By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) — Retaliating against media reports of civilian deaths at the hands of the Malian Armed Forces, authorities there have ordered French public broadcasters RFI and its sister TV station France 24 off the air. News reports of military abuses were without merit, the ruling junta charged. […]
Ukraine War Threatens Development Aid to World’s Poorer Nations
By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS (IDN) — UN Secretary-General António Guterres has warned that the current devastating war in Ukraine has an equally destructive impact on the outside world: an assault on the world’s most vulnerable people and countries. The worst affected are the world’s poor as food, fuel and fertilizer prices are skyrocketing while […]
MiniMines Mixes Lithium Extraction with Circular Economy and UN SDGs
By Anupam Kumar B.Tech*** NEW DELHI (IDN) — In 2018, the notion of circular economy and its inherent link to the UN SDGs gained currency globally especially after the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly. UNCTAD defines a circular economy entailing markets that give incentives to recycling and reusing products, rather than scrapping […]
A Timely Book to Encourage Teaching of Mindfulness to Children
By Kalinga Seneviratne This article is the 49th in a series of joint productions of Lotus News Features and IDN-InDepthNews, flagship agency of the Non-profit International Press Syndicate. Click here for previous reports. SYDNEY (IDN) — The recently published book ‘Developing Mindfulness in Young Children’* is a timely addition to educating our next generations to […]
NATO Is Far from Obsolete
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power LUND, Sweden (IDN) — What does ex-president Donald Trump think about NATO? Twice during his campaigning, he rubbished it publicly, saying it was “obsolete”. Three years ago the French president, Emmanuel Macron, said NATO was “brain-dead. Is it obsolete or brain-dead or both?
Ukraine: ‘We Need Peace Now’ Declares the UN Chief & Warns of Global Hunger Meltdown
By UN News UNITED NATIONS (IDN) — Ukraine is being “decimated before the eyes of the world” with Russia’s military offensive against civilians “reaching terrifying proportions”, said the UN chief on March 14, warning that a resulting meltdown of the global economy is provoking a hunger crisis that is hitting the poorest, hardest. Secretary-General António […]
Three UN Agencies Call for Stopping Attacks on Health Care in Ukraine
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.