By Sugeeswara Senadhira COLOMBO (IDN) — This week, Sri Lanka is hosting the fifth Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) summit in the backdrop of member nations struggling to shake-off the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. The summit would provide the leaders of the seven members—India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, […]
Ukraine War Might Trigger Food Riots in Poor Countries
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) — Ngozi Okonjo Iweala, the head of the World Trade Organization (WTO), is warning that skyrocketing global food prices as a result of the war in Ukraine could trigger food riots from people going hungry in poor countries. WTO Director General Okonjo-Iweala urged food-producing countries against […]
Pandemic Pushes SDGs Further Out of Reach of Asia and The Pacific
Viewpoint by Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana BANGKOK (IDN) — 2022 marks the second anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic, and while an end to the pandemic is in sight, it is far from over and the consequences will be felt for decades to come. At the same time, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is becoming increasingly […]
Russia, China Build Ties in Africa as U.S. Falls Behind
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) — In a new “scramble for Africa”, Russia and China are cutting deals, extending loans, making friends and allies across the continent at a time when jihadists in many countries have posed a growing threat to citizens and national security forces.
Trial To Settle Unsolved Murder of Burkina Faso’s ‘Che Guevara’ in 1987
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) — It’s been justice delayed for Thomas Sankara, the man they called Africa’s Che Guevara. It should not be justice denied. Thirty-five years ago, Sankara, an iconic figure of revolution, the youthful president of the West African nation of Burkina Faso, was shot and killed at […]
Teachers On Strike Across the Continent for Better Salaries and Benefits
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) — Hundreds of Moroccan teachers were on strike last month for permanent work contracts when they were attacked by riot police at a recent march while some of their peers received two month prison sentences for demonstrating without authorization. The jailed teachers were charged with “unauthorized […]
Australia: Acquittal of White Police Officer of Murder Upsets Aborigines
By Kalinga Seneviratne SYDNEY (IDN) — The acquittal of a White Police Officer of murdering an Aboriginal teenager over two years ago, has deeply upset the Aboriginal community with many weeping outside the courts in the northern city of Darwin, after the verdict was announced on March 11. Some could not contain their anger with […]
What Can be Done to Reduce Land Forgery in Sri Lanka?
By Maheswary Sivapragasam The writer is a lawyer specializing in housing and property laws. COLOMBO (IDN) — As land forgery continues unabated in Sri Lanka, something has to be done to prevent the prevalent rate of land fraud, with legal owners and innocent buyers unknowingly falling into these traps. According to news sources, the Registrar […]
South Africa Offers Opportunities for Foreign Investors
By Kester Kenn Klomegah* MOSCOW | JOHANNESBURG (IDN) — South Africa is in frantic search of foreign investors to boost its economy exposed to turbulences caused by two years of struggle to contain the global pandemic that triggered almost complete shutdown of businesses and production under lockdowns, which threaten economic efforts since the ambitious investment […]
African Students in Ukraine Reject Evacuation to Russia
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) — At least 1,700 foreign students were still trapped in the north-eastern Ukrainian city of Sumy, as shelling from the Russian army continued for the tenth day. Promised humanitarian corridors failed to materialize. “We are really demoralized, everybody wants to go home,” Precious Ogunbayo, a 21-year-old […]