By Kizito Makoye DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania | 3 December 2023 (IDN) — At 15, Sarah* was entangled in an early marriage that would change her life forever. The drought spells in Kotulogh village in Kenya’s West Pokot country had pushed many pastoralist families to the brink of survival. Sarah’s mother, desperate for money to […]
Outgoing President Weah Leaves an Unflawed Legacy
By Azu Ishiekwene The writer is the Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of LEADERSHIP newspaper based in Abuja, Nigeria. ABUJA | 2 December 2023 (IDN) — Liberia and Sierra Leone have a common historical legacy and often tend to imitate each other in war and peace. But events in the last two weeks suggest that while Liberia may […]
African Countries Lagging on Climate Justice, Rights Groups Say
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK | 29 November 2023 (IDN) — Rising sea levels, droughts and floods have exposed some of the failures of African countries to prioritize human rights and climate justice, resulting in negative outcomes for vulnerable communities. That was the view of Amnesty International, one of several groups monitoring […]
Rainforest Villages in the Line of Fire as Oil Block Auctions are Approved
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK | 28 November 2023 (IDN) — Is nothing sacred? That seemed to be the question posed by Jean Bolengu Ekunja, chief of the village Baringa in the Congo basin forest. “We won’t compromise!” he was reported to say to a crowd as he drove his spear into […]
Climate Change Is ‘The Wolf in The House’, US Weather Expert Warns
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK | 28 November 2023 (IDN) — The phrase “climate change” has slipped quietly but firmly into our popular vernacular. It pops up around the clock, in the news, in school and church, on the street, and in speeches by politicians running for office. According to scientists, climate […]
Tanzania: Grief Over the Death of African Student Killed in Israel
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK | DAR ES SALAAM | 27 November 2023 (IDN) — Clemence Felix Mtenga should have graduated from university this week. Instead, his body was being flown home from Israel to his grieving family in Tanzania. The 22-year-old agriculture student had been killed following the 7 October attack […]
Sri Lanka’s Northern Tamils are not for Sale to China
By P. Soma Palan* COLOMBO, Sri Lanka | 25 November 2023 (IDN) — I write this not as a northern Tamil but as an independent, free, and objective thinker. In today’s international politics, the phrase “Geopolitics” is a commonplace expression. It means an inter-play of power and spheres of influence between militarized nations. Geopolitics has […]
South African Scholar Pens Open Letter for Ceasefire in Gaza
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK | CAPE TOWN | 20 November 2023 (IDN) — Thousands of scholars in South Africa’s higher education sector have taken a public stand for a ceasefire in Gaza, imploring other institutions in South Africa to do the same. An open letter on the subject which began circulating […]
Liberian President George Weah ‘Knocked Out’ in Close Race
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK | MONROVIA | 20 November 2023 (IDN) — “I stand before you tonight with a grateful heart and with the utmost respect for the democratic process that has defined our nation.” With those words, star athlete and Liberian President George Manneh Weah began his concession speech, ending […]
Gaza, a Graveyard for Children, Says UN Chief
By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS | 20 November 2023 (IDN) — UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has continued his relentless criticism of Israel, condemning the daily attacks on civilians in Gaza. “I am deeply shocked that two UNRWA schools were struck in less than 24 hours in Gaza. Dozens of people—many women and children—were killed and […]