Viewpoint by Franz Baumann*, Former UN Assistant Secretary-General, United Nations. This article was first published in Environment: Science and Policy for Sustainable Development, Volume 63 Issue 3, May/June 2021 and is being republished with the author’s permission. NEW YORK (IDN) — One must thank UNDP for putting together the 2020 UNDP Human Development Report (HDR). […]
Musings on Jazz and the 30th Anniversary of the 1991 Windhoek Declaration on a Free Press
By Ramu Damodaran The writer is Chief, United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI) hosted in the Department of Global Communications. Following are excerpts of the OpEd, first published in #WhyWeCare on May 7. NEW YORK (IDN | UNAI) — Last weekend was bookended by two celebratory observances, the International Day of Jazz on April 30, and […]
UNESCO Creative Cities of Music Celebrate Intl. Jazz Day
By Robert Johnson PARIS (IDN | UNESCO) — As the great Nina Simone said, “Jazz is not just music, it is a way of life, it is a way of being, a way of thinking”, says UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. It adds: “The story of Jazz is written into the […]
A Story of Nightmare for Patients in India’s Government-Run COVID-19 Hospital
By Tarique Anwar This report was first published in News Click on May 8, 2021. NEW DELHI (IDN) — The healthcare staff at Guru Teg Bahadur (GTB) Hospital in Delhi frantically clear the facility of bodies. One of the biggest government-run COVID-19 hospitals in the national capital, it is swamped by patients, triggering chaotic situations […]
New Commission to Govern Colombo Port City Soon
Sri Lanka Embarks on Ambitious Project to Create Another Asian Financial Hub By Sugeeswara Senadhira COLOMBO (IDN) — The Sri Lankan Supreme Court’s determination on the proposed Colombo Port City Economic Commission Bill will be placed before the parliament on May 18, paving way for the legal act to establish the Commission, with an amendment […]
Renewables Are the Building Blocks of Global Energy Transition
By J W Jackie RENO, Nevada, USA (IDN) — The latest International Renewable Energy Agency IRENA analysis reveals that by 2050, variable renewables like wind and solar PV will dominate the global total power supply. The insights from IRENA’s World Energy Transitions Outlook were released on March 16-17, 2021, at the Berlin Energy Transitions Dialogue. […]
Europe and the US Need to Talk About Sanctions Against Russia
Viewpoint by Agathe Demarais The writer is Global Forecasting Director at The Economist Intelligence Unit (The EIU). This commentary* was published on the European Leadership Network (ELN) website on May 7. LONDON (IDN) — Convening in London this week (May 3-5), the G7 foreign ministers expressed their interest in standing together in the face of […]
Busybodies Outside the Gates
Viewpoint by Azu Ishiekwene The writer is the Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of LEADERSHIP newspaper based in Abuja, Nigeria. ABUJA (IDN) — Bill and Melinda Gates had barely finished saying the “D” word when all kinds of marriage counsellors and grief-mongers besieged social media with suggestions of why they think the couple is breaking up. The sentiments, […]
COVID-19 Accelerates Digitilization of Economies and Societies
Viewpoint by Kaveh Zahedi * A defining feature of the post-COVID world will be the digital transformation of the world, though it might also widen gaps in economic and social development within and between countries. The digital transformation has gone hand in hand with the rise of digital technologies, writes Kaveh Zahedi, the Deputy Executive […]
Avert the Worst Impacts of Climate Disruption
Viewpoint by António Guterres Chancellor Angela Merkel and the German government convened this year’s Petersberg Climate Dialogue virtually on May 6 with Alok Sharma, the UK Chair-designate of 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), in Glasgow, from November 1 to November 12, 2021. UN Secretary-General António Guterres also spoke. Following are major excerpts from […]