By Jaya Ramachandran GENEVA | NEW YORK (IDN) — Three UN agencies have called for an immediate ceasefire in the Ukraine-Russia conflict, enabling unhindered access so that people in need can avail of humanitarian assistance. “A peaceful resolution to end the war in Ukraine is possible,” says a joint statement issued by UNICEF Executive Director, […]
Striving for a Global Treaty to Combat Plastic Pollution, ‘One of the Greatest Human-Made Threats our Planet Faces’
By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS (IDN) — In the 1967 Hollywood box office hit “The Graduate”—a romantic comedy directed by Mike Nichols and based on a novel by Charles Webb—the newly-graduated Dustin Hoffman gets an unsolicited piece of advice: “The future is plastics”. The widely disseminated one-liner was hailed as a boost for the world’s […]
Feminist UN Campaign Report Wants UN Chief to Walk the Talk
By J C Suresh WASHINGTON, D.C. (IDN) — “Talk less, act more …. All words are like feathers in the air,” commented an informant of the Feminist UN Campaign‘s report on UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ commitment to gender equality in his five-year first term. In fact, key informants reported that staff remain disillusioned with the […]
Int’l Women’s Day: Nigerian Lawmakers Quashed Gender Equality Bill
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) — For the third time in five years, Nigeria’s National Assembly has voted against a bill providing affirmative action for women in political party administration. The lawmakers also voted against a provision to create special seats for women in the national and state assemblies.
Russia Battles Its Own Weapon Systems in Ukraine — As US Provides Over A $Billion in Arms
By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS (IDN) — Perhaps one of the biggest ironies of the current military conflict is that Ukraine may be using mostly Soviet-era weapons against the Russians, including combat helicopters, T-64 battle tanks and AT-6 anti-tank missiles acquired from the former USSR. But that military scenario is expected to change significantly with […]
UN Scientists Warn of Climate Change Threatening People and the Planet
By Jutta Wolf BERLIN (IDN) — People and the planet are threatened by the impact of climate change, according to UN scientists. Ecosystem collapse, species extinction, deadly heatwaves and floods are among the “unavoidable multiple climate hazards” the world will face over the next two decades due to global warming, they warn.
Ukraine-Russia: Analysis Briefs
By Aar Jay NEW YORK (IDN) — “Over the past six months, Russia has steadily built up forces along the frontier as Kyiv, Moscow, and Washington have traded barbs,” writes Robert Farley in ‘1945‘ on January 3, 2022. Russia’s immediate concerns involve the Ukrainian acquisition and use of Turkish drones along its border regions, along […]
S.N. Goenka: Spreading Buddha’s Teaching Around the World
By Dr Asoka Bandarage The writer, a scholar and practitioner, has taught at Yale, Brandeis, Mount Holyoke (where she received tenure), Georgetown, American and other universities, and colleges in the U.S. and abroad. COLOMBO (IDN) — Fear and distress prevail. Although less reported, there are developments bringing peace and happiness to people’s lives. One such […]
A Journey to the World’s Largest Camp for Syrian Refugees
By H.D. Wright The writer was recently elected to serve as Global Youth Representative at Education Cannot Wait, the UN fund for education in emergencies, marking the first example of a young person being democratically elected to the governing body of a global humanitarian fund. Now, he represents over 100 youth-led NGOs from across Africa, […]
Ukraine: UN Chief Keen to Help Defuse Tensions Between Russia and the Western Countries of NATO
By J Nastranis NEW YORK (IDN) — UN Secretary-General António Guterres has made his “good offices” available for a peaceful solution to the looming “disastrous confrontation over Ukraine between Russia and Western countries of the NATO alliance”, pledging he “will remain fully engaged in the hours and days to come” and will “leave no stone […]