THE WORLD

Photo: A political Advocacy Road show for reelection of Buhari, led by Dr. Ramatu Tijjani Aliyu, a foremost Buhari loyalist, who is also a member of the Presidential Campaign Council and the National Women Leader of the Presidential Support Committee. Credit: Vanguard.

Buhari, If Reelected, Could Put Nigeria Back On Track

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power

LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – Nigeria is a veritable factory of sophisticated novelists. It was no surprise that Ben Okri won the British Booker Prize that goes annually to the best novelist of the year.

Considering that high-class novel writing in English only began in Nigeria in 1958 with Chinua Achebe’s famous work, “Things Fall Apart”, now a classic, it has come a long way in a short time. Will Nigeria move at a similar speed with its economy and banish poverty as it once promised to?

: Jonathan Power; THE WORLD; Africa; 12 February 2019

Photo: President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. Credit: GhanaWeb.

African Leaders Put Rich Nations On Notice That Days Of Cheap Resources Are Ending

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK | CAPE TOWN (IDN) – African leaders had a new message for foreign companies seeking the diamonds, gold, rubies and emeralds so plentiful in desperate dirt-poor countries and so pricey when polished and sold in New York, Paris and Switzerland.

We’re no longer a cheap date. That message – in so many words – was heard again and again at this year’s posh African Mining Indaba (February 3-6) – a glittering conference in Cape Town, South Africa, that unites investors, mining companies, governments and stakeholders from around the world with the single goal of advancing mining on the African continent.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 12 February 2019

Photo: José David Dominguez, 9 years old, is accompanied by his mother, Yenni Dominguez, to get his vaccine at UNICEF's health point in Ipiales, Colombia. UNICEF has launched a regional response effort to support Venezuelan children and families, as well as children in host communities. © UNICEF/UN0253234/Moreno Gonza.

UN Committed To Providing Humanitarian Aid To Venezuelans

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – In view of the increasingly critical situation for ordinary Venezuelans, the United Nations remains committed to providing humanitarian support, based on “need, and need alone”, according to a senior aid official.

But the oil-rich country is not only suffering from food and medical shortages. The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) noted that dozens of opposition politicians continue to face ongoing harassment in the South American country.

: J Nastranis; THE WORLD; Latin America & the Caribbean; 11 February 2019

Photo: Signatories oft he Montevideo Mechanism. Credit: CARICOM.

'Montevideo Mechanism' Seeks To Resolve Venezuela Crisis

By Rodrigo Pérez

MONTEVIDEO (IDN) – The United Nations is willing to bring Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and opposition leader Juan Guaido together for "serious negotiations" at their request, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said during a press conference at the 32nd African Union summit on February 10 at Addis Ababa. Ethiopia.

Earlier, the spokesman for Guterres, Stéphane Dujarric, said that the UN Chief "supports the efforts of the international community that will help find a political solution" to the situation in Venezuela.

: Rodrigo Pérez; THE WORLD; Latin America & the Caribbean; 11 February 2019

Photo: Caribbean Leaders with the UNGA President María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés (centre). Credit: Twitter @UN_PGA

CARICOM Alerts UN As Situation Escalates In Venezuela

By J C Suresh

TORONTO (IDN) – With the Venezuelan crisis worsening on its doorsteps, the 15-nation Caribbean Community (CARICOM) has been at pains to prevent the situation in the Bolivarian Republic taking a sharp turn for the worst.

It has censured the Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS) Luis Leonardo Almagro on his “unilateral” stance in accepting Juan Guaido as interim president of Venezuela, according to a report by the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC).

: J C Suresh; THE WORLD; Latin America & the Caribbean; 11 February 2019

Why Venezuela's Oil Money Could Keep Undermining Its Economy And Democracy

By Scott Morgenstern and John Polga-Hecimovich*

LONDON (IDN-INPS) – As political and economic crises threaten to topple Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro, political scientists like us are not surprised that he has run into trouble.

Instead, we see Venezuela as another example of what scholars call the “resource curse.” That’s the unfortunate correlation first described by the British economic geographer Richard M. Auty between nations with vast wealth from oil or other natural resources and political instability.

: IDN-INPS UN Bureau; OPINION; 10 February 2019

Photo: Nava Nalanda Mahavihara. Credit: Kalinga Seneviratne | IDN-INPS

Nalanda Grapples With Making Pali Relevant 2500 Years Later

By Kalinga Seneviratne

This article is the 27th in a series of joint productions of Lotus News Features and IDN-InDepthNews, flagship of the International Press Syndicate. Click here for previous series.

NALANDA, India (IDN) – It is believed that more than 2500 years ago Gauthama Buddha chose to preach in Pali rather than Sanskrit because the latter was the language of the elite while Pali was spoken by the masses. Today nobody speaks Pali in India, but, the Buddhist scriptures that were originally written in Pali are still used to educate monks as well as in Buddhist chantings.

: Lotus News Features; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 10 February 2019

Photo: Amazigh women in a village with an association that cultivates an olive tree nursery. Credit: Peter J. Jacques

Morocco's Indigenous People Cry For Sustainable Development

By Peter J. Jacques

The writer is a Professor of Political Science at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, USA. He recounts what Indigenous Amazigh people told him during field work in the High Atlas Mountains of Morocco.

ORLANDO (IDN) – Life and death for whole communities hang in the balance of achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that include eliminating poverty, conserving forests, and addressing climate change, passed by the United Nations unanimously in 2015. Take for example, the Indigenous Amazigh people who live in the mountains around Marrakech. They are representative of people who need to be served first by sustainable development.

: IDN-INPS Middle East & Africa Editor; THE WORLD; Middle East & North Africa; 10 February 2019

Photo: Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said the White House had "ordered and planned" a "coup". Credit: cancilleria.gob.ec

Venezuela Crisis Drives A Wedge Between Europeans

Viewpoint by Shastri Ramachandaran*

NEW DELHI (IDN) – It’s a topsy-turvy world. President Emmanuel Macron’s France can recognise Juan Guaido, who is leading the protests in distant Venezuela, as “Interim President” of that country. But Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister Luigi Di Maio cannot meet “Yellow Vest” protestors demonstrating on the streets of Paris.

Why is recognition of protests acceptable in the case of Venezuela but not when it comes to France?

Because the West led by the United States and its camp followers in Europe say so. This is the so-called “international community” known for its duplicitous standards.

: Shastri Ramachandran; OPINION; 09 February 2019

Photo: El Salvador President Salvador Sánchez Cerén greets Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro at his inauguration on 10 January 2019. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

It's Not Just About Overthrowing Maduro In Venezuela

Viewpoint by Kalinga Seneviratne

SINGAPORE (IDN) – The 'Washington Consensus' on democracy today is not about respecting peoples’ right to elect their leaders by popular vote, but how to buy these votes to promote U.S. business interests. Thus, the ongoing campaign to bring “regime change” in Venezuela is not about overthrowing Venezuelan President Nicolas Madura, but overthrowing the Bolivarian development model and an alternative trading system introduced by Hugo Chavez after he came to power in 1999.