SAIPAN,17 OCTOBER 2019 (SAIPAN TRIBUNE)—From the perspective of open-ocean sailors—called grand master navigators—who know how to chart their courses at sea without modern tools, who rely on a deep knowledge of the seas, the waves, the stars, and the winds when crossing the vast Pacific Ocean, they know that climate change is taking place, that […]
Category: Opinion
Posted inOpinion
Opinion: The world mustn’t sleep-walk into another debt crisis
LONDON, 17 OCTOBER 2019 (COMSEC) — Trade wars, protectionism, and nationalist rhetoric are combining to create the possibility of a nightmare debt crisis that could be worse than any previously experienced. Global borrowing is now at the highest levels since the 1950s – and history suggests we should take this as a warning that a […]
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On the brink of a crisis financing development in Pacific SIDS due for a drastic re-think
By Matthew Johnson-Idan, Development Economist, UNDP Pacific Office in Fiji, Bram Peters, Programme Manager – Pacific Financial Inclusion Programme, UNCDF and Sanjesh Naidu, Economic Adviser, UNESCAP Pacific Office SUVA, 11 OCTOBER 2019 (UNDP/UNCDF/UNESCAP) — Climate change has created unprecedented development challenges for Pacific SIDS. Thinking about the cost of increasing frequency and severity of climate-related […]
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The underappreciated value of Japanese aid in the Pacific
Japan has made a significant contribution to regional development, especially in managing lucrative fish stocks SYDNEY, 11 OCTOBER 2019 (THE INTERPRETER) — In the varied debates about influence in the Pacific, rarely does Japan’s position in the region feature prominently. On the off chance that Japan’s presence in the Pacific is discussed, its “aid diplomacy” […]
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China in view as Morrison focuses on Fiji
SYDNEY, 10 OCTOBER 2019 — As Prime Minister Scott Morrison narrows his Pacific lens on Fiji, Beijing remains focused squarely in the background. PM Morrison will travel to Suva on Friday for meetings with Fijian Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama, ahead of historic rugby league matches between the two nations that evening. Diplomatic relations have warmed […]
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One billion people have preventable eye conditions, increasingly linked to lifestyle choices: UN health agency
GENEVA, 09 OCTOBER 2109 (UN NEWS CENTRE) — A staggering 2.2 billion people already suffer from eye conditions and visual impairment today, but the global need for eye care is set to increase “dramatically”, with lack of exercise a key factor, the UN health agency said on Tuesday, unveiling its first ever report on vision […]