By Aar Jay BERLIN | GENEVA (IDN) — As the climate emergency intensifies, demand is rising for minerals that are critical for renewable energy technologies like solar panels, wind turbines and electric vehicles (EVs). Many developing countries have a wealth of these minerals but lack the processing capabilities needed to add value. The UN Trade […]
‘Barbaric’ Sexual Violence In Sudan — Haiti’s Transitional Council in Place —Iran Rapper’s Death Sentence Condemned
By UN News UNITED NATIONS | 26 April 2024 (IDN) — The international community must take immediate action to end the wave of sexual violence being carried out against women and girls in Sudan, two senior UN officials said on 25 April. Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict Pramila Patten together with Deputy Emergency […]
World Bank Reveals a New Health Target for 1.5 billion People in 2030
By J C Suresh TORONTO | WASHINGTON | 25 April 2024 (IDN) — The World Bank Group has announced an ambitious plan to support countries in delivering quality, affordable health services to 1.5 billion people by 2030. This is part of a larger global effort to provide a basic standard of care through every stage […]
Rise in Global Military Spending Amidst Two Ongoing Conflicts
By Thalif Deen NEW YORK | 22 April 2024 (IDN) — The ongoing destructive war between Russia and Ukraine, which has dragged on since February 2014, and the equally devastating six-month-old conflict between Israel and Hamas, have triggered a rise in military expenditures worldwide. According to the latest figures released on April 22 by the […]
African Union’s Health Group Slams Drug Maker For ‘Vaccine Inequity’
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK | 22 April 2024 (IDN) — Moderna, the drug company made famous for its COVID vaccines, has abandoned plans to construct vaccine plants in Kenya, drawing criticism from the African Union’s public health agency that the company is not committed to ‘vaccine equity’. Africa’s Centers for Disease […]
China-Nepal Military Relations: Risks and Opportunities for India
By Atul Kumar* Observer Research Foundation (ORF) Website carried this article on 20 April. The writer was an expert, who took part in Raisina Debates organised by the New Delhi-based organisation. SYDNEY | 21 April 2024 (IDN) — On 9 March 2024, a Chinese military delegation headed by Major General Zhang Baoqun visited Nepal. They […]
US Bashed for Vetoing the State of Palestine’s UN Full Membership
By J Nastranis NEW YORK | 20 April 2024 (IDN) — As the United States vetoed the Palestine State’s bid for full United Nations membership, the office of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said the US veto was “blatant aggression … which pushes the region ever further to the edge of the abyss”. In a […]
Plastic Pollution: Delayed Action or No Action Will Have Disastrous Consequences
By Simone Galimberti* KATHMANDU, Nepal | 20 April 2024 (IDN) — Plastic Pollution Coalition, based in Washington, DC, is one of the strongest third-sector organizations engaged in the Global Plastic Treaty negotiations. The Coalition has been busy preparing for the upcoming fourth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-4) negotiating the draft treaty. The sessions will be […]
Are We Inching Towards a Third World War?
By Azu Ishiekwene The writer is the Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of LEADERSHIP newspaper based in Abuja, Nigeria. ABUJA | 18 April 2024 (IDN) — This was the question a friend of mine in his late 20s asked me when we woke up on April 14 to the news that Iran had launched over 300 drones and missiles towards […]
Landmark Indigenous Rights Declaration Has Yet to be Transformed into Reality
By J Nastranis NEW YORK | 18 April 2024 (IDN) — The designation “Indigenous Peoples” is in itself a challenge, said Bolivian Vice-President David Choquehuanca addressing the UN General Assembly at the UN headquarters, convened to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples. The outcome document of the historic meeting, in […]