By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK | MOSCOW (IDN) — African Union chair Macky Sall, after a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, has urged western and European “partners” to remove their sanctions hurting African economies. Senegalese president Sall underscored the pain resulting from the barrage of international sanctions on Russia which have […]
Russia’ Move to Reshaping the World Economy
Viewpoint by Dr Ramzy Baroud WASHINGTON, D. C. (IDN) — Starting on May 31, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov embarked on a tour of Gulf Cooperation Council countries, where he visited Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, among others. Lavrov’s main objective of these visits is to strengthen ties between Russia and GCC nations amid […]
Fiji Govt’s Indifference Threatens Levuka’s World Heritage Status
By Kalinga Seneviratne LEVUKA, Fiji (IDN) — This rugged island of Ovalau covered with greenery is only 13 km long and 10 km wide and is situated off the eastern coast of the main Fijian island of Viti Levu. Its only town, the port settlement of Levuka with about 1500 population is Fiji’s only UNESCO […]
Nuclear Weapons Pose the Greatest Immediate Threat to Human Health
By Radwan Jakeem NEW YORK (IDN) — A Joint International Health Statement for the 1st Meeting of States Parties (1MSP) of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) has stressed the urgent need to eliminate nuclear weapons as a matter of global health and survival. The joint statement expresses a “united voice” of […]
U.S. Urged to Intensify Diplomacy to Restore Iran Nuclear Deal
By J.C. Suresh WASHINGTON, D.C. (IDN) — Arms Control experts are strongly urging President Joseph Biden to immediately redouble efforts to break the stalemate on talks to restore compliance with the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Rafael Mariano Grossi, for example, […]
Ramos-Horta Challenges Pacific’s Biggest Threat to Media Freedom—China’s Gatekeepers
Viewpoint by David Robie * This article was issued by the Asia Pacific Report and is being republished with the author’s permission. AUCKLAND (IDN) — Timor-Leste, the youngest independent nation and the most fledgling press in the Asia-Pacific, has finally shown how it’s done—with a big lesson for Pacific island neighbours. Tackle the Chinese media […]
Russia Abandons Zimbabwe’s Biggest Platinum Project
By Kester Kenn Klomegah* MOSCOW | HARARE (IDN) — Several reports monitored this month confirmed that Russians have abandoned their lucrative platinum project contract that was signed for US$3 billion in September 2014, the platinum mine in the sun-scorched location about 50 km northwest of Harare, the Zimbabwean capital. Reasons for the abrupt termination of […]
South Pacific Plans Coordinated Action at UN Ocean Conference
By Kalinga Seneviratne SUVA, Fiji (IDN) — This week, to coincide with the World Ocean Day (WOD) on June 8, South Pacific’s experts and stakeholders on the Oceans met here to plan coordinated action at the United Nations Oceans Conference starting in Lisbon on June 28. Speaking at a WOD event here on June 8, […]
We Need More Equality to Go with Fairness
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power LUND, Sweden (IDN) — Plato, the great scholar of Ancient Greece, said that the differences between rich and poor should not exceed a ratio of one to four. In the eighteenth century the influential writer, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who gave birth to the notion of the “Social Contract”, argued that the invention […]
Irregularities Uncovered at State-owned DRC Mining Company
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) — The anti-corruption agency of the Democratic Republic of Congo has identified numerous irregularities in the management of the state-owned mining company, Gecamines, which it says has caused the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars. The report covered the years 2010 to 2020 and was […]