By Jeffrey Moyo

HARARE, Zimbabwe (IDN) — In Harare, the Zimbabwean capital’s medium-density suburb known as Glaudina, where a thick forest used to exist, homes under construction have emerged instead, with the trees vanishing.

North-West of Zimbabwe, just outside Lusaka, the Zambian capital, slums and shacks have also, over the decades, replaced the once flourishing forests.

According to the UN-Habitat, in the absence of sufficient public low-cost housing in Zambia, urban growth has resulted in a series of housing crises and the growth of unauthorized settlements at the urban periphery. (P25) JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF | SWAHILI…

By Katsuhiro Asagiri

Manama (IDN) — “Our world today is facing unprecedented challenges where conflicts are multiplying and people whose identities are defined by religion, culture, or ethnicity, continue to be besieged by hatred. Social and cultural divides are deepening; tribalism, ethnic violence, Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, xenophobia, hate speech and ultra-nationalism, are in full swing.” said Miguel Angel Moratinos, the High Representative for the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC). He was addressing the opening session of the first Bahrain Dialogue Forum on November 3. (P24) JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF…

By Lowana Veal

REYKJAVIK (IDN) — The Arctic region is a unique area among Earth’s ecosystems. The cultures in the region and the Arctic indigenous peoples have adapted to its cold and extreme conditions. Life in the Arctic includes zooplankton and phytoplankton, fish and marine mammals, birds, land animals, plants and human societies.

Reykjavik—the capital of the Nordic Island nation Iceland—hosted the Arctic Circle Assembly (ACA)—nearly four weeks ahead of the UN Climate conference COP27. The Arctic region is not on the agenda of the 2022 annual gathering in Sharm El-Sheikh (Egypt). (P23) ARABIC | JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF…

By Pattama Vilailert

BANGKOK (IDN) — Quality Education and Reduced Inequalities are two Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). With 3.3 per cent of Thailand’s population categorized as “disabled”, Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University (STOU) has come up with an innovative program to provide a new lease of life to people who would otherwise be left behind in the sphere of higher education. (P22) JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF | THAI
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By Kalinga Seneviratne

BANGKOK (IDN) — While the massacre of 37 people that included 26 preschool children in a remote north-eastern township of Thailand on October 7 has shocked the nation and exposed the inadequacy of the public mental health system, it is yet to trigger a debate about whether Buddhism could step in to help solve a major social crisis in the majority Buddhist country. (P21) JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF | THAI
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