Viewpoint by Azu Ishiekwene The writer is the Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of LEADERSHIP newspaper based in Abuja, Nigeria. ABUJA (IDN) — A leader like Jacinda Ardern of New Zealand doesn’t come in tens. Not even in twos. And so, it was such a bright day on October 26, 2017, when she took office as New Zealand’s […]
Nuclear Weapons and Nationalism: An Incendiary Mix
By Andrew Lichterman* OAKLAND, California (IDN) — Seventy-seven years ago, the United Nations General Assembly passed its first resolution. The subject the governments represented there thought important enough to be first on their agenda was the establishment of a commission to develop proposals for the control of atomic energy and “for the elimination from national […]
At the Global Top Table. Will 2023 Be India’s Year?
Viewpoint by Herbert Wulf This article was issued by the Toda Peace Institute and is being republished with their permission. Three developments contribute to the fact that 2023 could indeed become India’s global political year: India’s chairmanship of the G20 countries, interestingly its role in the war in Ukraine, and the increasingly widespread critical view […]
New UN Report Explores Criminal Exploitation of Human Beings
COVID and Other Crises Obstructing Victim Identification By Aurora Weiss VIENNA (IDN) — Though the COVID-19 pandemic and other crises are increasing the possibility of vulnerable human beings easily falling into the trap of criminal exploitation for the sole purpose of economic gain, a new UN report finds that fewer victims of this kind of […]
Sri Lankan Americans’ IMPACT ON Life in America
By Nandasiri Jasentuliyana The writer is former Deputy Director-General of the United Nations. LOS ANGELES (IDN) — The earliest Sri Lankans to enter the United States were classified as “other Asians.” Immigration records show that between 1881 and 1890, 1,910 “other Asians” were admitted to the United States. It is unlikely that many of these […]
Heated Debate on Giving a Constitutional Voice to Indigenous Australians
By Kalinga Seneviratne SYDNEY (IDN) — Each year on January 26, Australians celebrate “Australia Day”, a national holiday that marks the day Captain Arthur Phillip sailed into Sydney Cove in 1788, planted the Union Jack and proclaimed the continent for the British Crown. Later it was enshrined in the Australian constitution that it was “terra […]
Split in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church
By Karen Smith BRUSSELS (IDN) — Three months after the two-year Ethiopian civil war came to an end, displacing millions, the Orthodox Church is facing a split. Three bishops have announced that they will form a separate church with its own decision-making body. Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali has criticised “bigotry by religion and […]
Anti-French Sentiment Boils Over in West Africa
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK | OUAGADOUGOU (IDN) — French flags were set ablaze in the streets of Ouagadougou as hundreds of citizens of the West African nation of Burkina Faso gathered in the capital city on January 20. Many carried placards with the message “French army, get out!” Anti-French sentiment has […]
Spectacular Boom in Crypto Market in Africa
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) — Why is cryptocurrency booming in Africa but sinking in rich western countries, including the U.S.? For starters, cryptocurrencies have gained acceptance among a large proportion of the low-income population that was, previously financially marginalized. Most banks in Africa were not accessible to this segment. Even […]
Is China Really a Threat?
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden (IDN) — Exactly five years ago, the American secretary of defence, Jim Mattis, declared a new era: “There has been a return of great power competition……great power competition—not terrorism—is now the primary focus of US security”. In the new national defence strategy document, China and Russia were singled out […]