By Kizito Makoye NGORONGORO, Tanzania | 8 December 2024 (IDN) — On the rolling plains of Ngorongoro, 74-year-old Maria Shauri knelt among a sea of red, blue, and purple shawls, her arms raised in prayer. “God, hear us,” she muttered, her breath visible in the cold air. Each word escaped her lips in a puff […]
Two Words Stick as Nepal PM Goes to China for Connectivity Assistance
By Kalinga Seneviratne Bangkok | 7 December 2024 (IDN) — Breaking with tradition, Nepal’s recently re-elected Prime Minister Sharma Oli, a Communist politician, visited China from 2 to 5 December in a bid to add new momentum to growing trends in the landlocked Himalayan nation to diversify its connectivity to the outside world via railways […]
Namibia Elects First Female President Despite Loss of Trust in SWAPO
By Hajo Lanz* This article was issued by IPS-Journal. WINDHOEK, Namibia | 7 December 2024 (IDN) — Following the presidential and parliamentary elections on 27 November 2024, the South West Africa People’s Organisation (SWAPO) will once again form the government of Namibia and maintain its absolute majority in parliament. The current Vice President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah […]
World Trade Is on Track to Hit a Record USD33 Trillion In 2024
By Jaya Ramachandran GENEVA | 5 December 2024 (IDN) — Global trade is poised to hit an all-time high of nearly $33 trillion in 2024. This marks a growth of 3.3% or $1 trillion increase driven by a 7% rise in trade in services, according to the latest Global Trade Update by UN Trade and […]
Volunteerism: The Untapped Force to Help Tackle World’s Problems
By Simone Galimberti International Volunteer Day, commonly known as IVD, is celebrated on 5 December every year. It started as an international observance mandated by the United Nations General Assembly in 1985. It is a day where volunteers are acknowledged, and the spirit of volunteerism is promoted at the local, national and international levels. United […]
UNHCR Hits a Record USD 1.5 Billion in Early Funding to Support Refugees
By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS | 4 December 2024 (IDN) — As humanitarian emergencies in the Middle East and Africa keep escalating—including in Gaza, Lebanon, Sudan and most recently in Syria—there was a glimmer of hope to millions starved of food and deprived of shelter and medication in war zones. According to the Office of […]
Global Drought Resilience Partnership Secures USD 2.15 Billion in Commitments
By Bernhard Schell RIYADH, Saudi Arabia | 3 December 2024 (IDN) — Saudi Arabia, as host of the 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD COP16), has announced the Riyadh Global Drought Resilience Partnership, which will leverage public and private finance to support 80 of the […]
Relief Deliveries to Gaza and Syria Halted — Yet Another Summit Seeks to Combat Desertification
NEW YORK | 3 December 2024 (IDN) — While organized looting has constrained UNRWA to pause relief deliveries to Palestinian refugees, the sudden escalation of fighting in Syria’s northwest is continuing to impact aid deliveries there. Meanwhile, UN summit has got underway in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to combat desertification, drought and promote land restoration, writes […]
Planetary Boundaries: Confronting the Global Crisis of Land Degradation
New report launched during UNCCD COP16 outlines critical steps towards keeping land in the safe zone By UN Department of Global Communications RIYADH, Saudi Arabia | 1 December 2024 (IDN) —A major new scientific report was launched today, a day ahead of the opening of the 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to […]
Fighting Cybercrime Is No Hack Job
By Abhishek Jain* Governments and businesses need to invest in cybersecurity to combat ever-evolving, sophisticated cybercrimes. GURGAON, India | 29 November 2024 (IDN) — They are going after our drinking water systems. Earlier this year, the US government warned state governors about foreign hackers carrying out disruptive cyberattacks against water and sewage systems. Increasing digitisation […]