By Rodney Reynolds NEW YORK | 16 May 2024 (IDN) — A United Nations report expects a sustained rebound in tourism to improve the economic prospects for small island developing States (SIDS), leading to GDP growth from 2.4 per cent in 2023 to 3.3 per cent in 2024. However, SIDS remain vulnerable to spikes in […]
The Gaza War Pushes More Than Half of Palestinians into Poverty
By J Nastranis NEW YORK | 3 May 2024 (IDN) — The seven-month-long Gaza war is thrusting nearly 1.74 million—more than 58 per cent—of Palestinians into poverty, plunging the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the State of Palestine by nearly 27 per cent or causing a loss of 7.1 billion US Dollar from a 2023 […]
Landmark Indigenous Rights Declaration Has Yet to be Transformed into Reality
By J Nastranis NEW YORK | 18 April 2024 (IDN) — The designation “Indigenous Peoples” is in itself a challenge, said Bolivian Vice-President David Choquehuanca addressing the UN General Assembly at the UN headquarters, convened to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples. The outcome document of the historic meeting, in […]
Renounced by the Vatican Yet the Repressive Force of 15th Century Persists
By William D. Sunderlin, Ph.D., and Robert J. Miller, J.D.* FAYETTEVILLE, New York | PHOENIX, Arizona | 16 April 2024 (IDN) — It seems ridiculous that a repudiated Catholic doctrine dating back to the 15th century should have legal standing anywhere in the world today. Yet the Onondaga, an Indigenous nation located in Central New […]
How Finland Succeeded In Reducing Homelessness
By Sarah Britz from the Swedish street paper Faktum This article was issued by the International Network of Street Papers and is being republished with their permission. GOTHENBURG, Sweden | 11 April 2024 (IDN) — Nearly 20 years ago, Finland opened the door to Housing First—a system in which people experiencing homelessness are provided with […]
UN’s Lagging Development Goals Need a Sense of Urgency
By Simone Galimberti* KATHMANDU, Nepal | 6 March 2024 (IDN)—The latest Asia Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development (APFSD) was recently launched in Bangkok. As usual, it was a mix of official interventions by ministries from the whole region and a wide-ranging array of exciting side events organized mainly by civil society in partnership with United […]
Gaza: Worst Famine Fears Realised as 10th Child Reportedly ‘Starves to Death’
By UN News UNITED NATIONS | 1 March 2024 (IDN) — Repeated warnings from humanitarians over desperate food insecurity and imminent famine in Gaza came into focus on Friday amid reports from the enclave’s authorities that a tenth child had died from malnutrition and dehydration. “The official records yesterday or this morning said there was […]
Tackling Homelessness and Poverty Through Global Street Papers
By Mike Findlay-Agnew The writer is the Chief Executive of the International Network of Street Papers. GLASGOW | 1 March 2024 (IDN) — You may not be aware of it, but newspapers and magazines that are sold on the streets by homeless people are part of a global phenomenon. In 500 cities and towns, across […]
Bridging Faiths, Preserving Legacies
By Soukaina Kherdioui* RABAT, Morocco | 16 February 2024 (IDN) — The archives digitization project, initiated by the Diocese of Rabat in partnership with the High Atlas Foundation, is a promising endeavour. I hope that it will enable us to amplify the work on other archival collections so as to pay tribute to the countless people […]
Controversies Mar the Reputation of Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus
By Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury DHAKA | 2 January 2024 (IDN) — For many decades, Muhammad Yunus succeeded in remaining in the attention of international media and global celebrities and leaders by continuing self-promotion as the ‘savior of the poor’, ‘father of microcredit’ etc. Interestingly, many leaders in the West, including former US First Lady […]