By Martin Khor*
IDN-InDepth NewsAnalysis
GENEVA (IDN) – There were sobering messages on global economic prospects emerging from the 2012 meeting of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund on October 14 in Tokyo.
Developing countries’ Finance Ministers and Central Bank officials voiced their concerns on the failure of developed countries to deal with their economic situation and on the policy and political paralysis preventing solutions.
By Bernhard Schell
IDN-InDepth NewsReport
BEIRUT (IDN) – Though legally bound by their respective constitutions to honour basic economic and social rights, Arab government usually violate such rights in practice, which partly explains the socio-political eruptions in the region, widely known as the Arab Spring. This is the upshot of the first Arab Watch Report by civil society organizations of ten Middle East and North African countries.
By R Nastranis
IDN-InDepth NewsReport
GENEVA (IDN) – The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) is living up to its name and mandate given 48 years ago. Its latest Trade and Development Report concludes that austerity measures have not led to economic growth, and recommends supportive government policies to get over the crisis. This pro-people approach corresponds with organization’s goals, explained on its website: to “maximize the trade, investment and development opportunities of developing countries and assist them in their efforts to integrate into the world economy on an equitable basis.”
By Ramesh Jaura and Katsuhiro Asagiri
IDN-InDepth NewsFeature
SENDAI (IDN) – While the Fukushima nuclear disaster marks yet another wake-up call to re-think energy policy, the massive earthquake and tsunami that hit Tohoku, the north-eastern region of Japan, has not only left behind a trail of pain and suffering but also an indefatigable resolve of survivors to abandon despair and transform their agony into strength.
By Eric Walberg*
IDN-InDepth NewsAnalysis
TORNTO (IDN) – After 10 years in Guantanamo, former child soldier Omar Khadr, the last Western national being held there, was finally repatriated September 29, 2012 after years of mistreatment. The illegality of the procedures used against Khadr from day one mean that the Canadian government faces a multi-million dollar law suit for damages.
Various court cases against the government failed to convince it to expedite his return, until the U.S. government finally pulled the plug, forcing the Canadian government to take him after his plea of guilty to various charges, clearly made as the only way to end his ordeal and give him hope of eventual release.
By J C Suresh
IDN-InDepth NewsReport
TORNOTO (IDN) – A new report by the World Bank highlights the resilience of African economies despite global slowdown caused by the Euro-zone crisis and decline in growth in emerging economies, particularly China – an important market for the continent’s mineral exports.
In fact, new oil, gas and mineral wealth offer an opportunity for inclusive development. But strong growth rates could yet be vulnerable to deteriorating market conditions in the Euro-zone, the report warns.
So far, consistently high commodity prices and strong export growth in those countries which have made mineral discoveries in recent years, have powered economic activity and are expected to buttress Africa’s economic growth for the rest of 2012, according to the World Bank’s new Africa’s Pulse. African countries’ share in global reserves and annual production of some minerals is sizeable.
By Giorgio Cafiero*
IDN-InDepth NewsAnalysis
WASHINTON DC (IDN | FPIF) – The demise of secular autocratic regimes in the Middle East and North Africa has heralded a renaissance for Islamist parties in the region, igniting a rivalry for the hearts and minds of the Sunni world between the Gulf powers of Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
By Richard Johnson
IDN-InDepth NewsReport
BRUSSELS (IDN) – Afghanistan is hurtling toward a devastating political crisis as the government prepares to take full control of security when U.S. and NATO forces withdraw from the war-torn country in 2014, says a new report by the prestigious International Crisis Group.
By Devinder Kumar
IDN-InDepth NewsReport
NEW DELHI (IDN) – What is in store for the natural world? Are governments implementing their commitments on preserving biodiversity? These and related issues are on the agenda of the UN biodiversity summit in the Indian city of Hyderabad.
It will not only review progress so far but is also expected to come up with decisions that will provide further momentum for implementation of the targets, according to conference sources.
By J C Suresh
IDN-InDepth NewsReport
TORONTO (IDN) – A group of non-nuclear weapon states has expressed its resolve to move ahead with practical steps to advance the implementation of the 2010 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference Action Plan (‘Action Plan’) and to pursue the goal of a nuke-free world.
At a meeting in New York on September 26, 2012 on the margins of the UN General Assembly, the foreign ministers of Australia, Canada, Chile, Germany, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Poland, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates reaffirmed their “commitment to contribute to the realisation of a robust regime across the three pillars of the NPT”. As agreed at the meeting in Istanbul in June, they identified future prospects.
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