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Corrupt adoption practice has nothing to do with the rights of the child, but with meeting market demand. Credit: UNICEF/Marco Dormino.

European Bureaucrats May Be involved in Child Smuggling

By Aurora Weiss

VIENNA, 31 May 2023 (IDN) — A case that may implicate Croatian bureaucrats came to light in December 2022 when an alert immigration officer at Zambia's Ndola airport detained eight Croatian citizens on suspicion of child trafficking and falsification of documents. (P05) JAPANESE | PORTUGUESE

: IDN-INPS Editor; Project Articles; 31 May 2023

Imagine empowerment workshop participants join hands in a closing ceremony. Photo by HAF.

Women Transform their Horizons in Rural Morocco

By Yossef Ben-Meir

MARRAKECH, 29 May 2023 (IDN) — A research study reveals the positive community impact of sustainable agricultural initiatives when preceded by women’s empowerment workshops, leading to participatory action, enhanced community well-being, and decentralization.

: IDN-INPS Editor; Goal 5; 29 May 2023

From ‘Third World’ to ‘First World’ in a generation. Singapore’s ‘boat quay’ in 1978 (left) and the same location in 2016 (right)—which is now the business center of the city state. Credit: Kalinga Seneviratne.

Asian Leaders Call for Unity to Confront West’s “De-Risking” Strategy

Analysis by Kalinga Seneviratne

SINGAPORE, 28 May 2023 (IDN) — The international media may have focused on the attempts at the G7 meeting this month in Hiroshima to unite against China promoting a “de-risking” strategy, which China sees as “containment” of their economic rise. It seems many Asian leaders agree with China.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; Goal 17; 28 May 2023

Mariam Chowdhury at the SUA campus with exotic plants. Credit: SUA

Mariam Chowdhury Corner for Global Citizenship Inaugurated

Soka University of America Honours Ambassador Chowdhury's Life Partner

NEW YORK, 27 May 2023 (IDN) — The Soka University of America (SUA) located at Orange County, California, USA held a beautiful dedication ceremony this morning for the Mariam Chowdhury Corner for Global Citizenship at its campus. The beloved life partner of SUA’s Distinguished Visiting Professor Ambassador Anwarul K. Chowdhury, former Under-Secretary-General and High Representative of the United Nations, Mrs Chowdhury was a friend and supporter of the university, accompanying the ambassador to campus over the last two decades to support SUA’s learning clusters and dialogues on the culture of peace.

: IDN-INPS Editor; Goal 4; 27 May 2023

The Kenyan women share stories on how the drought hast changed their lives and how they are coping. Photo: OCHA/ Basma Ourfali

Humanitarian Aid to Africa Falls Far Short of Target

By Thalif Deen

UNITED NATIONS, 25 May 2023 (IDN) — At a UN sponsored high-level meeting, donors collectively pledged about $2.4 billion in “life-saving and life-sustaining assistance” to nearly 32 million people across Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia plagued by five consecutive poor rainy seasons.

But the pledges—from 28 donors out of the 193 UN member states—fell far short of the $7.0 billion needed to rescue the countries devastated mostly by droughts.

: IDN-INPS Editor; Goal 17; 25 May 2023

A building in Kahramanmaraş, Türkiye, destroyed by the earthquake. Image credit: © UNOCHA/Matteo Minasi

Insufficient Progress Made Towards Disaster Risk Reduction

By Radwan Jakeem

NEW YORK, 21 May 2023 (IDN) — A review of progress on implementing the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction has determined that global progress towards disaster risk management has been weak and insufficient, putting at risk the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

: Ramesh Jaura; Goal 11; 21 May 2023

Plastic bricks are being made out of recycled plastic waste at a factory in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire. © UNICEF/Milequem Diarassouba

New UN Report Shows How to Drastically Slash Plastic Pollution

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK, 17 May 2023 (IDN) — A new UN Environment Programme (UNEP) report says countries and companies could reduce plastic pollution by 80 percent by 2040 using existing technologies.

According to UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen, "the way we produce, use, and dispose of plastics pollutes ecosystems, poses health risks, and destabilizes the climate."

: Ramesh Jaura; Goal 12; 17 May 2023

Rev Ili Vunisuwai praying for a united Fiji with the church choir in the background. Credit: Kalinga Seneviratne

After Historic Apology, Fiji Moves to Build a New Nation

By Kalinga Seneviratne

SUVA, Fiji, 15 May 2023 (IDN) — In an emotionally charged “Reconciliation and Thanksgiving” service organized by Fiji’s Methodist Church—the country’s largest Christian denomination—the President of the church Reverend Ili Vunisuwai and Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka apologized to the Indo-Fijian community for the suffering and insults they have endured in Fiji’s post- independence-era, paving the way to what the political leaders here call “building a new era” of peace and prosperity.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; Goal 10; 15 May 2023

Chaotic scenes at a government hospital outpatients clinic. Credit: Lanka House

Multiple Problems Bring Sri Lanka’s Healthcare System to Brink of Collapse

By Hemali Wijerathna

COLOMBO, 11 May 2023 (IDN) — In the face of the current economic crisis, Sri Lanka’s free healthcare system, which was the envy of South Asia not long ago, is now at the brink of collapse. It is facing multiple problems with a lack of drugs, doctors migrating and the government strictly implementing a 60-year retirement policy for government doctors. (P04) HINDI | INDONESIAN | JAPANESE | THAI

: IDN-INPS Editor; Goal 3; 12 May 2023

Punakha Dzong in Punakha near Thimphu is a large Buddhist monastic temple and education institution. Credit: Kalinga Seneviratne

Bhutan’s Unique Buddhist Culture Has Tourism Potential

Byy Kalinga Seneviratne

This Lotus News Feature, produced in association with the Buddhist Channel, is the 53rd in a series of joint productions with IDN-InDepthNews, the flagship agency of the Non-profit International Press Syndicate. Click here for previous reports.

SINGAPORE | THIMPHU, 11 May 2023 (IDN/LCN) — A recent visit by a group of Vietnamese Buddhists to learn and experience the Mahayana tradition of Buddhism has alerted the Bhutan authorities to the potential of Buddhist cultural tourism to one of the world’s most scenic countries landlocked between India and China in the Himalayan mountains.