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Image: Map of the Ganges (orange), Brahmaputra (violet), and Meghna (green) drainage basins. Credit: CC BY-SA 3.0

Modi Government's Plan to Interlink Rivers Splits the Nation

By Sudha Ramachandran

BANGALORE (IDN) – As another scorching summer grips India and rivers begin running dry, the government's Interlinking of Rivers (ILR) program to solve the country's water problems is being heatedly discussed.

Drawing attention to the water shortage and unequal distribution of water in the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a strong champion of the program, recently pointed out that while some rivers are in spate others are running dry. "If there is inter-linking [of rivers], the problem can be solved," he said.

: IDN-INPS Asia Editor; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 22 April 2018

Photo: Launch of new publication providing tools for achieving sustainable energy for all. Credit: UN DESA

Wanted Urgent Action on Energy to Achieve Global Goals

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – About one billion people around the world live without electricity. Close to three billion lack access to clean cooking solutions and are exposed to dangerous levels of air pollution, which results in millions of deaths each year, mostly among women and children.

Against this disquieting backdrop, a new publication supported by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) has called for urgent action. Without such action, the world will fall short of its 2030 energy targets and, consequently, fail to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

: J Nastranis; SUSTAINABILITY; Affordable Clean Energy; 21 April 2018

Photo: India's Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin (right) casting vote for election to the ECOSOC Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations. Credit: twitter.com/MIB_India

India Elected To Key United Nations ECOSOC Committees

By Santo D. Banerjee

UNITED NATIONS (IDN) – India has been elected to several important subsidiary bodies of the 193-member UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) which is at the heart of the United Nations system to advance the three dimensions of sustainable development – economic, social and environmental.

It is the central platform for fostering debate and innovative thinking, forging consensus on ways forward, and coordinating efforts to achieve internationally agreed goals. It is also responsible for the follow-up to major UN conferences and summits.

: Santo D. Banerjee; UN INSIDER; 21 April 2018

Photo: Mushroom-shaped cloud and water column from the underwater nuclear explosion of July 25, 1946, which was part of Operation Crossroads. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

Strong Plea for Early Entry into Force of Nuclear Ban Treaty

By Jamshed Baruah

GENEVA (IDN) – On the eve of a crucial international conference, an eminent Buddhist organization advocating a nuclear-weapon-free world has called for the signing, ratification and early entry into force of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) adopted by 122 UN member states as a sign of their resolve to overcome nuclear terror in the interest of protecting human rights and dignity.

Since the adoption of the TPNW in July 2017, non-nuclear-weapon, nuclear-weapon and nuclear-dependent states are meeting for the first time in the Second Session of the Preparatory Committee for the 2020 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) – Second PrepCom of the 2020 NPT Review Conference – from April 23 to May 4 in Geneva.

: Jamshed Baruah; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 20 April 2018

800 Million People Face Dire Prospects Despite Upturn in Global Economy - UN Report

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – The United Nations in a major report has warned that the prospects of about 800 million of the world's poorest people remain dire. Though the global economy is experiencing a moderate upturn, and momentum around sustainable investing is growing, the vast majority of investment is still short-term oriented and commitments by the international community to create sustainable economies are not being met.

The report Financing for Development: Progress and Prospects finds an increasing interest in socially responsible investing, but that is no substitute for a broader transformation in the financial system, it states, adding that the current system rewards investors, financiers and project managers that prioritize short-term profits.

: J Nastranis; SUSTAINABILITY; Poverty; 20 April 2018

Japan Funds UNIDO Project to Boost Employment in Lebanon

By Reinhardt Jacobsen

VIENNA | BEIRUT (IDN) – The Government of Japan has announced that it will fund a project to create jobs in the carpentry and construction sectors in northern Lebanon. This is one of eight new projects implemented by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) in Ethiopia, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Liberia, Nigeria, Somalia and Syrian, with Japanese funding totalling US$5.2 million.

The project will build upon previous projects to create economic opportunities, particularly among host and refugee communities, in the northern areas of the country. The technical assistance will focus on the design of new training modules for construction skills training and the delivery of marketable vocational skills training to vulnerable individuals.

: Reinhardt Jacobsen; THE WORLD; Middle East & North Africa; 19 April 2018

Photo: View of San José from the Museum of Jade. Credit: CC BY-SA 3.0

Costa Rica Advised To Make Growth More Inclusive

By Robert Johnson

PARIS (IDN) – Costa Rica, renowned for its ecological footprint, forest protection and abundant biodiversity, has made impressive economic and social progress in recent years, with robust economic growth facilitating near-universal access to education, health care and pensions.

But the Central American country is faced with a fundamental challenge: its fiscal imbalance, which continues to remain the major threat to the country’s economic stability, growth and living standards, says a new report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

: Robert Johnson; THE WORLD; Latin America & the Caribbean; 19 April 2018

Photo: China and Russia are reportedly challenging US military dominance. China's AVIC AG600, code named Kunlong, also known as TA-600, is the largest amphibious aircraft currently flying. CC BY-SA 4.0

Back to the Past with Trump’s National Security Strategy – Part 4

Viewpoint by Michele Nobile*

This is the fourth of a four-part article looking at the approach to Russia and China in the national security strategy of the United States under the administration of President Donald Trump. The article is a follow-up to the five-part article by the same author on ‘US Foreign Policy and Trump's Contradictions’ published earlier by IDN

ROME (IDN) – Under Putin, Russia has acquired the ability to strengthen ties with some former Soviet republics (Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan) and in order to prevent entry into NATO and the European Union it has embarked on a war with Georgia (facilitated by the adventurism of Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili) and promoted and supported the secessionism of the republics of Donetsk and Lugansk in eastern Ukraine, also annexing the Crimea.

: IDN-INPS UN Bureau; OPINION; 19 April 2018

Photo: Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness addressing the ACP Committee of Ambassadors in Brussels on 16 April 2018. Credit: ACP.

Forward To a New Vision for the ACP Group

By Andrew Holness

Prime Minister Andrew Holness of Jamaica delivered a strong message on ACP solidarity in preparation for new relations with the EU when he addressed the Committee of Ambassadors of the 79-member African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States in Brussels on 16 April 2018. Following are extensive excerpts from his remarks, which are of particular importance as the Cotonou Agreement between the two blocs expires in February 2020 and talks for a follow-up accord are set to begin in August this year. – The Editor.

: IDN-INPS UN Bureau; OPINION; 19 April 2018

Photo: U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, June 2017. CC BY 4.0

Back to the Past with Trump’s National Security Strategy – Part 3

Viewpoint by Michele Nobile*

This is the third of a four-part article looking at the approach to Russia and China in the national security strategy of the United States under the administration of President Donald Trump. The article is a follow-up to the five-part article by the same author on ‘US Foreign Policy and Trump's Contradictions’ published earlier by IDN

ROME (IDN) – Various versions of the NSS show the oscillations in relations between the United States and Russia, but until the beginning of Putin's third presidential term (marked by a strong domestic dispute) and the civil war in Ukraine, on the whole the prevailing trend after every crisis (Kosovo in 1999, the "coloured revolutions" in Georgia, Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan between 2003 and 2005, the war between Russia and Georgia in 2008) was in the direction of improving relations between the two states.