THE WORLD

Photo: Interethnic violence has ravaged Ituri Province in the north-east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) since December 2108, generating significant population movements within the province, and towards neighbouring Uganda. Credit: UNICEF/Madjiangar

DR Congo Violence Survivors Highlight Armed Militia Brutality

By Kwame Buist

GENEVA (IDN) – Two months since hundreds of thousands of people fled violence in north-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), UN humanitarians have warned that armed militia continue to make their safe return impossible.

Briefing journalists in Geneva on August 16, UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) spokesperson Babar Baloch said that staff had heard numerous testimonies from people whose family members had been killed in Ituri province.

Severe underfunding for aid work and insecurity involving the Hema and Lendu groups have meant that increasing numbers are vulnerable and unable even to go home to pick up essentials, he added.

: Phil Harris; THE WORLD; Africa; 18 August 2019

Photo: A boy reads from his textbook in a camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. Credit: UNICEF Patrick Brown

Rohingya Refugee Children Want to Learn, Says UNICEF

By Sean Buchanan

NEW YORK (IDN) – The daily struggle to survive for Myanmar’s Rohingya people in some of the world’s largest refugee settlements has caused overwhelming despair and jeopardised the hopes of an entire generation, according to the head of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Henrietta Fore.

In a report marking two years since the arrival of around 745,000 Rohingya civilians in Bangladesh – after fleeing State-led persecution and violence in Myanmar – UNICEF Executive Director Fore appealed for urgent investment in education and skills training.

: Phil Harris; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 18 August 2019

New Initiative Helps Tackling Clean Cooking Crisis in Rwanda

By Kizito Makoye

KIGALI (IDN) – At a bustling neighbourhood, nestled on the rolling hills of Nyamirambo, southwest of the Rwandan capital city, Kigali every woman has a story to tell about a smart cooker and how it has removed hardship when someone is preparing a meal.

“It’s such a good stove, it doesn’t emit smoke, it is easy to use and saves a lot of cooking time,” says Lydia Kashozi, a resident of Nyamirambo

The 39-year-old mother of four, recently bought a 15kg gas cylinder for Rwf13,500 ($14), and is expected to pay additional Rwf 9,000 ($9.7) in the next six months to permanently own the cooker and its assortments.

: Africa & ME Editor; THE WORLD; Africa; 16 August 2019

The Unique Sights & Sounds of Sri Lanka Come Alive in America

By Nandasiri (Nandi) Jasentuliyana

The writer is Former Deputy Director General, United Nations Office at Vienna (UNOV), Director, the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, and President Emeritus, International Institute of Space Law & Policy.

NEW YORK (IDN) – When the annual Sri Lanka Day was celebrated in the historic city of Pasadena, Sri Lanka took its rightful place among the ethnic festivals held in America. The featured event of the day was the 'Pageant of Lanka', a miniature Kandy Perahera. It took the breath away of the onlookers who filed along the historic route of the annual New Year's Day Rose Parade, the most prestigious parade in America.

: Asia Editor; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 15 August 2019

Photo: India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing the nation on revoking Article 370 on August 8, 2019. Credit: narendramodi.in

Kashmir Crisis Forebodes a New World Order in the Making

Viewpoint by James M. Dorsey

James M. Dorsey – a senior fellow at Nanyang Technological University’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, an adjunct senior research fellow at the National University of Singapore’s Middle East Institute and co-director of the University of Wuerzburg’s Institute of Fan Culture – offered this viewpoint to IDN.

SINGAPORE (IDN) – India’s decision to deprive Kashmir of its autonomy, alongside a clampdown in the troubled north-western Chinese province of Xinjiang and US-backed Israeli annexation of Arab land, is the latest indication of what a new world order led by civilisational leaders may look like.

: Phil Harris; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 14 August 2019

Photo: Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin on June 5, 2019, The Kremlin, Moscow. Credit: en.kremlin.ru Moscow.

Russia and China Are Coming Closer Again

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power

LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – In her famous decree in 1767 Empress Catherine the Great proclaimed Russia to be a European power. She wanted Russia to be a major player in European politics. She compelled the Europeans to accept Russia as a great power as a condition for doing business. In 1815 Russia was considered an equal in the 1815 Concert of Europe.

In contrast, Imperial China at that time was self-sufficient and inward looking. It basked in its own superior culture. It did not want to open up trade relations with Europe and the emperor questioned the ability of the British who were knocking on the door to “acquire the rudiments” of Chinese civilization.

: Jonathan Power; THE WORLD; Russia; 13 August 2019

New Ebola Drugs Show Exciting Promise With 90% Cure Rate

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – Two experimental treatments are raising hopes among medical personnel that a cure for the deadly virus Ebola has been found. The antibody-based treatments will now be offered to all patients in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, announced the finding together with Dr. Jean-Jacques Muyembe, director of Congo’s National Institute for Biomedical Research and Dr. Michael J. Ryan, director of emergency response for the World Health Organization.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 13 August 2019

The 'Roof of the World' Festival Keeps Tajikistan's Traditional Culture Alive

By Alisher Kukanbekov

KHOROG, Tajikistan (IDN) – In this mountainous Gorno Badakhshan region with around a third of the population estimated to be unemployed, the exodus of the people for greener pastures abroad has gathered momentum in the past decade. To protect the colourful traditional culture from disappearing along with its population, the ‘Roof Top of the World” annual cultural festival was launched 12 years ago.

It now has the added objectives of attracting both its expat population to come back for a summer cultural break as well as to attract tourist to the region.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; THE WORLD; Central Asia; 13 August 2019

illustration: Sandeep Joshi. Source: The Tribune

Exploding the Myth of the ‘Ugly Indian’

The new-generation tourists are the millennials, and they are anything but ugly — at least when abroad. They travel light and are averse to carrying stuff. They travel not to pick up things, but to gather experiences.

By Shastri Ramachandaran*

NEW DELHI (IDN) – East Asian hotels and resorts, especially in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, have a despicable practice of not letting a guest leave until the room has been gone through with a toothcomb. A lot of hotels in Europe are also behaving like those in East Asia, especially when it comes to Indians. In parts of Europe, there are hotels that discourage Indians while a few keep a separate section for Indians.

: Shastri Ramachandran; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 11 August 2019

Photo: Ships both old and new displayed their combat power and military might. Credit: Kremlin.ru

Blue Water Navy Plays an Important Role in Russian Diplomacy

By Mark Thomas-Patterson*

WASHINGTON, DC (IDN) – July 28 marked Russia’s Naval Day, one of the series of military holidays celebrated in the country. The highlight of this year’s festivities was the first national fleet review in seven years, with President Vladimir Putin present at the main parade in St. Petersburg while Prime Minister Dmytry Medvedev was in Sevastopol. The parade also served as a time to display hardware, such as a new Admiral Gorshkov class frigate and Lada-Class submarine, two critical components of the modernized Russian navy.