 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Viewpoint by Makeda Saba
BRUSSELS (IDN) – On October 11, 2019, the Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the 2019 Nobel Peace prize to the Prime Minister of Ethiopia Dr Abiy Ahmed. He is the fourth African leader to be bestowed that honour after President Anwar Sadat in 1978; President FW de Klerk in 1993); and President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in 2011.
By Lisa Vives
NEW YORK (IDN) – The Uganda government is taking action against the popular red beret, calling it official military clothing that could earn the wearer imprisonment for life.
According to the new rule, the sale or wearing of any attire which resembles the army uniform is also banned. Prohibited items include side caps, bush hats, ceremonial forage caps and camouflaged baseball caps.
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power
LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – Insurgencies may not die, but at least, like old soldiers, they usually fade away. Well, that seemed to be the case with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, the PKK. For the best part of five years between 2000 and 2005 there was a truce in Turkey’s bitter and savage civil war. But it did not last.
The Kurdish “problem” goes back to the Ottoman Empire. The rugged mountains where Turkey, Iraq and Iran meet have been called Kurdistan since the early 13th century, and the Kurds’ roots can be traced back at least 2,000 years. Most of the world’s 20m Kurds live in the region, although well over a million have emigrated to Istanbul, Baghdad, Tehran and Beirut, often assimilating well with the local people.
By Jaya Ramachandran
GENEVA (IDN) – Air pollution is by far the world’s largest single environmental health risk and a leading cause of death by cancer. It kills 7 million people every year, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Closely linked to climate change, air pollution is a major cause of environmental degradation. It is also threatening almost two-thirds of Europe’s ecosystems. This makes air pollution a critical barrier for sustainable development.
By Shannon Bugos
The writer is a Research Assistant at the Arms Control Association, where she contributes research and analysis, reports for Arms Control Today.
WASHINGTON, DC (IDN-INPS) – Saudi Arabia intends to enrich uranium to fuel its planned nuclear power program, the country’s new energy minister said on September 9. The Saudi position could run afoul of a recently disclosed Trump administration policy to seek a Saudi commitment to refrain from such activities in exchange for U.S. nuclear technology.
By Jaya Ramachandran
ROME (IDN | ACP) – European Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development, Neven Mimica, and Director-General of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, Qu Dongyu, signed on October 14 a new agreement enabling the EU to provide an additional €9 million to support the UN agency's work in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific.
The funding will boost in particular the efforts of countries in the targeted regions to bring about sustainable changes in agricultural policies and practices to conserve and sustainably use biodiversity and natural resources.
By Kester Kenn Klomegah
MOSCOW (IDN) – For decades, Russia has been looking for effective ways to promote multifaceted ties and new strategies for cooperation in economic areas in Africa. Now, Kremlin will hold the first Russia-Africa Summit in Sochi on October 23-24 with high hopes of enhancing multifaceted ties, trying to reshape the existing relationship and significantly roll out ways to increase effectiveness of cooperation between Russia and Africa.
By Santo D. Banerjee
NEW YORK (IDN) – Since the first International Day of Rural Women was observed on October 15, 2008, there is agreement that rural women and girls, including indigenous women, play a critical role in enhancing agricultural and rural development, improving food security and eradicating rural poverty.
In fact when the UN General Assembly established the new international day in its resolution 62/136 of December 18, 2007, it called for “attaching greater importance to the improvement of the situation of rural women, including indigenous women, in their national, regional and global development strategies”.
By J Nastranis
NEW YORK (IDN) – Ahead of the World Food Day on October 16 and the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty on October 17, the United Nations Is warning that the world is not on track to end hunger and poverty by 2030 – and hence missing the deadline for achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted in September 2015.
Viewpoint by Manish Uprety* F.R.A.S. and Dr. Yiyong Liang
NEW DELHI (IDN) – Informal meetings are a rarity between two formal regional powers, more so between two tea-drinking nations that comprise over 37% of the human population. The Modi-Xi informal meeting in Mamallapuram – a World Heritage Site in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu – falls into the very category. What and where shall it lead to is anybody’s guess?
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.
IDN-InDepthNews serves as flagship agency of the International Press Syndicate and its partner, the Global Cooperation Council, established in February 1983.