By R.M.Samanmalee Swarnalatha POLLONNARUWA, Sri Lanka (IDN) — Sri Lankan government’s badly planned organic farming policy that has banned the use of chemical fertilizer in farms has upset farmers in this rice growing heartland and a political stronghold of the ruling coalition. The policy has also drawn criticism from agricultural experts, who warn that Sri […]
Diplomacy for Ukraine Is Spelled M-i-n-s-k
A Memo to Congress Viewpoint by Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J. S. Davies NEW YORK (IDN) — While the Biden administration is sending more troops and weapons to inflame the Ukraine conflict and Congress is pouring more fuel on the fire, the American people are on a totally different track. A December 2021 poll found […]
The Sad Story of Western Wrongs to Russia
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power LUND, Sweden (IDN) — Are the West’s chickens coming home to roost? If the Western powers had gambled 2% of NATO’s budget and met the Soviet Union’s economic needs in President Mikhail Gorbachev’s glasnost era there would have been a much less de-stabilising transition and today, there would have been a […]
UN Sanctions “A Vital Tool” Available to the Security Council
By Rosemary A. DiCarlo Ms DiCarlo is the UN Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs. NEW YORK (IDN) — United Nations Security Council sanctions are no longer the “blunt instrument” they once were, having transformed since the 1990s into “a vital tool” that minimizes negative consequences for civilians, and States that are not directly being […]
Two UN Agencies Working Together to Ensure Safe Delivery of Cancer Treatment
By Reinhard Jacobsen VIENNA (IDN) — The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have a long-standing collaboration to support Member States to address their cancer burdens. The two specialized agencies of the United Nations work together to help countries improve cancer control planning, ensure safe delivery of cancer treatment through […]
WHO and the Commonwealth To Reinforce Cooperation on Equitable Access to Vaccines
By Jamshed Baruah GENEVA (IDN) — The World Health Organization (WHO) and the London-based Commonwealth Secretariat have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that focuses on ending the COVID-19 pandemic, advancing Universal Health Coverage, addressing vaccine equity, strengthening digital health systems and working towards global health security
Chadian Filmmaker Takes a Strong Stand for Women’s Rights
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) — Mahamat-Saleh Haroun was seven years old when he first heard that a newborn baby was found dead in the trash. A few weeks later, another baby was similarly found. Tragically, this was nothing out of the ordinary in a repressive society that denied women the […]
New Round of Cultural Festivals Planned in West Africa Despite Sanctions
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) — Festival season is around the corner in West Africa despite ongoing insurgencies that have hurt tourism. The region has long been known for its music, dance and cultural shows, among them the Amani festival in Goma, the Democratic Republic of Congo, which opened on Febuary […]
Are Democracies Slowly Dying in The Age of Authoritarianism and Populism?
Viewpoint by Jan Servaes * BRUSSELS (IDN) — Military coups d’état posed the greatest threat to democracies during the Cold War, until about 1990, and were responsible for nearly three out of every four democratic collapses. Democracies in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, the Dominican Republic, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Thailand, Turkey and Uruguay all […]
African Troops Heading for Guinea Bissau After Failed Coup Linked to Narcos
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) — ECOWAS, a West African trade union, has voted to send troops to the coastal nation of Guinea Bissau after unidentified coup plotters brazenly threatened the lives of government leaders. While the identity of the coup plotters is still unknown, the nation’s president, Umaro Sissoco Embalo, […]