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By Thalif Deen
UNITED NATIONS (IDN) — The longstanding US-Saudi alliance—political, economic and military—which dates back to 1931, is in deep trouble.
US President Joe Biden has warned Saudi Arabia that it would face "consequences" after OPEC Plus, the oil cartel led by Saudi Arabia and Russia, announced plans for a cut in oil production—an estimated 2.0 million barrels a day that could escalate gas prices in the United States.
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power
LUND, Sweden (IDN) — By one of those quirks of opportunity, I was able to spend most of the morning of a Good Friday talking with Jose Saramago, that year's winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, a near neighbour to my daughter's home in the Canary Islands.
The writer, who left his native country, Portugal, because of the outcry over his book, "The Gospel according to Jesus Christ", was outraged at the bombing of Yugoslavia, angry in particular at those who tried to put a moral gloss on it.
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network
NEW YORK | ABUJA (IDN) — Flooding in the southern and coastal states of Nigeria has taken the lives of more than 600 people, displaced 1.4 million and destroyed roads and farmlands. Officials warn that the situation could continue into November.
Thirty-one of Nigeria’s 36 states have been affected in what media reports have called the worst flooding in a decade, drowning infrastructure and 200,00 homes, partly or wholly destroyed.
By Jaya Ramachandran*
GENEVA (IDN) — The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has urged the international community to extend sufficient and predictable financial support to the Palestinian people to alleviate suffering and prevent a deep socioeconomic crisis from worsening.
The latest report by UNCTAD on its assistance to the Palestinian people shows that the economy of the Occupied Palestinian Territory grew by 7.1 per cent in 2021, following an 11.3per cent contraction in 2020 in the aftermath of the COVID-19 shock.
By UN News
NEW YORK (IDN) — A flagship UN poverty study released on October 17, the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, finds that significant poverty reduction is possible, and new ways of calculating the problem can help humanitarians and governments better target aid.
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network
NEW YORK | ABUJA (IDN) — In a surprise development, Nigeria’s Appeal Court sitting in Abuja has exonerated the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, saying his extradition by force from Kenya and his subsequent arrest by Nigerian authorities had been illegal.
Kanu, leader of the banned Indigenous People’s group, was originally arrested in 2015 on various terrorism-related charges. He escaped to Kenya in 2017 while out on bail.
Viewpoint by Abebe Haile-Gabriel
The writer is the Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative for Africa of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). It was published in Horn Observer on October 13, ahead of World Food Day on October 16.
ACCRA (IDN) — More than a billion Africans cannot afford a healthy diet. Africa is moving backwards in its efforts to end hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition. This situation is not sustainable.
By Kalinga Seneviratne
BANGKOK (IDN) — The massacre of 37 people, 26 of whom were preschool children taking an afternoon nap in their day-care centre, in a remote north-eastern township of Thailand on October 7 has shocked the nation, with many social media postings calling for the extrajudicial killing of those involved in the drug trade and gun running.
Viewpoint by Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana
The writer is an Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).
BANGKOK (IDN) — Ten years ago, the Asia-Pacific region came together and designed the world’s first set of disability-specific development goals: the Incheon Strategy to “Make the Right Real” for Persons with Disabilities. This week, we meet again to assess how the governments have delivered on their commitments, to secure those gains and develop the innovative solutions needed to achieve fully inclusive societies.
From Africa Renewal
By Economic Commission for Africa
UNITED NATIONS (IDN) — A new report reveals persistent barriers in the digital finance sector that limit women’s economic empowerment in Africa while recommending policy responses to overcome them.
Commissioned by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), the latest edition of the biennial African Women’s Report was published on October 3. The report analyses the digital finance ecosystem in Africa to examine all its components and how they impact women’s economic prospects.
IDN-InDepthNews offers news analyses, features, reports and viewpoints that impact the world and its peoples. It has been online since 2009. Its network spans countries around the world.