By Robert Johnson PARIS (IDN) — Though ODA-official development assistance from members of the OECD’s DAC-Development Assistance Committee rose to a new high last year, it amounted to the equivalent of only 0.33 per cent of their combined GNI-gross national income, thus falling short of a United Nations goal to reach an ODA/GNI ratio of […]
A NATO-Ukrainian Proposal for European Security
By Vladimir Socor * WASHINGTON, D.C. (IDN) — The Ukrainian Presidential Office envisages a system of international security guarantees vis-a-vis Russia that would answer Kyiv’s post-war requirements. The guarantees would be provided by willing North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member countries, albeit, at the moment, short of NATO membership, this would potentially clear Ukraine’s path […]
McCarthy’s Ghost Could Haunt Biden’s Path to Renomination
Viewpoint by Norman Solomon and Jeff Cohen* SAN FRANCISCO (IDN) — These days, conventional media wisdom says that President Biden will have a smooth path to renomination if he wants it. Don’t be so sure. Fifty-five years ago, pundits scoffed when a Democratic senator announced that he was running against incumbent Lyndon Johnson for their […]
Fossil Fuels Cast Dark Shadow Over Tanzania’s Green Future
By Kizito Makoye DAR ES SALAAM (IDN) — Issa Abdul’s desperate urge for solar power began when he realised a smoke-spewing generator at his barber shop was costing him too much. “Solar power is very cheap. I regret spending my money on this fuel-guzzling machine,” he said. The 32-year-old barber in Tanzania’s port city spent […]
City Mayors Urge Increased Investment to Halt Ecosystem Loss
UNEP and Other Organisations Support the Call By J C Suresh TORONTO (IDN) — Cities are on the front line of the socio-economic impacts of climate change and ecosystem loss. They play a significant role in view of the planet experiencing a decline in nature at rates unprecedented in human history—and the largest loss of […]
Three UN Agencies Call for Investments in Rural Employment
Nature-Based Solutions Could Generate 20 million New Jobs By Jaya Ramachandran GENEVA (IDN) — A joint report by three UN organisations says that 20 million jobs could be created by further harnessing the power of nature to address the major challenges facing society, such as climate change, disaster risk and food and water insecurity. According […]
Africa: Industrialization Trapped in Limbo Despite All Efforts
By Jeffrey Moyo HARARE, Zimbabwe (IDN) — Jobless and weighed down by idleness, 53-year-old Jasper Mhandu, in the Zimbabwean capital, now has to spend time sited at a street corner chatting with gangs of drug-taking jobless youths in Highfield, a poor income suburb here. Mhandu used to work for a clothing factory that shut its […]
South Africans Caught in Destructive Flash Floods Decry Climate Inaction
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK | JOHANNESBURG (IDN) — Torrential rainfall and flooding came full throttle to Johannesburg for a third time in December, damaging hundreds of houses in Soweto, Roodepoort, Protea Glen and surrounding areas. The heavy downpour loosened street poles, flooded transformer chambers, uprooted trees and damaged overhead cables and […]
US Foundation Commits $19.2 Million to Bolster Nigerian Media
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) — The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation has announced 13 grants totalling more than $19.2 million to strengthen local and regional investigative journalism in Nigeria. The initiative, awarded through the foundation’s Nigeria program, seeks to reduce corruption by supporting Nigerian-led anti-corruption efforts that advance […]
Fiji: Two Former Coup Leaders Fight for Democratic Right to Govern
By Ravindra Singh Prasad SUVA, Fiji (IDN) — It is an ironic fact in Fiji Islands, a multi-ethnic nation of under one million people in the South Pacific, that coups don’t work and ultimately lead to constitutional reforms and democratic elections. As Fiji goes to the polls on December 14, the choice is between choosing […]