By Ramesh Jaura BERLIN | NEW YORK (IDN) – Amid mounting signs of a new arms race unleashing between the United States and Russia, which together account for 93 percent of the nuclear weapons around the world, a top Trump Administration official has obliquely accused Russia of violating the global ban on nuclear tests enshrined […]
Brexit Sans Theresa May
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – Brexit grabs the attention of much of the world, not least because Britain once had an Empire and ruled a great part of the world’s peoples. And it’s the caretaker of the English language, the Empire’s most important legacy. Add to that the BBC, the world’s favourite […]
UN Appoints ‘Ebola Chief’ As the Menace of Deadly Virus Grows
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) – “We have no time to lose.” That’s the new mantra at the United Nations as the spread of the deadly Ebola virus in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo now appears almost unstoppable. In a move to bolster efforts to contain the growing outbreak […]
A Pioneering Voice in African Literature Dies
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) – Binyavanga Wainaina, one of Africa’s best-known authors and gay rights activist, has died in Nairobi after a short illness. He was 48. Wainaina won the 2002 Caine prize for African writing. Credited with founding the literary magazine and collective Kwani? and advancing the fight for […]
Congo Seeks Closer Relations with Russia on All Fronts
By Kester Kenn Klomegah MOSCOW (IDN) – Russia and the Republic of Congo have enjoyed good bilateral relations over more than five decades. But, as President Denis Sassou-Nguesso’s talks at the Kremlin reveal, there are still prospects for strengthening ties between the two countries, especially in the economic and security spheres. This was affirmed by […]
How Real is Saudi Religious Moderation?
Viewpoint by James M. Dorsey James M. Dorsey – a senior fellow at Nanyang Technological University’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, an adjunct senior research fellow at the National University of Singapore’s Middle East Institute and co-director of the University of Wuerzburg’s Institute of Fan Culture – offered this viewpoint to IDN. SINGAPORE (IDN) […]
Forced Displacement in Africa Not Just a Tale of Human Tragedy
By Sean Buchanan NEW YORK (IDN) – The estimated 24 million and more Africans who have been forced from their homes in recent years is placing a growing burden on the continent’s economy, environment and communities hosting those displaced. This was the backdrop to a May 21-23 event held at UN headquarters as part of […]
Generation 2030 in the Nordic Countries Tackles SDGs
By Lowana Veal REYKJAVIK (IDN) – On September 5, 2017 – two years after the United Nations adopted Agenda 2030 with its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 targets – the Nordic countries jointly launched the Generation 2030 programme with the aim of speeding up implementation of Agenda 2030 through official Nordic cooperation. A […]
China’s OBOR Promises a World Sans Hegemony
Viewpoint by Chandra Muzaffar The writer, Dr Chandra Muzaffar, is the President of the International Movement for a Just World (JUST). KUALA LUMPUR (IDN) – The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) also known as the One Belt One Road ( OBOR) project could well emerge as the obor ( the flame in Indonesian or Malay) […]
Ancient Silk Route Hub Gets Ready for Modern Tourism
By Kalinga Seneviratne BUKHARA, Uzbekistan (IDN) – The city of Bukhara was a major trading hub of the ancient Silk Routes that connected Asia to the Arab world and Europe. With the Uzbekistan government’s lifting of restrictions on foreign tourists in 2016 and global interests on the ancient Silk Routes gathering momentum, this 2000-year-old city […]