Viewpoint by René Wadlow The writer is President, Association of World Citizens, a Nongovernmental Organization in Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). GENEVA (IDN) – The 14 September 2019 drone attacks on oil installations in eastern Saudi Arabia have dimmed hope for U.S.-Iranian discussions aimed to reduce tensions and potentially […]
Leaders Demand Urgent Climate Action in Dorian’s Wake
By Josephine Latu-Sanft The writer is Senior Communications Officer, Communications Division, Commonwealth Secretariat. LONDON (IDN) – In the lead up to September 23 global climate summit in New York and barely two weeks after Hurricane Dorian battered The Bahamas, the Commonwealth’s top official is calling for urgent action to tackle climate change and its disastrous […]
Securing a World of Climate Resilience, Prosperity and Peace
By Jutta Wolf BERLIN (IDN) – In the run-up to the Climate Action Summit at the UN in New York on September 23, the World Future Council (WFC) has called for immediate measures to cut carbon emissions in half by 2030 to avoid climate catastrophe and to achieve 100 per cent renewable energy by 2050, […]
Censorship at the Heart of the UN is a Betrayal of its Charter
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – The UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) has long been controversial. Back in the days of the Soviet Union, Moscow protected communist and ultra-socialist dictators around the world from any attack on their human rights abuses. At the same time routine attacks on Israel, even the extravagant ones, […]
Outer Space, the Common Heritage of Mankind, In Peril
By Somar Wijayadasa* NEW YORK (IDN) – The world’s arms race—which is being played out with sophisticated weapons largely in the battle fields of Asia and the Middle East – is steadily advancing into a new frontier: outer space. And he who dominates outer space, argue military analysts projecting into the future, may perhaps dominate […]
Need to Boost Climate Finance for Developing Countries
By Robert Johnson PARIS (IDN) – A new report will call for attention when climate finance provided and mobilized by developed countries for climate action in developing countries is discussed at the Climate Action Summit at the UN in New York on September 23 and in the run-up to the COP25 climate talks in Santiago […]
ACP Mobilises USD12 Billion in Resources for Members
By PACNEWS | Samoa Observer APIA (ACP-IDN) – The Secretariat of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) States has mobilised more than 4 billion Euros ($12 billion tala, the currency of Samoa) for projects in ACP countries, including Samoa over the past six years, according to its Assistant Secretary-General, Viwanou Gnassounou. “We have projects in […]
India, Russia Synergize and Leverage Mutual Strengths
By Shastri Ramachandaran* NEW DELHI (IDN) –The Modi-Putin relationship is, perhaps, the most fascinating of India’s external “affairs”. The reasons for their diplomatic bonding and evolving personal chemistry may be many. And, the dazzle of events and optics, as is the wont in any political romance, take the focus away from tangible outcomes. This is […]
Female Football A Gender Equalizer in Kyrgyzstan
By Bagymdat Atabaeva BISHKEK (IDN) – In this predominantly Islamic country, one may expect to see women playing a subordinate role to men in many spheres of life. But, women in Kyrgyzstan are breaking this stereotype image and football is shaping up as a great gender equalizer. “I have been coaching girls for over 40 […]
Nuclear Free World Concerns Everyone – Learning from Karipbek Kuyukov
By Ilya Kursenko * MOSCOW (IDN) – Nuclear weapons do not seem to cause as much concern to people today as these did to our parents who grew up during the Cold War with the awareness of the fragility of peace. But when one understands what arms race implies or meets those who have been […]