By Rita Joshi BONN | SAMARKAND. 13 September 2023 (IDN) — At least 100 million hectares of healthy and productive land were degraded every year between 2015 and 2019, affecting food and water security globally and directly impacting the lives of 1.3 billion people, according to the latest UN data. This adds up to 420 […]
African Leaders Decide to Mobilize for Climate Change
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK | NAIROBI. 11 September 2023 (IDN) — In a first for African leaders grappling with climate issues from droughts to floods, a summit was convened from 4-6 September in Nairobi, Kenya, with a focus on mobilizing the finances desperately needed for extreme weather, conserving natural resources and […]
Kazakhstan Committed to a Nuclear-Weapons-Free World
By Katsuhiro Asagiri and Kunsaya Kurmet-Rakhimova* ASTANA. 10 September 2023 (IDN) — The Central Asian Republic of Kazakhstan is playing a key role in implementing the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW)—as the designated president of the third meeting of states parties of the TPNW, and the co-chair of the working group on […]
Artificial Intelligence Likely to Augment, Not Destroy Jobs, says ILO Study
By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS. 8 September 2023 (IDN) — The growing new global phenomenon—Artificial Intelligence (AI)—has sparked both positive and negative reactions, including a perceived threat that it will eventually replace humans in most workplaces. But a new study, Generative AI and Jobs: A global analysis of potential effects on job quantity and quality, […]
The World Must Come Together to Address Global Challenges
By Kristalina Georgieva and Ajay Banga Following are excerpts from the Joint Statement issued by Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and Ajay Banga, President of the World Bank, on 7 September 2023. WASHINGTON, DC. 8 September 2023 (IDN) — The world confronts significant economic challenges, the existential threat of climate […]
Contentious Preparations for the 2026 NPT Review Conference
Analysis by Sergio Duarte The writer is an Ambassador, a former High Representative of the United Nations Office of Disarmament Affairs., and President of Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs. NEW YORK. 7 September 2023 (IDN) — The preparatory cycle for each Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) […]
US Accused of Double Standards at the UN Security Council
By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS. 6 September 2023 (IDN) — As North Korea continues to defy the Security Council, it has made a mockery of one of the most powerful political bodies at the UN—openly violating its resolutions with monotonous regularity. The violations have triggered strong condemnations by the US, the Group of 7 (G7), […]
UN General Assembly Adopts Resolution on UN-SCO Cooperation
By Dana Omirgazy BERLIN | ASTANA. 6 September 2023 (IDN | The Astana Times) — The 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly adopted the resolution on Cooperation between the United Nations (UN) and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) on 1 September, spokesperson of the Kazakh Foreign Ministry Aibek Smadiyarov announced at a press […]
Arts & Culture: Search Concluded (10.7.1942-8.8.2023)
By Ramu Damodaran* NEW YORK. 6 September 2023 (IDN) — It was eminent Hindustani classical music singer Malini Nambiar who described Sixto Rodriguez best as a “true Karmayogi.” Like all words and phrases woven in the intimacy of a particular language, the term weakens in translation, but the interpretation of an individual who performs actions […]
From Nagasaki to Vienna: Youth Advocates for a Nuclear-Free Future
By Mitsunobu Takahashi * VIENNA. 5 September 2023 (IDN) — The first session of the Preparatory Committee for the 2026 NPT Review Conference was convened from 31 July until 11 August at the Vienna International Centre in Austria. This was my first time to attend such an international conference at the United Nations. I arrived […]