By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS | 16 February 2024 (IDN) — The Group of 77 (G77) is the largest single coalition of developing countries comprising over two-thirds of the 193-member United Nations. Besides protecting and promoting the economic interests of 134 nations, the G77 is also home to several sub categories, including the world’s least […]
Bridging Faiths, Preserving Legacies
By Soukaina Kherdioui* RABAT, Morocco | 16 February 2024 (IDN) — The archives digitization project, initiated by the Diocese of Rabat in partnership with the High Atlas Foundation, is a promising endeavour. I hope that it will enable us to amplify the work on other archival collections so as to pay tribute to the countless people […]
Asia-Pacific Will Not Achieve SDGs Before 2062, Says a UN Report
By Jutta Wolf BERLIN | 15 February 2024 (IDN) — The UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) has projected a delay until 2062 to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the region, missing the schedule by a staggering 32 years. The world leaders adopted the 17 Goals in 2015 […]
The Complexity of Nuclear Submarine Safeguards Impacts the Current Landscape
By Leonam dos Santos Guimarâes* RIO DE JANEIRO | 14 February 2024 (IDN) — The topic of applying safeguards to nuclear submarine fuel, focusing on ensuring security and proliferation resistance, involves a complex interplay of international regulations, agreements, and technical considerations. A pivotal aspect of this discussion centres on the application of International Atomic Energy […]
The Ukraine War Could Come to An Unexpected End
By Michael von der Schulenburg* BERLIN | 14 February 2024 (IDN) — Even if there is still fighting at the front, recent developments in Ukraine would suggest that the war could end in a way that is entirely unexpected in the West – with a Ukrainian-Russian agreement. It all concerns the fact that the war […]
US Hunt for Bases in Africa Triggers Protests and Rivalry with China
By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS | 13 February 2024 (IDN) — The US is perhaps the only country in the world with more than 750 military bases in over 80 nations, mostly in Western Europe, the Middle East and Asia, plus in some of the still-existing colonies and self-governing territories. But the only full-fledged US […]
The EU Should Take Over Most of NATO’s Role
By Jonathan Power LUND, Sweden | 13 February 2024 (IDN) — So what does ex-President Donald Trump think about NATO? Twice during his previous presidential campaign, he rubbished it publicly, saying it was “obsolete”. Yet when a little later he met the UK’s prime minister, Therese May, it was all hunkydory. He told her he […]
World’s Migratory Species of Animals are in Decline, Says UN Report
By Rita Joshi BONN | SAMARKAND, Uzbekistan | 12 February 2024 (IDN) — Unsustainable human activities are jeopardizing the future of migratory species, warns the first-ever State of the World’s Migratory Species report. Migratory species play an essential role in maintaining the world’s ecosystems, and provide vital benefits, by pollinating plants, transporting key nutrients, preying […]
Bangladesh Farmers Are Protecting Paddy Cultivation from Climate Risks
By Rafiqul Islam Montu SHYAMNAGAR (SATKHIRA), Bangladesh | 11 February 2024 (IDN) — The new variety of paddy is ‘Charulata’. This paddy is salinity tolerant, can withstand normal winds, and yields well without fertilisers and pesticides. It is effortless to save seeds from this paddy. Due to these reasons, ‘Charulata’ paddy spreads quickly from one […]
Diplomacy and Neutrality—Not More Killing—Is the Answer to Ukraine’s Security
By Jeffrey D. Sachs* This article was published in Common Dreams and is being republished with the author’s permission. NEW YORK | 9 February 2024 (IDN) — President Joe Biden is refusing to fold a losing hand as he bets with Ukrainian lives and U.S. taxpayer money. Biden and Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer […]