By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) — Supreme Court judges “reconsider and rescind” their own judgement against a former president, a leader faces trial for secessionist activities, a rebel movement trounces an army: these surprise developments are the focus of this week’s Africa News Briefs on South Africa, Biafra and Ethiopia.
400,000 in Tigray Cross ‘Threshold into Famine’, Some 2 Million Expected to Follow Suit
By Caroline Mwanga NEW YORK (IDN) — The Security Council in its first open meeting on the conflict in the fidgety northern Ethiopian region has passionately called for immediate and unrestricted humanitarian access to Tigray—and for an end to deadly attacks on aid workers. Ramesh Rajasingham, Acting Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, […]
Historic Forum Concludes in Paris Pledging to Advance Gender Equality by 2026
By Jaya Ramachandran PARIS (IDN) — The historic Generation Equality Forum concluded in Paris on July 2 with the announcement of gender equality commitments and launch of a global five-year action plan to accelerate gender equality by 2026. The Forum’s bold, action-oriented agenda will be under-written by nearly USD 40 Billion of confirmed investments as […]
Hope, Hyperbole and Hypocrisy of COVAX
The realpolitik of vaccine nationalism and how it impacts countries like Nepal Viewpoint by Kul Chandra Gautam* KATHMANDU (IDN) — As a previously unknown mystery disease caused by the novel coronavirus struck Planet Earth in the winter of 2019-20, public health officials and the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended universal mask-wearing, physical distancing, lockdowns and […]
Frequent Kidnapping Gives Mozambique Tainted Image
By Kester Kenn Klomegah* MOSCOW (IDN) — While Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi and his Government struggle with strategic plans, with the possible engagement of the southern African regional group and funding assistance from the United States and the European Union, to enforce nation-wide security, kidnapping of foreign business representatives has become common in Mozambique.
UN Report Considers Next 18 Months Crucial for Achieving Global Goals
By Santa Banerjee NEW YORK (IDN) — COVID-19 pandemic has caused a major disruption to people’s lives and livelihoods around the world in 2020, pushing back into poverty an additional 119-124 million people, says a new United Nations report. An equivalent of 255 million full-time jobs was lost, and the number of people suffering from […]
Indian Univ. Fight against the Pandemic Adopts ‘Communication from Within’ Strategy
By Moumita Maji* SANTINIKETAN, India (IDN) — Different units of Visva-Bharati University have come together since the onset of the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, in an attempt to fight the virus and ensure the safety of the community with minimum expenses but maximum courage. The home-grown strategy developed is unique with an emphasis […]
Miles to Go Before the World Moves Further from the Brink of Nuclear Catastrophe
By Aar Jay Persius BERLIN (IDN) — U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin reaffirmed at their June 16 summit in Geneva the principle agreed on by President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in 1985, that “a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought”. They also decided to […]
Growing Calls for Nigerian President to Step Down
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) — New troubles are facing Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, already struggling to rein in the kidnappings of Nigerian schoolchildren in the country’s Northwest. Now, a federal High Court has ordered the Government to pay $951 million to the Bayelsa State government, while another court has ordered […]
Moving Tributes for South Africa’s Iconic Composer
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) — Two anthems, one country. Such was the inspiration for President Nelson Mandela in 1994 to declare that both “Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika” (Lord bless Africa) and “Die Stem van Suid-Afrika” (English: “The Call of South Africa”)—the state anthem inherited from the previous apartheid government—would be the […]