By Kizito Makoye DAR ES SALAAM (IDN) – When Monica Makona failed to obtain the bank loan, she badly needed to grow her business two years ago, she did not lose hope. Armed with her android smartphone, Makona tapped into TALA – a popular lending app she had previously downloaded – and within minutes she […]
A Colonial-Era Law Banning Same-Sex Relations Is Defeated
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) – If a democratic society is characterized by “tolerance, diversity and open-mindedness,” three countries in Africa have now reached that pinnacle. Botswana joined Angola and Mozambique in de-criminalizing same-sex relations in June 2019. High Court Justice Michael Lebruru, in his defining decision, added: “human dignity is […]
Nigeria Restores the Study of History in Public Schools
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) – The government of Muhammadu Buhari is bringing back the teaching of history in all basic and secondary schools – ending a decade in which departments of history were dismantled or merged into other programs as having little earnings potential for the high school graduates. In […]
What After the Trump-Kim Meeting at the Demilitarized Zone?
Viewpoint by Kelsey Davenport The author is director for nonproliferation policy at the Arms Control Association. This article is being reproduced from the Association’s Website. WASHINGTON, DC (IDN| INPS) – U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un met at the demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating North and South Korea June 30 and […]
The Taliban and Iran Topped Pompeo’s Visit to Afghanistan
Viewpoint by Abdul Bari Nijrabi and R. Maxwell Bone* WASHINGTON, DC | KABUL (IDN) – The U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pomepo made an unannounced visit to Kabul on June 25, 2019 During his nearly eight hours in the Afghan capital, the top diplomat of the United States met with senior government officials along with […]
Palestinians Reject The 50 Billion Dollar ‘Deal of The Century’
Viewpoint by Somar Wijayadasa* NEW YORK (IDN) – A workshop entitled ‘Peace for Prosperity’ to introduce the United States President Donald Trump’s Peace Plan (also known as the ‘Deal of the Century’) for the Palestinians, was held in Bahrain on June 25-26 – hosted by Trump’s son-in-law and adviser, Jared Kushner. According to Kushner, the […]
There’s Only One Way Out of the Global Coffee Crisis: Pay More
Viewpoint by Darío Soto Abril & Roberto Vélez Darío Soto Abril is CEO of Fairtrade International and Roberto Vélez is CEO of the Colombian Coffee Growers Federation (FNC). BONN | BOGOTA (IDN) – The global coffee industry is facing an unprecedented price crisis which not only threatens our daily cup of the black stuff but […]
Putin’s Russia Doesn’t Compare with The Days of The Gulag
Putin’s Russia Doesn’t Compare with The Days of The Gulag Viewpoint by Jonathan Power MSCOW (IDN-INPS) – Here’s a joke, borrowed from a Russian website. The Russians always have had a dry humour. “Trump, Merkel, May and Macon – Putin is heartily sick of them all. They keep calling and calling, so he switches his […]
World’s Poorest Expected to Suffer Most from Global Warming
By Jamshed Baruah GENEVA (IDN) – A spike in heat stress resulting from global warming is projected to lead to global productivity losses equivalent to 80 million full-time jobs or 2.2 per cent of total working hours worldwide and global economic losses of US$2,400 billion in the year 2030, according to a new report from […]
Serious Doubts about Sustainable Development Goals being Achieved by 2030
By Santo D. Banerjee NEW YORK (IDN) – Since the international community started implementing Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), efforts on some of the Goals have been successful “in a number of areas”, but on the whole “progress has been slow or even reversed”, notes the UN, adding that the most vulnerable people and countries continue […]