The Conversation (Continuación)

EuropaUnión Europea, , ,

Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders are seeking to resolve a decades-long dispute about the governance of Cyprus in talks happening in Geneva, Switzerland. The island remains divided by a United Nations buffer zone, established to end the conflict between the two sides. But although fighting ceased in 1974, a permanent agreement on how Cyprus should be governed has never been reached. There are several very big questions to answer before that can happen.

What is the main topic of discussion?

Right now, everything is on the table. The first two days of talks between the two Cypriot leaders are intended to lead to a high-level conference with representatives from Greece, Turkey, and the UK.…  Seguir leyendo »

President Putin playing ice hockey. Kremlin Press Office

Europa

It’s very possible that, in 2017, Donald Trump will attempt to bring Russia back into the fold of civilised nations by lifting sanctions. So understanding the populism of Vladimir Putin’s government is more urgent than ever.

In his remarkable book, How Russia Sees the West: An Anthology of Russian Thought, from Karamzine to Putin, published last November, Michel Niqueux defined the tenets of the dominant Russian ideology, inspired by Eurasian intellectuals and turned into policies by Putin:

Anti-West, moral and cultural conservatism, vertical power structure, assertion of military power, definition of a multipolar world as opposed to an unipolar power one headed by the USA, prize of Eurasian unity (Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia) after Ukraine’s defection.…  Seguir leyendo »

Bangladesh has many programs aimed at modernising madrassa education and training imams. Andrew Biraj/Reuters

MundoAsia

Since gaining independence in 1971, Bangladesh - the world’s third-largest Muslim majority country – has made remarkable social and economic progress. Once branded a basket case, the rate of the country’s social progress is now faster than its neighbour India.

It’s been hailed as a model for reducing hunger and recently was identified as among top destinations for investment in Asia. Indeed, Japanese companies rate Bangladesh as their number one investment destination.

Despite this progress, Bangladesh has been experiencing a wave of violence by Islamic extremists since 2013.

Terror attacks

On the night of July 1 2016, five young local men armed with blades, guns and bombs stormed a restaurant in the neighbourhood of Gulshan in the capital Dhaka, and took foreigners who were dining there hostage.…  Seguir leyendo »

Outdated ‘urban passports’ still rule the lives of China’s rural citizens

MundoAsia

In recent years, China has gained a global reputation for its juggernaut economy and breathtaking social change. Yet beneath this shining veneer, an outdated Maoist institution continues to define the life chances of Chinese citizens: it’s called “hukou”.

Hukou is a kind of passport system, which limits access to public services, based on the birthplace of the holder. It was first established in 1954 to immobilise China’s large rural population, as China’s Chairman Mao Zedong sought to contain any possible challenges to the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) new autocratic regime. The result was a highly segregated society.

Having an urban hukou allowed citizens to enjoy privileged access to public services such as education, health, housing and pensions.…  Seguir leyendo »

A mural depicting populist dictators painted onto remnants of the Berlin Wall in Berlin in 2014. Henning Melber

MundoÁfrica,

Political populism is anything but new. Nor are its various shapes peculiar to certain regions or cultures.

Take former liberation movements in southern Africa, for example. They reflect the diversity of populist regimes spanning over several decades. This is evident in Zimbabwe under the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU-PF) since 1980, Namibia under the South West African People’s Organisation (SWAPO) since 1990 and South Africa under the African National Congress (ANC) since 1994.

The heroic narratives of liberation gospels were born in historical processes expected to achieve emancipation. Post liberation, these processes elevated the anti-colonial movements into governments in firm social control.…  Seguir leyendo »

InternacionalOrden Mundial

The year 2017 opens on a world laid to waste. Some areas are littered with mass graves. For future historians, 2016 will be seen as a turning point in human history, one of those times when the world teeters on a precipice.

Despite the cataclysmic risks of the Cold War, times have not been as dangerous as these since 1945. Freedom and the rule of law are under threat. Now, more than ever, we need principled leaders with an understanding of history.

Donald Trump will take office on January 20. His election tips us into the unknown and ushers in a new political era.…  Seguir leyendo »

Addis Ababa’s light-rail network built by China Railway Engineering Corporation has become a key transport link for city residents. EPA/Solan Kolli

MundoÁfrica,

Nearly three months into the state of emergency declared by Ethiopia, the atmosphere on the streets of its bustling and impressively modern metropolis and capital, Addis Ababa, feels tense.

At 2,355m above sea level, the climate is pleasantly mild most of the year. Its broad thoroughfares are studded with magnificent cultural attractions. These are infused with the glow of an ancient yet resilient civilisation that could withstand both Jesuit and Wahhabi encroachment.

Yet, at present, tourists are understandably few and far between. There have been reports of hundreds of deaths in districts surrounding the capital in recent weeks. But these have been played down as an exaggeration by Prime Minister Heilemariam Desalegn.…  Seguir leyendo »

Indonesian military Chief Gatot Nurmantyo talks to reporters in the Indonesian capitals Jakarta on January 5. Beawiharta/Reuters

MundoAsiaMundoOceanía,

The Indonesian government has confirmed that it will not suspend military cooperation with Australia after a top general said earlier in the week that ties between the two nations would be cut. The incident is just the latest episode in a rocky relationship between the neighbours.

On January 4, Indonesian Military Chief Gatot Nurmantyo declared the suspension of Indonesia-Australia military cooperation, apparently because an Indonesian special forces commander trainer found materials at an Australian teaching facility that were insulting to both the Indonesian military and the state’s ideology of Pancasila.

Pancasila, from the Sanskrit word for for “five”, panca, and the Javanese for “principles”, sila, is the name given to the official founding principles of the Indonesian state.…  Seguir leyendo »

A tank taken over by civilians in Istanbul, July 15 2016. EPA

Europa

Turkey’s New Year was marred by a terrorist attack, claimed by the so-called Islamic State (IS), that killed 39 people and injured many more at a famous nightclub in Istanbul. After nearly two years of deadly incidents and alarming political instability, Turks were once again left counting the dead – and wondering how much more their country can take.

In the last 18 months, Turkey has seen 33 bomb attacks that have claimed 446 lives, 363 of them civilians. Some commentators even claim that low-level terror is now almost the norm in Turkey.

To make things more complicated still, the latest attack comes only six months after a bizarre failed coup, undoubtedly one of the most significant events in Turkey’s modern history.…  Seguir leyendo »

More migrants are arriving via Italy following the EU-Turkey deal. Yannis Behrakis/Reuters

EuropaUnión EuropeaUE a debate

The European Union endured a series of political shocks and strains in 2016 that threatened to tear the bloc apart: an ongoing migration crisis; the United Kingdom’s vote in June to exit the union; lacklustre growth and stubbornly high unemployment in the eurozone; terrorist attacks that killed and injured scores; and surging support for populist and anti-EU political parties.

Against this recent history, there can be no doubt that 2017 will be one of the most important and fateful years in the EU’s six-decade history.

There are five acute dangers facing the EU in 2017. These are not isolated challenges. Instead, they are intertwined and mutually reinforcing.…  Seguir leyendo »

Internacional,

Governments across the world struggle to cope with organised crime in the fisheries sector. This is partly because legislative frameworks to tackle the problem are inadequate, and appropriate law enforcement tools are underutilised. It is also because the nature and negative effects of fisheries crime are poorly understood.

Traditionally, fisheries crime has been met with far less commitment and urgency than “traditional” crimes like drug trafficking. Yet fisheries crime hurts states as well as coastal communities – both socially and economically.

Coastal communities – particularly in developing nations – suffer the most from unchecked organised fisheries crime. Many rely heavily on a healthy marine environment for their livelihoods and nutrition.…  Seguir leyendo »

UN Sustainable Development Goals. UNDP, CC BY

InternacionalONU

Ever since 1944, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has been a primary measure of economic growth. It’s in the news regularly and, even though few can define what it means, there is general acceptance that when GDP is growing, things are good.

There are problems with this simplistic formulation.

GDP measures production only. It does not capture collapsing fish stocks, increasing obesity and diabetes, or new types of synthetic drugs. When people choose to work part-time to have a better work-life balance, GDP actually goes down.

This narrow focus distorts our perception of progress. It guides our representatives to focus only on certain things – what is measured – and allows them to ignore what isn’t quantified and regularly reported.…  Seguir leyendo »

Villagers watch the sunset over a small lagoon near the village of Tangintebu in the central Pacific island nation of Kiribati. David Gray/Reuters

ReflexionesNaturaleza,

It has been scientifically demonstrated that, regardless of whether we admit it or not, climate change is a global process, unfortunately continuous, a “threat multiplier” and “very likely” to be human-induced.

Since 2008, an average of 21.5 million people have been displaced from their homes each year by rapid onset climate-related events. And the number of such events is going to increase in the future. The same empirical research shows that slow-onset events and environmental degradation also contribute to people’s decision to move.

But recent failures to offer protection to people affected by climate change all over the world, including in the Pacific region show a regrettable lack of international legal safeguards (norms and language) when addressing climate change.…  Seguir leyendo »

WHO guidelines have focused on deworming school-aged children. Noor Khamis/Reuters

InternacionalSalud Pública,

Expanding the control strategy for intestinal worms to treating adults as well as children could improve the health of millions of people worldwide who are infected or reinfected by these parasites every year.

These intestinal worms – soil-transmitted helminths – are responsible for the most common parasitic disease of humans worldwide. A staggering 1.45 billion people – that’s nearly a fifth of the global population – are affected and at risk of the long-term consequences of this largely preventable infection.

Neglected diseases

Soil-transmitted helminthiasis is one of 17 “neglected tropical diseases”, a grouping that also includes dengue and chikungunya, rabies, and leprosy.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoAméricaInternacionalONU

The United Nations will soon welcome its ninth Secretary General, António Guterres. The former Portuguese prime minister takes the helm of the international organisation on January 1, 2017, replacing Ban Ki-moon.

In Latin America, as in much of the world, the October 2016 appointment of Guterres, a European man, was met with mixed emotions. For the first time in the 70 years of history of the UN, half of the 12 candidates for Secretary General were women – a gender equality milepost. And yet a man won out in the end, leaving many observers and member states wondering whether the Security Council was simply not ready to have a woman in charge.…  Seguir leyendo »

One way to anticipate the future is to look to the past. Bernard Spragg/Flickr

MundoOceanía

When the industrial revolution hit in the 1800s, countries with large disparities in wealth, low property ownership, deficient democracies and disparate education systems were left behind.

There’s a new industrial revolution just around the corner, driven by artificial intelligence and robotics. Deterioration within the key institutions of suffrage, education, and land policy indicate that Australia may be one of the countries left behind this time.

The first millennium

One way to anticipate the future is to look to the past.

British economist Angus Maddison has estimated that in the year 0, the population of Western Europe was 24.7 million. 1,000 years later it was 25.4 million – an increase of just 700,000.…  Seguir leyendo »

Students protest outside the parliament in South Africa. The protest is seen as part of a bigger political crisis. REUTERS/Sumaya Hisham

InternacionalEconomía

2016 was full of dramatic political and economic developments across the globe. The Conversation Africa business and economy editor Sibonelo Radebe asked Thanti Mthanti to highlight key events and look at future prospects.

How would you rate and characterise 2016 in economic terms?

It was obviously an extremely difficult year for many countries, including South Africa.

From a South African point of view, the challenges are clearly reflected in a number of key economic indicators. Economic growth has slowed significantly and is projected by the country’s Reserve Bank to be close to zero for 2016. Unemployment reached 27%, the highest rate over the last decade.…  Seguir leyendo »

Why connecting all the world’s robots

ReflexionesNuevas Tecnologías,

If you want to make predictions for the future, you need to find the trajectory of events in the past. So to work out what shape digital technology will likely take next year, we should look back to the major developments of 2016. And the past year’s developments point to a 2017 shaped by the next phase of virtual and augmented reality, the emergence of an internet for artificial intelligence and the creation of personalised digital assistants that follow us across devices.

Virtual world

One technology in particular has dominated the news throughout the year and made the birthday wish-lists of children and adults alike: virtual reality.…  Seguir leyendo »

The photo of your child may look cute today but how will they feel when they’re all grown up? Shutterstock/Michal Staniewski

ReflexionesSocial,

You might think it’s cute to snap a photo of your toddler running around in a playground or having a temper tantrum, and then posting it on social media. But did you ever think it might be a mistake, or even illegal?

The French government earlier this year warned parents to stop posting images of their children on social media networks.

Under France’s rigorous privacy laws, parents could face penalties of up to a year in prison and a fine of €45,000 (A$64,500) if convicted of publicising intimate details of their children without their consent.

This new legality is powerful food for thought for parenting in the Facebook era.…  Seguir leyendo »

Proponents of the universal basic income overlook its potential to be a reverse Robin Hood scheme. Ibai/Flickr, CC BY

InternacionalEconomía

The resurrection of universal basic income (UBI) proposals in the developed world this year gained support from some prominent Australians. But while good in theory, it’s no panacea for the challenges of our modern economy.

UBI proposals centre on the idea that the government would pay a flat fee to every adult citizen, regardless of his or her engagement in skill-building activities or the paid labour market, as a partial or complete substitute for existing social security and welfare programs.

Of the schemes run in developing places like Kenya, Uganda, and India, some have been evaluated statistically, delivering some evidence of positive impacts on educational investments, entrepreneurship, and earnings.…  Seguir leyendo »