THE HAGUE (IDN) — The Technical Secretariat of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is monitoring closely the situation in Ukraine. According to the OPCW spokesperson, the Secretariat is concerned by the recent unconfirmed report of chemical weapons use in Mariupol, which has been carried in the media over the past 24 […]
New Angolan President Makes His Presence Felt As Dos Santos Empire Collapses
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) – One reason why African presidents may cling to power, even re-writing the constitution to grant them extra terms, may be the case of Angola. Newly elected President João Lourenço is sending shivers across the continent as he relentlessly attempts to recoup billions of dollars subverted […]
Surprise at Netanyahu’s Rejection of Asylum for Africans
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) – Thousands of African asylum seekers who reached Israel after dangerous voyages may have lost their last best hope to be released and sent to western countries or resettled in Israel after members of the Israeli coalition government trashed a negotiated asylum plan. A landmark agreement […]
Obama Foundation To Launch Leaders Africa Program in July
NEW YORK (IDN) – The Obama Foundation, which aims “to inspire and empower people to change their world”, is launching a ‘Leaders Africa Program’, and is seeking to identify a group of emerging African leaders from all sectors – government, civil society, and the private sector. They should have demonstrated a commitment to advancing the […]
Obiang Restores Death Penalty in Bid to Save Unpopular Regime
By Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) – The Central African Equatorial Guinea, under President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, is reviving the odious death penalty against 147 opposition activists accused of “rebellion, attacks on authority and public disorder”. The activists include leaders of Citizens for Innovation (CI), many of whom were rounded up after a […]
Kazakh President Lauds China’s Silk Road Initiative
By KazInform ASTANA (IDN) – China’s plans to establish the Silk Road Economic Belt, also known as the One Belt and One Road Initiative, are “great”, according to President Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan, reports Kazinform international news agency. In an interview aired by China’s CCTV-13 channel, Nazarbayev stressed the importance of the state visit to […]
Activists Call on U.S. to Respect the Olympic Truce
WASHINGTON, D.C. (IDN) – As the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games kicked off on February 9, over 100 activists from around the United States sent an open letter to Defence Secretary James Mattis, calling on him to respect the Olympic Truce by postponing provocative nuclear-capable missile tests. Dozens of organizations around the country worked closely […]
South African War on Corruption Moves into High Gear
By Global Information Network NEW YORK | PRETORIA (IDN) – A shakeup in the African National Congress has boosted hopes that new party officials will make a clean sweep of the backroom dealings that have made millionaires out of a small South African elite and punished the majority with high unemployment and a national credit […]
Liberian Soccer Icon Plans Sweeping Changes as New President
By Global Information Network NEW YORK | MONROVIA (IDN) – George Weah, Liberia’s president-elect, declared the country open to investment and pledged to tackle entrenched corruption, in his first speech to the nation since decisively winning an election on December 30, 2017. Speaking at a press conference at his party headquarters, Weah thanked his predecessor, […]
Controversial Kenyan Advocate of GM Seeds Dies in Boston
By Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) –The Kenyan director of the Science, Technology and Globalization Project at Harvard University, Professor Calestous Juma, passed away in Boston, Massachusetts, on December 15, at the age of 64. Juma served as Professor of the Practice of International Development, and was affiliated with the Belfer Center for Science […]