CONSIDER THIS: Irene Sounded Strong Climate Change Warning
WASHINGTON DC - Goodbye, Irene. Other tempests, too, will straddle parts of the U.S. during the 2011 hurricane season which, as usual, began in June and will run through the end of November. But Irene, though gone, is not forgotten.
ENVIRONMENT: Resource Rich Arctic Severely Threatened
NEW DELHI - A new study is pleading for the resource rich Arctic located at the northern-most part of the planet Earth to be treated as "a global common and a common heritage of mankind", in the interest of preserving an important ecosystem and halting morbid militarisation of the region.
ENVIRONMENT: UN Meet Holds Out Hope for the Poorest
SEOUL - More than one billion people inhabiting drylands in some 100 countries are caught in the pangs of poverty and excruciating hunger. They appear to have found a credible champion of their cause in the UNCCD, an acronym for the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification.
DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION: Yet Another Chance to Make Aid Effective
PARIS - Global development cooperation, which surged in the early 1960s amidst post-war optimism and enthusiasm, and has since continued to evolve, is recognised as a key factor in advancing international development.
DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION: African Leaders Urge New Approach
NAIROBI – In run-up to an important global forum on aid effectiveness, African leaders from fragile and conflict-affected countries have called for new approaches to development in the region and a reassessment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
NEWS ANALYSIS: Europe Vying with U.S. to Sell Arms
TORONTO - The United States and its four major European allies – France, Britain, Germany, and Italy – are locked in an "intense" competition for selling arms to affluent developing nations, says a new report prepared for the U.S. Congress.
NEWS ANALYSIS: Cautiously Tasting the Fruits of Arab Spring
AMMAN - As the United States and the Arab world strive to redesign their relationship to derive most benefit from the Arab spring, they realize that an array of misapprehensions is weighing heavily on the horizon, discussions during a World Economic Forum Special Meeting at the Dead Sea revealed.
NEWS ANALYSIS: Mourning a Calamity, Confronting a Challenge
WASHINGTON DC - The threat of a possible terrorist attack to coincide with the tenth anniversary of the "day of infamy" in 2001 did not materialize, and did not undermine the solemn and moving memorial events that marked the event.
HUMAN RIGHTS: Shalit Freed, Palestinians Under Duress
WASHINGTON DC - The prisoner-for-prisoners exchange agreement between Hamas, the Palestinian organization that holds sway in Gaza, and the Government of Israel, demolishes the argument that Hamas cannot be included in any negotiating process "because it is a terrorist group."
HUMAN RIGHTS: Italy Faulted for Xenophobia and Ignoring Rights
STRASBOURG - The 47-nation Council of Europe has faulted Italy for "the presence of racist and xenophobic political discourse" targeting Roma and Sinti, and the protection of the human rights of migrants, including asylum seekers.
HUMAN RIGHTS: What About Civil Liberties and Cultural Diversity?
SINGAPORE - While marking the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in New York and Washington, media around the world is asking the question whether the threat from Al-Qaeda has receded. But what we should also be asking is whether civil liberties and respect for cultural diversity around the world are improving as a result.
HUMAN RIGHTS: Afghanistan Has Its Own 'Guantánamo'
GENEVA - The United Nations has revealed the existence of a Guantánamo-like system in Afghanistan, operated by the country's security agencies and aided and abetted by western nations contributing troops to the International Security Assistance Forces deployed for the last ten years to bring democracy to the Hindukush.
HUMAN RIGHTS: Germany Scuttles Herero Demands
BERLIN - The German government is insisting that it will neither render an apology nor pay any reparations to the Herero and Nama who suffered the first genocide of the 20th century that took place between 1904 and 1907 in German South-West Africa – modern-day Namibia – during the scramble for Africa.
SPECIAL FEATURE: The Enduring Fact of Slavery
In 2005 I was asked to work on an international documentary film about modern slavery. I knew a bit about human trafficking and child labor, but I really had no clue about the scope of slavery in today's world. When I heard the word "slavery," the images that came to mind were pictures from my schoolbooks of slave ships and people in chains. It was not something I associated with our times.
SPECIAL FEATURE: Japan Seeks Partners in Eco Project
TOKYO - Japanese logistics enterprises have approached their counterparts in Germany to explore possibilities of learning from each other's experiences the best ways to exercise social and environmental responsibility in managing smooth flow of goods.
