By Radwan Jakeem NEW YORK (IDN) — Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, two-thirds of countries have cut their education budgets. “But education is the building block for peaceful, prosperous, stable societies,” says the UN Chief. “Reducing investment virtually guarantees more serious crises further down the line”. Secretary-General António Guterres spelt out: “We need to get […]
Truss, Sunak and Vajpayee: Devil is in the Detail
By Shastri Ramachandran NEW DELHI (IDN) — When it comes to well-known public figures, it is the little-known tidbits about them that are interesting. How and why Rishi Sunak lost to Liz Truss in the race to become UK’s Prime Minister is no big mystery. It is because the cow could not help Sunak. Had […]
China and India Slug it out in Colombo
By Shastri Ramachandran NEW DELHI (IDN) — Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bhutan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Myanmar are all contested sites with both Beijing and New Delhi competing for influence in these countries. There can be no denying the geopolitics involved in bilateral relations in the region. Time was when most of the South […]
Kazakhstan Set to Return Astana as Name of Its Capital
By Assel Satubaldina This article was published in The Astana Times newspaper. NUR-SULTAN (IDN) — Kazakhstan’s capital is set to soon be renamed back from Nur-Sultan to Astana after the Parliament endorsed the draft law on constitutional amendments required to rename the capital on September 16. The document now awaits President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s discretion.
Kazakhstan, the Centre of a New Route of Global Relationships?
By Kalinga Seneviratne NUR-SULTAN, Kazakhstan (IDN) — Pope Francis has raised the prospect of Kazakhstan becoming the centre of a new route connecting the East and West, but this time a route that builds on human relations and respect. Kazakhstan was once the meeting place of traders and travellers travelling from the East to the […]
Kazakhstan: A Bridge Between West and East
By Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, President of Kazakhstan As Kazakhstan hosted on September 14-15 the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions, an influential US magazine National Interest published an article by the Kazakhstan President where he dwells on the significance of the two-day congress amid rising global tensions. The following text was re-published by The […]
Pakistan and the Fight for Climate Justice
Viewpoint by Jeffrey D. Sachs This article was published in Project Syndicate and is being republished with the author’s permission. NEW YORK (IDN) — Around the world, 2022 has been a year of climate catastrophes, including droughts, floods, mega-fires, typhoons, and more. Among the hardest-hit countries is Pakistan. With torrential monsoon rainfall almost 190% above […]
A World Without Armies? Sri Lanka Should Take the Lead
Viewpoint by P. Soma Palan COLOMBO (IDN) — I am a free thinker and not a qualified celebrity in any field or a public figure of sorts. When the nation is gasping for its very survival due to a chain of unprecedented crises in its history, the President of the Nation seems to be preoccupied […]
How Meghan, ‘the Witch of Windsor’, Killed the Queen
Viewpoint by Azu Ishiekwene The writer is the Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of LEADERSHIP newspaper based in Abuja, Nigeria. ABUJA (IDN) — The only thing that compares in recent tweet villainy with the post of US-based Nigerian professor Uju Anya on Queen Elizabeth II, was perhaps the visit of the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, to the […]
Global Food Crisis: Cash Offers Hope to the World’s Most Vulnerable
By Edward Johnson | World Food Programme (WFP) Amid an unprecedented global hunger crisis, cash offers one vehicle to reach the world’s most vulnerable people in ways that can lift communities and economies. ROME (IDN) — While skyrocketing food prices have fallen recently, they still remain high, with the war in Ukraine driving up the […]