By Dr Palitha Kohona* COLOMBO, Sri Lanka | 30 August 2024 (IDN) — The expedition ship, (Seabourn Venture) powers its way through icy waves and freezing winds further into the cold north, well past the Arctic Circle. Svalbard, with its stark landscape, discovered by accident by a Dutch expedition commanded by Willem Barentz searching for […]
Ukraine War: The Diplomatic Wrangling Hots Up With Modi Visit To Kyiv
By Stefan Wolff The writer is Professor of International Security, University of Birmingham. This article was issued by The Conversation under Creative Commons license. BIRMINGHAM | 29 August 2024 (IDN) — Ukraine’s three-week incursion has been countered recently by an intensifying Russian drone campaign against Ukrainian infrastructure. Russian troops have also made steady gains in […]
A Brown Tide of Sargassum Is Causing Havoc in Barbados
By Julian Reingold* This article was first published in Dialogue Earth. This story was supported by a reporting grant from the Pulitzer Center. BUENOS AIRES | 29 August 2024 (IDN) — Emerging from the sea a light orange colour, the seaweed turns brown once it dries out. But the most distinctive thing is the smell. […]
A Sign that Beckoned Coming Sustainable Development
By Yossef Ben-Meir* MARRAKECH | 28 August 2024 (IDN) — I do not know if it is a rule or commonplace as to whether a small act in the area of social development can launch thousands, even countless, small and large acts of sustainable change and growth. In Morocco, there may have been such a […]
Shining Stars: Remarkable Achievements of Sri Lankan-American Women
By Nandi Jasentuliyana The writer is a former Deputy Director, United Nations. LOS ANGELES, California | 28 August 2024 (IDN) — Despite Sri Lanka’s rich history of pioneering women who have broken barriers and reached the highest levels, many stories of successful women go untold. Stories of Queen Vihara Mahadevi’s heroic sacrifice to save the […]
UN Chief Warns of Sea Level Rise Threatening Small Island States with Extinction
By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS | 27 August 2024 (IDN) — The world’s 39 small island developing states (SIDS), with an aggregate population of about 65 million, are battling a rash of social, economic and mostly environmental vulnerabilities. According to the UN, the three geographical regions in which SIDS are located are: the Caribbean, the […]
Reading The Tea Leaves in Hong Kong
By Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden | 27 August 2024 (IDN) — In 1995 in a little remembered event Li Ruthuan, a member of the Chinese Politburo (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 […]
Why Are Liberal Zionists Cheering as Harris Echoes Biden on Gaza?
By Abba A. Solomon* SEATTLE, Washington | 27 August 2024 (IDN) — Hours after Kamala Harris gave her acceptance speech at the Democratic convention, the president of the “pro-Israel, pro-peace” organization J Street took a victory lap in an effusive e-mail to supporters. “Wow,” Jeremy Ben-Ami wrote. “What a week! As J Streeters leave the […]
Ukraine Blackmails Hungary and Slovakia
By Peter G. Feher* WASHINGTON, D.C. | 26 August 2024 (IDN) — Ukraine blackmails Hungary and Slovakia in a vile way. The quarrel between Hungary and Slovakia, as well as Ukraine, has been going on for more than two months. Indeed, on June 24, without any prior warning, Kyiv prohibited the privately owned Russian oil […]
New Approaches to Tackling Child Labour in Nepal
By Simone Galimberti* KATHMANDU, Nepal | 26 August 2024 (IDN) — Child labour remains one of the most pressing issues of our times. According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), child labour remains a pervasive and persistent issue, 160 million children – 63 million girls and 97 million boys—are in child labour, accounting for almost […]