By Lim Kooi Fong This article is the 52nd in a series of joint productions of Lotus News Features and IDN-InDepthNews, the flagship agency of the Non-profit International Press Syndicate. Click here for previous reports. NEW DELHI, 23 April 2023 (IDN | Buddhist Channel | Buddhistdoor) — A major Buddhist gathering in the Indian capital […]
Pacific Island Nations Embark on Addressing Human Trafficking
By Kalinga Seneviratne SUVA, Fiji, 22 April 2023 (IDN) — Since opening borders after the COVID-19 pandemic, Australia and New Zealand have been aggressively sourcing for Pacific Islander workers to help fill a severe labour shortage in their countries. In the meantime, with investments from Asia, especially China and Korea, increasing in the region, Asian […]
Thailand: Pensions and Farmers’ Subsidies Top Election Agenda
By Pattama Vilailert BANGKOK, 20 April 2023 (IDN) — With the kingdom’s population ageing and the debt-ridden farmers becoming restless, Thailand’s political parties are gearing up for the May 14 elections offering populist policies to woo the votes of both sectors of the population.
UN Peacekeeping Missions Fail in the Horn of Africa
By Dr Suleiman Walhad* TORONTO, 16 April 2023 (IDN) — The United Nations Organization was set up in 1945. The world had just come out of a bloody war, often dubbed the Second World War. But the world has always been at war, and it could have been the umpteenth war. It was, however, the […]
African Writer Bashes US for Praising ‘Rigged’ Polls in Nigeria
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK, 11 April 2023 (IDN) — Rage is brewing, trust is lost and national elections have not only been rigged, but done so in such a shoddy, shabby manner that it insults the intelligence of Nigerians. Those were the uncensored words of noted writer Chimamanda Adichi, winner of […]
Kenyan Opposition Leader Urged to Suspend Rallies
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK | NAIROBI, 3 April 2023 (IDN) — Kenya’s opposition leader, Raila Odinga, is not going away quietly. Defeated in national elections last August, the 78-year-old opposition leader is now leading street protests in Nairobi neighbourhoods, drawing thousands of followers who face growing poverty, surging living costs, joblessness, […]
Of Love, Of Selfishness and a World
By Ramu Damodaran The author is the first Director of UN Academic Impact and a Senior Fellow at the New Delhi-based Centre for Social and Economic Progress (CSEP). NEW YORK (IDN) — It was in the final weeks of 2020, during the annually familiar, even at times festive, reaffirmation and celebration of faith, from Eid-e-Milad […]
UN Peacekeepers Victims of Continued Deadly Attacks
By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS (IDN) — The UN’s peacekeepers, described as one of the most hazardous jobs at the United Nations, routinely risk their lives either in ongoing military conflicts or in post-conflict war zones. According to figures released by the UN Staff Union on January 20, at least 32 UN peacekeeping personnel—28 military […]
Abducted Cameroonian Journalist Found Brutally Murdered
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) — A prominent Cameroonian journalist was found dead this week with signs of torture near the capital Yaounde, five days after he was abducted by unidentified assailants, according to the National Union of Journalists of Cameroon and media rights advocates. Martinez Zogo’s disappearance and death was […]
Iran’s Human Rights Violations Are Indescribable
Viewpoint by Alon Ben-Meir* NEW YORK (IDN) — The Iranian government continues to commit human rights violations and crimes against humanity in its effort to strike terror into the heart of its people. That the government considers itself a devout Muslim regime is sacrilegious and makes a mockery of Islam.