By Jeffrey D. Sachs* This article was published in Common Dreams and is being republished with the author’s permission. NEW YORK | 28 December 2023 (IDN) — US foreign policy seems to be utterly irrational. The US gets into one disastrous war after another—Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Ukraine, and Gaza. In recent days, the US […]
Agriculture Recognised as a Factor in Climate Change
By Arul Louis UNITED NATIONS | 27 December 2023 (IDN) — While attention has been focused on greenhouse gas emissions from transportation and power generation, agriculture is only now getting due attention as a factor in climate change even as hunger stalks hundreds of millions and the global population is set to rise. The UAE […]
Sheikh Hasina Has Elevated Bangladesh’s Geopolitical Significance
By Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury* DHAKA | 26 December 2023 (IDN) — Bangladesh, a land woven with resilience, heritage, and a drapery of culture, stands at a crucial juncture in the contemporary geopolitical landscape. At the wheel of this dynamic nation is Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, an indomitable leader, whose statesmanship has wielded an influential […]
Homicide Is a Bigger Killer Than Armed Conflict and Terrorism Combined
By Aurora Weiss VIENNA | 26 December 2023 (IDN) — More people were killed due to homicide than armed conflict and terrorism combined. It is estimated that there were roughly 458,000 victims of intentional homicide worldwide in 2021, meaning that an average of 52 individuals lost their lives to homicidal violence every single hour around […]
Ex-Credit Suisse CEO to Lead Ivory Coast Opposition
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK | 25 December 2023 (IDN) — A former CEO of Credit Suisse, Tidjane Thiam, was voted by a wide margin to head the opposition Democratic Party. He received 95% of the vote while his opponent, Jean-Marc Yace, the mayor of Cocody in the de facto capital, Abidjan, […]
Two African Films Make It to the ‘Oscars So White’ Awards
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK | 25 December 2023 (IDN) — There’s a burgeoning industry of great African films, but you’ll be lucky to see any of them at the Oscars. “I’m sure the majority of the world doesn’t even know we make movies,” commented Likarion Wainaina, the 35-year-old writer-director of Supa […]
The Future Role of Youth in Climate Action
By Simone Galimberti* KATHMANDU | 24 December 2023 (IDN) — The recently concluded COP 28 in Dubai has been heralded as the beginning of the end for fossil fuels. Though criticized by many activists, scientists and representatives of the most climate vulnerable nations, the decision taken at the end of negotiations of “transitioning away” from […]
Journalists an Endangered Species in War Zones
By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS | 23 December 2023 (IDN) — The devastating war in Gaza has proved once again that journalists are an endangered species—particularly when covering civil wars and military conflicts—where scores have been targeted or killed. Perhaps it is the second most dangerous profession after the military, followed by UN peacekeepers and […]
UN’s Forced Retreat from Countries Mired in Deadly Conflicts Shows Limitations
By Arul Louis UNITED NATIONS | 23 December 2023 (IDN) — While in the outgoing year, attention was focused on the world organisation’s paralysis in Ukraine and Israel, the UN was forced to retreat from other countries riven by deadly conflicts in a stark display of its limitations. Unlike Ukraine and Israel, these were countries […]
Guyana-Venezuela Border Controversy: Caribbean Dialogue & Diplomacy Avoids Annexation
By P.I. Gomes The writer is a former Cooperative Republic of Guyana Ambassador to the European Union and ACP Group of States, Brussels. These remarks are made as a citizen of Guyana residing in the Diaspora. PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad & Tobago | 22 December 2023 (IDN) —The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on 8 […]