Viewpoint by Razia Sultana The author is a Rohingya lawyer, researcher and educator specializing in trauma, mass rape and trafficking of Rohingya girls and women. She has been working with Rohingya women and girls in the refugee camps in Bangladesh documenting the stories of women and girls who fled Myanmar, and has published two reports: […]
Asia Society Names a Global Company CEO as ‘Game Changer’
By J Nastranis NEW YORK (IDN) – Asia Society, in partnership with Citi, has announced the Indian-born Indra K. Nooyi as Game Changer of the Year for 2018 in recognition of her “life-saving collaboration with the United Nations on food, nutrition, global water, climate, and women’s empowerment issues.” Asia Society President and CEO Josette Sheeran […]
‘2030 SDGs Game’ Arouses Growing Interest in Japan
By Ramesh Jaura and Katsuhiro Asagiri BERLIN | TOKYO (IDN) – Reports have it that when Albert Einstein was some five years old and confined to bed, his father gave him a magnetic pocket compass to play with. He twisted and turned it, wondering how the needle always knew to point towards the north. Takeo […]
A Glimmer of Hope for Zanzibar Seaweed Farmers
By Kizito Makoye PAJE, Zanzibar (IDN) – As the morning breeze sweeps Mwanamkasi Jumbe wade through knee-deep water, her gown flapping in the wind as she drags a pile of seaweed seedlings to her farm before it is too hot. Armed with a bundle of sticks, she hangs pieces of fresh seaweed haphazardly hooked on […]
Mozambique Imposing Hefty Fees on Local and Foreign Media
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) – Press freedom in Mozambique just got a lot less free. Under a new government decree, local and foreign journalists must now pony up thousands of dollars for the right to report in this Southern African country. The little dribble of news about Mozambique in the […]
‘Right To Water’ Should Be A Major Human Right, Say Indonesian Women Activists
By Kalinga Seneviratne JAKARTA (IDN) – Indonesian women activists, fighting an uphill battle to reverse a 20-year old water privatization project signed by former authoritarian ruler Suharto with French and British companies with the support of a $92 million loan from the World Bank, argue that the United Nations and the international human rights community […]
Morocco Provides ‘Safe Spaces’ for Youth
By Julia Payne MARRAKECH (IDN) – As a society, we have hopes and dreams for the future; for our children, our countries, and the global community. These aspirations rest on the shoulders of the young generation. August 12, 2018 marked the 18th celebration of the UN’s annual International Youth Day. This awareness day was a […]
Africa’s Emerging Markets Vulnerable To Cyber Attacks
By Emmanuel Tita Sama* LAGOS (IDN) – As emerging markets race to join the digital revolution they are fast being hijacked by cybercriminals, who are preying on the fledgling IT environment with potential security weaknesses and using them to launch attacks on territories with more advanced defence strategies. The United Nations recently reported that, shockingly, […]
‘Skulduggery’ Foils Zimbabwe Inauguration Of Mnangagwa
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK | HARARE (IDN) – The hastily organized inauguration of Emmerson Mnangagwa as president of Zimbabwe has hit a brick wall. Invitations to the heads of diplomatic mission, international organizations and consulates were pulled back after challenges to July 30 general election put a question mark around the […]
Security Council Calls for Better UN Agency Cooperation in Central Africa
By J Nastranis NEW YORK (IDN) – In view of “the volatile and fast‑evolving nature of the political, security and social situation” in Central Africa, the United Nations Secretary-General has asked the Security Council to extend by three years from September 1, 2018 to August 31, 2021 the mandate of the UN Regional Office for […]