By J Nastranis NEW YORK (IDN) – A young environmentalist in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has invented robots to help protect nature, reports the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). Asked about the role of children in creating a positive impact on the environment in the UAE, 11-year-old Sainath Manikandan said: “The backbone of a nation […]
79-Nation ACP & the EU Call for Implementing the Paris Accord
By Reinhard Jacobsen BRUSSELS | MADRID (IDN) – The 79-nation African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States and the European Union, which together make up more than half of the signatories to the Paris Agreement on climate change, have called for increased ambition at global level to close the gap between the commitments made […]
How to Search a 1000 km2 Area to Look for Evidence of Nuclear Testing?
African Negotiators Criticize ‘Limited Progress’ at COP25
By Fabíola Ortiz MADRID (IDN) – As the UN Climate Change Conference COP25 moved toward an end, the African Group of Negotiators criticized the “very limited progress” of the climate talks and said “no deal is better than bad deal”. “We are very very very worried about the balance of the outcome. We are concerned […]
Youth Call for Human Rights to Be at The Core of Climate Talks
By Fabíola Ortiz MADRID (IDN) – The youth and human rights activists have been emphasizing since the start of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP25) on December 2 the pressing need of placing people in the centre of climate action. Spearheaded by the social movement ‘Fridays for Future’ initiated by the Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, […]
International Court of Justice: Aung San Suu Kyi defends Myanmar from accusations of genocide
Costly Web of Bribes Seen in Trading of Namibian Fish Licenses to Iceland
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) – The stench of fish rot is wafting over Namibia. It’s taken down two Namibian ministers and leaves an Icelandic fisheries minister in the hot seat. “A coterie of well-heeled vampires is sucking our fishing sector dry!” protested the local Namibian newspaper as news of the […]
Did Sri Lanka’s Presidential Election Bring Back a Polarising Wartime Figure?
Viewpoint by Dr Palitha Kohona The writer is former Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations, and former Foreign Secretary. The Economist proclaimed recently that Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the man who, as secretary of defense, presided over this horrifying episode (the final phase of Sri Lanka’s terrorist inspired internal conflict), has just […]
The Story of a Kyrgyz Mother Bride Kidnapped as A Teenager
By Aqila Hassanzada* NARYN, Kyrgyzstan (IDN) – Mairam Bibi says her sons will not follow in their father’s footsteps – an abductor who kidnapped a teenage girl and forced her into a violent marriage. At the age of 41, Mairam is sitting in her small straw house telling the story so many women in Kyrgyzstan […]
Urgent Need for Accelerating SDG Progress in Asia-Pacific
Viewpoint by Kaveh Zahedi* and Van Nguyen** BANGKOK (IDN) – “The 2030 Agenda is coming to life”, declared the Secretary-General at the opening of the first SDG Summit [September 24-25], a quadrennial event for the follow up and review of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. As leaders from Asia-Pacific took the floor, they highlighted […]