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Viewpoint by Somar Wijayadasa*
NEW YORK (IDN) – One week after the heinous bomb blasts that shattered the calm of an Easter Sunday, the Sri Lankan Sunday Times carried an editorial titled 'Let’s resurrect ourselves from this catastrophe'. This was a timely advice since only crude opportunists would attempt to hijack "the dastardly attacks by crazed religious bigots condemned by their own community" to advance their goals.
By Jeffrey Moyo
HARARE (IDN) – All that she has now is her 12-year old daughter. Her home, and almost all her belongings were destroyed by Cyclone Idai in March. Over a month ago since the tragedy struck, 35-year old Teresa Chizimu who hails from Chikwawa district in Malawi, has sunken deeper and deeper into desperation since she had an encounter with the cyclone.
Not only Chizimu is in this crisis in the southern hemisphere, but also Mozambique’s 71-year old Aderito Abdala from the port city of Beira, is faced with a catastrophic situation, with all his four grandchildren and wife, killed by Cyclone Idai.
By Jeffrey Moyo
CHIMANIMANI, Zimbabwe (IDN) – The cyclone will affect the region for months to come after it impacted key livelihoods of fishing and agriculture in the largely rural region, the World Food Programme (WFP) said commenting the havoc caused by Cyclone Kenneth that struck Mozambique on April 25, nearly five weeks after the Cyclone Idai that lashed Southern Africa.
Some 31,000 hectares (76,600 acres) of crops were lost at the peak of the harvest season. “The area is already very vulnerable to food insecurity,” spokesman Herve Verhoosel said.
Viewpoint by James M. Dorsey
James M. Dorsey – a senior fellow at Nanyang Technological University’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, an adjunct senior research fellow at the National University of Singapore’s Middle East Institute and co-director of the University of Wuerzburg’s Institute of Fan Culture – offered this viewpoint to IDN.
SINGAPORE (IDN) – A Saudi push to become a major natural gas player is as much about diversifying the kingdom’s domestic consumption and export mix as it is about taking advantage of harsh U.S. economic sanctions against Iran designed to force a change of the Islamic republic’s policy, if not its regime.
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network
NEW YORK (IDN) – The back-to-back cyclones that have ravaged Mozambique are unprecedented in recorded history, according to the UN. As more villages are wiped away, a multi-billion-dollar bidding war is heating up in foreign board rooms among multinationals eager to extract Mozambican oil. Top bid so far by Occidental Petroleum Corp has reached $57 billion.
The fantastic sums changing hands are between Anadarko which owns the wells, Chevron and Occidental, hopeful buyers. Donations for relief and rescue, however, are far below satisfactory, according to foreign charitable organizations like CARE.
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network
NEW YORK (IDN) – The anniversary of the passing of Ghana’s first Prime Minister and President, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, prompted reflections by Ghanaians on social media of his legacy and contributions.
He led the 'Gold Coast' to independence as the nation of Ghana from Britain in 1957. An influential advocate of pan-Africanism, Nkrumah was a founding member of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) and winner of the Lenin Peace Prize in 1962.
Dr. Nkrumah’s daughter Samia, in an open letter, wrote: “Kwame Nkrumah may not be with us physically but he lives in our hearts and minds as the fire he lit burns aloft giving us guidance for the total liberation and unification of Africa.”
Viewpoint by James M. Dorsey
James M. Dorsey – a senior fellow at Nanyang Technological University’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, an adjunct senior research fellow at the National University of Singapore’s Middle East Institute and co-director of the University of Wuerzburg’s Institute of Fan Culture – offered this viewpoint to IDN.
SINGAPORE (IDN) – Political transition in the Middle East and North Africa operates so far on the principle of ‘The King is dead, long live the King.’
Viewpoint by Sir Shridath Ramphal
"The truly compelling lesson . . . is how critical it is to pool our resources: political, economic and intellectual in negotiating with countries beyond ourselves: globally, in Europe, in the Hemisphere," says Sir Shridath Ramphal – one of the original drafters of the 1975 Georgetown Agreement that created the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP). The following are extensive excerpts from his Opening Remarks on 26 February 2019, tracing the genesis and the process of unification for the ACP at the Inter-Regional High-Level Consultation in Barbados.
By Iwu Dwisetyani Utomo
CANBERRA (IDN-INPS) – A recent Gender and Reproductive Health Study in Indonesia found a surprisingly high degree of comprehension of sexual harassment among Indonesian students and teachers, but there were some worrying differences across various demographics.
The findings suggest the need for more research, education and awareness-raising on sexual harassment in Indonesia, as well as institution-building for reporting and policing sexual harassment.
By Sean Buchanan
LONDON (IDN) – China’s international trade and economic development plan – known as the Belt and Road Initiative – could contribute to a more equitable and prosperous world, and help reverse the negative impact of climate change, according to UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
Addressing Chinese President Xi Jinping and dozens of other state leaders at the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing on April 26, Guterres urged the international community to “come together” in mobilising resources to implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and “stop runaway climate change.”
