Africa

By WAM
DUBAI, Jul 26 2018 (WAM)

Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD and CEO of the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, DEWA, has invited companies involved in solar photovoltaic, PV, technology to participate in the third Dubai Solar Show.

The region’s largest solar energy exhibition is organised by DEWA in conjunction with the 20th Water, Energy, Technology, and Environment Exhibition, WETEX 2018.

Both events are held under the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, and under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and UAE Minister of Finance and President of DEWA.

The Dubai Solar Show will be held from 23rd to 25th October, 2018, at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre. It will cover approximately 14,000 square metres, attracting 125 exhibitors and over 10 sponsors from around the world.

The Dubai Solar Show will be held from 23rd to 25th October, 2018, at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre. It will cover approximately 14,000 square metres, attracting 125 exhibitors and over 10 sponsors from around the world.

“Organising the third Dubai Solar Show highlights the UAE’s leadership in this field, as well as its leading position in increasing reliance on solar energy, and the transformation to a green economy, to embrace the concept of sustainability in all aspects: environmental, social and economic. At DEWA, we are keen on achieving the vision of our wise leadership to ensure a sustainable future for future generations.

“This supports the UAE Centennial 2071, which paves the way for the future UAE, the UAE Vision 2021, to create a sustainable environment in terms of air quality, conserving water resources, more reliance on clean energy, and implementing green development in Dubai, as well as the Dubai Plan 2021 to establish Dubai as a smart and sustainable city, whose environmental elements are clean, healthy and sustainable.

“Consequently, the initiatives launched by our wise leadership aim to achieve global leadership in these fields, notably the Green Economy for Sustainable Development initiative, launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, to enhance green economy in the UAE, under the slogan ‘Green Economy for Sustainable Development’ and the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050, to transform Dubai into an international hub for clean energy and green economy, by providing 7 percent of Dubai’s total power output from clean resources by 2020, 25 percent by 2030, and 75 percent by 2050,” Al Tayer said.

“Through its stand at the exhibition, DEWA will review its efforts in research, development and innovation in the field of solar energy, in addition to its major solar projects, notably the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, which is the largest single-site solar park in the world that uses the IPP model. It will produce 1,000 MW by 2020 and 5,000 MW by 2030, with a total investment of AED50 billion. When completed, the project will achieve a reduction of approximately 6.5 million tonnes of carbon emissions annually.

“We will also highlight our efforts on engaging the community in our efforts to increase our reliance on solar energy, through the Shams Dubai initiative, to encourage building owners to install PV panels on their rooftops to generate electricity from solar power. A total of 1,132 buildings with a total capacity of 49.1MW have already been installed. The number of panels is expected to double in the future to eventually cover all buildings in the emirate by 2030,” Al Tayer added.

He further called on all parties responsible for solar energy projects to participate in the Dubai Solar Show due to the benefits offered to exhibitors and participants.

“Dubai Solar Show offers exclusive benefits to participants, such as free registration for companies and products at DEWA, letters of recommendation for products participating in the show, and exclusive field visits to the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park. The benefits include speaking to the public and reviewing products at conferences and seminars accompanying the show.

“Organising the show in conjunction with WETEX 2018 and the fifth World Green Economy Summit, WGES 2018, is a unique opportunity for those interested, to extend their scope of work to include other renewable forms of energy and many related sectors such as water, environment and energy production, in general, as well as green economy projects. In addition, participants and visitors can avail of the busy agendas of the two events, which feature conferences, workshops, and specialised activities. They can also meet experts and specialists from around the world,” said Dr. Yousef Al Akraf, Executive Vice President of Business Support and Human Resources and Chairperson of the Sales, Logistics and Sponsorship Committees at WETEX.

 

WAM/مبارك خميس/MOHD AAMIR

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Journalists in Pakistan protest against the killing of their colleagues. Credit: Rahat Dar/IPS

By Aliya Iftikhar
ISLAMABAD, Jul 26 2018 (IPS)

When it comes to the military and the judiciary, Pakistan’s journalists are “between a rock and a hard place,” Zohra Yusuf, of the independent non-profit Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, told CPJ.

In recent months the judiciary, which has a history of siding with Pakistan’s powerful military, has remained largely silent amid attempts to censor or silence the press.

Ahead of yesterday’s elections, CPJ documented how journalists who are critical of the military or authorities were abducted or attacked, how the army spokesman accused journalists of sharing anti-state and anti-military propaganda, and how distribution of two of Pakistan’s largest outlets–Geo TV and Dawn–was arbitrarily restricted.

The judiciary, which has power to take up cases on its own, did not intervene on behalf of the press. But it has continued its practice of threatening legal action against its critics.

Some journalists and analysts said that by not taking action, the judiciary has added to a climate of fear and self-censorship.

The judiciary has at times been seen as a strong supporter of democratic values, but Yusuf said the perception among many people in Pakistan is that the judiciary and the military “seem to be on the same page on certain aspects of our democracy.”

“Now … democracy and media are being presented as a problem,” Yusuf said, adding that journalists are bending over backwards to avoid provoking either institution.

Madiha Afzal, an adjunct assistant professor of global policy at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and the author of Pakistan Under Siege: Extremism, Society, and the State, told CPJ she thinks the judiciary is an “all too willing pawn in the military’s hands.” Afzal added, “I also think that it is in broad agreement with the military in its stance on Pakistan’s politics.”

The judiciary did not respond to CPJ’s email and calls requesting comment. Pakistani authorities certainly appear to be taking a tougher stance toward the press.

The country’s media regulator issued a statement this month warning news channels not to air any statements “by political leadership containing defamatory and derogatory content targeting various state institutions, specifically judiciary and armed forces.”

And Ahmad Noorani, a senior journalist with The News, told CPJ that some media houses received instructions from “certain forces” not to cover anything that favored former prime minister Nawaz Sharif or went against the judiciary. Noorani did not provide further details.

Owais Ali, the founder of the Pakistan Press Foundation, said a free media was crucial for free and fair elections. “Whatever the political issues are, they need to be discussed. These include criticisms of the judiciary and the military in the forthcoming elections. The media should not have a price to pay simply for reporting what is being discussed by the politicians and political parties.”

The lack of judicial support does not appear to be linked to court capacity. Pakistan’s chief justice came under criticism from political analysts this year for “judicial activism” — taking on suo motu cases, cases taken on the court’s initiative, Reuters reported. The court has launched inquiries on issues ranging from water shortages, police encounters, and milk prices.

Suo motu cases seem to be taken up “at the drop of a hat,” but when Geo asked the Supreme Court to take on its case, the court refused, Imran Aslam, president of Geo TV, told CPJ, referring to how cable operators arbitrarily blocked the broadcaster’s transmission earlier this year. “I certainly think the judiciary could have done something about Geo.”

The judiciary is supposed to provide justice to the media houses and media workers, but failed to take notice of the situation that the leading news channel of the country was facing, Noorani said. The court could easily have issued an order or at least asked for a report from the relevant regulatory authority, but they didn’t provide any relief to Geo, he said.

Afzal said she thinks the restrictions on Geo and Dawn undermined the outlets’ credibility. “[It] means that many in Pakistan don’t get to hear liberal voices or voices that are critical of the military, which in turn ensures that they remain pro-military and skeptical of liberal voices,” she said.

News outlets that criticize the judiciary often find themselves threatened with legal action. Nearly every major news organization has been served contempt of court notices, Yusuf said.

Last year, Noorani and his paper’s publisher, Jang Group, were served two notices, including one over Noorani’s report on the Inter-services Intelligence. Noorani said the court withdrew the notice after he presented records of his communication and evidence backing the story.

A contempt of court order brought against TV journalist Matiullah Jan and Waqt TV in February, over claims the higher court was insulted on Jan’s talk show, was dropped after the station’s management apologized and Jan said he would exercise more caution, according to Dawn.

Fakhar Durrani, a reporter at The News, said that when he reported last year on judges who were allegedly vying for plots of land that were part of a housing scheme case they were hearing, his organization came under pressure to stop reporting. Durrani, who did not specify where the pressure came from, said he was not able to publish any follow-up stories.

“During that era, my organization was facing contempt of court notices on other issues so they tried not to indulge in any other legal matter,” Durrani said.

Issuing a contempt of court notice to just one news outlet in Pakistan is a sufficient message to all the media houses because it comes from the highest court in the country and there is no way to appeal a Supreme Court order, Noorani said. If the Supreme Court orders the closure of a news station it sends a message to all other media houses to either fall in line or face the consequences, Noorani said.

The uncertainty over what could draw a contempt of court notice exacerbates the situation.

Aslam, of Geo TV, said criticism of any kind is looked upon as almost treasonous. He added, “It’s a scary situation because you don’t know when you’ll be called up in the courts, and this has led us to tread more carefully.”

He added that objective reporting has been skewed in Pakistan because of the constraints “looming” over the media all the time. “What it induces is self-censorship, even if word doesn’t go down to reporters and everybody else, they are looking over their shoulders.”

*Prior to joining CPJ, Aliya Iftikhar was a research assistant at the Middle East Institute and interned at the U.S. Department of State. She has worked with Amnesty International and written for Vice News.

The link to the original article: https://cpj.org/blog/2018/07/silence-from-judiciary-over-media-attacks-increase.php

The post Silence from Judiciary Increases Self-Censorship, Pakistan’s Journalists say appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Excerpt:

Aliya Iftikhar* is Asia Research Associate at the Committee to Protect Journalists

The post Silence from Judiciary Increases Self-Censorship, Pakistan’s Journalists say appeared first on Inter Press Service.

The floating market at Ganvie village on Lake Nokoue near Cotonou, Benin. Many migrants use Benin as a launchpad before heading to North Africa or Europe. But some are choosing to remain. Credit: David Stanley/CC By 2.0

By Issa Sikiti da Silva
COTONOU, Jul 26 2018 (IPS)

Last year, Mohamed Keita returned home to Mali after living and working in Libya for six years. Eighteen months ago he was arrested by security forces in Libya as he and other migrants tried to cross the Mediterranean Sea to Europe via a makeshift boat. After spending six months in jail, which traumatised him, he was transported back to Mali.

But as soon as he arrived he immediately knew that it would be difficult for him to stay put.

Keita’s home is in the central poverty-stricken Mopti region where his entire village still does not have power.

While his parents now live in the country’s capital Bamako, “even in our family house in Bamako, running water and electricity are luxuries. And when it’s raining, flooding occurs and kills people. These kinds of things, including armed conflict and terrorism, force you to go far away to look for a better life and peace,” he says as he wipes the sweat that falls heavily from his face as he works on a construction site on the outskirts of Cotonou, a major city in Benin.“While we were waiting for the trip, we used to hear bad news of friends who had drowned at sea. Death stoked us while we waited for our turn... It was like waiting for Judgment Day.” Mohamed Keita.

Besides, he says, terrorism is still tearing the country apart, and peace and national reconciliation remain elusive.

The west African nation of Mali, which heads to the polls this Sunday Jul. 29, was caught in violent crisis in 2012 when a Tuareg group called the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad began a fight for a separatist rule. However, AFP reported yesterday that despite recent attacks by jihadists and inter-ethnic violence, incumbent president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita said there was “no war-mongering in Mali today.” He was elected in 2013 soon after French intervention to bring peace to the nation.

But as far as Keita was concerned, no real social or economic development has taken place since he left.

Had there been, the 26-year-old tells IPS, it would have enticed him to stay and plan his future. So instead he headed to Benin, another west African country. In Cotonou, a vibrant and thriving place, he shares a small room with six other sub-Saharan African migrants who are waiting to make the journey to North Africa and eventually to Europe.

Benin, new illegal migration hub?

The city is a far cry from his home village or even Bamako. Women from across the continent come here to buy local material that is highly sought after to make African dresses. Business is booming as the government doesn’t charge high taxes on small businesses.

Many also like it here because they consider xenophobia and police harassment to be non-existent. Last February, the government abolished short stay visas for 31 African countries in order to develop South-South cooperation.

Benin, a low-income country, has always been a transit route for west African migrants looking to make a fortune in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Congo-Brazzaville and Angola. It has also served as a stopping point for central African migrants looking to get to Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia, and perhaps continue their journey to Europe.

According to a 2015 United Nations report on the country, 2.1 percent of the 11 million people here are migrants, the vast majority of who come from the neighbouring countries of Nigeria, Togo and Niger.

But this nation has always attracted sub-Saharan African traders looking for business opportunities. Its central market Dantokpa or Tokpa—which means market of snakes in the local language—is West Africa’s largest open-air business area.

“Cotonou is a good place to do business because you can earn up to 100 percent profit from selling everything you buy here,” Congolese trader Marthe Mavoungou tells IPS, as she is about to board a plane back to Brazzaville.

The country’s proximity to economic powerhouse Nigeria, also plays a role in the bustling business here as huge volumes of stock from Lagos port make their way to Benin. Items ranging from women’s bags, shoes and clothes, find their way onto local markets where they are sold cheaply.

Biggest mistake

Keita, a highschool dropout, left Mali at 20 for Libya and worked as a menial labourer there. The experience was a difficult one.

“If you are black and living in North Africa…you get unfair treatment but you have nowhere to complain,” he explains.

Amid emotional abuse, exploitation and racial slurs proffered towards him almost on a daily basis, Keita kept telling himself that the experience  would come to an end once he boarded the boat to Europe.

But it was not to be.

“I was crying when we were arrested, and at the same time angry with myself for making what I thought was the biggest mistake of my life,” he says.

“The failed trip cost me 1,500 dollars, which represented all my savings from working in the Libyan construction sector,” he says, emotionally.

But his story is fortunate. While he may not have crossed to Europe as he wanted to, Keita, unlike thousands of others is still alive.

“While we were waiting for the trip, we used to hear bad news of friends who had drowned at sea. Death stoked us while we waited for our turn. Some migrants even began smoking drugs to kill the stress. It was like waiting for Judgment Day.”

The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said this month that on just one weekend some 218 migrants lost their lives in two mass seperate drownings. “I’ve just returned to Libya after a series of tragedies and the loss of hundreds of migrant lives including several babies,” IOM head William Lacy Swing reportedly said as he visited Libyan earlier this month. “My message is that all must focus on saving lives and protecting migrant rights.”

IOM states that this is the fifth year in a row that nearly 1,000 migrants have died or gone missing crossing the Mediterranean.

Nearly 48,000 asylum-seekers and migrants have reached Europe’s shores in the first six months of 2018, according to IOM figures.

Keita still thinks that those who make it to Europe are lucky. “But if you ask them about the things they endured before achieving their goal, they would tell you thousands stories of misery, abuse and pain,” he says.

His own pain did not end after trying to leave Libya for Europe. He says he experienced terrible and painful things in jail, which he would rather not talk about.

“The TV images you see showing migrants crammed in one place under the scorching sun like sheep waiting to be taken to the abattoirs is only a tip of the iceberg,” he explains.

A report released in March by the U.N Human Rights Office estimates that 6,500 people are being held in official prisons while thousands more are in facilities run by the government or run by armed groups affiliated to the state. Earlier this year Doctors Without Borders said that some 800 migrants in Libya’s detention centres were living under worsening conditions.

Many migrants have, however, returned home thanks to IOM’s Voluntary Humanitarian Return (VHR) programme.

Some choose to stay

Ousmane Bangoura, who lived in Morocco for four years in a failed to reach Spain, also lives in Cotonou where he sells used clothes in the city market Dantokpa.

His experience was a difficult one.

“Arabs hate blacks for no apparent reason and they call us derogatory names. Everybody is against you, including your neighbours. Besides, local media is also fuelling xenophobia through subjective and discriminatory reports,” Bangoura says.

But Bangoura, who is from Guinea-Conakry, tells IPS, that he will remain in Benin.

“I’m happy with what I’m currently doing, as I’m able to my life and send money home time to time to my ailing parents,” he says.

And there seems to be a recent increase in the number of migrants flocking to Cotonou looking to get to North Africa, according to a local community leader.

Some observers firmly believe that the city could become another Agadez (the door of Sahara), a northern town of Niger, where the country’s security forces have been conducting an aggressive campaign to root out human smugglers and migrants waiting to go to Libya. The campaign, which has been welcomed by the European Union, has also seen stocks of weapons seized and a number of arms traders arrested.

Congolese migrant, Didier, and his friend Felix, from the Central African Republic, both recently arrived to Cotonou from Agadez. Didier tells IPS that human smugglers have descended on Cotonou.

“A man and a woman came to see us on Sunday, asking if we wanted to travel to Spain via Morocco,” Didier says.

“He said all the paperwork will be done here in Benin and that they will take us through Senegal and Mauritania. They were asking for USD700 for the trip to Morocco, and once you reach there, they will take you to their ‘agents’ who will charge you USD1,500 negotiable for the trip to Europe. I’m not yet ready, but I will go come or shine. Europe is every young African’s dream.”

But for Keita the dream of living and working in Europe hasn’t died. But he says he will do it formally, when the time is right. For now he is happy to remain in Benin and earn a living.

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Credit: Sarah Farhat / World Bank

By Lauren Braniff and Michel Hanouch
WASHINGTON DC, Jul 26 2018 (IPS)

Households in developing countries spent $148 billion out-of-pocket for healthcare expenses in 2015, and each year 100 million people are pushed into extreme poverty because of the high cost of healthcare.

Particularly for major inpatient expenses, health insurance is the most effective way for people to reduce their out-of-pocket costs and avoid having a major medical emergency plunge them deeper into poverty.

However, insurance providers often have difficulty convincing low-income customers to pay insurance premiums now for needs that may or may not arise later.

Fortunately, digital financial services (DFS) has made it easier to bundle insurance with other financial products in ways that address a range of inpatient and outpatient health services and that introduce people to the benefits of insurance.

As discussed in a previous CGAP blog post, “A Digital Finance Prescription for Universal Health Coverage,” various DFS are helping patients pay for medical treatment in many developing countries. Digital credit is enabling patients to obtain instant loans for healthcare, even in remote areas.

In fact, CGAP research in Kenya found that paying medical bills was one of the most common reasons people cited for borrowing from digital lending platform m-Shwari. Digital savings is another example. Savings products allow people to save and easily withdraw funds from dedicated health savings accounts.

Still, obtaining insurance is the best way to prepare for major health expenses, yet too few low-income people are insured. About 75 percent of the world’s population is not adequately protected by insurance, and 40 percent have no coverage at all.

While there are many reasons for this, paying monthly premiums is a significant challenge to consumers with irregular sources of income. Another key issue is that low-income consumer value liquidity, so they hesitate to commit funds to any one destination ahead of immediate need.

This makes insurance a difficult sell on its own. But digital channels enable providers to more effectively bundle insurance with other services that meet a wider range of short- and long-term healthcare needs.

MicroEnsure’s Fearless Health product in Kenya is a good example of bundling’s potential. MicroEnsure has more than 50 million registered users in 15 countries. The company provides free basic life, accident and hospital insurance via mobile phone to many of its customers, through partnerships with mobile network operators.

However, these models are only able to cover catastrophic needs, rather than the day-to-day risk events that are more tangible for consumers. To provide a solution that addresses a broader range of potential health events, MicroEnsure designed Fearless Health, which integrates insurance with other products designed to help customers get the inpatient and outpatient care they need without delaying treatment because of the costs.

The Fearless Health pilot launched in 2016 with three key features: on-demand loans for primary healthcare at outpatient clinics, medical advice by phone (whereby customers text their health questions by SMS and receive a call from a doctor) and insurance for inpatient care that provides a cash payout if a customer or family member suffers a health emergency requiring three or more nights at a hospital.

Limiting the insurance component to inpatient care only, while offering loans for outpatient needs, allowed MicroEnsure to keep premiums low because administrative costs related to outpatient claims tend to drive up premiums.

By bundling financial products in this way, MicroEnsure hoped customers could experience the benefits of insurance without having to make costly, separate insurance premium payments.

MicroEnsure viewed the loans as the key way to introduce customers to Fearless Health’s other features. It marketed the loans at participating clinics to help patients cover the cost of their treatments.

During borrowers’ loan repayment periods, they were insured and had access to the telephone health information service. Mobile money was essential to Fearless Health, and all payments to and from customers were digital.

From MicroEnsure’s perspective, cash was not viable given the potential for multiple payouts per client in addition to receiving loan repayments on a regular basis. For customers, receiving loans and hospital cash payouts quickly via digital channels was critical so they could pay for immediate expenses.

Banner reads: “Receive treatment today, pay later.” MicroEnsure promoted Fearless Health at clinics around the country. Credit: Michel Hanouch

The Fearless Health pilot confirmed that there is a high demand for the product among customers who do not have enough funds for outpatient care. Further, Fearless Health customers spent more at the clinics than noncustomers, providing a business case for clinics to welcome the product and reducing the potential negative impacts of undertreatment due to patient liquidity constraints.

However, it also showed that MicroEnsure’s plan to offer the credit to patients when they were at the clinics and needed it most should be reconsidered. Most patients at clinics had already brought enough cash to cover minor outpatient expenses.

The target market for Fearless Health did not bother coming to clinics because they lacked funds. The pilot suggested that MicroEnsure would need to find ways to market the product outside of clinics.

To understand the features of Fearless Health that were most valued by customers, researchers from CGAP and Busara Center for Behavioral Economics asked them what mattered most to them: amount of coverage, duration of coverage or the number of family members covered.

Customers indicated that duration of insurance coverage was the most important. The other factors were also considered important, however, and a desirable combination of all three increased people’s willingness to pay for the Fearless product.

This suggests that the preferred solution should cover family members and offer a reasonable coverage amount, but that extending the duration of coverage should be emphasized.

MicroEnsure’s Fearless Health is an example of how providers can approach health insurance for poor people. Although our research uncovered areas where the product could be improved, it is clear that digital channels have an important role to play for insurance providers looking to create microinsurance products that are scalable and sustainable but also add real value to customers’ lives.

The link to the original article follows:
http://www.cgap.org/blog/bringing-health-microinsurance-kenyans-mobile-phone?utm_source=CGAP+Reader+%2807.23.18%29&utm_campaign=CGAP+Reader+%2807.23.18%29&utm_medium=email

The post Bringing Health Microinsurance to Kenyans via Mobile Phone appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Excerpt:

Lauren Braniff & Michel Hanouch, Consultative Group to Assist the Poor. The CGAP, which is housed at the World Bank, is a global partnership of more than 30 leading organizations that seek to advance financial inclusion.

The post Bringing Health Microinsurance to Kenyans via Mobile Phone appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Cairo's International Garden municipal park denies painting black stripes on the animal.

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Of 11 rhinos moved to the Tsavo East National Park, 10 have died after the botched relocation.

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It's one of the world's most mineral rich nations, so why are its people among the planet's poorest?

Indonesia has one of the highest rates of income inequality in Southeast Asia, according to the World Bank. Credit: Sandra Siagian/IPS

By Jomo Kwame Sundaram
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Jul 26 2018 (IPS)

Economic divergence among countries and regions was never pre-ordained. According to the late cliometrician Angus Madison and other economic historians, the great divergence between the global North and South, between developed and developing countries, began around five centuries ago, from the beginning of the European, particularly Iberian colonial conquests.

From about two centuries ago, around the time of the Industrial Revolution, divergence accelerated with uneven productivity advances. During the 20th century, national level inequalities went down in many developed countries in the period after the First World War until around the 1970s with the rise of labour, peasant and other popular mobilizations.

Inequality, not only at the national level, but also at the international level, seems to affect the pattern of aggregate demand, particularly in developing countries, which in turn influences future investment and growth prospects and patterns.

Thus, the immediate post-Second World War period saw relatively high growth during what some Anglophone economists call the ‘Golden Age’, due to a combination of Keynesian policies at the national level in developed economies, and partially successful development policies in many newly-independent countries of Asia and Africa. However, this eventually came to an end in the 1970s for a variety of reasons.

Recent trends
Since then, inequalities have begun to grow again at the national level in many countries, but international divergence has declined in more recent decades. This recent convergence is due to significantly accelerated growth in some developing countries as expansion in some developed countries slowed. Among developing countries, growth was initially largely confined to East Asia and, to a lesser extent, South Asia, bypassing much of the rest of Asia, Africa and Latin America.

Africa suffered a quarter-century of stagnation from the late 1970s until the beginning of this century when commodity prices rose once again and China began investing in the continent. There was at least one lost decade in Latin America in the 1980s, and arguably, a second one for many on the continent in the following decade.

Such variation needs to be recognized. The recent convergence overall obscures very mixed phenomena of greater national-level inequalities in many economies, but also some international convergence due to more rapid growth in some major developing economies.

However, this convergence has begun to slow again, following the collapse of commodity prices since late 2014. This initially began with petroleum, but eventually affected almost all other commodities, especially mineral prices, slowing the decade of growth in Africa.

Divergence
The recent phenomena which many term globalization are often linked to international economic liberalization, but the strengthening of property rights has also been important. This has not only consolidated traditional property rights, but also extended property rights in novel ways, e.g., ostensibly to clarify supposedly ambiguous entitlements.

These have involved not only national legislation, but also free trade agreements and investment treaties at the international level, e.g., to consolidate ostensible asset-related entitlements, including so called intellectual property rights.

While few economic commentators may openly advocate increasing inequality, or blatantly espouse divergence, the consequences of many policies and positions associated with the conventional wisdom tend to increase divergence. For example, agricultural trade liberalization has undermined productive potential as only rich countries can afford subsidies, which most developing countries cannot afford.

For a long time, Africa used to be a net food exporter until the 1980s. Since then, it has become a net food importer. With trade liberalization, Africa was supposed to realize its true potential. Instead, Africa has lost much of its existing productive potential, not only in manufacturing, but also in agriculture.

To make matters worse, African farmers cannot compete with subsidized food imports from the EU and the USA. For example, as US consumers have a strong preference for chicken breasts, wings and legs from the US are not only flooding the Americas, but increasingly, Africa and Asia.

Convergence prospects
It is also important to consider the prospects for possible convergence in the long term due to the increased availability and affordability of capital. Besides recent Chinese international financing initiatives, quantitative easing, other unconventional monetary policies, recycling of petrodollars and private East Asian capital, as well as novel, and often illicit international financial flows may transform the horizon of possibilities.

Not unlike the Cold War and the aftermath of 9/11, the resurgence of European ethno-populism in reaction to growing economically and politically driven immigration into developed Western economies has reminded the world of the squalid conditions still prevailing in much of the global South, especially in Africa.

Perhaps more importantly, geography, rather than class, is increasingly viewed by many as the major determinant of income and welfare levels, with vastly different living standards associated with location rather than educational qualifications, occupation or productivity.

Thus, without the prospect of rapid convergence, not only nationally between wealth classes, but also internationally between rich and poor nations, the failure of economic globalization to deliver on its implicit promise of liberalizing cross-border human migration will haunt international relations, human rights and political liberalism for some time to come.

The post Globalization, Inequality, Convergence, Divergence appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Immigrant rights advocates and others participate in rally and demonstration at the Federal Building in lower Manhattan against the Trump administration's policy that enables federal agents to take migrant children away from their parents at the border. Photo: AFP

By Brig Gen Shahedul Anam Khan ndc, psc (Retd)
Jul 26 2018 (The Daily Star, Bangladesh)

If there was any doubt about President Trump’s racist inclinations, it was fully removed by his pontification to the European leaders about, what he thinks, the negative consequences of immigration on Europe. Every time the US president opens his mouth on any subject, with the exception, perhaps, of real estate business, he betrays an abject ignorance on practically everything under the sun. And every time he does that I am reminded of what an illustrious predecessor of his, and he belonged to the Republican Party also, had said about the dangers of speaking out of turn, which was that, “It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and to remove all doubt.”

It may be worth quoting President Trump’s comment about immigration and Europe, whose leadership he managed to rub the wrong way with his characteristic injudiciousness. In an interview with The Sun in June, the US president blamed immigration for the changing culture of Europe: “I think allowing millions and millions of people to come into Europe is very, very sad. I think you are losing your culture.” And he said the same thing later at a news conference with the British PM, face to face, warning Europeans to be careful of the “changing culture” as a consequence of immigration. The reality is that, and that is acknowledged by all except the ultranationalists and rightists, the UK would not be what it is today without immigrants.

Trump’s utterances on culture is surprising on many counts, particularly the fact that such a thought was expressed by one who has both German and Scottish pedigree—being the grandson of a German, and the son of a Scottish immigrant to the US. And he has fathered a male progeny whose mother happens to be a first generation immigrant from Slovenia and has been a US citizen since only 2012. The American author James Jones had once advised the Americans to read their text books, and nobody more than the US president should take that to heart, particularly on history.

The issue of migration has been the topmost in the mind of President Trump. He has doubled down on immigrants from the very first day he took office, banning immigration from a selected list of Muslim countries. His cabinet ministers have used the scriptures, very selectively, to justify the policy of separating children from parents seeking asylum in the US from across its southern borders. That being the case, it may be worth looking at the scriptures to put the matter in a historical and scriptural context.

If migration is a crime, which Trump thinks it is, then the blame of the original sin must fall on the two who transgressed the Lord’s Command and thus endured forced migration. Ever since Adam and Eve were forced to migrate to the earth, human history has been the history of migration, of seeking newer lands for greener pastures and for following the command of the Lord, as did Abraham when he obeyed the order of his Lord to leave his home which was in present day Iraq. Immigration to a Christian kingdom, whose king Najashi knew his scriptures well, contributed to the survival of Islam at the very seminal stages of its existence. And the Islamic calendar commences with the immigration to Medina. Interestingly, all the revealed scriptures talk about protection of the immigrants.

Contrary to what Donald Trump thinks, migration has enriched and embellished languages and enhanced the capacity to adapt. But coming from one who is regrettably oblivious of how the American colonialists and their successors have decimated the American Red Indians, to the point where they are now penned in so called reservations, the fear expressed is not surprising. Neither is it new. Two hundred years ago Benjamin Franklin was worried about too many German immigrants “swamping America’s predominantly British culture.” Migration from Ireland was discouraged because they were looked down upon as “lazy and drunkards”— Poles, Italians, Russian Jews were the “new immigrants believed to be too different ever to assimilate into American life” at the beginning of 20th Century. Their contribution to America belies the misgivings.

Unfortunately, people like Mr Trump forget that the US is about migration and migrants. According to a US author, writing in 2002, “An authoritative 1997 study by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) concluded that immigration delivered a ‘significant positive gain’ to the U.S. economy. In testimony before Congress last year, Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan said, ‘I’ve always argued that this country has benefited immensely from the fact that we draw people from all over the world.’”

As for Europe, the notion that there are “original people” from whom the present day generation is originated has been proven wrong by a research report published in The Independent (UK) in February this year which says that immigrants have been “moving and mixing” across Europe since ancient times. The liberalists believe, in view of the spurt of refugees in Europe that Europe’s cultural, ethnic and religious diversity will increase in a transformative way in the years and decades to come. As for the Sub Continent, its cultural richness is the result of intermixing of people of various races creeds and ethnicities.

Modern day migration is a fact of life and the natural order of things. And the pull factors are just as relevant now as it was 1,50,000 years ago. Mr Trump, immigrants don’t change culture but they surely can win a country the World Cup. The French would swear to that.

Brig Gen Shahedul Anam Khan ndc, psc (Retd) is, Associate Editor, The Daily Star.

This story was originally published by The Daily Star, Bangladesh

The post Immigrants don’t change culture but they surely can win you the World Cup appeared first on Inter Press Service.

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By WAM
PARIS, Jul 25 2018 (WAM)

Wadi Wurayah in Fujairah has been designated a ‘Biosphere Reserve’ by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).

On its official Twitter account, the UNESCO today announced that the Fujairah nature spot won the prestigious accolade.

The designation is awarded for protected areas that demonstrate a balanced relationship between people and nature and promote sustainable development. The site is one of 24 natural spots that won the coveted status.

Located in the Emirate of Fujairah, the site consists of a water catchment area in an arid climate that is part of the Haiar mountain range. It hosts a rich fauna and flora endemic to the Arabian Peninsula and is one of the last Emirati places where traditional farming practices are still maintained.

The Wadi is home to 81 bird species, 20 mammal species, at least nine reptile and amphibian species and 467 invertebrates.

A National Ecotourism Project was announced by the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment on 5th July. It listed Wadi Wurayah as a destination to be promoted to tourists.

Biosphere Reserves are areas comprising terrestrial, marine and coastal ecosystems. Each reserve promotes solutions reconciling the conservation of biodiversity with its sustainable use.

The reserves are considered ‘Science for Sustainability support sites’ – special places for testing interdisciplinary approaches to understanding and managing changes and interactions between social and ecological systems, including conflict prevention and management of biodiversity.

Biosphere reserves are nominated by national governments and remain under the sovereign jurisdiction of the states where they are located. Their status is internationally recognised.

WAM/Hazem Hussein/Hatem Mohamed

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