IDN-InDepthNews – Page 741 – News for a Sustainable World, Peace and Security

Asia-Pacific2016-03-242023-07-10

China’s Release of Mekong Waters Reflects an Environmental Crisis

By Kalinga Seneviratne

This article is the fifth in a series of joint productions of Lotus News Features and IDN-InDepthNews, flagship of the International Press Syndicate.

SINGAPORE (IDN | Lotus News Features) – China would like to project the release of Mekong River waters from its dams in March to “assist” drought-stricken farmers and fisheries further downstream, especially in Vietnam, as a magnanimous gesture from a friendly neighbour. But that action is in fact the reflection of a greater environmental and political crisis that is brewing in the region.

China announced middle of March that in response to a Vietnamese request, it will discharge from March 15 to April 10 water from the Jinghong hydropower station on the Mekong River in Yunnan province to the lower reaches of the Mekong River to alleviate drought in Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.

GLOBAL ISSUES2016-03-242023-07-10

China’s Release of Mekong Waters Reflects an Environmental Crisis

By Kalinga Seneviratne* | IDN-InDepthNews Analysis

This article is the fifth in a series of joint productions of Lotus News Features and IDN-InDepthNews, flagship of the International Press Syndicate.

SINGAPORE (IDN | Lotus News Features**) – China would like to project the release of Mekong River waters from its dams in March to “assist” drought-stricken farmers and fisheries further downstream, especially in Vietnam, as a magnanimous gesture from a friendly neighbour. But that action is in fact the reflection of a greater environmental and political crisis that is brewing in the region.

South-South Cooperation2016-03-242023-07-10

South-South Cooperation in the Face of Declining North-South Collaboration

Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS), hosted a Conference on South-South Cooperation in New Delhi on March 10-11, 2016. About 350 delegates representing 62 countries participated in the conference, which demonstrated both the maturity of South-South Cooperation and the creative challenges that lie ahead.

By Rajni Bakshi

NEW DELHI (INPS | Gateway House) – The Conference on South-South Cooperation, held at Habitat Centre in New Delhi, was designed specifically as a platform for developing countries to collectively review the new landscape for South-South Cooperation (SSC), on their own terms, in the context of three major multi-lateral events of 2015: the United Nations’ Finance for Development conference, the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Climate Change Summit in Paris.

Individual Journalists, SYNDICATION2016-03-222023-07-12

Listening to Obasanjo on Boko Haram in Nigeria

News Insight by Jonathan Power

LUND, Sweden (IDN) – If there is one man in Africa who combines kindness, authoritarianism of right and rationed proportions with nevertheless a deep commitment to democracy, business proficiency learnt on his now large-scale farms, political nous that outsmarts all competitors, a demanding Christian belief, honed while he was in prison for 3 years under the military dictatorship and a not overdone portion of charisma, it is Olusegun Obasanjo, the man who returned Nigeria, Africa’s most populated country and largest economy, to democracy twice and was himself the elected president for 8 years from 1999 to 2007. No wonder a majority of Nigerians consider the Obasanjo years as the best in Nigeria’s history.

I have to say in my 40 years of being a writer on foreign affairs and interviewing over 60 heads of government he is the one who has impressed me the most, for sheer brainpower, idealism and wisdom.

Africa2016-03-222023-07-10

Philanthropy with a Pan-African Perspective

NEW YORK (INPS | GIN) – Bill Gates, Bono, the Ford Foundation and the World Bank, among others, are well-known supporters of development projects in Africa. But that’s hardly the full list.

A report on international giving by the Foundation Center found that approximately $255 million to Africa came from U.S. foundations in 2010. Compare that to the $40 billion that Africans in the diaspora sent home in remittances in the same year. This has since grown to $60 billion annually and now exceeds funding from private foundations and bilateral and multilateral aid agencies.

GLOBAL ISSUES2016-03-222023-07-10

UN Women Launches a Landmark Media Compact to Foster Gender Equality

By J Nastranis | IDN-INPS News Analysis

BERLIN | NEW YORK (IDN | INPS) – The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, UN Women, has launched an innovative partnership with media organizations from every region of the world that work in print and broadcast or are online news media to ensure wide reach and robust efforts towards women’s rights and gender equality.

While Goal 5 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development aims to “achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls”, UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka explained the rationale behind the move.

Africa2016-03-222023-07-10

‘Super Sunday’ Polls in Africa

NEW YORK (INPS | GIN) – Voters trooped to the polls in six countries across Africa on March 20, electing presidents and in Senegal approving a constitution with shorter presidential terms.

Among the surprises, the hand-picked successor to the outgoing president of Benin was defeated by a self-made entrepreneur Patrice Talon – “the king of cotton” – who ran as an “authentic Beninese” candidate. During the campaign he repeatedly attacked his opponent’s dual French nationality and the fact that he was living in France until being appointed prime minister by the outgoing former president.

Lionel Zinsou, with light skin, was also attacked as a “yovo” or “white man” during the campaign. He congratulated his opponent even before the official release of voting results was announced.

UN INSIDER2016-03-222023-07-10

UN Women Launches a Landmark Media Compact

Analysis by J Nastranis

BERLIN | NEW YORK (IDN) – The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, UN Women, has launched an innovative partnership with media organizations from every region of the world that work in print and broadcast or are online news media to ensure wide reach and robust efforts towards women’s rights and gender equality.

“Media have great influence over how we perceive and understand the world around us. That influence has many dimensions. Even when reporting is entirely factually accurate, if it is reported predominantly by men, about men, it is actually misrepresenting the real state of the world. At UN Women, we want to address this through partnership to change the media landscape and make media work for gender equality,” she said.

Peace & Security2016-03-222023-07-10

Empower Refugees to Become Agents of Their Own integration

News Insight by Inge Missmahl*

BERLIN (IDN) – One dark night in Aleppo, Alima decided to flee. For months, she had been worrying about her two children being wounded, raped, or killed. This was not home anymore, there was only destruction around her, and she had to protect that space within herself, which was still alive and gave her meaning: to be a mother and enable a future for her children.

Alima saw no other option than leaving behind everything she had ever known to seek safety from the bombs and the violence around her – in another country where she was determined to build a new life.

Alima arrived in a new country, which was surprisingly different from the one she had imagined – from the color of the sky to the smell of food. Furthermore, she found herself suddenly living together with many other strangers, squeezed into a tight facility where opportunities for privacy were basically non-existing. This was especially unsettling for someone coming from a culture that strictly separates private and public life.

Latin America & the Caribbean2016-03-222023-07-10

Global Citizenship in Ecuador: The Gap Between Principle and Practice

By Nelsy Lizarazo

QUITO (IDN) – Universal or global citizenship is, according to the Dictionary of Humanitarian Action a principle, category or condition thanks to which anyone in any part of the world may be recognised as a subject with rights.

It’s an established and accepted concept, at least in an international sphere, which is directly linked to the universality of Human Rights. The concept of Universal citizenship fundamentally means that human rights are not related to which particular state an individual may come from and therefore must be protected and respected anywhere a person may find themselves. READ IN SPANISH