By Dr Palitha Kohona The writer is former Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations, and former Foreign Secretary. COLOMBO (IDN) – Summer temperatures continue to establish new records. The capital clocks up an unprecedented 44 degrees Celsius, a more familiar figure in Middle Eastern cities. Bush fires have continued to […]
Ghana’s Year of Return Brings Call to Broaden Scope
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) – When Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo pronounced 2019 as the Year of Return, his words resounded with warmth and joy to all people of African descent. So began a year-long calendar of events including concerts, art shows, visits to heritage sites, fashion shows, movie premieres and […]
Passing of Acclaimed Nigerian Novelist Grieved
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) – Vincent Chukwuemeka Ike, novelist extraordinaire, passed this month into eternity, writes Nigerian author Okey Ndibe. Born April 28, 1931, he had a rich life as an academic, bureaucrat, father to an only son, Osita Ike (who preceded him in death), husband (to Adebimpe Olurinsola Ike, […]
Least Developed Countries (LDCs)
Breaking the Impasse on Donbass
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power LUND, Sweden (IDN) – The struggle for the Donbass region in the eastern and southern Ukraine goes on, seemingly never endingly. It’s now six years since dissident militias threw off the yoke of the central government in Kiev and declared their de-facto independence. They were supported by Russian troops which at […]
Experts Plead for Foiling Collapse of the Iran Nuclear Deal
By Radwan Jakeem NEW YORK (IDN) – Since U.S. President Donald Trump abandoned the JCPOA, also known as the “Iran nuclear deal”, in May 2018, a widespread view is that the regime in Tehran is yearning for an atomic bomb. Washington experts, however, maintain that while Iran’s violations of the JCPOA “are serious, they are […]
IPPNW and Pugwash Slam the Killing of Gen. Suleimani
By Jamshed Baruah GENEVA (IDN) – Two Nobel Peace laureates – IPPNW and Pugwash – have vehemently censured the killing of Gen. Qassem Suleimani on January 3. Suleimani was Iranian major general in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and, from 1998 until his death, commander of its Quds Force, a division primarily responsible for extraterritorial […]
The World’s Poorest Need Bold Actions by the Better Off
By Jamshed Baruah GENEVA (IDN) – As the United Nations launches an ambitious global effort to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, the fate of the world’s 47 most impoverished nations – the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) – has assumed added importance. UNCTAD, an organization of the UN, is therefore urging them to […]
SDGs Lead UN General Assembly President’s 2020 Priorities
By Santo D. Banerjee NEW YORK (IDN) – “International peace and security is key to achieving the SDGs, as no development can happen in the absence of peace”, said the President of the 74th session of the UN General Assembly, Tijjani Muhammad-Bande from Nigeria, setting out on January 13 his 2020 priorities, which aim to […]
An Ambitious Global Effort to Deliver The 2030 Promise
By J Nastranis Note: We are a member of the SDG Media Compact. This article is based on UN SDG Media Compact Editorial – 2020 Special Edition. NEW YORK (IDN) – With just ten years to go, an ambitious global effort is being kicked off to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, which […]