By Kalinga Seneviratne This article is the 44th in a series of joint productions of Lotus News Features and IDN-InDepthNews, flagship agency of the Non-profit International Press Syndicate. Click here for previous reports. SINGAPORE (IDN) – The Sri Lankan government will be amending the Animal Act after the Cabinet approved a proposal by Prime Minister […]
Beware the Dangers of “Prozac Leadership”
Viewpoint by David Collinson* LANCASTER (IDN) – Positivity is widely seen as an important quality for effective leadership. Upbeat and optimistic leaders can inspire commitment and creativity. But when taken to excess, being positive can become manipulative and counterproductive. In fact, my research has found that excessive positivity can be extremely dangerous. I have examined the frequent […]
We Ignore Only at Our Peril the War Trump Is Waging on Us
Viewpoint by Sonali Kolhatkar This article was produced by Economy for All, a project of the Independent Media Institute. Sonali Kolhatkar is the founder, host and executive producer of “Rising Up With Sonali,” a television and radio show that airs on Free Speech TV and Pacifica stations. LOS ANGELES (IDN) – From the very beginning […]
Kazakhstan Celebrates 175th Anniversary of Eminent Poet Abai
By Saltanat Suraganova ALMATY (IDN | Kazinform) – The name of Abai is known worldwide just as Shakespeare, Goethe, and Pushkin are well-known in many countries. His books were translated into many foreign languages. So, we can say definitely that Abai made a contribution to not only Kazakh culture and folklore but world literature as […]
UN Survey Finds COVID-19 Has Enhanced Online Shopping
By Jamshed Baruah GENEVA (IDN) – “The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the shift towards a more digital world. The changes we make now will have lasting effects as the world economy begins to recover,” says Mukhisa Kituyi, Secretary-General of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). The acceleration of online shopping globally underscores the […]
UN Agency Points to Linkages Between Human Trafficking and Forced Marriage
By Richard Jacobsen VIENNA (IDN) – A new UN report has documented the interlinkages between trafficking in persons and marriage, and specified steps for governments and other authorities to strike back. Published by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the report points out that across the world, girls as young as 12 are […]
Post-COVID-19 Sustainable Cities: What Can Universities Do?
Viewpoint by Juan Romo* This article is one of two published by the UN Chronicle providing commentary by a distinguished scholar on the Secretary-General’s Policy Brief: “COVID-19 in an Urban World”. Click here to read the other article. NEW YORK (IDN) – The COVID-19 pandemic has brought unprecedented challenges to large cities. The high levels […]
‘Glasgow Agreement’ Seizes the Initiative on Climate Action
Viewpoint by Andrea(s) Speck* SEVILLE (IDN) – After more than 40 years since the first UN conference on climate change in 1979 – and after more than 25 years of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) – the world is still far from any serious climate action. Although carbon emissions keep rising, there has […]
A Long Road Ahead to COVID-19 Immunity Even with Vaccines
Viewpoint by Prabir Purkayastha* NEW DELHI (IDN) – As the pandemic continues to spread throughout the world, many countries seem to have given up the fight against COVID-19 and are now waiting for a vaccine to protect against the virus. With cases exceeding 32 million, and more than a million dead, the world economy has […]
COVID-19 Highlights the Global Structural Dependence on Exploitable Labour
Viewpoint by Randall Hansen* TORONTO (IDN) – In November 2019, a federal government official visited the University of Toronto’s Munk School and asked its faculty to delineate coming global threats. We spoke of inequality, hunger, climate change, sanitation, and plastic pollution, among others. No one mentioned a microbe; a discussion of the threat of immunity […]