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 […]
Global Inter-Faith Leaders Appeal for a Safe, Secure & Sustainable World for Children
By Dr. Mustafa Y. Ali* NAIROBI, Kenya | 27 November 2024 (IDN) — Leaders from the world’s largest religions and faiths, representatives from international organizations, the United Nations, and governments have adopted a ground-breaking Declaration and Plan of Action to address the unprecedented challenges that the children face in the world today. The landmark Abu […]
Call for Accelerating Progress Eradicating Violence Against Women and Girls.
By Caroline Mwanga NEW YORK | VIENNA | 27 November 2024 (IDN) — The International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women on 25 November was commemorated the brutal assassination of the Mirabal sisters in the Dominican Republic on 25 November 1960, whose activism and sacrifice galvanized global attention towards efforts to end violence […]
Report Reveals Harrowing Truth Behind Africa’s Hidden Rape Crisis
By Kizito Makoye DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania | 27 November 2024 (IDN) — A 17-year-old Adebi* recalls how her life changed forever after the war that tore through the walls of her house in Northwest Cameroon in 2019, leaving indelible scars in the way she never imagined. “Some men broke in and raped me and […]
As Micro-credentials Gather Steam Universities Are at A Crossroad
By Kalinga Seneviratne BANGKOK | 26 November 2024 (IDN) — At a conference held here from 20-22 November of mainly Southeast Asian academics and higher education officials, a word uppermost in the minds of speakers and participants was “micro-credentials” a word that is of worry to many who have risen to professor levels over a […]
Sustainable Transport Key to Achieving Asia-Pacific Region’s Development Ambitions
By Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana* BANGKOK, Thailand | 26 November 2024 (IDN) — Across the Asia-Pacific region, especially in urban centres, electric cars and buses are increasingly replacing gasoline-powered ones as a means of transportation. Aided by the ubiquity of smart devices, smart mobility and other transport innovations are significantly reshaping everyday life through ride-sharing apps, […]
From Genocide Joe to Omnicide Joe?
By Norman Solomon* SAN FRANCISCO | 25 November 2024 (IDN) — President Biden has never wavered from approving huge arms shipments to Israel during more than 13 months of mass murder and deliberate starvation of Palestinian civilians in Gaza. Biden’s crucial role earned him the name “Genocide Joe.” That nickname might seem shrill, but it’s […]