By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS, 4 May 2023 (IDN) — A new report on world hunger by the Global Network Against Food Crises (GNAFC) is a setback to the UN’s highly-publicized goal of eradicating extreme poverty and hunger by 2030—an integral part of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Far from achieving progress in the […]
Africa Pays High Interest Rates for Private and Chinese Loans
By Jutta Wolf BERLIN, 4 May 2023 (IDN) — African countries pay much higher interest rates to foreign bondholders and Chinese lenders than to international financial institutions such as the World Bank, says Germany’s eminent Kiel Institute for the World Economy. Besides, the hiatus in borrowing conditions has grown over the past ten years, suggesting […]
Indian State Elections: Ruling BJP Vows to Eradicate Manual Scavenging
Special IDN SDG News Feature* BENGALURU, India, 3 May 2023 (IDN) — India’s southern state of Karnataka is due to go to the polls on May 10, and sustainable development goals (SDG) issues such as sanitation, food security and free nutrition for the poor, free housing sites for the homeless and free cooking gas cylinders […]
UNESCO Needs to Rethink Freedom of Expression
Viewpoint by Kalinga Seneviratne SYDNEY, 3 May 2023 (IDN) — At a time when the West has weaponised human rights, the United Nations body that promotes freedom of expression need to rethink what it means. Every year UNESCO (United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation) mark World Press Freedom Day (WPFD) on May 3 with […]
Zimbabwe Government is Muzzling Politically Conscious Artists
By Farai Shawn Matiashe HARARE, 3 May 2023 (IDN) — As a crucial election approaches, President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s regime is in overdrive cracking down on politically conscious musicians who encourage people to register to vote and sing against corruption. The southern African nation is set to hold its general elections in August this year.
Sri Lanka — The Status Quo Resumes?
By Charles Seevali Abeysekera BROMLEY, UK, 3 May 2023 (IDN) — Fast forward the clock nine months and the country appears to have got through the worst with funds being provided by friendly donor countries and more recently by the IMF. A semblance of normality has returned or so it appears on the surface.
Bush’s “Mission Accomplished,” 20 Years Later
By Norman Solomon* SAN FRANCISCO, USA, 2 May 2023 (IDN) — Twenty years ago, President George W. Bush landed in a twin-engine Navy jet on an aircraft carrier, strode across the deck in a bulky flight suit and proceeded to give a televised victory speech under a huge red-white-and-blue banner announcing “Mission Accomplished.”
Are We Going to See a Demographic Peace?
By Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden, 2 May 2023 (IDN) — Traditionally, old men have sent young men to fight the wars they have started. Today, if we look at the world-wide picture, it may be somewhat different. Old men may be shying away from war while young men are still beholden to it. The number […]
The War in Sudan Is Coming After Your Coca Cola
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK, 2 May 2023 (IDN) — Despite wall-to-wall coverage on our news shows and radio broadcasts, wars being fought today around the world seem so distant, so remote. Soundlessly, they rage on, and peace seems far from near. Could anything bring the war to our door? The answer, […]
Widening Inequalities in Economic & Social Lives Continue Worldwide
By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS, 1 May 2023 (IDN) — Speaking during the launch of the Special Edition of the SDG Progress Report, UN Secretary-General António Guterres struck a note of pessimism when he warned that most of the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will miss their targets by the 2030 deadline. “Halfway to […]