By Thalif Deen NEW YORK (IDN)— When I walked out of a polling booth after voting in one of the US Senatorial elections in New York city several years ago, I was accosted by a reporter and a cameraman for the Middle Eastern TV network Al Jazeera. The woman reporter, who was also a UN […]
Volcano Forces the Congolese to Flee—Anti-Jihadist Military Brass Die in A Plane Crash—Filmmaker Ladebo Passes Away
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) — While thousands in Congo flee to Rwanda because of an erupting volcano, anti-jihadist military brass have died in a Nigerian plane crash, and Ladi Ladebo, early film collaborator with Ossie Davis, has passed away. An erupting mountain of fiery red flames from one of the […]
Australian Monk Takes On The Mammoth Task To Bring Buddha’s Discourses Into One Place
By Kalinga Seneviratne As Buddhists across the world celebrate the triple anniversary of Vesak on May 26 that marks the birth, enlightenment, and death of the Buddha, this IDN-Lotus News special feature by Kalinga Seneviratne—46th in a series—focuses on a landmark project in the dissemination of the Buddha’s teachings. Click here for previous reports.
Palestinian Refugees in a Critical Situation
By J Nastranis NEW YORK | GAZA (IDN) — The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has welcomed the ceasefire agreed in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel on May 21 after more than ten days of rocket fire and airstrike exchanges between the warring parties that have killed more than 250 […]
A Situation Report on the Horn of Africa
Europe External Programme with Africa (EEPA) is a Belgium-based Centre of Expertise with in-depth knowledge, publications, and networks, specialised in issues of peacebuilding, refugee protection, and resilience in the Horn of Africa. Go to https://www.eepa.be/?page_id=4237 for weekly for all situation reports. BRUSSELS (IDN) — Doctors told CNN that Ethiopian soldiers armed with machine guns, sniper […]
DON’T QUOTE ME: Israel, Battling Palestinians, also Targets a Hostile Media
By Thalif Deen* NEW YORK (IDN) — The destruction of a 12-storeyed building in Gaza City on May 15—which was home to several news organizations including the Associated Press (AP) and Al-Jazeera—has triggered a loaded question: was it a deliberate Israeli airstrike to silence the media or was it an avoidable accident? Norman Solomon, Executive […]
Khoi Leaders Consider Amazon’s Planned HQ in South Africa as Desecration of ‘Ancestral Land’
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) — Controversy is dogging the latest project of the world’s largest online retailer, Amazon, as it prepares to set up its African headquarters in Cape Town, South Africa. Amazon would be the anchor tenant of the River Club—a nine-story business and residential complex with a hotel, […]
Youth Social Media Campaign Pushes Ghana Govt. to Reform
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) — A silent generation of young Ghanaians seems to have found its voice. Joshua Boye-Doe, among the nation’s active social media users, put it this way: “This is the right time for us to come together as one people to speak and let [government] know that […]
Declining Power Supply Cripples Ivory Coast and Ghana Cocoa Economies
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) — A prolonged dry season is being blamed for inadequate power supplies to West African countries from Ivory Coast to Ghana, Mali and Burkina Faso, threatening businesses and the world’s largest cocoa economies. Consumers, unions and business leaders in Ivory Coast are sounding the alarm about […]
Tahitian Community Keen To Save Endangered Sacred Mountain
By Asia Pacific Report News desk TAHITI (IDN) — A collective of community groups in Tahiti, trying to preserve a historical-cultural icon at Tautira, have condemned the Tahitian government for “deliberately trying to destroy our heritage”. The iconic Tahua-Reva is the community’s sacred mountain on the southeastern tip of Tahiti-Iti, the smaller section adjoining the […]