IDN-InDepthNews

GLOBAL ISSUES2013-02-022023-07-10

Poor Countries Robbed Of 6 Trillion Dollars

By Jaya Ramachandran | IDN-InDepth NewsReport

BERLIN (IDN) – Crime, corruption, and tax evasion recorded near-historic highs in 2010, with illicit financial outflows costing the developing world $859 billion in 2010, just below the all-time high of $871.3 billion in 2008, the year preceding the global financial crisis. Besides, nearly $6 trillion (6000 000 000 000 000 000 U.S. dollars) were stolen from poor countries in the decade between 2001 and 2010, says a new report and urges world leaders to increase transparency in the international financial system.

Europe2013-02-022023-07-10

Development Has Limited Role in CAP Reform Debate

By Alan Matthews* | IDN-InDepth NewsAnalysis

DUBLIN (IDN | CAP Reform) – Olivier De Schutter, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, called January 17 for members of the European Parliament (MEPs) to take into account the impact on developing countries when voting on amendments to the draft CAP (Common Agricultural Policy) regulations post-2013. Among other issues, he called on MEPs to support the views of the European Parliament’s Development Committee, which voted unanimously in favour of a mechanism to monitor the CAP’s development impacts. In the voting January 23-24, COMAGRI (Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development) MEPs declined to do this.

Renewables2013-02-012023-07-10

Gulf States Aware of Renewable Energy Potential

By Jack Cornforth* | IDN-InDepth NewsAnalysis

ABI DHABI (IDN) – As the host of the World Future Energy Summit (WFES) in Abu Dhabi from January 15 to 17 and home of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the United Arab Emirates (UAE) positioned itself as an important player in the world of renewable energy.

The UAE, along with the five other states that make up the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), can guarantee the regular strong sunshine necessary for large scale solar energy generation, and also possess ample space for, and conditions conductive, to wind farms.

Renewables2013-02-012023-07-10

Renewables Becoming Competitive Worldwide

By Amy Cutter* | IDN-InDepth NewAnalysis

LONDON (IDN) – Significant falls in the cost of renewable energy are making it competitive with fossil fuels in countries worldwide. The reduced costs of solar and wind, in particular, are changing the energy landscape dramatically, especially in remote areas, such as islands, where solar has become the most economic option for communities that are off-grid and rely predominantly on diesel generation for their energy needs.

The increased competitiveness of renewables is due to a combination of reduced technology costs and greater efficiency of equipment, as a result of rapid deployment, stimulated by support policies to overcome barriers.

Asia-Pacific2013-01-292023-07-10

Sanctions Do Not Lead To Nuke Abolition in Asia

By Kalinga Seneviratne | IDN-InDepth NewsAnalysis

SINGAPORE (IDN) – North Korea’s response to the United Nations Security Council’s expanded sanctions on January 22 by threatening to resume nuclear tests and failure last November of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to persuade the five recalcitrant nuclear powers to sign the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapons-Free Zone Treaty (SEANWFZ) have focused attention on the atomic threat facing the Asian region that is fast emerging as the centre of the global economy.

GLOBAL ISSUES2013-01-282023-07-10

Japan Treading New Horizons in Education

By Ramesh Jaura | IDN-InDepth NewsFeature

BERLIN (IDN) – When I visited Japan five years ago and met senior representatives of the Soka Gakkai International (SGI) in Tokyo, I learnt about the educational activities of this faith organization and the underlying concept spelt out by its President Daisaku Ikeda: “Education that lacks an ethical or spiritual underpinning can warp our attitudes toward knowledge, allowing scientific research to run dangerously out of control.”

Nothing demonstrates this more horrifically than the development of nuclear weapons, he said in an interview. “This is why I have put my energies into dialogues aimed at bridging differences of nationality, religious affiliation and ideology, and into promoting educational exchanges that foster people-to-people connections,” stressed the President of SGI, a worldwide Buddhist network spanning the globe and promoting peace, culture and education through personal transformation and social contribution.

USA and Canada2013-01-262023-07-12

Obama Urges Middle Class-Based Prosperity

By Ernest Corea* | IDN-InDepth NewsAnalysis

WASHINGTON DC (IDN) – A 19-year-old single mother captured the spirit of hope and change that animated candidate Barack Hussein Obama’s first presidential election campaign with this text message: “Rosa sat, so Martin could walk; Martin walked so Obama could run; Obama is running so our children can fly.” Khari Mosley, a leader of the Democratic Party in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania cited the comment in a newspaper article and it re-surfaced in 2013, reaffirming the sentiments of “hope and change” that helped to propel Obama to the pinnacle of political power in the US.

GLOBAL ISSUES2013-01-252023-07-10

World Bank Helps Tackle Rapid Urbanization

By J C Suresh | IDN-InDepth NewsReport

TORONTO (IDN) – Developing countries are urbanizing so fast that their populations will tilt from less than 20 percent urban today to more than 60 percent in just 30 years. This is in stark contrast to the mostly gradual transformation today’s developed countries experienced as their cities expanded over a period of 100 years or more with jobs shifting from farms to factories.

Developing countries cannot afford today’s developed countries’ luxury of trial and error in growth patterns and policies. To meet the challenges that rapid migration is creating, city leaders must move quickly to plan, connect, and finance resilient and sustainable growth. A new World Bank report, Planning, Connecting and Financing-Now: What City Leaders Need to Know, provides a framework to assist in this huge task.

Africa2013-01-232023-07-10

Africa Witnessing Impressive Economic Growth

By Jaya Ramachandran | IDN-InDepth NewsReport

GENEVA (IDN) – There is good news from Africa. The continent is witnessing the second fastest economic growth, and according to knowledgeable sources it may grow even faster in 2013. What is more, currently Africa accounts for 14 sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) with a total amount of USD114 billion in 2009, representing 3% of global SWFs, and that share is expected to increase in future with the establishment of new SWFs.

ECONOMY2013-01-222023-07-10

Debt Crises Can and Need Be Resolved

By Martin Khor* | IDN-InDepth NewsViewpoint

GENEVA (IDN) – The issue of foreign debt has made a major comeback. This is due to the crisis in Europe, in which many countries had to seek big bailouts to keep them from defaulting on their loan payments. Before this, debt crises have been associated with African and Latin American countries. In 1997-99, three East Asian countries also joined the indebted countries’ club.

European countries, notably Germany, insisted that private creditors share the burden of resolving the Greek crisis. They had to take a “haircut” of about half, meaning that they would be repaid only half the amount they were owed.