Viewpoint by Azu Ishiekwene The writer is the Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of LEADERSHIP newspaper based in Abuja, Nigeria. ABUJA (IDN) — It’s not been a merry run-up to Christmas for many Nigerian travellers. It all started with Canada, Saudi Arabia, and then the UK, red-listing Nigeria (and 10 other African countries) for the Omicron variant of […]
Korean Catholics Misrepresent Korea’s Buddhist Heritage
By Emi Hayakawa This article is the 48th in a series of joint productions of Lotus News Features and IDN-InDepthNews, flagship agency of the Non-profit International Press Syndicate. Click here for previous reports. Emi Hayakawa is Head of Global Operations, BTN (Buddhist Television Network) World, South Korea. SEOUL (IDN) — The celebrated “birthplace” of contemporary […]
Elimination of ICBMs Would Greatly Reduce the Chances of a Global Nuclear Holocaust
Viewpoint by Norman Solomon* SAN FRANCISCO, USA (IDN) — Nuclear weapons are at the pinnacle of what Martin Luther King Jr. called “the madness of militarism.” If you’d rather not think about them, that’s understandable. But such a coping strategy has limited value. And those who are making vast profits from preparations for global annihilation […]
Russia Extending its Sphere of Influence in Africa’s Sahel
By Kester Kenn Klomegah* MOSCOW (IDN) — With renewed and full-fledged interest to uproot French domination, Russia has ultimately begun making inroads into the Sahel region, an elongated landlocked territory located between North Africa (Maghreb) and West Africa, and also stretches from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea. While it remains largely underdeveloped and […]
New Caledonia Vote to Stay with France Is a Hollow Victory
It Will Only Ratchet Up Tensions Viewpoint by David Robie The writer Dr David Robie is editor of Asia Pacific Report, founding editor of Pacific Journalism Review and former director of the Pacific Media Centre. AUCKLAND (IDN) — “Loyalist” New Caledonians handed France the decisive victory in the third and final referendum on independence it […]
Glasgow Climate Change Conference: A Glass Half Empty
Viewpoint by Ian Fry This article was issued by Toda Peace Institute and is being republished with their permission. CANBERRA, Australia (IDN) — For many, the Glasgow Climate Change Conference, known as COP26, was a significant disappointment. Much had been promised by the UK Government, but last-minute ructions over the reference to the phase-out of […]
Indo-Lanka Ties Back on the Rails
By Sugeeswara Senadhira* COLOMBO (IDN) — Following the recent visit to Delhi by Sri Lanka’s Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa, a four-point package agreed to with India to help overcome the island nation’s current economic problems, has put the traditionally close relations between the two South Asian neighbours back on rails. India acceded to Sri Lanka’s […]
Cold War Warriors Are Gaining the Upper Hand Again
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power LUND, Sweden (IDN) — Oh, to be a Cold War warrior again! I always felt a bit sorry for those politicians, academics, soldiers and journalists who had hitched their careers to the onward march of the Cold War. It was satisfying. There was a clear enemy. The complex arithmetic on which […]
Arrest of Popular Benin Leader Evokes Protests of Lawyers for Democratic Opposition
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) — Reckya Madougou, one of the strongest challengers to Benin’s autocratic leader, Patrice Talon, will be observing the next election from her cell in jail. The 47-year-old activist was found guilty of conspiring to assassinate political figures and sentenced to 20 years behind bars. Madougou was […]
Billion Dollar Gas Project Threatens Mozambique
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) — An investment of $1.15 billion in a gas project in northern Mozambique is being challenged by Friends of the Earth which foresees a major increase in greenhouse gas emissions by up to 10 per cent by 2022. That’s the equivalent of the combined annual emissions […]