Viewpoint by A.G. Noorani India’s Union Home Minister Amit Shah claims that if it wasn’t for the country’s first prime minister Jawahar Lal Nehru, Pakistan-occupied Kashmir would have been in India’s possession. The truth is, if Kashmir is a part of India, it is almost entirely because of Nehru, writes A. G. Noorani, an Indian […]
Artificial Intelligence Offers Benefits for Africa
By Hugo Bourhis * NEW YORK (IDN | Africa Renewal) – When some people think of artificial intelligence (AI), they think of humanoid robots turning against their creators in an apocalyptic science fiction movie. In reality, AI is already playing an increasing role in many existing and evolving technologies, from driverless cars to translation software, […]
Nuclear Arms Race Is Here
By Jessica Corbett * MAINE, USA (IDN) – Nuclear experts and disarmament advocates are warning that the world is witnessing a new arms race after the Pentagon tested a new missile August 18 that would have violated a Cold War-era treaty the Trump administration ditched earlier this month. After years of the U.S. government—under both […]
Educating Youth for Achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
By Jayathma Wickramanayake The writer is UN Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth. Following are extensive excerpts from her article in July 2019 issue of the UN Chronicle. The views expressed do not necessarily imply official endorsement or acceptance by the United Nations. NEW YORK (IDN-INPS) – At the end of May this year, I visited the Gaza Strip […]
UN Forced to Close Down Life-Saving Aid Operations in Yemen
By Caroline Mwanga NEW YORK (IDN) – Because money pledged by Member States has “failed to materialize”, the United Nations is being forced to cease several relief operations in Yemen, which is embroiled in the worst humanitarian crisis triggered by a long-drawn conflict. “All of us are ashamed by the situation,” Lise Grande, UN Humanitarian […]
‘Green Tickets’ for First Ever UN Youth Climate Summit
UN Chief Urges Young People Worldwide to Join Online and in Local Communities By Santo D. Banerjee NEW YORK (IDN) – In an obvious expression of support for the ‘FridaysforFuture’ movement, whose initiator Greta Thunberg is sailing to New York, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres is keen to mobilize youth for what he has termed […]
Pacific Islands Forum Issues Strongest-Ever Statement on Climate, Cites Security Threat
By Delia Paul, IISD FUNAFUTI, Tuvalu (IDN) – Pacific leaders sounded an urgent call to world leaders to maintain security in the Pacific region by seeking to limit global warming to 1.5°C above preindustrial levels and meeting their global climate finance commitment of USD 100 billion per year by 2020. The ‘Kainaki II Declaration,’ a […]
Diamonds Leave Sierra Leone Villagers Poor and Sick
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) – Since the first diamonds were found in the 1930s, the villagers of Kono, in the eastern region of Sierra Leone, have seen the wealth under their feet make others rich. Instead of joy, the shiny stones have left a trail of contaminated water, pockmarked mud […]
In Hong Kong the Two Sides Must Meet Each Other Half Way
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – In 1995 in a little remembered event Li Ruthuan, a member of the Chinese Politiburo (containing the top seven in the government), made a speech likening the Chinese take-over of Hong Kong to the case of a lady who had agreed to sell a 100-year-old Yi-Xiang teapot […]
New UNAIDS Chief Winnie Byanyima Has an Ambitious Target
By Jaya Ramachandran GENEVA (IDN) – “The end of AIDS as a public health threat by 2030 is a goal that is within the world’s reach, but I do not underestimate the scale of the challenge ahead,” says Winnie Byanyima, the new Executive Director of UNAIDS. Working with all UNAIDS partners, she will continue to […]