Viewpoint by Jonathan Power LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – “What idiocy”, exclaims Jack Matlock on Facebook. Matlock is one of my “Facebook Friends” because I judge his knowledge of Russia as second to none, having been under President Ronald Reagan the White House’s senior advisor on the Soviet Union and, later, his ambassador to Moscow. The […]
UN Reviews the SAMOA Pathway for Most Vulnerable Countries
By J Nastranis NEW YORK (IDN) – Progress made in addressing the priorities of the highly vulnerable small island developing States (SIDS) will draw the focus of the United Nations General Assembly when it conducts a high-level review of the SAMOA Pathway on September 27 as part of the ACTION FOR PEOPLE AND PLANET that […]
Global Leaders Urged to Make Africa’s Great Green Wall a Reality by 2030
By Caroline Mwanga NEW YORK IDN) – Eminent leaders from business, politics, media, the film and music industries gathered in New York on September 22 to spotlight the 8000 km Great Green Wall – natural wonder of the world across the entire width of the African continent – as a practical, low-cost nature-based solution responding […]
Up to 5 Billion People Could Miss Out on Health Care in 2030
By Santo D. Banerjee NEW YORK (IDN) – Time is running out for countries to achieve the global goal of Universal Health Coverage (UHC). A new report warns that if current trends continue, up to 5 billion people will still be unable to access health care in 2030 – the deadline world leaders have set […]
New Report Highlights Growing Gap Between Global Targets and Climate Reality
By Santo D. Banerjee NEW YORK (IDN) – A landmark new report has underlined the glaring – and growing – gap between agreed targets to tackle global warming and the actual reality. The report, United in Science, includes details on the state of the climate and presents trends in the emissions and atmospheric concentrations of […]
Greta Thunberg on the United Nations Youth Climate Summit
Cities Decide to Wage Battle Against Climate Change
By Caroline Mwanga NEW YORK (IDN) – The UN Secretary-General António Guterres has said that climate change is “the battle of my life”. The fact is that it’s a battle we are all fighting. The battle is taking place particularly in cities. The very basis of urban life is threatened: by rising sea levels, extreme […]
Thai Farmer Shows How ‘Sufficiency Economy’ Works in Practice
By Bronwen Evans * CHANTHABURI, Thailand (IDN) – There are generally two reasons why Thai farmers embrace organics – one is health and the other is economics. For 73-year old Kumnung Chanthasit it was the latter. He had farmed the same plot of land in Thailand’s eastern province of Chanthaburi since boyhood. Despite the rich […]
Another War Looms over Yemen as Situation Gets Complicated
Viewpoint by Manish Rai NEW DELHI (IDN) – In August, the port city of Aden, which is currently the seat of exiled President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi government, was captured by southern separatists demanding secession of South Yemen. The separatists are backed by the UAE, Saudi Arabia’s “So Called” partners in Yemen. The recent clashes are […]
Young People Are Right About Climate Change
Viewpoint by Luis Alfonso de Alba The writer is the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Climate Action Summit. NEW YORK (IDN) – Climate change is not a far-away problem – it is causing huge damage right now in Asia-Pacific and around the world. From air pollution choking many major cities, to more extreme heat […]