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 Kizito Makoye
LUDEWA, Tanzania (IDN) – It’s almost midday in Nsisi – a fishing village nestled on the shore of Lake Nyasa – and Lucy Gwamaka is busy unfurling a canvas to dry her sardines in the sun.
For the 33-year-old mother of three, life is a daily struggle. Her wrinkled face and sun-parched skin makes her look older than her age.
By Taro Ichikawa
YOKOHAMA (IDN) – “I see Africa as a dynamic continent of opportunity where winds of hope are blowing ever stronger. TICAD has played a critical role in focusing international dialogue on Africa, built on the twin principles of African ownership and international partnership,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres kicking off the 7th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 7). The United Nations, UN Development Programme (UNDP), World Bank and the African Union Commission (AUC) co-hosted the conference in Yokohama city.…
Viewpoint by Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana
The writer is Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).
BANGKOK (IDN) – The past five years have been the hottest on record in Asia and the Pacific. Unprecedented heatwaves have swept across our region, cascading into slow onset disasters such as drought. Yet heat is only part of the picture.…
Viewpoint by António Guterres
The UN Secretary-General met with the Group of Seven (G7) leaders during the 3-day summit to mobilize action ahead of the Climate Action Summit taking place in New York on September 23. Following are extensive excerpts from the transcript of his Press Encounter at the G7 Summit which ended in Biarritz on August 26.…
By J Nastranis
NEW YORK (IDN) – Issues such as highlighting how governments, civil society and individuals can take action on climate, sharing updates on the Sustainable Development Goals, and celebrating outstanding figures whose actions have had a transformative positive impact on the environment will take centre stage when world leaders gather in New York City for the high-level week of the 74th session of the UN General Assembly from September 21 to 26.…
Viewpoint by Tim Christophersen
The growing enthusiasm for forests and trees is a good thing. But we need to be mindful of some pitfalls lurking along the way. With the right approach, we can make the conservation and restoration of ecosystems, including the planting of billions of new trees, a major step in building the sustainable future we all want, says Tim Christophersen, Branch Coordinator, Freshwater, Land and Climate at UN Environment as well as the Chair of the Global Partnership on Forest and Landscape Restoration in a blogpost.…
New UN Report Warns of Huge Economic Losses
By Devinder Kumar
NEW DELHI | BANGKOK (IDN) – Vulnerable and marginalized communities are among the hardest hit by natural disasters that occurred in a relentless sequence in Asia and the Pacific in the past two years, beyond what the region had previously experienced or was able to predict. This, according to the latest report by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), is “a sign of things to come in the new climate reality” where economic losses are set to quadruple.…
By Jayathma Wickramanayake
The writer is UN Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth. Following are extensive excerpts from her article in July 2019 issue of the UN Chronicle. The views expressed do not necessarily imply official endorsement or acceptance by the United Nations.
NEW YORK (IDN-INPS) – At the end of May this year, I visited the Gaza Strip for the first time in my life. I was there to support the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) with their work on advocacy, policy influencing and resource mobilization. While visiting a school, I met two young people, Deema and Kareem, who were kind enough to show me around. Deema, Kareem and their friends dream of becoming teachers, doctors or engineers.…
UN Chief Urges Young People Worldwide to Join Online and in Local Communities
By Santo D. Banerjee
NEW YORK (IDN) – In an obvious expression of support for the ‘FridaysforFuture’ movement, whose initiator Greta Thunberg is sailing to New York, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres is keen to mobilize youth for what he has termed “the defining issue of our time”. One hundred outstanding young climate champions chosen from around the world will receive support to participate in the first-ever UN Youth Climate Summit on September 21 at the UN Headquarters in New York.…
By Bagymdat Atabaeva
SOLTON SARY, Kyrgyzstan (IDN) – On August 5 about 300 villagers from Solton Sary area, about 200 km from capital Bishkek, gathered at the Chinese owned Zhong Ji mining company’s office here to protest against gold mining works, which they claimed were killing their cattle. Thus, another mining scandal has erupted in Kyrgyzstan, where most people make a living on raising livestock.
Locals claim the mining company is contaminating their soil on which the cattle and sheep graze. “We have lost about a hundred sheep last month, we are pretty sure that the meat is contaminated and cannot be used as sheep are just dying out and it’s suspicious,” a local activist and a shepherd Osmonov K told IDN.…
