By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) – A prominent university lecturer, poet and gender rights activist has been ordered to serve nine more months in prison for the ‘crime’ of criticizing President Yoweri Museveni on Facebook. The sentence outraged rights activists. Joan Nyanyuki, director for East Africa at Amnesty International said: “This […]
Australia Urged to Sign & Ratify the Nuclear Weapons Ban Treaty
By Neena Bhandari SYDNEY (IDN) – Australia must sign and ratify the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), says a new report released here by the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), the Australian-founded initiative which won the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize. The report comes amidst growing international tension with […]
China Holds Firm on No First Use of Nuclear Weapons, Misses U.S. Assurances
Viewpoint by Gregory Kulacki The writer researches the cross-cultural aspects of nuclear arms control negotiations between the United States, China and Japan. He is China project manager and senior analyst at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). The following was first published at UCS’s blog on July 24, 2019. CLAREMONT, CA, USA (IDN | UCS) […]
South African Miners Win Compensation for Lung Diseases
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK | JOHANNESBURG (IDN) – A Johannesburg High Court has approved a pioneering 5 billion rand ($353 million) “class action” settlement on behalf of miners who contracted tuberculosis, silicosis and other chronic lung diseases through their work in the mines. A class action, also known as a class […]
Tea the Invigorating and Sustaining Wine of Life
Dr. K. Mulaffer Chairman, Sri Lanka Land Reclamation and Development Corporation (1990-1992); Chairman, Building Materials Manufacturing Corporation (1992-1994) & Project Director & Coordinator, National Equipment & Machinery Organization (1994-1995) COLOMBO (IDN) – My American friends must understand that choosing tea is like choosing wine. And here is why? The natural flavors of teas are quintessentially different from […]
Unexpected Struggles in The Fight Against Ebola
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) – The battle to knock out the Ebola virus should have its eyes on the goal. Instead, politics and a divisive struggle between two drug makers has interfered. A key health minister in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has resigned in protest. In his resignation […]
African Media Recall Disturbing Remarks by New British Leader
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) – African media greeted the new British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, by recalling some of particularly cringe-worthy remarks made during his formative years in politics. The new Conservative Party leader has a history of gaffes involving Kenya and Africa, having once attacked Barack Obama saying the […]
UAE and Russia Eye Geopolitical and Commercial Mileage in Climate Change
By James M. Dorsey* SINGAPORE (IDN) – Climate change, much like war, could prove to be a geopolitical and commercial gold mine. At least, that is the take of DP World, Dubai’s global port operator, and Russia’s sovereign wealth fund. DP World is partnering with the fund, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) to create […]
Forest and Farm Producers Help Boost Viet Nam’s Economy
By Ronald Joshua ROME (IDN) – Forestry and agriculture provide livelihoods for nearly 80 percent of the population in the northern regions of Viet Nam. However, nearly half of all households own less than one hectare of land, which often prevents farmers from earning the income they need. To help smallholder farmers find ways to […]
EU Leaps to Africa’s Rescue with Clean Water
By Jeffrey Moyo BLANTYRE, Malawi (IDN) – In Karonga, a district in the northern region of Malawi, 32-year old Mavis Banda, a mother of three daughters busies herself drawing safe drinking water from a borehole located at the heart of her village. Banda and several other villagers claimed they long abandoned a local well where […]