By Christopher Wright and Ufuk Alparslan* LONDON | 22 December 2024 (IDN) — Australia and Türkiye went into COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, with a range of diplomatic goals, but none greater than each country’s hopes to be announced as the host of the UN climate summit in 2026. For Ufuk and myself, the competition between […]
Africa: Economic Potential of BRICS Partner States — Algeria, Nigeria and Uganda
By Professor Maurice Okoli and Professor Chinedu Ochinanwata* ABUJA, Nigeria | 21 December 2024 (IDN) — After the historic 16th BRICS summit held in October 2024, three African States Algeria, Nigeria and Uganda, among others in Europe (Belarus and Turkey), Asia and Latin America, recognizably became BRICS+ partner states. In total, thirteen countries received BRICS […]
UN Warns of Hunger Reaching New Heights in the Arab Region
By Ramesh Jaura BERLIN | 20 December 2024 (IDN) — Six UN agencies have called for enhanced funding for transforming and strengthening agrifood systems, address inequalities, and ensure that healthy diets are affordable and accessible to all in the Near East and North Africa as a new report warns that the Arab region remains off-track […]
Monorails Connect Mountains to Markets in China
IFAD ROME | 20 December 2024 (IDN) —The steep mountainsides of Yunnan province are green with orchards that supply sweet mangoes to eager shoppers across China. But getting the fruit to markets in the valleys is not a straightforward matter. Most farm vehicles can’t navigate the terrain, leaving farmers to carry heavy baskets down steep […]
Will Malaysia Help Resuscitate ASEAN in 2025?
By Simone Galimberti* KATHMANDU, Nepal | 20 December 2024 (IDN) — What should we expect from the Malaysia’s Chairmanship of ASEAN in 2025? After several years of hibernation in which the regional bloc did not certainly sparkle in terms of vitality and creativity, will Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim of Malaysia be able to resuscitate an […]
Internet Governance Forum Weighs Pros and Cons of AI
By Bernhard Schell RIYADH, Saudi Arabia | 19 December (IDN) — More than 11,000 participants gathered at the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) in Riyadh from 15 to 19 December 2024 and addressed the transformative opportunities and risks posed by rapid advancements of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other digital technologies. They agreed that while AI presents […]
Sudan: Funding Women-Led Organizations Is Critical Amid Surging Gender-Based Violence
By UN Women NEW YORK | 18 December 2024 (IDN) — As the crisis in Sudan continues to deepen, UN Women has just published a new Gender Alert on the impact of the conflict on women and girls. More than 11 million people have been displaced as of October 2024, with more than half (54 per […]
U.S. Defense Official Outlines Continued Support for Ukraine
By Joseph Clark, DOD News WASHINGTON, D.C. | 18 December 2024 (IDN) — The Defense Department is committed to helping Ukraine prevail amid Russia’s ongoing war of aggression and will continue sending key capabilities to meet Ukraine’s battlefield needs in the weeks to come, a senior defense official said Monday (16 December). The department is […]
Interview: Developments in Syria Can Give Opportunity to ISIS to Bounce Back
By Manish Rai ERBIL, Iraq | 17 December 2024 (IDN) — Mr Shoresh Ismail Abdulla is the Minister of Peshmerga affairs in the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). The Peshmerga are the military forces of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and one of the most capable forces in the region, which pushed back ISIS from its […]
Cuba: Lights and Shadows of Tourism
By José Luis Perelló Cabrera HAVANA, Cuba | 17 December 2024 (IDN) — Over the past 60 years business relations between the United States and Cuba have travelled on a road plagued by obstacles, restrictions, convergence and divergence, where tourism, as the principal symbol of mobility and trade among persons, has been a mirror, marking […]