Viewpoint by Professor Biman Prasad* SUVA, Fiji. 26 Aug 2023 (IDN) — The Pacific Islands are now at a cliff edge. As a region, as countries and as peoples, we face some of the hardest and cruellest choices. First is the growing burden of the climate crisis. The climate crisis impacts all areas of life, […]
Fiji: Outrage at Japan Dumping Fukushima Waters into the Pacific Ocean
By Ravindra Singh Prasad SUVA, Fiji. 26 Aug 2023 (IDN) — With Japan announcing that they will start the process of dumping the contaminated waters from the Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean starting 24 August, island nations in the Pacific are gripped with fear and outrage with a nation that was seen as […]
Afropop Star Appointed ‘Special Advisor’ to Malian Junta
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK. 24 August 2023 (IDN) — Salif Keita, renowned singer-songwriter known as the “Golden Voice of Africa”, has been appointed one of five “special advisors” to the head of Mali’s military junta. Under a decree dated 11 August, the Afropop singer was named advisor to Colonel Assimi Goita […]
U.S. Extends Protected Status as Sudanese Crisis Worsens
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK. 24 August 2023 (IDN) — In a long-awaited acknowledgment of the worsening crisis in Sudan, the United States has extended its temporary protected status to Sudanese nationals for 18 months—from 20 October 2023 through 19 April 2025. Officials of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security cited Sudan’s […]
African Connection of Atom Bomb That Destroyed Hiroshima
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK. 24 August 2023 (IDN) — This month marks the anniversary of the first use of an atomic bomb, developed in the U.S. and dropped on a Japanese city to deadly effect. Little is known, however, of the African connection to this deadly weapon—namely the use of uranium […]
Saudi Arabia Seeks Civilian Nuclear Program in Return for Ties with Israel
By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS. 24 August 2023 (IDN) — The US continues its backdoor negotiations to broker a deal to help establish diplomatic relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia—a potential game changer in the geopolitics of the Middle East. One of the demands of the Saudis is US assistance to set up “a civilian […]
UN May Seek Accountability for Saudi Killings of Hundreds of Migrants
By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS. 23 August 2023 (IDN) — The United Nations has expressed serious concern over the killings of hundreds of migrants, mostly Ethiopians, crossing war-ravaged Yemen trying to reach Saudi Arabia. “I think trying to stop migration using the barrel of a gun is intolerable,” UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters on […]
Opinion: Joe Biden’s Disastrous Diplomatic Gamble
By Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury* DHAKA, Bangladesh. 20 August 2023 (IDN) — In a series of swift and ill-conceived diplomatic moves, US President Joe Biden has plunged into catastrophic decision-making, most notably concerning Afghanistan. Biden’s first significant move involved the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan, a decision that has had dire repercussions. His statement […]
USAID Launches Pacific Mission to Assist in Achieving SDGs
By Kalinga Seneviratne SUVA, Fiji. 18 August 2023 (IDN) — The United States government’s overseas development aid arm US Agency for International Development (USAID) opened two new offices in Papua New Guinea (PNG) and Fiji on 15 August, pledging to assist Pacific island countries in addressing the sustainable development goals (SDGs). The last USAID office […]
It’s Time to End the ‘Nonsense’ in Niger
By Azu Ishiekwene The writer is the Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of LEADERSHIP newspaper based in Abuja, Nigeria. ABUJA. 17 August 2023 (IDN) — Almost everyone, including me, seems opposed to Nigeria leading the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to war in Niger. In one of the most telling anti-war metaphors, a Nigerian columnist and […]