By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) – Just days before a major retrospective of his cinematic work in Brazil, Idrissa Ouedraogo passed away in his home country of Burkina Faso on February 18. He was 64. “We talked two weeks ago,” said a grieving Janaina Oliveira of Brazil’s Center for Afro-Brazilian and […]
DR Congo Calls Deportation of Refugees by the U.S. ‘Inhumane’
By Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) – Six nationals of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and two Zambian citizens were sent back to the U.S. after Congolese officials called their deportations “inhumane”. The six arrived on February 21 aboard an American aircraft at Ndjili airport, said Congolese Human Rights Minister Marie Ange Mushobekwa, […]
Mugabe, In Rare Outburst, Slams Former Allies Who Ousted Him
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK | HARARE (IDN) – After weeks of silence, former Zimbabwe president Robert Mugabe came out of his shell and delivered a furious tirade against his one-time party allies who engineered his ouster in November 2017 in an action they called ‘Operation Restore Legacy’. Mugabe, in a rare […]
Australians Mobilise to Stop Indian Coal Project
By Kalinga Seneviratne SYDNEY (IDN) – A peoples’ movement is gathering steam across Australia to stop a project by an Indian company to establish Australia’s biggest ever coal mining project that is supposed to create 10,000 jobs in a remote region of northern Queensland. The protest movement – which distrusts politicians – argues that Australia […]
South Korea Urged to Keep Increasing Development Aid
By Tae Han Goo SEOUL (IDN) – South Korea, often cited as a leading example of how sound economic policies can drive growth and development, blazing a trail from poverty to advanced industrialisation throughout the 1970s and 1980s, will have a greater impact on international development cooperation if it manages to produce a clear plan […]
Beware of Branding Africa as the World’s Most Corrupt Region
By Jutta Wolf This is the first in a series of reports highlighting salient aspects of Transparency International‘s latest analysis on challenges posed by corruption around the world as well as successes and failures of efforts targeting a scourge that eats into the vitals of human rights. – The Editor. BERLIN (IDN) – Though Africa […]
Ethiopian Resignation Triggers Anxiety, Anger and Emergency
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK | ADDIS ABABA (IDN) – The Ethiopian government has given itself sweeping new powers – from restrictions on freedom of assembly and free expression to the deployment of combat-ready troops in civilian centers. The newly imposed state of emergency is expected to last six months. The harsh […]
Sustainable Livelihoods Behind Street Vending in Thailand
By Kalinga Seneviratne KHAOSAN, Bangkok (IDN) – When people talk about sustainable development there is rarely any mention of the many street vendors who make a living on streets in Thailand, as across the rest of Asia. Even attempts to stop them doing business – like the unsuccessful year-long attempt by the governor of Bangkok […]
UN Agency in Talks with Israel on African Asylum Seekers
By Jaya Ramachandran GENEVA | TEL AVIV (IDN) – UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is negotiating with Israel to resettle a portion of African asylum seekers in third countries deemed by the UN to be “safe,” perhaps including Western countries, in exchange for some of the refugees to be given permanent residency in Israel, according […]
Drought Forces Ghana To Ration Water Supply
By Global Information Network NEW YORK | ACCRA (IDN) – The state-owned Ghana Water Company Ltd (GWCL) has announced that due to severe dry winter winds (called ‘harmattan’) and the drying up of rivers, water deliveries will be rationed over the coming months while the country awaits the rain. “We are sorry to inform the […]