By Caroline Mwanga NEW YORK (IDN) — Convened by UN Women and co-hosted by the governments of Mexico and France, in partnership with youth and civil society, the Generation Equality Forum is taking place in Paris, from June 30 to July 2. The Forum will bring together governments, feminist leaders, youth, and change makers from […]
COVID Recovery Needs Universal Civil Registration and Vital Statistics
By Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, Kanni Wignaraja, Omar Abdi* BANGKOK (IDN) — With health systems at a breaking point, hospitals at capacity and desperate family members searching for oxygen for loved ones, the devastating second wave of COVID-19 that has swept across South Asia has felt unreal. Official figures have indicated record-breaking daily coronavirus cases and […]
The US Builds A ‘Systemic’ Pact to Counter China’s Growing Influence
By J Nastranis NEW YORK (IDN) — Nearly five months after the termination of Donald Trump’s erratic presidency, US President Joe Biden has triggered a sort of ‘systemic’ pact against China—with partners in the Group of Seven (G-7), the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and the European Union (EU) at the June 11-15 summits. Thirty […]
DOUBLE TAKE: Nepal Falls Back into Familiar Rut
Viewpoint by Shastri Ramachandran * NEW DELHI (IDN) — When K P Sharma Oli became Nepal’s Prime Minister for a third time on May 13, 2021, he was a much-diminished political figure from the one who rode to office at the head of a massive mandate in February 2018. He had then represented new hopes […]
The ‘Missing’ iPad and #TheOtherRoom Comments
Viewpoint by Azu Ishiekwene The writer is the Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of LEADERSHIP newspaper based in Abuja, Nigeria. ABUJA (IDN) — Awkward moments are human, and hardly call attention when mere mortals are involved. But when the high and might trip, they make the headlines. Both experts and laypeople sometimes feel obliged to ask if such […]
Over 264 million Suffer from Depression Worsened by the Global Pandemic
By Lisa Wohl The writer is a US-based health reporter WELLINGTON, Florida, USA (IDN) — According to the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva, one in four people in the world will be affected by neurological or mental disorders at some point in their lives. Depression is a common mental disorder. Globally, more than 264 […]
Climate: The Collaboration Crisis
Viewpoint by Bill Dahl* This is the third in a series of four articles. Click here for the second in the series. QUERETARO, Mexico (IDN) — In their 2013 treatise, NY Times bestselling authors Ori Brafman and Judith Pollack observe: Information doesn’t change behavior. If it did, none of us would smoke and we’d all […]
Education Is the Key to Unlock the Door to Freedom
By Professor Ellen Hernandez* The article below explores the importance of education and literacy in the U.S. and Morocco in informing citizens of their rights. COLLINGSWOOD, USA (IDN) — On June 19, 2021, Americans officially recognized “Juneteenth” as a national holiday. Most Americans understand the holiday to be a celebration of the end of slavery […]
Nuclear Risks: Reduction or Elimination?
Viewpoint by Sergio Duarte Ambassador, former UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, President of Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs. NEW YORK (IDN) — “We escaped the Cold War without a nuclear holocaust by some combination of skill, luck and divine intervention—probably the latter in greatest proportion.”[1] — Gen. Lee Butler, former commander of U.S. nuclear […]
DON’T QUOTE ME: Cuba Survives One of the Longest Economic Wars in Modern History
By Thalif Deen* NEW YORK (IDN) — When Raul Castro decided to retire, both as leader of Cuba and head of the Communist Party last April, it was the end of a politically adventurous era for a country most American leaders loved to hate. In the late 1950s, it was Raul and his more famous […]