Obama-Duterte Mix-up: Dopey Human-Rights Dispute Should Not Have Happened

First Read Having expounded on the “rule of law” in my previous column (“Rule of law: The principle Duterte has not trampled on,” Manila Times, September 6, 2016), I feel bound to also do the same on the subject of “human rights,” especially because the issue has driven a wedge in Philippine –American relations, and has momentarily unhinged Philippine standing in the United Nations.

Poverty Cut by Growth Despite Policy Failure

At the UN Millennium Summit in September 2000, world leaders committed to halve the share of people living on less than a dollar a day by 2015. The World Bank’s poverty line, set at $1/day in 1985, was adjusted to $1.25/day in 2005, an increase of 25% after two decades. This was then re-adjusted to $1.90/day in 2011/2012, an increase by half over 7 years! As these upward adjustments are supposed to reflect changes in the cost of living, but do not seem to parallel inflation or other related measures, they have raised more doubts about poverty line adjustments.

India and China, a New Era of Strategic Partners?

Despite bilateral dissonances and an unresolved boundary issue, India and China -- two of the world's most ancient civilisations -- are engaged in vigorous cooperation at various levels. The Asian neighbours' relationship has also focussed global attention in recent years on Asia's demographically dominant, major developing economies engaged in common concerns of poverty alleviation and national development.

When It Comes to Conservation, Size Matters

When the communities living in the Tatamá y Serranía de los Paraguas Natural National Park in the west of Colombia organised in 1996 to defend their land and preserve the ecosystem, they were fighting deforestation, soil degradation and poaching.

Australia’s Shame

Many of the far-right political parties in Europe that are riding a wave of misguided anti-refugee sentiment are inclined to view Australia as a role model. They look across the sea and fawn upon a nation whose navy turns back rickety vessels overflowing with desperate asylum-seekers. They see a nation that has decreed that no one who reaches its shores by boat will ever find refuge in a country whose national anthem declares: “For those who’ve come across the seas/ We’ve boundless plains to share.”

Making Peacekeeping Work

Tomorrow, London will host a day of talks dedicated to United Nations Peacekeeping and how to make it work better. The UK has invited ministers and representatives from over 70 countries and international organisations to participate in these discussions. We are delighted that Bangladesh has agreed to act as one of the co-hosts alongside the UK; we recognise the country's enormous contribution to the cause of peacekeeping operations, with upwards of 7,200 personnel deployed across the world on UN missions.

Fossil Fuels: At What Price?

We often read comparisons between the prices of solar energy or wind energy with the prices of fossil fuels. It is encouraging to see that renewables are rapidly becoming competitive, and are often cheaper than coal or oil. In fact, if coal, oil and natural gas were given their correct prices renewables would be recognized as being incomparably cheaper than fossil fuels.

U.A.E Stands By Conflicted Yemen

As unrest and chaos plague Yemen, the U.A.E is not waiting in silence. Recognising that in spite of being impoverished Yemen has always been strategically important for U.A.E and the region, the warfare and conflict will not only gravely affect the region itself but could also obstruct the future security of the Middle East as a whole.

Communities See Tourism Gold in Derelict Bougainville Mine

The Panguna copper mine, located in the mountains of Central Bougainville, an autonomous region in the southwest Pacific Island state of Papua New Guinea, has been derelict for 27 years since an armed campaign by local landowners forced its shutdown and triggered a decade-long civil war in the late 1980s.

Where Is the Law?

A Confession: I’m tired of hearing about women’s empowerment in Pakistan when the government is breaking all its promises made to Pakistani women on the topic of safety and security from gender-based violence. While debates rage about the Panama Papers, the situation in Karachi, CPEC, and the state of affairs in IHK, the issue of ‘honour’ killings has been swept under the rug. All the feel-good news about women entrepreneurs and girls’ education drives pales in comparison to the image of women’s bodies in funeral shrouds that appear on our newspaper pages with depressing regularity.

What Duterte Should Tell Obama

First of all, Mr. President, please dispel any misimpressions from media that I plan to lecture Your Excellency on rights abuses against African-Americans killed by police in your country.

Believe It or Not, Pulses Reduce Gas Emissions!

Lentils, beans, chick peas, and other pulses often produce negative “collateral social effects" on people hanging around, just a couple of hours after eating them. But, believe it or not, they contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. How come?

Finding the Sweet Spot of Africa’s Agriculture

Africa is a continent where, at least outwardly, we like to celebrate our diversity—the rich variety that can be found in our many cultures, languages, fashions, flora and fauna. That’s why it’s perplexing to see such a large segment of the African population depending on a very small number of food crops, like maize, rice and wheat.

Yemeni Refugees Still Stuck on Wrong Side of the Water

Tears emerge from the slit of 20-year-old Gada’s black niqab face veil. After more than a minute’s silence she still can’t answer the question: How bad was it in Yemen before you left?

Islam Right Now

Watching Christianity nearly a century–fundamentalist Christians fighting ritualistic Christians fighting secularism, generally moving fundamentalism–>ritualism–>secularism–maybe the same for Islam? Their similarities make “Islam right now” a repetition of Christianity; their differences shout, Watch Out! Let us see where this leads us.

Without Indigenous People, Conservation Is a Halfway Measure

“You don't convert your own house in a tourist site,” said Oussou Lio Appolinaire, an activist from Benin, wearing a traditional outfit in vivid yellows and greens. He was referring to opening up to tourists places that are sacred to indigenous people.

Big Oil and Activists Unite to Protect Endangered Whales

A rare case of intensive and decade-long collaboration between Big Oil, scientists and environmental activists has been hailed as a success story in protecting an endangered species of whale from extinction.

UN’s “hollow” Ring for SDGs Worldwide

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Friday spoke in Colombo under the auspices of the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute for International Relations and Strategic Studies (LKIIRSS) on the topic of “Sustaining Peace and Achieving Sustainable Development Goals.” He referred to the many Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the UN, but clearly went off track to compare what happened in Sri Lanka with what happened in Rwanda –which raised some eye-brows and asked the Government to reduce its military strength in the North ; something he would dare not ask the West to do in West Asia.

A Farmer’s Eid

EID-UL-AZHA is coming up soon. Most people are busy considering what sacrificial animal to buy and what delicacies to prepare on the big day. Gada Hussain, a 22-year-old farmer in upper Sindh, is anxiously wondering whether he’ll get to spend the day with his family like everyone else. Normally, he misses all the special holidays.

Female Political Leaders like Hillary Clinton Still Extremely Rare

Despite their prominence on the world stage, female political leaders like Hillary Clinton and Angela Merkel are part of a tiny minority of women who have risen to the top of politics.

Eastern Gorilla, Our ‘Closest Cousin’, Added to Endangered Species List

Our closest cousin in the animal world, the Eastern Gorilla, is sliding towards extinction because of illegal hunting, the IUCN announced today in the latest update of its Red List of Threatened Species.