Viewpoint by Azu Ishiekwene The writer is the Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of LEADERSHIP newspaper based in Abuja, Nigeria. ABUJA (IDN) — In six African countries, the heads of government have been in power for 20 years or more. Attempts to replace them by ballot have either been stalled, frustrated or crushed. In a few, like South […]
Momentum Builds for Ukraine Defense Contact Group
By Jim Garamone , DOD News This article was issued by U.S. Department of Defense. RAMSTEIN, Germany (IDN) — U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III said nations of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group are even “more united and resolved to keep up our support for Ukraine’s right to defend itself.” The secretary and […]
Full Gender Equality Still Centuries Away, Warns New UN Report
By Caroline Mwanga NEW YORK (IDN) — The latest available Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5 data show that the world is not on track to achieving gender equality by 2030. At the current rate of progress, it may take close to 300 years to achieve full gender equality, according to the new report by the […]
UN Seeks to Protect Critical Infrastructures Against Terrorist Attacks
By Radwan Jakeem with UN News NEW YORK (IDN) — The United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) has launched five new specialized guides (modules) aimed at the protection of particularly vulnerable targets against terrorist attacks. “Vulnerable targets” refers both to critical infrastructure (for example, public transportation systems, energy sector) and public places or ‘soft targets’ […]
Gorbachev Changed the World
Viewpoint by Ramesh Thakur This article was issued by the Toda Peace Institute and is being republished with their permission. CANBERRA, Australia (IDN) — Most people have modest aspirations of being able to feed, house, clothe and educate their families, assist their children to climb one rung higher on the social ladder and spend their […]
Gorbachev Was Sad the World Did Not Develop as He Had Hoped
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power LUND, Sweden (IDN) — Mikhail Gorbachev, the last head of the Soviet Union, the idealistic leader from within who accepted the end of communism, arrived in Berlin in November 1999 on a private visit to mark the fall and destruction of the Berlin Wall ten years before. The Cold War had […]
Peace Talks Are the Way Out of the War in Ukraine
Viewpoint by Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J.S. Davies* NEW YORK (IDN) — Six months ago, Russia invaded Ukraine. The United States, NATO and the European Union (EU) wrapped themselves in the Ukrainian flag, shelled out billions for arms shipments, and imposed draconian sanctions intended to severely punish Russia for its aggression.
UN’s Economic Ties to a Blacklisted Russia May Threaten Peacekeeping Missions
By Rodney Reynolds UNITED NATIONS (IDN) — After the invasion of Ukraine last February, Russia has been widely described, particularly by the US and Western nations, as an “international pariah”. The United Nations has been equally critical of the invasion of a sovereign nation resulting in thousands of civilian killings and the destruction of entire […]
UN Agency Slates Clean-up of Nigeria’s Most Polluted Region
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) — There were high hopes for a one-billion-dollar clean-up of Nigeria’s most polluted region of Ogoniland in Nigeria’s Niger Delta region, the third largest mangrove ecosystem in the world when it got off the ground in 2019. It would address the greasy rainbow sheen over the […]
South Africa’s Nature Preserve Saved from Risky Oil Drilling
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK | PRETORIA (IDN) — Energy giant Shell Global suffered a major setback in its fight for prospecting rights, overstepping the needs of rural communities seeking to protect whales and other marine life and keeping their coastline safe from oil spills and other dangers. A panel of South […]