Speaking Out for People, Planet and Peace

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – Thousands of Liberia’s poorest citizens will be getting an early Christmas gift of $100 this year as part of a five-year project which the government hopes will shrink chronic poverty and eliminate hunger.

Authorities at the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection say they have started to disburse “social cash” to the extremely poor and food insecure citizens in two counties. The money comes from the nation’s Social Safety Nets Project funded by the UN Development Program (UNDP).

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – Remember Bujumbura? Once upon a time it was the political capital of Burundi. But no more!

The Burundian government has just adopted a historic bill in which Gitega on the shores of Lake Tanganyika, becomes the political capital and Bujumbura the economic capital.

By Kester Kenn Klomegah

MOSCOW (IDN) – Russia is now the new foreign player in Africa. Russia's renewed interest in and ‘final great return’ to Africa is primarily due to the desire to restore its previous influence, to halt economic exploitation and western dominance, and to build allies as it experiences growing criticism by Western countries.

While Russians are aware of the competitive conditions on the African continent, Africans view Russia as another fairly large trading partner and probably a stabilizing and balancing factor in the face of other foreign players. Interestingly, Russia's return has sparked debates around the world. Russians are very sensitive toward the usage of the word "return" in business meetings, academic discussions and public speeches.

By Reinhardt Jacobsen

VIENNA (IDN) – The new low enriched uranium (LEU) Bank is operational now, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is operational now. The LEU Bank will provide countries investing in nuclear power an assured supply of fuel to use for peaceful purposes without incurring the significant costs of building their own enrichment facilities and without adding to global proliferation risks.

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power

LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – It’s time overdue for the West to make up with Russia. The contretemps over Ukraine, now played out over five years, is too long. As the world goes it doesn’t deserve so much attention. Ukraine in land mass may be a big country but its population is only 44 million and its national income per head a quarter of Russia’s.

The Ukrainian puppy’s tail has been wagging the West’s dog. It’s part of the West’s human rights commitment to stand up for the little man, but the Ukraine government’s behaviour at the time of its great upheavals didn’t deserve the large amount of support it was given.

By Kester Kenn Klomegah

MOSCOW (IDN) – Russian President Vladimir Putin has bashed Western States for resorting to pressure, intimidation and blackmail against governments of sovereign African countries, hoping that “it will help them win back their lost influence and dominant positions in former colonies and seek – this time in a ‘new wrapper’ – to reap excess profits and exploit the continent's resources without any regard for its population, environmental or other risks”.

By Shannon Bugos, Arms Control TODAY *

WASHINGTON, DC (IDN-INPS) – Complaining that nuclear-armed nations retain an unacceptable monopoly on nuclear weapons, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan used a recent Turkish holiday to seemingly suggest that his nation acquire its own nuclear arsenal.

“Several countries have missiles with nuclear warheads, not one or two. But [they tell us that] we can’t have them. This I cannot accept,” Erdogan said on the centennial of the Turkish independence movement. “There is no developed nation in the world that doesn’t have them.”

By Barbara Crossette, PassBlue

NEW YORK (IDN) – A group of civil society organizations is warning that a growing global movement to decriminalize and rebrand prostitution as "sex work" could lead to more, not less, violence against the world's most vulnerable women and girls.

The critics are petitioning UN Women, which is leading a review of the results of the 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women, alleging that many dissenting voices against decriminalization have been shut out of the discussions.

Viewpoint by Kester Kenn Klomegah

MOSCOW (IDN) – After nearly three decades of extremely low political, economic and cultural engagement, Russia is indeed returning to Africa. For obvious reasons, Russia's relations with Africa turned extremely worse as some diplomatic representations were unexpectedly cut, all cultural centers closed, and many projects were suspended. Of course, relations with many foreign countries have faded into the background compared with the challenges the country had to deal with in order to preserve its statehood.

Viewpoint by J W Jackie

RENO, Nevada, USA (IDN) – Nearly 12.8 percent of the U.S. population are living with disabilities, according to the latest report by the American Community Survey (ACS). Over the years, American lawmakers recognized the immediate need to provide the members of this community with their basic needs of employment, health, and accessible housing options. At the moment, there is a series of progressive legislative proposals existing for the cause.

By Jeffrey Moyo

MUREHWA, Zimbabwe (IDN) – Year after year since 2015, 56-year old Hapias Zindove has delivered hundreds of tonnes of soya beans to Zimbabwe’s Grain Marketing Board (GMB). With proceeds from soya beans, he – the father of seven children – has managed to send four of them to universities.

“I have risen from being a mere hands-to-mouth farmer to a big supplier of soya beans even to the GMB and big supermarkets in the country,” Zindove tells IDN in a ‘rugs-to-riches story’, as he rides on success in his farming endeavors.

Viewpoint by Henrik Maihack *

NAIROBI (IDN-INPS) – In the next 25 years, Africa’s urban population is set to double. By 2040, the majority of Africans will be living in cities. There are numerous reasons for this: climate change, violent conflicts and the hope of finding work or education, although this list could easily be extended. Urbanisation thus constitutes one of the greatest transformations facing Africa in the 21st century.

By Rohan Venkataramakrishnan, Scroll.in

This article first appeared on Scroll.in on 14 October 2019.

MUMBAI (IDN-INPS) – Abhijit Banerjee, the renowned economist who was one of three awarded the Nobel prize for economics on October 14, put together some prescriptions for what the Indian economy needs right now. The last item on the list? “Pray.” On the next list, for the longer run? “Pray more.” Banerjee was speaking in response to Raghuram Rajan, another renowned economist and former Chief Economic Adviser to the Indian prime minister, as part of the OP Jindal Lectures at Brown University in the United States.