By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS (IDN) — The alarm bells have been ringing right across Europe as the Russian invasion of Ukraine has not only triggered nuclear threats by one of the world’s major nuclear powers but also set off emergency drills outside a nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhia which has come under fire. Against […]
Growing Anger Over Soaring Prices in South Africa
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK | PRETORIA (IDN) — “We cannot breathe, comrades. We cannot breathe when today it costs more than $277 to buy food for a family of just four people. No!” That was Moalusi Tumane, a schoolteacher in Palm Ridge, east of Johannesburg, speaking to some 1,000 workers who […]
High Prices Spark Rare Street Disturbance in Sierra Leone
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK | FREETOWN (IDN) — The crisis of inflation taking a toll on the poor and middle class has spread to Sierra Leone, where rare protests shook the capital of Freetown. Workers have been clearing broken glass from downtown restaurants. “It was an explosion of violence,” said Mohamed […]
Japan Strengthens African Ties with Generous Pledge of Investment
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) — African heads of state and a Japanese delegation are meeting to discuss “African-led” development at a meeting in Tunisia. Financial aid was discussed. Tunisian President Kais Saied welcomed the participants to the 8th Tokyo International Conference on African Development—or TICAD— from August 27-28 in Tunis, […]
A ‘Rousing Manifesto and Poignant Memoir’
Ugandan Activist’s New Book By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) — A young climate activist from Uganda about to address the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, faced one final indignity from western media when they staged a photo op of her with her white climate colleagues and then clipped her out […]
A Four-Week Festival of Double Standards
Hypocrisy & Outright Lying by Nuclear-armed States By Jackie Cabasso The writer is Executive Director, Western States Legal Foundation, who participated in the Tenth NPT Review Conference, which concluded on August 26. NEW YORK (IDN) — The 10th NPT Review Conference didn’t fail because it couldn’t produce a final document. It failed because the nuclear-armed […]
UN Can Model Innovative Ways to Engage Youth
Time for a National Forum or Assembly By Simone Galimberti The writer is the Co-Founder of ENGAGE, a not-for-profit NGO in Nepal. He writes on volunteerism, social inclusion, youth development and regional integration as an engine to improve people’s lives. KATHMANDU (IDN) — One of the pillars of Our Common Agenda, the UN Secretary-General’s global […]
Privatizing Sri Lanka ex-ante IMF Bailout of BlackRock
India’s Adani Greenwash in Mannar and Pooneryn Viewpoint by Darini Rajasingham-Senanayake COLOMBO (IDN) — The Argentine capital, Buenos Aires, was rocked again by massive protests against austerity measures imposed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which have been taking place since July 2022. Structural reforms with austerity have resulted in soaring inflation, currency depreciation, poverty […]
Being Abroad and Local: Late Prof. Shahul Hasbullah
By A. L A. Azeez Former Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the UN in Geneva COLOMBO (IDN) — Most comments that have come out in public since the sad passing away of Prof. Hasbullah in August 2018 appear to give due credit to him for the work he has done to highlight […]
US Remains Restrained Over North Korea’s Missile Tests & Nuclear Threats
By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS (IDN) — The US response to North Korea’s continued missile tests—and occasional nuclear threats—has been surprisingly restrained. The reaction has been summed up in two words: dialogue and diplomacy. On August 17, North Korea fired two cruise missiles toward the sea off its west coast. And, according to a report […]