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Photo: Cheetah © Jim Zuckerman; African Wild Dog © John Birch; Leopard and Lion © Jacques-Andre Dupont. Source: CMS

African States Commit to Conserve Largest Carnivores

By Rita Joshi

BERLIN | BONN (IDN) – More than 30 countries hosting African Wild Dog, Cheetah, Leopard and Lion have agreed on establishing a work programme to guide their conservation actions over the next coming years. The move known as the African Carnivore Initiative, emerged from a meeting from November 5 to 8, 2018 in Bonn, the capital of former West Germany.

The initiative constitutes the first Africa-wide commitment towards saving African Wild Dog, Cheetah, Leopard and Lion, says a media release by the Bonn-based Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (also known as CMS or the “Bonn Convention”).

: Rita Joshi; THE WORLD; Africa; 14 November 2018

Photo: Ambassador Anwarul K. Chowdhury (third from left), former Under-Secretary-General and High Representative of the United Nations, who is the Chairman of the Global Forum on Human Settlements (GFHS) since 2008, delivered the opening address to the 13th GFHS Annual Session in Bangkok on 30 October 2018. Credit: GFHS.

Cities Have the Potential to Shape the Future of Humankind

Viewpoint by Ambassador Anwarul K. Chowdhury*

The following are extensive extracts from the opening address by Ambassador Anwarul K. Chowdhury, former Under-Secretary-General and High Representative of the United Nations, who is the Chairman of the Global Forum on Human Settlements (GFHS) since 2008, at the 13th GFHS Annual Session in Bangkok on 30 October 2018. – The Editor

NEW YORK (IDN-INPS) – We live at a time of unprecedented, rapid, irreversible urbanization. Beginning in 2008, for the first time, half of humanity is now living in towns and cities … but this dramatic transition is far from over. In reality the beginning of a new urban era is being felt. It is projected that globally urbanization levels will rise dramatically in the next 35 years to reach 70 percent by 2050 when the world population is expected to hit 9 billion.

: Ramesh Jaura; OPINION; 14 November 2018

Photo: Nukufetau coastal damages by cyclone in Tuvalu. © EU GCCA+ LoCAL-UNCDF. Photo Hendrik Visser 2016.

79 ACP Countries Get Ready for UN Climate Change Conference

By Robert Johnson

BRUSSELS (ACP-IDN) – The Intra-ACP GCCA Plus Programme, which has several success stories to tell, is supporting 79 members of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP) in preparing for the UN Climate Change conference in December in Katowice, Poland.

The ACP Secretariat and the Programme hosted a Joint Policy Dialogue (JPD) at the ACP House in Brussels on November 5, 2018. The JPD showcased the findings of a draft ACP report analysing the implementation status of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) of ACP countries.

: Robert Johnson; GLOBAL GOVERNANCE; ACP Group of States; 13 November 2018

Photo: Beninoise music icon Angelique Kidjo made Africa proud on Sunday when she sang the “Blewu” track in front of world leaders who had gathered in the French capital, Paris. Source: AfricaNews.

At World War I Ceremony, the Songbird of Togo Reappears

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – At a gathering of world leaders in the French capital of Paris, singer-songwriter Angelique Kidjo reprised an hypnotic work of ethereal beauty by a youthful West African singer. With a repertoire of just 17 songs, the diva, Bella Bellow, had won the hearts of presidents, accomplished artists and worldwide fans.

Kidjo’s choice of Blewu (“Patience”) “celebrated Peace and the memory of the fallen African soldiers of World War One in front of the leaders of this World under the Arc de Triomphe.” It was also the long-awaited encore for the “Togolese songbird” – Bella Bellow.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 13 November 2018

Photo: The Kofi Annan Foundation facilitated the process of consultation and dialogue between the opposition political parties of the Democratic Republic of Congo from 9 to 11 November 2018 in Geneva. Source: Kofi Annan Foundation

Plan to Pick a Single Candidate to Defeat Kabila Implodes

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK | KINSHASA (IDN) – As election day nears in the troubled Democratic Republic of the Congo, the seven leaders of the opposition seemed settled on one person to challenge the handpicked candidate of President Joseph Kabila – but differences unexpectedly arose.

The agreement to back Congolese lawmaker Martin Fayulu Madidi, facilitated by the Kofi Annan Foundation after three days of negotiations in Geneva, fell apart, with a major opposition leader going his own way. Felix Tshisekedi, head of the largest opposition party, said he was abandoning a day-old agreement to field a joint candidate in the December crucial presidential polls.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 13 November 2018

Huge Heist by Ghanaian Bank Officers Worse Than Feared

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK | ACCRA (IDN) – Depositors may want to steer clear of banking in Ghana while over a dozen bank officers and shareholders face claims they lent themselves millions of dollars but failed to repay.

Business Ghana, a local news outlet, reported that 13 shareholders and directors of the defunct Capital Bank Ghana Limited and UT Bank engaged in acts that led to the collapse of the two banks.

By their alleged actions, the defendants “have breached their fiduciary duties under the Companies Code and have caused serious financial loss to the banks,” say receivers for the defunct banks.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 13 November 2018

Photo: President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron in their bilateral discussion on September 24, 2018, at the Lotte New York Palace in New York. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

Nuclear Arms Control is Going Down a Trumpian Hole

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power*

LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – Reacting to the radio interview by the French president, Emmanuel Macron, to mark Armistice Day, in which he was reported as saying, “We have to protect ourselves with respect to China, Russia and even the United States of America… We need a true European army”, President Donald Trump blew a fuse. He tweeted: “President Macron of France has just suggested that Europe build its own military in order to protect itself from the U.S., China and Russia. Very insulting.”

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 13 November 2018

Japan, Russia Join UNODC to Support Afghanistan's Counter Narcotics Efforts

By Reinhard Jacobsen

VIENNA (IDN) – The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Afghanistan, Japan and the Russian Federation have signed a declaration, highlighting the new development of the Trilateral Cooperation to support counter narcotics efforts of the Government of Afghanistan, according to UN Information Service (UNIS). The declaration also gives an overview of the past achievements.

This cooperation was initiated in September 2012 with the delivery of counter narcotics training provided to law enforcement officials from Afghanistan and its neighbouring countries of Central Asia, conducted at the All-Russian Advanced Training Institute of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, or the 'Domodedovo Training Centre' with the financial and technical support of Japan.

: Reinhard Jacobsen; UN INSIDER; 12 November 2018

Decline in External Finance to Developing Countries Endanger Global Goals

By Krishan Dutta

PARIS (IDN) – "Donor countries have not followed through on their 2015 promise to expand development finance flows," said OECD Development Co-operation Director Jorge Moreira da Silva, launching a landmark report at the Paris Peace Forum.

He was commenting on an important finding of the report that external finance to poor countries is declining, despite a promise by the international community three years ago to increase development finance flows, in particular through private investment.

: Krishan Dutt; SUSTAINABILITY; Global Partnerships; 12 November 2018

Photo: Civil society at the UN General Assembly First Committee, October 2018

Interfaith Statement Pushes for Abolition of Nuclear Weapons

By Santo D. Banerjee

NEW YORK (IDN) – Faith Communities Concerned about Nuclear Weapons – a group of diverse faith-based organizations and individuals committed to a nuclear-weapon-free world – have called for urgent action for the abolition of nuclear weapons.

"As people of faith, we advocate for the right of all people to live in security and dignity; we seek to heed the commands of conscience and the call to justice; we are united in our determination to protect the vulnerable and to exercise the stewardship that will safeguard Earth for present and future generations," says the group in the public statement submitted in October to the UN General Assembly's First Committee in New York.