A project of the Non-profit International Press Syndicate Group with IDN as the Flagship Agency in partnership with Soka Gakkai International in consultative status with ECOSOC
By Farai Shawn Matiashe
HARARE, 3 May 2023 (IDN) — As a crucial election approaches, President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s regime is in overdrive cracking down on politically conscious musicians who encourage people to register to vote and sing against corruption. The southern African nation is set to hold its general elections in August this year. (P03) JAPANESE | SWAHILI…
By Linda Hutchinson-Jafar
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, 26 April 2023 (IDN) — The Caribbean, a popular tourist destination known for its sun-kissed beaches, tranquil waters, and vibrant culture, is facing a harsh reality due to the devastating impacts of climate change. (P02) CHINESE | JAPANESE…
By Pattama Vilailert
BANGKOK, 20 April 2023 (IDN) — With the kingdom’s population ageing and the debt-ridden farmers becoming restless, Thailand’s political parties are gearing up for the May 14 elections offering populist policies to woo the votes of both sectors of the population. (P01) HINDI | JAPANESE | THAI…
By Kalinga Seneviratne
SYDNEY | TOKYO, 31 March 2023 (IDN) — A one-day conference at Soka University in Tokyo on March 29 titled ‘Advancing Security and Sustainability at the G7 Hiroshima Summit’ discussed the complex problem of swaying the focus away from the Ukraine war towards green development and food and energy security at the forthcoming May summit of the world’s advanced economies. These include Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States, as well as the European Union. (P33) ITALIAN | JAPANESE | SPANISH | TURKISH
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By Ngala Killian Chimtom
YAOUNDÉ, Cameroon (IDN) — While African forest elephants have traditionally been thought of as playing a destructive, negative role in forests, the big munchers are now seen as critical to saving a climate in peril.
Scientists now suggest that the perceived destructive nature of the African forest elephant through its feeding habits is good for the forests’ health and the global climate. (P32) FRENCH | JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF | PORTUGUESE | SPANISH…
By Rodrigo Pérez
SANTIAGO, Chile (IDN) — As many as 131.3 million in Latin America and the Caribbean have had to forego nutritious foods in 2020 because of the higher average daily cost of healthy diets in the region compared to those in other areas of the world. According to the new United Nations report Overview of Food Security and Nutrition 2022, in 2019, the figure amounted to about 123 million. (P31) JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF | KOREAN | PORTUGUESE | SPANISH…
By Pattama Vilailert
KAEN MAKROOD, Thailand (IDN) — With the belief that without seeds, there is no hope of sustaining food security to accommodate the global population, the ‘Seeds of Hope’ (SOH) project in Thailand aims to mobilize the community to be self-reliant in their farming methods and protect themselves from predatory agri-business companies. (P30) CHINESE | JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF | THAI | TURKISH…
By Hemali Wijerathne
COLOMBO (IDN) — Sri Lanka’s free education system, which was judged to have achieved the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) for education and is considered a post-independence success story, is now under threat due to the present economic crisis in the country of 22 million people. (P29) GERMAN | HINDI | INDONESIAN | JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF…
Catastrophic Consequences Feared
By J Nastranis
NEW YORK (IDN) — The United Nations has warned that the Horn of Africa is facing an unprecedented drought emergency, which will unleash catastrophic consequences. Communities in the region are in the midst of a likely fifth consecutive failed rainy season. They may face a sixth failed season in March-May 2023. (P28) ARABIC | GERMAN | JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF…
Nature-Based Solutions Could Generate 20 million New Jobs
By Jaya Ramachandran
GENEVA (IDN) — A joint report by three UN organisations says that 20 million jobs could be created by further harnessing the power of nature to address the major challenges facing society, such as climate change, disaster risk and food and water insecurity.
According to the report by the International Labour Organization (ILO), the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), investing in policies that support Nature-based Solutions (NbS) would generate significant employment opportunities, particularly in rural areas. (P27) HINDI | JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF…
