By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) — For a while, Africa appeared to be losing the fight to build manufacturing capacity for the production of COVID-19 vaccines as big pharma and rich countries questioned African capacity to make its own vaccines. Some international companies regard African self-sufficiency as a long-term risk to […]
UNESCO Creative Cities of Music Celebrate Intl. Jazz Day
By Robert Johnson PARIS (IDN | UNESCO) — As the great Nina Simone said, “Jazz is not just music, it is a way of life, it is a way of being, a way of thinking”, says UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. It adds: “The story of Jazz is written into the […]
Renewables Are the Building Blocks of Global Energy Transition
By J W Jackie RENO, Nevada, USA (IDN) — The latest International Renewable Energy Agency IRENA analysis reveals that by 2050, variable renewables like wind and solar PV will dominate the global total power supply. The insights from IRENA’s World Energy Transitions Outlook were released on March 16-17, 2021, at the Berlin Energy Transitions Dialogue. […]
Australians Blast Government For “Racist” Indian Flight Ban
By Kalinga Seneviratne SYDNEY (IDN) — A controversial ban on flights from Covid-hit India landing in Australia, has blocked around 9,000 Australians from returning home. Most of them are Australians of Indian origin, while there are also a handful of Australian elite cricketers, coaches, and other officials currently taking part in the Indian Premier League […]
The US and EU Boost Access to Covid-19 Vaccines and Waive the Patents
Viewpoint by Lori Wallach Lori Wallach is the director of Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch. This is a slightly abridged version of a blog post by Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) New York. WASHINGTON DC (IDN | IPS-Journal.EU) — As we see infection rates in India and other parts of the world skyrocketing, European Union (EU) and US […]
Is ‘Vaccine Consent’ Journalism Killing The “Watchdog” Model?
A special feature by Kalinga Seneviratne* to mark UNESCO’s World Press Freedom Day. SYDNEY (IDN) — In recent months, there has been alarming one-sided reporting in the so-called mainstream media—both internationally and nationally—that sounds more like public relations handouts from the big pharmaceutical companies from the West. This ‘vaccine consent’ journalism and the labelling of […]
What Water Means to Human Life and Biological Resources
Viewpoint by John Scales Avery* COPENHAGEN (IDN) — I have attempted to explain the vital relationship between water and life in my new freely downloadable book, which can be circulated, from the link: http://eacpe.org/app/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Water-by-John-Scales-Avery.pdf Also, on its home page for World Water Day, commemorated on March 22 this year, the United Nations explains what water […]
Viewing Post-American Afghanistan Through Looking Glass
Viewpoint by M.K. Bhadrakumar The writer is a former Indian diplomat. This article was first published in the Indian Punchline. NEW DELHI (IDN) — Ex-CIA officer Bruce Riedel at Brookings Institution in Washington, DC, whose familiarity with Afghanistan is never in doubt, has held a looking glass to figure out the future course of events […]
New Zealand’s Climate Aid in the Pacific Comes With Strings Attached
By Matthew Scott* A special feature moved in association with the Asia Pacific Report. AUCKLAND, New Zealand (IDN) — The beach is vanishing, one day at a time. The sea approaches the coastal village. It will not be negotiated with. With seawater flooding the water table, crops that have fed the islanders for centuries are […]
The State of COVID-19 in Sri Lanka: Are the Government’s Policies Effective in Controlling it?
Viewpoint by Sunil J. Wimalawansa The writer is Professor of Medicine: Director, Cardio-Metabolic Institute, New Jersey, U.S.A. NEW JERSEY, USA (IDN) — The SARS-CoV-2 infection (COVID-19) affected the entire world; many died, millions got sick, and the misery continues. Second and third waves of SARS.Cov-2 infection are devastating most countries. Non-strategic lockdowns and curfews (as […]