By Yossef Ben-Meir Dr. Yossef Ben-Meir is President of the High Atlas Foundation and Chief of Party of the USAID Religious and Ethnic Minorities Activity Program in Morocco. MARRAKESCH (IDN) — Twenty-seven years ago, I lived in a village called Amsouzerte in the Tifnoute Valley, the south side of the High Atlas Mountains, closeby to […]
Leading Athletes Stress the Role of Sport in Building a Better World for All
By J Nastranis NEW YORK (IDN) — The United Nations is convinced that sport promotes values such as diversity, tolerance and respect and contributes to the empowerment of women and young people, individuals and communities, as well as to health, education and social inclusion objectives. With this in view, the UN Department of Global Communication’s […]
UN Working with Aid Partners in the Wake of Massive Earthquake Hitting Haiti
By UN News NEW YORK (IDN) — The United Nations is working to support rescue and relief efforts in Haiti following a powerful earthquake that reportedly left hundreds dead, with perhaps even more injured and missing, and caused massive damage in the south-western part of the country. UN chief António Guterres said that he is […]
‘Khettara’: The Past & Present Treasure in Morocco’s Haouz Region
Morocco’s indigenous people Khettara helped build a civilization and transferred deserts into green paradises and stood against climate change problems. The following article shows the value of this water heritage and sustainable water initiatives. By Errachid Montassir* RHAMNA, Morocco (IDN) — Water is the great essence of life in all its manifestations and ways of […]
Australia and New Zealand React To IPCC Report Warning With Rhetoric Rather Than Action
By Kalinga Seneviratne SYDNEY (IDN) — The most comprehensive report released by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has issued a dire warning to countries in the Pacific region where rising sea levels and increasing temperatures could wipe out island nations and make dry habitats uninhabitable. But the two major powers in the region—Australia […]
ALCAP To Initiate ‘Dialogues for Development’ With ESIC Medical College, Hyderabad
By Niba Mirza* HYDERABAD (IDN) — The COVID-19 pandemic has completely upended and transformed the world we live in. It has caused many disruptions and posed serious threats to lives and livelihoods universally. Organizations and societies have responded and coped with the pandemic differently and innovated at various levels to deal with COVID-19. These innovations […]
Asian Sports Should Be Better Represented in Olympics
By Kalinga Seneviratne SYDNEY (IDN) — Japan was the first Asian country to host a summer Olympic Games in 1964 and this year became the only Asian country to host it twice. The Olympics that concluded on August 8, included very few sports that could be called Asian, and the question begs whether Japan had […]
Ugandan Blogger Seized in Turkey as Censorship Tightens on Social Media Activists
By Lisa Vives NEW YORK (IDN) — Fred Kajjube, aka Lumbuye, a controversial blogger, social media activist and critic of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, has been arrested in Turkey and extradited to Uganda where he was picked up by police at the airport. His whereabouts currently are unknown, according to several news reports, Human rights […]
Vaccine Saved My Life, Says Head of Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
By Lisa Vives NEW YORK (IDN) — One thing the head of the agency leading Africa’s response to the coronavirus pandemic is sure of. He owes his life to the vaccine that beat the virus. “I want to be very clear that without [the vaccine] I wouldn’t be here,” said Dr. John Nkengasong at a […]
Affordable Clean Cooking Technology Important To Achieving Sustainable Energy Access
By Kalinga Seneviratne SYDNEY (IDN) — In the Asia-Pacific region which is home to about 60 percent of the global population, some 1.6 billion people primarily rely on open fires or simple stoves fueled by kerosene, coal, or biomass such as wood, dung and agricultural residues for their daily cooking needs, that impacts on climatic […]