By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) — Reckya Madougou, one of the strongest challengers to Benin’s autocratic leader, Patrice Talon, will be observing the next election from her cell in jail. The 47-year-old activist was found guilty of conspiring to assassinate political figures and sentenced to 20 years behind bars. Madougou was […]
Billion Dollar Gas Project Threatens Mozambique
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) — An investment of $1.15 billion in a gas project in northern Mozambique is being challenged by Friends of the Earth which foresees a major increase in greenhouse gas emissions by up to 10 per cent by 2022. That’s the equivalent of the combined annual emissions […]
How Russia and Four Other BRICS Countries Are Dealing With COVID-19
By Kester Kenn Klomegah* MOSCOW l PRETORIA (IDN) — On December 4, Russian President Vladimir Putin held a telephone conversation with the South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. According to the official Kremlin transcript, which hardly gives detailed information, “the presidents agreed to join efforts in fighting the coronavirus pandemic, in particular in view of the […]
Will New Mobile Apps Give Deaf Children More Learning Paths?
By Pralhad Gairapipli and Simone Galimberti Pralhad Gairapipli works with Humanity & Inclusion as Regional Communications Officer, covering India, Nepal and Sri Lanka. Simone Galimberti is the Co-Founder of ENGAGE, an NGO partnering with youths living with disabilities. Opinions expressed are personal. KATHMANDU (IDN) — Can a mobile app become the transformative tool that will […]
One Dollar Could Save 7 million Lives in Low and Lower-Middle Income Countries
By Jaya Ramachandran GENEVA (IDN) — Close to seven million deaths could be prevented by 2030, if low and lower-middle income countries were to make an additional investment of less than a dollar per person per year in the prevention and treatment of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), according to a new World Health Organization report. NCDs […]
Internet Governance Forum Calls for Stronger Digital Rights
By Jutta Wolf BERLIN | KATOWICE, Poland (IDN) — Ensuring the protection of human rights and social and economic inclusion in the digital age was front and centre at the five-day discussions. These concluded in Katowice, Poland, on December 10 with a call to urgently connect the 2.9 billion people who still cannot access the […]
The Global Pandemic Disrupts Health Services Around the World
By Jaya Ramachandran GENEVA (IDN) — The global pandemic is likely to halt two decades of global progress towards Universal Health Coverage, according to two complementary reports compiled by the World Health Organization and the World Bank. The organizations also reveal in two reports launched on Universal Health Coverage Day that more than half a […]
Development Community Calls For Universal Vaccine Access
By UNDP SAL | Cabo Verde (IDN) — Cabo Verde President José Maria Neves on December 2 joined the development community in calling for urgent universal vaccine access as a way to mitigate the impact of Omicron and other variants of the Covid-19 virus. The World Health Organization on December 3 categorized Omicron as a […]
Time For Reforms in Latin America and The Caribbean to Address Long-Standing Challenges
Viewpoint by Alicia Bárcena, Sergio Díaz-Granados, Mathias Cormann, Jutta Urpilainen* The following is the text of the editorial in the ‘Latin American Economic Outlook 2021: Working Together for a Better Recovery’. PARIS (IDN) — Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) has been the region worst affected by the pandemic and is only re-emerging from what […]
The Taliban’s Social Media Warfare Operation Toward Seizing Kabul
Viewpoint by Iria Puyosa This article was issued by Toda Peace Institute and is being republished with their permission. MICHIGAN, United States (IDN) — In their advance towards Kabul, the Taliban were anticipating their military victory through WhatsApp’s voice notes, tweets, and Facebook posts. The Taliban insurgency crafted transmedia storytelling on how Afghan army soldiers […]