By Jeffrey Moyo LUSAKA (IDN) – Letina Phiri waits at a bus terminus in Lusaka, the Zambian capital, as loaders carry her baggage of huge solar panels to pack on the bus. “I will sell some of the panels as soon as I get home. Where I live, not far from Kabwe town, many people […]
A Provocative and Inspiring Look at the Future of Humanity
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – “Suppose aliens existed, and that some had been watching our planet for its entire forty-five million centuries, what would they have seen? Over most of that vast time-span, Earth’s appearance altered very gradually. Continents drifted; ice-cover waxed and waned; successive species emerged, evolved and became extinct. But […]
Zimbabweans Urged Calm as Economy Veers Toward Collapse
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK | HARARE (IDN) – Citing “these difficult times,” Kentucky Fried Chicken has closed its doors, prices are soaring, bread shelves are empty and fear is growing that an economic collapse is bearing down on a fragile population that was so full of hope not long ago. Under […]
Young Medical Worker Executed by Boko Haram Caliphate
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) – “We urge you: spare and release these women,” begged Patricia Danzi, director of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Africa. .. “Like all those abducted, they are not part of any fight.” “They are daughters and sisters, one is a mother – women […]
Foreign Direct Investment on Decline, Leaves Developing Countries Unaffected
By Ronald Joshua GENEVA (IDN) – Foreign direct investment is critical for developing and emerging market countries. Their companies need the multinationals’ funding and expertise to expand their international sales. The countries need private investment in infrastructure, energy, and water to increase jobs and wages. In fact the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) […]
Trust Deficit Disorder Jeopardising Sustainable Development
By António Guterres The following are extensive extracts from UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks to finance ministers and central bank governors at the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) in Bali, Indonesia, on October 13, 2018. Stressing that the meeting was taking place “at a time of enormous uncertainty”, he cautioned that high debts in […]
UN Urges Saudi Arabia to Release All Incarcerated Women Human Rights Defenders
By Jamshed Baruah GENEVA (IDN) – For the second time since July 31, UN human rights experts are calling on Saudi Arabia to “immediately and unconditionally” release all women human rights defenders, including six imprisoned on charges relating to their peaceful defence of human rights. The detained have been charged for being involved in pro-democracy […]
World Religious Leaders’ Astana Congress Pledges ‘Unity in Diversity’
By Ramesh Jaura ASTANA (IDN) – At a critical point in time when religious tolerance is being consigned to oblivion, an international conference has appealed “to all people of faith and goodwill” to unite, and called for “ensuring peace and harmony on our planet”. The appeal emerged from the two-day Congress of the Leaders of […]
U.S. Foolish To Start Another Cold War, Says Jack Ma
By Kalinga Seneviratne KUALA LUMPUR (IDN) – U.S. will suffer more from the current trade war with China, warned Alibaba founder Jack Ma addressing over 1000 business leaders, government officials and economic experts from Malaysia and across the region attending the China Conference here on October 10-11. He added that America has been growing and […]
More Transparency Could Ricochet ‘Debt Trap’ Accusations against China
By Kalinga Seneviratne KUALA LUMPUR (IDN) – One of the major discussions at the ‘China Conference’ organized by the Hong Kong based South China Morning Post (SCMP) on October 10-11, was China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the perception created in the region, by the western media in particular, that it is a ‘debt […]