THE WORLD

Photo: U.S. President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron at a joint press conference at the G7 summit in Biarritz, France. Credit: G7 France,

A New Iran Deal French Proposal on Hold as Tensions Mount

Viewpoint by Daryl G. Kimball and Julia Masterson

The following are extensive extracts from an that analysis first appeared on the website of Arms Control Association (ACA) on September 24. Daryl G. Kimball is ACA Executive Director and Julia Masterson research assistant.

WASHINGTON, DC (IDN | Arms Control Association) – The latest attempt by European powers to salvage the 2015 Iran nuclear deal hit a roadblock this month when the Trump Administration hesitated to engage in a French-sponsored initiative. In August, French President Emmanuel Macron offered a proposal before world leaders at the G-7 summit in Biarritz, France for a $15 billion line of credit to Tehran in exchange for its full compliance with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

: Arms Control Association; OPINION; 27 September 2019

Photo: Tackling vulnerabilities, building resilience. Credit: UNCTAD.

UN Calls for A Global Green New Deal and Radical Reforms

By Jaya Ramachandran

GENEVA (IDN) – In a bold move, new UN report has proposed a series of reform measures to make debt, capital and banks work for development and finance a Global Green New Deal generating a net increase in global employment of at least 170 million jobs, with cleaner industrialization in the South and an overall reduction in carbon emissions by the target year of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

“We can meet the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, but only if we find the political will to change the rules of the international economic game and adopt policies that scale up the resources needed for a big investment push led by the public sector and set the global economy on an expansionary course, says UNCTAD’s Trade and Development Report 2019.

: Jaya Ramachandran; SUSTAINABILITY; Peace & Justice; 27 September 2019

Collage of photos of Brigadier General Mike Nicholas Sango, Zimbabwean Ambassador to Russia against the backdrop of the Zimbabwe Embassy in Moscow. INPS-IDN.

Russia Making Further Inroads into Zimbabwe

By Kester Kenn Klomegah

MOSCOW (IDN) – Russia maintains very friendly relations with Zimbabwe, thanks to ties which evolved during the struggle for independence. Since then, it has had a very strong mutual sympathy with and friendly feelings toward the southern African people, government and country.

One of the fora in which relations between the two countries are discussed is the Russia-Zimbabwe Intergovernmental Commission on Economic, Trade and Science and Technical Cooperation.

: Kester Kenn Klomegah; THE WORLD; Africa; 27 September 2019

Collage with images from SDGs, ACP and EU websites. Credit: INPS-IDN.

ACP, EU Point to Crucial Linkages Between Sustainable Development and Climate Action

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – More than half of the UN members have issued a joint declaration in support of the 2030 Agenda, 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) endorsed by the international community in September 2015, and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change adopted three months later.

The joint declaration by the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States and the European Union (EU) carries significant weight in terms of demonstrating a commitment to Agenda 2030 by countries which together account for over 1.5 billion people, one-fifth of the global population.

: J Nastranis; GLOBAL GOVERNANCE; ACP Group of States; 25 September 2019

Image credit: Transparency International

Corruption a Cause for Citizen Concern in Latin America and the Caribbean

By Kwame Buist

BERLIN (IDN) – In the last five years, momentum has been building against corruption in Latin America and the Caribbean. High-level politicians have been found guilty of corruption in Guatemala and Brazil, and a wave of legal action against the perpetrators of grand corruption has swept across the continent, including the Lava Jato – or “Operation Car Wash” – investigation in Brazil.

However, most of the region’s citizens think their governments are not doing enough to tackle corruption and that corruption levels have increased in the past 12 months across the region.

: Phil Harris; THE WORLD; Latin America & the Caribbean; 25 September 2019

Photo: Screenshot of joint ACP-EU press conference on 23 September at the UN. From left to right: Kamina Johnson Smith, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Jamaica; Neven Mimica, European Union Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development; Mamadou Tangara, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Gambia; Patrick I. Gomes, Secretary General of the ACP Group of States. Source: UN Web TV

EU Joins 79 ACP States in Calling for ‘Bold Decisions’ to Achieve SDGs

By J. Tuyet Nguyen

NEW YORK (IDN) – Governments from Africa, Caribbean, Pacific and the European Union issued on September 24 a joint declaration calling for “bold decisions” to implement the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and climate change agreements, saying that the two programs are closely linked.

“Recognizing that the linkages between sustainable development and climate action, we reiterate our strong commitment to implement the Paris Agreement on Climate Change fully and effectively,” the groups said in a Joint Declaration issued in New York.

: UN Bureau; GLOBAL GOVERNANCE; ACP Group of States; 24 September 2019

Photo: Local residents in Kaliningrad at "Immortal regiment", carrying portraits of their ancestors who fought in World War II, on Victory Day in Kaliningrad, 9 May 2017. CC BY-SA 4.0

Military Confrontation with Russia in Kaliningrad Is Dangerous

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power

LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – “What idiocy”, exclaims Jack Matlock on Facebook. Matlock is one of my “Facebook Friends” because I judge his knowledge of Russia as second to none, having been under President Ronald Reagan the White House’s senior advisor on the Soviet Union and, later, his ambassador to Moscow.

The object of his ire is based on a Newsday article earlier this month. (The Russian, nation-wide, NTV channel carried the same story in a broadcast on September 23.)

: Jonathan Power; THE WORLD; Russia; 24 September 2019

Cities Decide to Wage Battle Against Climate Change

By Caroline Mwanga

NEW YORK (IDN) – The UN Secretary-General António Guterres has said that climate change is “the battle of my life”. The fact is that it’s a battle we are all fighting. The battle is taking place particularly in cities. The very basis of urban life is threatened: by rising sea levels, extreme temperatures, floods, droughts and storms. These are ravaging people’s homes, destroying infrastructure and jeopardizing vital access to basic services such as clean water and sewage.

: UN Bureau; UN INSIDER; 21 September 2019

Photo collage: (left to right) Kumnung Chantasit demonstrating how to plant cardamom; An example of how banana trunks and leaves are used to protect the young trees; One of the hard working Thai chickens. Credit: Bronwen Evans.

Thai Farmer Shows How ‘Sufficiency Economy’ Works in Practice

By Bronwen Evans *

CHANTHABURI, Thailand (IDN) – There are generally two reasons why Thai farmers embrace organics – one is health and the other is economics. For 73-year old Kumnung Chanthasit it was the latter. He had farmed the same plot of land in Thailand’s eastern province of Chanthaburi since boyhood. Despite the rich volcanic soil, he found himself sinking deeper and deeper into debt as he struggled to pay for the fertilisers and pesticides he thought he needed.

: Ramesh Jaura; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 21 September 2019

Photo: Code Pink anti-war activists protest U.S. Senators supporting Saudi-U.S. arms deals, December 2017. CC BY 2.0

Another War Looms over Yemen as Situation Gets Complicated

Viewpoint by Manish Rai

NEW DELHI (IDN) – In August, the port city of Aden, which is currently the seat of exiled President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi government, was captured by southern separatists demanding secession of South Yemen. The separatists are backed by the UAE, Saudi Arabia’s “So Called” partners in Yemen. The recent clashes are not the first time the two sides – that is ,exiled President Hadi and Southern separatists – have engaged in deadly fighting.