By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) – European nations are building a wall – a sea wall – to keep African migrants from reaching their shores. With funds paid by the European Union and cooperating African governments, refugees are being sent to distant centers where they are expected to make their asylum […]
The Emerald Forests Need Not Die
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – Belem is the Brazilian city at the mouth of the Amazon. Unlike its slummy counterpart, Kinshasa, at the mouth of the Congo, it’s full of resplendent streets with beautiful nineteenth century houses. It has squares and marketplaces full of cafes, fountains and life. The large city grew […]
UN Convenes A High-Level Forum to Stress the Significance of Culture of Peace
By Ramesh Jaura BERLIN | NEW YORK (IDN) – “The seed of peace exists in all of us. It must be nurtured, cared for and promoted by us all to flourish. Peace cannot be imposed from outside – it must be realized from within,” says Ambassador Anwarul K. Chowdhury in the run-up to the High-Level […]
Financing Gap of Trillions of Dollars to Achieve 17 SDGs
By Santo D. Banerjee NEW YORK (IDN) – Although significant progress has been made since the adoption of the Addis Ababa Action Agenda in 2015, recent data confirm that the world is not on track to achieve the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This includes the slow pace at which the financing gap for the […]
India Calls for A Global Water Action Agenda to Restore Degraded Land
By Devinder Kumar NEW DELHI (IDN) – As COP14, the 14th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) entered the second week, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi opened the ministerial segment calling on the international community to set up a global water action agenda as the […]
Continuing Upsurge in Costs of U.S. Nuclear Warheads
Viewpoint by Kingston Reif The writer is the Director for Disarmament and Threat Reduction Policy at the Arms Control Association. This article was first published in Arms Control Today (ACT). WASHINGTON, DC (IDN | Arms Control Association) – The estimated cost of sustaining U.S. nuclear warheads and their supporting infrastructure continues to rise, according to […]
‘Collective Security Act’ A Possible Way Out of the Iran Crisis
Viewpoint by René Wadlow*, TRANSCEND Media Service GENEVA (IDN) – It has often been mentioned that the Chinese characters for “crisis” is a combination of the characters for “danger” and for “opportunity”. Thus it is today for the Iran Crisis. The dangers are evident and have been around for a while. The Persian Gulf region […]
Organic Agriculture Key to Combat Land Degradation
By Devinder Kumar NEW DELHI (IDN) – In 2018, the first 100% organic state in the world, Sikkim in the North of India, received the Gold Award of the UN backed Future Policy Award, also known as ‘Oscar’ for best policies. The policy enhances soil fertility and increases biodiversity at field and landscape level. Further […]
Everything Has to Change for Our Planet to Stay the Same
By António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations NEW YORK (IDN) – Our planet is changing dramatically. Forests are burning, sea ice is shrinking, and the Greenland icecap is pouring unprecedented amounts of water into the ocean. Levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are higher than they have been in human history, climate disruption […]
Government Exam for Journalists in Nepal Riles the Profession
By Kalinga Seneviratne KATHMANDU (IDN) – The democratically elected Communist Party government in this former Hindu Kingdom is trying to change decades old media laws that were enacted before the digital age and is running into opposition from journalists who fear that the government is trying to muzzle a free media. “The communist party came […]