By Kalinga Seneviratne Bangkok | 7 December 2024 (IDN) — Breaking with tradition, Nepal’s recently re-elected Prime Minister Sharma Oli, a Communist politician, visited China from 2 to 5 December in a bid to add new momentum to growing trends in the landlocked Himalayan nation to diversify its connectivity to the outside world via railways […]
Namibia Elects First Female President Despite Loss of Trust in SWAPO
By Hajo Lanz* This article was issued by IPS-Journal. WINDHOEK, Namibia | 7 December 2024 (IDN) — Following the presidential and parliamentary elections on 27 November 2024, the South West Africa People’s Organisation (SWAPO) will once again form the government of Namibia and maintain its absolute majority in parliament. The current Vice President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah […]
Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Right to Statehood or Recipe for Next Inferno
By Dr Alon Ben-Meir* NEW YORK | 7 December 2024 (IDN) — Trump, who wants an end to the Israeli-Hamas war even before he reassumes the Presidency, must know that denying the Palestinian right to statehood and conceding further Palestinian land in the West Bank and Gaza to Israel is a recipe for the next […]
Berlin Conference: Colonial Legacy Continues 140 Years Later
By Abayomi Azikiwe* From 15 November 1884 until 26 February 1885, the Berlin West Africa Conference was held in Germany where numerous European states convened to carve up the continent based upon their own economic interests. DETROIT, USA | 6 December 2024 (IDN) — Commonly known as the Berlin Conference, the gathering marked the consolidation […]
Diego Garcia Asylum Seekers Celebrate Arrival in UK
By Jacob Goldberg* The New Humanitarian issued this article, and it is being republished with their permission. BANGKOK | 6 December 2024 (IDN) — Dozens of Sri Lankan Tamil asylum seekers arrived in the UK this week, ending a three-year legal battle to avoid being deported by British authorities from Diego Garcia, a British-held militarised […]
World Trade Is on Track to Hit a Record USD33 Trillion In 2024
By Jaya Ramachandran GENEVA | 5 December 2024 (IDN) — Global trade is poised to hit an all-time high of nearly $33 trillion in 2024. This marks a growth of 3.3% or $1 trillion increase driven by a 7% rise in trade in services, according to the latest Global Trade Update by UN Trade and […]
Volunteerism: The Untapped Force to Help Tackle World’s Problems
By Simone Galimberti International Volunteer Day, commonly known as IVD, is celebrated on 5 December every year. It started as an international observance mandated by the United Nations General Assembly in 1985. It is a day where volunteers are acknowledged, and the spirit of volunteerism is promoted at the local, national and international levels. United […]
UNHCR Hits a Record USD 1.5 Billion in Early Funding to Support Refugees
By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS | 4 December 2024 (IDN) — As humanitarian emergencies in the Middle East and Africa keep escalating—including in Gaza, Lebanon, Sudan and most recently in Syria—there was a glimmer of hope to millions starved of food and deprived of shelter and medication in war zones. According to the Office of […]
Lebanon: Can Diplomacy Rise from the Ruins?
By Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J. S. Davies* NEW YORK | 4 December 2024 (IDN) — On 26 November, Israel and Lebanon signed an agreement for a 60-day truce, during which Israel and Hezbollah are both supposed to withdraw from the area of Lebanon south of the Litani River. The agreement is based on the […]
Global Drought Resilience Partnership Secures USD 2.15 Billion in Commitments
By Bernhard Schell RIYADH, Saudi Arabia | 3 December 2024 (IDN) — Saudi Arabia, as host of the 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD COP16), has announced the Riyadh Global Drought Resilience Partnership, which will leverage public and private finance to support 80 of the […]