equal,” says Amid, recalling the days when Tajikistan was part of the Soviet Union.

It is not uncommon for older people in the Central Asian region that was under the Soviet Union to express such nostalgia for the communist era, as the capitalistic get rich fast skim fades away failing to deliver a better lifestyle.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; THE WORLD; Central Asia; 06 September 2019

Photo: Dr. Maro (at right) with colleagues at the Regional Dialogue. Credit: ACP Press.

ACP discusses NDC Progress and Successes During Latin America and Caribbean Climate Week

BRUSSELS (ACP Press) – Dr Pendo Maro, team leader of the Intra-ACP GCCA+ Programme – an initiative of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group funded by the European Development Fund (EDF) – recently chaired a panel discussion on the progress and successes of the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) in the Caribbean region during the Regional Dialogue on NDCs for Latin America and the Caribbean.

The Regional Dialogue was held on 19 to 20 August during the Latin America and Caribbean Climate Week 2019 (LACCW), from 19 to 23 August in Salvador de Bahía, Brazil.

: Admin; GLOBAL GOVERNANCE; ACP Group of States; 05 September 2019

UN Denies Endorsement of India in Nuclear Suppliers Group

By Shanta Roy

NEW YORK (IDN) – India, Pakistan and Israel, three countries armed with nuclear weapons, are not recognized as nuclear weapon states by the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) – a “privilege” bestowed only on the world’s five major nuclear powers: the U.S., UK, Russia, France and China, which are also members of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG)

But in a report titled “António Guterres backs India’s coveted NSG membership”, the New Delhi-based Economic Times said “India has received a shot in the arm for its civil nuclear program from the UN, with Secretary-General António Guterres announcing support for Delhi’s NSG membership in his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi” (on August 25).

: UN Bureau; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 05 September 2019

Photo: Baby monks waiting to welcome Sikkim Chief Minister to inaugurate the Phodong Monastery , a government funded guest. Credit; Kalinga Seneviratne | IDN-INPS.

After Kashmir Sikkim Buddhists Fear Losing Their Special Constitutional Rights

By Kalinga Seneviratne

This article is the 34th in a series of joint productions of Lotus News Features and IDN-InDepthNews, flagship of the International Press Syndicate. Click here for previous articles.

GANGTOK, Sikkim (IDN) – Since the special status accorded under section 370 in the Indian constitution to Jammu and Kashmir was abrogated by the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 5, 2019, there has been a sense of unease among the people of the northern Indian state of Sikkim – which also enjoys special status under Section 371F enshrined in the Indian constitution. This unease is felt mainly by the Buddhists who feel that the special protections given to them could be taken away.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 04 September 2019

Photo: Xenophobic violence in South Africa. Credit: Standard Digital

Violence Hits Nigerian and Other Businesses in Jo’burg

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – As state-sponsored violence threatens Latinos in the U.S., xenophobia is again threatening Nigerians and other Africans whose shops in Johannesburg are being targeted for looting and destruction by unknown groups.

The latest spate of violence broke out in suburbs south of Johannesburg’s city center and spread to the central business district.

More than 50 mainly foreign-owned shops and business premises were destroyed, according to local news accounts. Cars and properties were torched and widespread looting took place.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 04 September 2019

Photo: Gabonese President Ali Bongo Ondimba. Credit: Foreign and Commonwealth Office of Gabon.

Whereabouts of Ailing Gabonese President Being Debated

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) - Gabonese President Ali Bongo is receiving medical treatment in London after his health deteriorated during a visit to the city, according to people familiar with the matter.

But news of the absent president was immediately contradicted in an official press release this week in a pattern common to many ailing leaders. The leader of this oil-producing country is merely spending time at his London residence while on a short period of leave, the official statement read. He is undergoing routine medical checks and will soon return to Gabon.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 03 September 2019

Photo: Police firing tear gas to disperse protesters near Central Government Complex on 5 August 2019. VOA Cantonese. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Non-violence Is the Need of the Hour in Hong Kong

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power

LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – The gloves are off in Hong Kong. Judging from the pictures on September 3 BBC News the police no longer have any compunction about beating protestors. Ironically, they don’t appear to get close to the fringe of protestors who are using violent tactics. Rather they are swinging their batons left right and centre at any young person they meet, even chasing them on to the metro trains where commuters get thwacked too.

It reminds me vividly of the tough sheriffs of Alabama and Mississippi in the 1960s who used dogs against the civil rights protestors and cracked heads.

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 03 September 2019

Photo: Soviet Union conducted its first nuclear test in eastern Kazakhstan near the secret town of Semipalatinsk on August 29, 1949. Credit: Katsuhiro Asagiri | INPS-IDN August 2019

It Is Time to Close and Lock the Door on Nuclear Testing

Viewpoint by Daryl G. Kimball

The writer is Executive Director of the Arms Control Association. The following is the text of his article published in Arms Control Today.

WASHINGTON, DC (IDN | Arms Control Association) – Everybody knows that nuclear weapons have been used twice in wartime and with terrible consequences. Often overlooked, however, is the large-scale, postwar use of nuclear weapons: At least eight countries have conducted 2,056 nuclear test explosions, most of which were far larger than the bombs that leveled Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The United States alone has detonated more than 1,030 nuclear explosions in the atmosphere, underwater, and underground.

: Arms Control Association; OPINION; 02 September 2019

Photo credit: twitter.com/antonioguterres

UN Chief Applauds Japan-Africa Partnership Through TICAD

By Taro Ichikawa

YOKOHAMA (IDN) – "I see Africa as a dynamic continent of opportunity where winds of hope are blowing ever stronger. TICAD has played a critical role in focusing international dialogue on Africa, built on the twin principles of African ownership and international partnership," said UN Secretary-General António Guterres kicking off the 7th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 7). The United Nations, UN Development Programme (UNDP), World Bank and the African Union Commission (AUC) co-hosted the conference in Yokohama city.