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By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network
NEW YORK (IDN) – Journalists who step out of their high-floor offices or manage to escape from their coronavirus confinement sometimes find a great story right on the street below. Such was the story discovered by Kevin Phillips Momanyi, a reporter with Kenya’s Tuko news channel.
By Pedro Telles
The writer is 2018-19 Atlantic Fellow for Social and Economic Equity at the International Inequalities Institute, London School of Economics.
SÃO PAULO (IDN) – Tens of millions of Brazilians have begun receiving basic income payments aimed at addressing the economic impact of COVID-19, following Congress' approval of a bill prompted by a country-wide grassroots campaign that began just three weeks ago.
By Jaya Ramachandran with IOM Press Release
GENEVA (IDN) – In the face of the number of rising new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) has expanded the scope of its Global Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan (SPRP) to include far-reaching interventions that aim to mitigate the dire health and socio-economic impacts of the pandemic. A revised appeal was launched on April 15 for $499 million to support vital preparedness, response and recovery activities in over 140 countries.
Viewpoint by Roberto Savio*
ROME (IDN) – If you could fit the entire population of the world
into a village consisting of 100 people,
maintaining the proportions of all the people living on
Earth, that village would consist of
Viewpoint by John Scales Avery*
COPENHAGEN (IDN) – Cultural evolution depends on the non-genetic storage, transmission, diffusion and utilization of information. The development of human speech, the invention of writing, the development of paper and printing, and finally, in modern times, computers and the Internet: all these have been crucial steps in society's explosive accumulation of information and knowledge. Human cultural evolution proceeds at a constantly-accelerating speed, so great in fact that it threatens to shake society to pieces.
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network
NEW YORK (IDN) – Racism is rife in international soccer, with fans taking physical and verbal aim at players of the opposing team.
After the routine apologies of the coaches and local officials, what has really been done to end the frequent racist outbursts, often accompanied by flying chairs or banana peels? This week, star striker Moussa Marega of Mali brought the unpleasant behaviour to world attention as he stalked off the field when his successful play scoring the winning goal sparked an avalanche of ugly chants and racist taunts.
By J Nastranis
NEW YORK (IDN) – A continuing shortage of offers of sanctuary from governments across the world is a vital impediment to the resettlement of refugees. Nearly 1.4 million refugees are estimated to be in urgent need of resettlement worldwide, but only 63,696 or 4.5 per cent were relocated through the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) in 2019.
Though the number of refugees resettled in 2019 increased modestly by 14 per cent compared to the previous year, when 55,680 people were relocated, the agency maintains that “a tremendous gap remains between resettlement needs and the places made available”.
By Santo D. Banerjee
NEW YORK (IDN) – As the United Nations prepares to mark its 75th anniversary in September, the Organisation has yet to fulfil the obligation enshrined in the mandate of the Charter: “to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom“ by employing “international machinery for the promotion of the economic and social advancement of all peoples“.
The authors of the landmark World Social Report 2020 point out that fifteen years ago, the Report on the ‘World Social Situation‘ had warned that growing inequality could jeopardize the achievement of internationally agreed development goals.
By Kester Kenn Klomegah
MOSCOW (IDN) – “We need to address large-scale social, economic and technological tasks facing the country more quickly and, without delay. Our society is clearly calling for change. People want development,” President Vladimir Putin said in his wide-ranging address on January 15 to the Federal Assembly at the Manezh Central Exhibition Hall, a few metres away from the Kremlin.
Putin emphasised that this year Russia will celebrate the 75th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War – World War 2. He said: “For Russia, May 9 is the greatest and sacred holiday. We are proud of the generation of victors and honour their feat, and our memory is not only a tribute to our heroic past, but it also serves our future, inspires us and strengthens our unity.”
By Dr Palitha Kohona
The writer is former Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations, and former Foreign Secretary.
COLOMBO (IDN) – Summer temperatures continue to establish new records. The capital clocks up an unprecedented 44 degrees Celsius, a more familiar figure in Middle Eastern cities. Bush fires have continued to burn for months, destroying hundreds of thousands of acres of forest and farmland (an area bigger than Scotland has been consumed by the fires so far) and thousands of houses.
IDN-InDepthNews offers news analyses, features, reports and viewpoints that impact the world and its peoples. It has been online since 2009. Its network spans countries around the world.