By Kester Kenn Klomegah MOSCOW (IDN) – The Russian Ministry of Higher Education, the Russian Rectors’ Association and Education NGOs have been on their heels to realize important tasks given them by President Vladimir Putin. As an integral part of educational reforms, he has stressed the importance of enormous initiatives and modernization efforts. He also […]
Exodus of Eritreans in Post-Peace Era Continues
By Kristina Melicherová BRUSSELS (IDN) – Hope for change in Eritrea after the July 2018 Ethiopia-Eritrea peace agreement has faded. Nearly a year after Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced his country would accept the Algiers Agreement of 2000 and make peace with Eritrea, the flow of refugees fleeing the repressive regime continues unabated. A […]
Experts Exhort Nuclear Deal Signatories to Help Iran
By Jamshed Baruah NEW YORK (IDN) – The Arms Control Association (ACA), a Washington-based nonpartisan organization, has warned that Iran’s “threat to violate” the landmark 2015 nuclear deal is “a very worrisome but predictable response” to U.S. President Donald Trump’s “dangerous decision” to withdraw from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) one year ago. […]
ACP-UNCTAD Workshop Targets at Ensuring Inclusiveness and Equality
By Ronald Joshua GENEVA (IDN) – Well ahead of the High-Level Political Forum in July 2019 under the auspices of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) with the focus on “empowering people and ensuring inclusiveness and equality“, the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Secretariat and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) held […]
World Bank Ups Aid Package For Cyclone-Hit Countries
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) – The new head of the World Bank has approved emergency support for the three African countries slammed by record-strength cyclones in what has been called the worst weather catastrophe in decades. Tropical Cyclone Idai ripped through Mozambique with 110 mph winds and a storm surge […]
Beware of Negativity Bias Running Riot
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – Do we, especially our politicians and media, focus more on threats than on opportunities, dwell on loses more than on gains, and learn more from past failures than from successes? When we are children we are frightened of bogeymen. When we are adults we often inflate dangers. […]
Russia and Africa Stay Uninformed about Each Other
By Kester Kenn Klomegah MOSCOW (IDN) – Experts and researchers have observed that, since the collapse of the Soviet-era politics in December 1991, an appreciable level of media cooperation has never been on the side of Russia’s public diplomacy with Africa. In practice, Russian officialdom has not encouraged and supported the idea of media that […]
Global Festival Looks Beyond Promises of Agenda 2030
By Sean Buchanan BONN (IDN) – The SDG Global Festival of Action, which takes place in Bonn every year, is an occasion for bringing Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) campaigners and multi-stakeholder partners together for inspiring and broadening the global movement to take action for the SDGs. It provides a dynamic and interactive space to showcase the latest […]
UN Report Calls for ‘Transformative Changes’ to Halt Nature’s Dangerous Decline
By Radwan Jakeem NEW YORK | PARIS (IDN) – UN biodiversity experts have warned in a hard-hitting report into the impact of humans on nature that “the very foundations of our economies, livelihoods, food security, health and quality of life worldwide” are being eroded. Current efforts to conserve the earth’s resources will likely fail without […]
Not Faith but Manipulation of the Faithful Behind Hate Attacks
By Sean Buchanan NEW YORK (IDN) – Following a recent series of hate-fuelled attacks on places of worship around the world, a forum on intercultural dialogue was told May 2 that “in all these heinous and cowardly attacks… we see a common pattern: hatred of the ‘other’. These criminals are hijacking entire faith communities, pitting […]