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Why Finance in Common's Big Promises Should be Seen with Caution: Examples from Brazil

By Iara Pietricovsky & Livi Gerbase

Iara Pietricovskyis, current President of FORUS - International Forum of NGO Platforms and co-director OF INESC - Institute of Socioeconomic Studies, at the Brazilian NGO Association (Abong). She has represented the institution in international fora, especially the socio-environmental and indigenous areas, and has a degree in Social Sciences, specializing in Anthropology. Livi Gerbase is the policy adviser for the Brazilian Institute for Socioeconomic Studies - INESC, working in the area of public budgeting, tax justice and monitoring of international financial institutions. She holds a master's degree in International Political Economy from Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.

: Europe Editor; SUSTAINABILITY; Global Partnerships; 24 October 2021

Photo: WTO DG Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala meets with India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, in New Delhi.

WTO Chief Welcomes India's Pledge of Support for the Global Trade Organization

By Jamshed Baruah

GENEVA (IDN) — World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has applauded India's pledge of support for the WTO and a successful 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) that will take place from November 30 to December 3, 2021, in Geneva. The gathering was originally scheduled to take place from June 8 to June 11, 2020, in Kazakhstan's capital, Nur-Sultan, but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

: Jamshed Baruah; THE WORLD; South Asia; 23 October 2021

Photo: The President of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), Dr. Gene Leon. Source: Caricom Today.

Sustainable Energy Transition Vital for Caribbean Development

By J C Suresh

TORONTO | GEORGETOWN (IDN) — The President of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), Dr. Gene Leon, has cited the transition to sustainable energy a critical imperative for regional development, according to Caricom Today.

"Our development in the region must be seen from a holistic perspective and, perhaps more than anywhere else in the world, a sustainable energy transition is one of our most important trans-generational obligations," said Dr Leon at the Turks and Caicos Energy Forum in Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands, on October 21.

: J C Suresh; SUSTAINABILITY; Affordable Clean Energy; 23 October 2021

Nations Protecting "Greedy" Pharma Companies Threaten Global COVID-19 Recovery

By Kalinga Seneviratne

SYDNEY (IDN) — The European Union (EU), United Kingdom, Japan and Australia are holding the world hostage by refusing to support a waiver of COVID-19 vaccine patents for the world to recover from the pandemic. The World Trade Organization (WTO) remains at an impasse for one year.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; SUSTAINABILITY; Health & Well Being; 23 October 2021

Photo: There are more than 833 million hectares of salt-affected soils around the globe. © FAO

COP26: Protect Peace and Justice at the Climate Change Summit

Viewpoint by Arunabha Ghosh and Isabel Studer Noguez

While Dr Arunabha Ghosh is CEO, Council on Energy, Environment and Water, Dr Isabel Studer-Noguez is Director of Alianza University of California-Mexico. Both sit on the international expert panel for the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) initiative Environment of Peace.

STOCKHOLM (IDN) — When world leaders meet in Glasgow for the climate change summit (COP26) (October 31-November 12), they should be aware that their decisions will cast a long shadow over the future both of climate and security.

: Europe Editor; OPINION; 22 October 2021

A Day in the Life of an Editor

Viewpoint by Azu Ishiekwene

The writer is the Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of LEADERSHIP newspaper based in Abuja, Nigeria.

ABUJA (IDN) — This topic reminds me of two recent incidents. I was in the office on the morning of Tuesday, July 13 when a colleague rushed in with his phone.

He seemed quite animated, but there was also an edge of anxiety about him as he thrust his phone forward, stopping mid-speech, and asking me to speak with the caller. I didn’t know who it was. So, I motioned to my colleague to end the call first and sit down.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 22 October 2021

Photo: A tractor in North Korea. CC BY 2.0

North Korea’s Nuclear Weapons Program is a Logical Response to Repeated Threats from the US-Japanese-South Korean Alliance

Viewpoint by Joseph Gerson

The writer is President of the Campaign for Peace, Disarmament and Common Security; Co-Founder of the Committee for a Sane U.S.-China Policy; and author of “Empire and the Bomb: How the U.S. Uses Nuclear Weapons to Dominate the World”.

NEW YORK (IDN) — News reports recently broadcast North Korea’s ostentatious display of its nuclear arsenal and delivery systems, along with macho circus-like performances to demonstrate the power and courage of its military.

: UN Bureau; OPINION; 21 October 2021

Image: One of the temple murals by Solis Mendis; Sri Lankan gift to Kushinagar International Airport. (The Hindu)

Inaugural Flight To Kushinagar Cements Eternally Binding Buddhist Indo-Lanka Bond

By Sugeeswara Senadhira

This article is the 47th in a series of joint productions of Lotus News Features and IDN-InDepthNews, flagship agency of the Non-profit International Press Syndicate. Click here for previous reports.

COLOMBO (IDN) — An inaugural flight between Colombo and India's newest international airport Kushinagar landed on October 20 to mark the official opening of the airport by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The flight carried 150 dignitaries including the highest-ranking Buddhist monks of the four nikayas (sects) and the son of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, Cabinet minister Namal Rajapaksa, cementing the eternal Indo-Lanka Buddhist bonds.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; SUSTAINABILITY; Peace & Justice; 21 October 2021

UN Agency Calls for More Funds for Developing Nations from World's Largest Institutional Investors

By Jaya Ramachandran

GENEVA (IDN) — Sustainable finance and the global capital market play an important role in meeting a growing need to mobilize the vast sums of capital needed to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015. The agenda provides a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future.

: UN Bureau; UN INSIDER; 20 October 2021

Photo credit: The Society for Socialist Studies

Our Future vs. Neoliberalism

Viewpoint by Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J. S. Davies*

NEW YORK (IDN) — In country after country around the world, people are rising up to challenge entrenched, failing neoliberal political and economic systems, with mixed but sometimes promising results.

Progressive leaders in the U.S. Congress are refusing to back down on the Democrats’ promises to American voters to reduce poverty, expand rights to healthcare, education and clean energy, and repair a shredded social safety net. After decades of tax cuts for the rich, they are also committed to raising taxes on wealthy Americans and corporations to pay for this popular agenda.