By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) — Two anthems, one country. Such was the inspiration for President Nelson Mandela in 1994 to declare that both “Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika” (Lord bless Africa) and “Die Stem van Suid-Afrika” (English: “The Call of South Africa”)—the state anthem inherited from the previous apartheid government—would be the […]
Putin Confirms That Africa Is One of Russia’s Foreign Policy Priorities
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) — While Africa has moved to center stage as a Russian foreign policy priority, questions are being raised about the record of human rights abuses by Russian mercenaries in Chad and the Central African Republic, among other countries. United Nations investigators are examining allegations of atrocities […]
Europe Should Be Taking the Lead to Agree on Putin Summit
Merkel and Macron Ready to Talk Despite EU Refusal Viewpoint by Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden (IDN) — That bar, the Red Star, on the far side of eastern Europe is closed. So why is the Black Star on this side of the street still open, and even extending its drinking hours? Once the Warsaw Pact […]
Militarization, Environment, and Hybrid Maritime Trade War Under a Covid-19 Mask
By Darini Rajasingham-Senanayake The writer, Dr. Darini Rajasingham-Senanayake, is a Social and Medical Anthropologist, at the International Centre for Ethnic Studies, based in Colombo, Sri Lanka. COLOMBO (IDN) — On June 24, Poson Poya (full moon) day, one of the most sacred days in a Sri Lankan Buddhist’s calendar, the day that Buddhism arrived on […]
WHO Issues First Global Report in Artificial Intelligence in Health
By Jamshed Baruah GENEVA (IDN) — Artificial Intelligence (AI) holds great promise for improving the delivery of healthcare and medicine worldwide, but only if ethics and human rights are put at the heart of its design, deployment, and use, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). WHO’s report, Ethics and governance of artificial intelligence for […]
Generation Equality Forum Will Consider Seven Ways to Change the World
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 […]