By Jamshed Baruah GENEVA (IDN | UNCTAD) — Barbados, Belize and Costa Rica are looking beyond the pandemic and climate shocks by developing and implementing national trade strategies strongly linked to resilience, conservation and the sustainable use of their marine resources. A regional experience-sharing workshop held on September 23-24 highlighted the need to adopt, elaborate and […]
New U.S. Travel Rules Exclude Foreigners Vaccinated With Russia’s Sputnik V
By Kester Kenn Klomegah* MOSCOW (IDN) — Russian and foreign media have stepped up reports about rising Covid-19 infections. The reports also indicate high deaths in the country. Some new trends are noticeable. Interestingly, Tourism and Travel agencies have revealed that vaccine uptake has lagged in Russia and worse, due largely to mistrust, so many […]
COVID-19 & the Global South: From Crisis Response to Sustainable Development
By Rachel Gisselquist Rachel M. Gisselquist, a political scientist, is a Senior Research Fellow with the United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER) and a member of the institute’s senior management team. She works on the politics of developing countries, with particular attention to inequality, ethnic politics, state building and governance and […]
Back to the Future with the Taliban?
Viewpoint by Amin Saikal This article was issued by Toda Peace Institute and is being republished with their permission. SINGAPORE (IDN) — The defeat of the United States and its allies and return to power of the Taliban in Afghanistan have changed the regional landscape. The configuration of forces has shifted in favour of Pakistan […]
UN Implicitly Warns Member States Against Expelling Officials for Political Reasons
By Thalif Deen NEW YORK (IDN) — Ethiopia’s decision last week to expel seven UN officials, including senior humanitarian officials from the politically troubled African nation, generated an implicit warning to all 193 member states: do not kick out any UN officials for political reasons or declare them “persona non grata”.
UN Announces Humanitarian Plan to Address ‘Living Nightmare’ in Lebanon
By Radwan Jakeem NEW YORK (IDN) — Lebanon has been assured critical life-saving assistance and protection to some 1.1 million citizens and migrants over the next 12 months. The UN and humanitarian partners have announced an Emergency Response Plan (ERP) worth $383 million. The ERP covers 119 projects in the sectors of education, food security, […]
Hunger Stalks Afghanistan, Healthcare System on Brink of Collapse
By Caroline Mwanga NEW YORK (IDN) — While Afghanistan’s health system is on the brink of collapse, as the head of the World Health Organisation, WHO, has warned, families on the streets of Kabul are suffering from hunger. The fate of the drought-stricken in rural parts of the country is no better.
Without Tourists Thailand’s Famous Massage Industry on The Brink of Collapse
By Pattama Vilailert BANGKOK(IDN) — Thailand’s famous tourist industry has been synonymous with its traditional massage parlours and treatment centres. But the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns are having a serious impact on the industry and may force foreign takeovers. The continuous lockdowns have impacted savagely on the spa and massage business.
Film Hero from Movie Hotel Rwanda Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) — Hotel Rwanda hero Paul Rusesabagina has been sentenced to 25 years in prison on terror charges despite pleas from human rights watchdogs and other critics of Rwanda’s repressive government to lessen the judgement or cancel it. Rusesabagina was credited with sheltering more than a thousand […]
Nobel Laureate Soyinka’s ‘Searing Political Satire’ Of Nigeria Today
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) — The first Black African laureate of the Nobel Prize in Literature has a precious gift for his place of birth. It’s a new book, his first novel in 50 years, scheduled to land on the 60th anniversary of Nigerian independence. “I wanted this to be […]