IDN-InDepthNews

GLOBAL ISSUES2016-03-192023-07-10

UN Survey Finds Opiates Less Lucrative but Critical for Afghan Economy

By Jaya Ramachandran | IDN-InDepthNews Analysis

BERLIN | VIENNA (IDN) – Despite a decrease of 45% in 2015, opiates still constitute a sizeable share of Afghanistan’s economy, according to a socio-economic analysis of the latest Opium Survey by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) based in the Austrian capital.

The gross value of the country’s opiate economy was estimated at USD 1.56 billion as compared to USD 2.84 billion the precious year. Corresponding to 7% of the country’s GDP, the value of opiates is comparable to the value of the export of illicit goods and services in 2014.

GLOBAL ISSUES2016-03-182023-07-10

Strong Plea for a Female UN Chief, Kudos for Ban Ki-moon

By Ramesh Jaura | IDN-InDepthNews Analysis

BERLIN | NEW YORK (IDN) – United Nations General Assembly President Mogens Lykketoft and Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon have expressed their support for choosing a woman as the next UN Chief.

Speaking on ‘women’s empowerment and its link to sustainable development’ at the opening of the sixtieth session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) on March 14, Lykketoft said: “. . .the drive for Gender Equality has been the business of this Commission long before the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

“And the empowerment of women and girls has been advanced by courageous feminists, women activists, government officials and others long before the 2030 Agenda was agreed.”

UN INSIDER2016-03-182023-07-10

Strong Plea for a Female UN Chief, Kudos for Ban Ki-moon

By Ramesh Jaura

BERLIN | NEW YORK (IDN) – United Nations General Assembly President Mogens Lykketoft and Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon have expressed their support for choosing a woman as the next UN Chief.

“And the empowerment of women and girls has been advanced by courageous feminists, women activists, government officials and others long before the 2030 Agenda was agreed.” So what exactly has changed since September 2015?

Affordable Clean Energy2016-03-182023-07-10

Doubling Renewables by 2030 Can Save Trillions

BERLIN (IDN | INPS) – Doubling renewables in the global energy mix by 2030 is not only feasible, but cheaper than not doing so. It can save up to USD 4.2 trillion annually by 2030 – 15 times more than the costs, says a new report. Under existing national plans, the global renewables share would only reach 21 per cent by 2030. The report recommends options to boost the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix from just over 18 per cent today, to as much as 36 per cent by 2030.

Achieving this would increase the cost of the global energy system by roughly USD 290 billion per year in 2030, but the savings achieved through this doubling – thanks to avoided expenditures on air pollution and climate change – are up to 15 times higher than this cost, says the report by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) REmap: Roadmap for a Renewable Energy Future, released on March 17 at the Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue.

GLOBAL ISSUES2016-03-182023-07-10

Doubling Renewables by 2030 Can Save Trillions

By Rita Joshi | IDN-INPS News Analysis

UN INSIDER2016-03-182023-07-10

High-level Talks in Brussels to Adopt ACP Climate Action Plan

By Reinhardt Jacobsen

BRUSSELS (IDN) – In an unprecedented move, representatives from the 79 member states of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group are meeting with top officials from the United Nations agencies as well as other influential international and regional groupings to accelerate work towards implementing the historic Paris Agreement on climate change.

High level participants in the gathering in Brussels on March 22-23 include: the European Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy, Miguel Cañete, who will deliver the keynote address; UN Environment Programme Director Achim Steiner; the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Director General José Graziano Da Silva; and Secretary General of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Petteri Taalas.

GLOBAL ISSUES2016-03-182023-07-10

High-level Talks in Brussels to Adopt ACP Climate Action Plan

By Reinhardt Jacobsen | IDN-InDepthNews Report

USA and Canada2016-03-172023-07-10

18 Elephants Jetted Out of Swaziland to U.S. Zoos Despite Protest

NEW YORK (INPS | GIN) – If moving one elephant and escaping notice sounds like a challenge, imagine moving 18. Yet three American zoos quietly moved 18 elephants out of Swaziland and into U.S. zoos.

Animal rights activists, who had a court date to block the action, condemned the transfer. Removing elephants from the wild for display in zoos is cruel and outdated, they said.

The operation involved sedating three males and 15 females, crating and hoisting them aboard a cargo plane in Swaziland. They range in age from 6 to 25 years.

Africa2016-03-172023-07-10

Fierce Muslim Opposition to Make Liberia a Christian State

NEW YORK | MONROVIA (INPS | GIN) – An upcoming referendum to make Liberia a Christian state is meeting fierce opposition from the country’s Muslims and some Christians.

At a three-day retreat held by the National Imam Council of Liberia, a resolution was drafted that included a threat to boycott the referendum if the issue of the Christian state is not removed.

“The National Imam Council of Liberia is amazed beyond words that some of our compatriots are calling for the declaration of Liberia as a Christian nation,” an official of the Imam Council said.

Africa2016-03-172023-07-10

Campaign to Save Senegal’s Local Language Begins with a Book

DAKAR (INPS | GIN) – Waly Fay of Senegal had an obsession. He was determined not to let one of Senegal’s local languages become a footnote of linguistic history.

Not only was Serer the third most spoken language in Senegal but it was the language of the country’s first president. Although Léopold Sédar Senghor, a president and a poet, wrote most of his couplets in French, he never lost his “Serer-ness,” he told Fay with whom he corresponded over the course of his life.

Now, three decades since he began translating Senghor’s French language poems into Serer, Way’s book has been released.

Fay, a poet and academic, presented the book of presidential poems at a three-day party in the Serer-speaking region of Fadial.