By Shanta Roy NEW YORK (IDN) – The much-publicized Climate Action Summit, hosted by the United Nations on September 23, took off on a not-so-positive note even though it was billed as a high-level meeting of world political leaders. Despite dire warnings from UN Secretary-General António Guterres of an impending “climate emergency” – with hurricanes, […]
ACP Ministers of Culture Meet in Niger to ‘Strengthen and Diversify Partnerships’
BRUSSELS (ACP Press) – Cultural Ministers throughout the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States will meet at the Palais des Congrès in Niamey, Niger from October 19 to 20 for the 5th Meeting of ACP Ministers of Culture. The Ministerial meeting will be preceded by a two-day preparatory technical meeting of ACP Senior […]
ACP, EU Point to Crucial Linkages Between Sustainable Development and Climate Action
By J Nastranis NEW YORK (IDN) – More than half of the UN members have issued a joint declaration in support of the 2030 Agenda, 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) endorsed by the international community in September 2015, and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change adopted three months later. The joint declaration by the African, […]
Corruption a Cause for Citizen Concern in Latin America and the Caribbean
By Kwame Buist BERLIN (IDN) – In the last five years, momentum has been building against corruption in Latin America and the Caribbean. High-level politicians have been found guilty of corruption in Guatemala and Brazil, and a wave of legal action against the perpetrators of grand corruption has swept across the continent, including the Lava […]
EU Joins 79 ACP States in Calling for ‘Bold Decisions’ to Achieve SDGs
By J. Tuyet Nguyen NEW YORK (IDN) – Governments from Africa, Caribbean, Pacific and the European Union issued on September 24 a joint declaration calling for “bold decisions” to implement the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and climate change agreements, saying that the two programs are closely linked. “Recognizing that the linkages between sustainable development […]
Military Confrontation with Russia in Kaliningrad Is Dangerous
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – “What idiocy”, exclaims Jack Matlock on Facebook. Matlock is one of my “Facebook Friends” because I judge his knowledge of Russia as second to none, having been under President Ronald Reagan the White House’s senior advisor on the Soviet Union and, later, his ambassador to Moscow. The […]
UN Reviews the SAMOA Pathway for Most Vulnerable Countries
By J Nastranis NEW YORK (IDN) – Progress made in addressing the priorities of the highly vulnerable small island developing States (SIDS) will draw the focus of the United Nations General Assembly when it conducts a high-level review of the SAMOA Pathway on September 27 as part of the ACTION FOR PEOPLE AND PLANET that […]
Global Leaders Urged to Make Africa’s Great Green Wall a Reality by 2030
By Caroline Mwanga NEW YORK IDN) – Eminent leaders from business, politics, media, the film and music industries gathered in New York on September 22 to spotlight the 8000 km Great Green Wall – natural wonder of the world across the entire width of the African continent – as a practical, low-cost nature-based solution responding […]
Up to 5 Billion People Could Miss Out on Health Care in 2030
By Santo D. Banerjee NEW YORK (IDN) – Time is running out for countries to achieve the global goal of Universal Health Coverage (UHC). A new report warns that if current trends continue, up to 5 billion people will still be unable to access health care in 2030 – the deadline world leaders have set […]
New Report Highlights Growing Gap Between Global Targets and Climate Reality
By Santo D. Banerjee NEW YORK (IDN) – A landmark new report has underlined the glaring – and growing – gap between agreed targets to tackle global warming and the actual reality. The report, United in Science, includes details on the state of the climate and presents trends in the emissions and atmospheric concentrations of […]