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Seychelles and 79-Nation ACP Secretariat to Focus on 'Blue Economy' at the UN

By Robert Johnson

BRUSSELS (ACP-IDN) – The Secretariat of African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States and the government of 115-island Seychelles east of mainland East Africa are organizing a joint event at the margins of the UN General Assembly in New York on September 25, 2018 – enabling Small Island Developing States (SIDS) share experiences in harnessing the blue economy and to identify areas of further development.

The event will be taking place one year after Ministers in charge of Fisheries and Aquaculture in ACP countries concluded two days of comprehensive talks in Nassau, the Bahamas on September 21, 2017. They renewed commitment to developing the fisheries and aquaculture sectors in their countries, as well as unlocking the potential of the 'blue economy' through a new 'ACP Blue Growth Initiative'.

: Robert Johnson; GLOBAL GOVERNANCE; ACP Group of States; 13 September 2018

Photo: The 'Great March of Return’ demonstrations along Israel's perimeter fence with Gaza took place again on 25 May 2018. Credit: www.ochaopt.org

Gaza Could Become Uninhabitable as Israel Continues Blockade

By Jaya Ramachandran

GENEVA (IDN) – A new United Nations report has called for completely lifting the ongoing Israeli land, air, and sea blockade which has reduced the Gaza Strip to "a humanitarian case of profound suffering and aid dependency". The blockade is now in its eleventh year.

The report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) calls for reunifying Gaza and the West Bank economically and helping to overcome the energy crisis as a matter of priority by, among other things, enabling the Palestinian National Authority to develop the offshore natural gas fields in the Mediterranean Sea discovered in the 1990s.

: Jaya Ramachandran; THE WORLD; Middle East & North Africa; 13 September 2018

Images: Dahomey Royal Sandals (top) and Candomblé Doll from 1940s Bahiat (bottom). Courtesy of the National Museum of Brazil.

Rare African Antiquities Lost in Brazil Museum Fire

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – A fast-moving fire that swept Brazil's National Museum on September 2 incinerated priceless objects and reduced hundreds of African antiquities to ash, museum official are now saying.

The museum's permanent African exhibit was named Kumbukumbu – a Swahili word for the memory of people, objects and experiences. A throne from the Kingdom of Dahomey (current-day Benin) and ritual objects of Afro-Brazilian religion (Candomblé) were some of the museum's most prized possessions.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 12 September 2018

Photo: President Kagame meets Chinese President in Beijing. Credit: Paul Kagame's website.

African Critics Warn of Dark Side to China's ‘Charitable' Loans

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – There are two sides to every coin and two widely opposing views on China's offer of generous loans and grants to African countries announced at the recent China-Africa Cooperation Forum in Beijing.

At the conference, with representatives from 53 of 54 African countries, sky-high numbers were bandied about. Chinese President Xi Jinping announced $60 billion in funds for eight initiatives over the next three years, in areas ranging from industrial promotion, infrastructure construction and scholarships for young Africans.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 12 September 2018

South Africa Faced with Rising Suicides among Young and Old

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – South Africa’s rising suicide rate was in the spotlight as the World Health Organization marked World Suicide Prevention Day on September 10. 450 men take their lives every month with four out of five deaths being the result of suicide, according to the Men’s Foundation of South Africa.

Suicide is among others the visible end product of struggle, stress, mental illnesses or disorders.

In August, Professor Bongani Mayosi succumbed to the pressures of being one of the few Blacks at the mostly white University of Cape Town’s Department of Medicine and Groote Schuur Hospital, colleagues said.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 12 September 2018

Photo: Memorial to the victims of the Río Negro massacres in Guatemala. CC BY 2.0

The Forgotten Saga of Mass Murders in Guatemala

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power*

Over the years, as a foreign affairs columnist of the International Herald Tribune, the author has made four visits to Guatemala.

LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – In 1981 on the editorial page of the New York Times I wrote a column showing that the mass atrocities against the Indian population of Guatemala were carried out under the direct orders of the then president, Fernando Lucas Garcia. His former vice-president, Francisco Villagran Kramer, had given me information that was incontrovertible evidence of the murders.

I also showed how close was the relationship, financially and militarily, between the Guatemalan government and U.S. President Ronald Reagan’s government.

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 11 September 2018

Photo: A woman walks in the street of Roseau, capital of Dominica, which has struggled to overcome the severe impact of two category 5 hurricanes which tore through the region in September 2017. Credit: UNICEF/Moreno Gonzalez

Nine Foundations Pledge $459 Million to Forests, Indigenous Rights, and Lands to Combat Climate Change

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – Ahead of the Global Climate Action Summit in San Francisco, nine of the world's leading philanthropic foundations have decided on the protection, restoration, and expansion of forests and lands worldwide and the recognition of indigenous peoples' and traditional communities' collective land rights and resource management.

For the purpose, they have announced their intent "to commit at least" $459 million for what they aver are "powerful and under-appreciated climate solutions and must be urgent global priorities to help avert the worst threats from a warmer world".

: J Nastranis; SUSTAINABILITY; Climate Action; 11 September 2018

Image: Writing hands (reformatted) Credit: The Buddhist Channel

The Time Has Come for 'Right Mindfulness' in Journalism

By Kooi F. Lim

This article is being moved in association with the Buddhist Channel (Malaysia).

KUALA LUMPUR (IDN) – Who? What? Where? When? Why? and How? – also called the six sigma of information gathering are the tools taught at basic journalism schools. Every budding reporting cadet is drilled to probe issues and to deeply investigate using these methods.

But like any other tools, it is the intent of its use that decides the outcome of the application. In many cases, "intent" is the agenda of the tool owners. The intent masks what is known as media bias, which includes (but is not exclusive to) conservative bias, corporate bias, liberal bias and mainstream bias.

: IDN-INPS Asia Editor; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 11 September 2018

Former UN Chief and Bill Gates on Board as the Netherlands Accelerates Climate Adaptation

By Reinhard Jacobsen

AMSTERDAM (IDN) – Former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will oversee the Global Commission on Adaptation to climate change, which the Government of the Netherlands and the Global Center on Adaptation have decided to set up. It will be formally launched on October 16 in The Hague. Bill Gate, Co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and World Bank CEO Kristalina Georgieva will support Ban.

The Global Center on Adaptation, an international organization hosted by the Netherlands, in partnership with World Resources Institute will co-host the Commission.

: Reinhard Jacobsen; SUSTAINABILITY; Climate Action; 11 September 2018

Photo: APFC Convener and World Vision International's Sudarshan Reddy Kodooru (with microphone) flanked on his right by Nobuyuki Asai, Program Coordinator in the SGI Office of Peace Affairs in Tokyo; and on his left by Ajit Hazra, World Vision International; and Atallah FitzGibbon, Islamic Relief Wordwide. Credit: SGI

Engaging with Faith and Faith Actors on Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development

Viewpoint by Sudarshan Reddy Kodooru

The author is Convener of the Asia Pacific Faith-based Coalition (APFC*) for Sustainable Development and Regional Director, Faith & Development, East Asia at World Vision International. The following is based on his speech during APFC's first annual meeting on August 29-31, 2018 in Tokyo, Japan. – The Editor

BANGKOK (IDN) – We live in an age unparalleled by any other and hovering at the intersection of various and often-competing forces. Any traces of the thin veneer of isolation have been wiped away by globalization. Today, we face challenges incomparable in magnitude to any previous age, many look to faith for developmental solutions.