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 Kalinga Seneviratne
SYDNEY (IDN) — One of the five winners of this year’s Ramon Magsaysay Awards—known as Asia’s Nobel Prizes—is Dr Muhammad Amjad Saquib the founder of Pakistan’s biggest community development network Akhuwat that is based on Islamic principles of sharing and brotherhood. (P15) INDONESIAN | JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF | PORTUGUESE…
By Henry Prillaman
The writer is a student at the University of Virginia and an Intern at the High Atlas Foundation.
NAIROBI, Kenya (IDN) — I attended the 2021 pre-summit for the world’s premier forum for African agriculture, the Agricultural Transformation for Sustainable and Resilient Food Systems (AGRF). The forum consisted of many great speakers and commentators discussing different parts of African agriculture, from the fiscal and political side to the implementation and community side.…
By Amitava Chowdhury
KOLKATTA (IDN) — One of 2021 Ramon Magsaysay Awards—known as ‘Asia’s Nobel Prize’—has been awarded to the Bangladeshi scientist Dr Firdausi Qadri who has played a “key role” in creating more affordable vaccines to combat cholera and typhoid, the Manila-based award foundation said in a statement on August 31.…
NEW YORK (IDN)— Dr. Sima Sami Bahous, 65, a former Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, with links to the Royal family, has been appointed the Executive Director of UN Women. IDN reported on September 6 that she was the front runner for the post. UN Secretary-General António Guterres announced her appointment on September 10.…
By Jacqueline Skalski-Fouts
The writer is an undergraduate student at the University of Virginia.
VIRGINIA, USA (IDN) — North African pastoralism, an agricultural method used for centuries by nomadic people in the steppe highlands, is on the decline. Facing limited grazing land due to overuse and drought, pastoral nomads are favouring more sedentary farming methods like growing fruit or nut trees and crops.…
By Thalif Deen
NEW YORK (IDN)— Since its creation 76 years ago, the United Nations has been preoccupied with one of its primary mandates, namely, maintaining international peace and security.
But over the years, that mandate has been extended to include peacekeeping, peace-building, nuclear disarmament, preventive diplomacy, and more recently, a culture of peace. (P14) GERMAN | ITALIAN | JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF …
By J Nastranis
NEW YORK (IDN) — The United Nations is convinced that sport promotes values such as diversity, tolerance and respect and contributes to the empowerment of women and young people, individuals and communities, as well as to health, education and social inclusion objectives. With this in view, the UN Department of Global Communication’s office at the country level has initiated SDG Zone at Tokyo, titled “Teaming Up through Sport to Advance the SDGs”. (P13) ARABIC | JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF | PORTUGUESE…
By Kalinga Seneviratne
SYDNEY (IDN) — The most comprehensive report released by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has issued a dire warning to countries in the Pacific region where rising sea levels and increasing temperatures could wipe out island nations and make dry habitats uninhabitable. But the two major powers in the region—Australia and New Zealand—have reacted to the report with defensive rhetoric rather than moving to implement immediate action to save the region. (P12) HINDI | JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF | SWAHILI…
By Kalinga Seneviratne
SYDNEY (IDN) — In the Asia-Pacific region which is home to about 60 percent of the global population, some 1.6 billion people primarily rely on open fires or simple stoves fueled by kerosene, coal, or biomass such as wood, dung and agricultural residues for their daily cooking needs, that impacts on climatic change and health hazards. (P11) GERMAN | JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF | THAI
…
Viewpoint by Matthew L. Myers, President, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids
WASHINGTON, D.C. (IDN) — In 2020, 3.6 million kids in the United States used electronic cigarettes, including 1 in 5 high school students. A growing percentage of them did so frequently or daily, a sure sign of addiction.
With 83% of youth e-cigarette users using flavored products, the evidence is clear that flavored e-cigarettes have driven this epidemic.…
