By Mortezagholi Raissi BERLIN (IDN) – With new sanctions, the U.S. wants to make breathing difficult, if not impossible, for Iranians. The sanctions were threatened in May, when President Donald Trump announced that the United States was withdrawing from a 2015 deal, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA), aimed at limiting Iran’s nuclear programme. […]
West’s ‘Democracy’ Clash With Peoples’ Concerns in Sri Lanka
Viewpoint by Kalinga Seneviratne SINGAPORE (IDN) – After Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena’s shock decision on October 26 to appoint his political foe of recent years Mahinda Rajapakse as Prime Minister, Western diplomats and the international media have expressed outrage at what they perceive as “lack of respect for democratic institutions” such as the Parliament. […]
Will UN Chief Explore the Truth Behind Khashoggi Slaughter?
By Erol Avdovic NEW YORK (IDN) – Pressure is mounting on the United Nations to set up an independent commission to investigate apparently premeditated and the barbaric killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Consulate General of Saudi Arabia in Istanbul on October 2. And UN Secretary-General António Guterres faces growing public chorus pushing […]
INF Treaty Decision is a Debacle, But Worse May Be Coming
Viewpoint by Daryl G. Kimball The author is Executive Director of the Arms Control Association. This article appeared on 1 November 2018, and is being reproduced by courtesy of the think-tank. – The Editor WASHINGTON, D.C. (IDN-INPS) – Earlier this year, President Donald Trump told reporters that he wanted to work with Russian President Vladimir […]
World Summit Pledges To Protect Human Rights Defenders
By Jamshed Baruah PARIS (IDN) – A diverse group of 150 human rights defenders from around the world, who gathered for a three-day summit in Paris, have agreed on a landmark action plan which will be presented to the United Nations in December. The plan focuses on how to protect and promote the work of […]
Island Nation Seychelles Praised for Launching World’s First Sovereign Blue Bond
By Jaya Ramachandran NEW YORK | BALI (IDN) – The Government of the Republic of Seychelles, an archipelago of 115 granite and coral islands in the Indian Ocean, off East Africa, has been acclaimed for showing “the leadership to create the world’s first sustainable Blue Bond”. The pioneering financial instrument was launched within four weeks […]
Inclusive Insurance for a Sustainable Future
By Katharine Pulvermacher* The author is Executive Director of Microinsurance Network. LUXEMBOURG (IDN) – Life is hard enough for small-scale farmers, businesses, families and communities who live with the daily threat of losing everything to natural disasters, extreme weather or other catastrophes. Even if you are insured, it can be tough to start again after […]
Africa’s High-Tech Path to Energy Inclusion
Viewpoint by Ben Good* The author is CEO of Energy 4 Impact, a London-based non-profit organisation working with local businesses to extend access to energy in Africa, particularly East and West Africa. LONDON (IDN) – Digital technologies are helping sub-Saharan African countries tap new sources of capital as they seek ways to close the energy […]
Tear Down Walls, Those Manifestations of Superficial Thinking
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – At first I was a bit surprised to find that the English admonition, “Good fences makes for good neighbours” exists in many other languages. I shouldn’t have been taken aback. A moment’s reflection should have told me that fences and walls to divide off peoples have been […]
Gabon Draws the Focus as Longtime President is Hospitalized
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) – Balloons and fireworks will have to wait as the longtime President of Gabon has been hospitalized at the King Faisal hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, suffering from severe fatigue. The party of President Ali Bongo Ondimba had just “coasted to victory” in a second round […]