By Ramesh Jaura BERLIN | TOKYO (IDN) – An eminent Buddhist philosopher and nuclear disarmament advocate has tabled four critical initiatives to “contribute to the creation of a sustainable global society where all can live with dignity and a sense of security”. The initiatives cover four major areas: building support for the Treaty on the […]
What Sinn Féin’s Election Success Means for Irish Relations with the EU and Brexit
Viewpoint by Mary C. Murphy* CORK, Ireland (IDN) – Ireland’s traditionally centre-right conservative political system has been rocked by a wave of support for Sinn Féin in the February 8 general election. The previously small left-wing republican party, with historic links to the paramilitary Provisional Irish Republican Army, now has legitimate ambitions to form part […]
Kazakh Roadmap for LLDCs as 2020-2021 Chair
By Ambassador Kairat Umarov Kazakhstan assumed the chairmanship of the Group of Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs) on 8 January for the period 2020-2021. The following are extensive excerpts from the statement of LLDC Chair Ambassador Kairat Umarov, Permanent Representative of Kazakhstan to the United Nations in New York, at the First 2020 Meeting of the […]
Malawi Court Tosses Fraud-Riddled Presidential Elections
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) – Following an exhaustive review of petitions submitted by the opposition, judges of the Malawian Constitutional Court ruled against Peter Mutharika whose presidential victory in May 2019 was attributed to massive fraud. Veteran diplomat Vernon Mwaanga of neighboring Zambia said the Court raised the bar for […]
Economic Growth Is Not The B-All and End-All In The Third World
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power LUND, Sweden (IDN) – Do we know how to end poverty in the Third World? Do we know why some economies expand and others don’t? Not really. There is no clear formula for growth. The two Nobel economics prize winners of last year, the husband and wife team of Abhijit Banerjee […]
Incoming African Union Chief Announces End of Colonialism
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) – A stirring call to action was delivered this week in the august hall of the African Union (AU) headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, spoken by the incoming AU president Cyril Ramaphosa to distinguished members of the continental a continental union consisting of 55 member states […]
COP26 Will Be the Litmus Test of The Paris Agreement
COP25 Ignored Demands for Climate Justice Viewpoint by Mary Church* EDINBURGH (IDN) – The outcomes of the longest ever meeting in the history of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) – the COP25 negotiations in Madrid – have failed to reflect the urgency of the crisis or any grasp of the real solutions […]
Strengthening Women & Girls Participation in Ocean Science
Viewpoint by Michael W. Lodge The writer is Secretary-General of the International Seabed Authority (ISA), an autonomous international organization established under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the 1994 Agreement relating to the Implementation of Part XI of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. ISA […]
Looking Forward to Scotland’s Return to EU Membership
Viewpoint by Nicola Sturgeon The following are extensive excerpts from the address of Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon at the European Policy Centre, a leading Brussels-based think tank, on February 10. She was in Brussels for a series of engagements to make Scotland’s voice heard in Europe. BRUSSELS (IDN) – This is the first time […]
Australia’s Exceptional Vulnerability to Climate Change
Viewpoint by Andrew Walter* MELBOURNE (IDN) — The bushfires now ravaging Australia’s flora, fauna and rural communities on an unprecedented scale underline the country’s exceptional vulnerability to global heating and its strong interest in global climate change mitigation and adaptation. Decarbonisation should be taken as an economic opportunity and it could elevate Australia’s leading role […]