Sustainable Industrialialisation

Photo: Cover the reviewed book. Credit: Amazon

Colonialism Is Not Dead, it has Acquired A New Face

Sri Lankan Author of a New Book Warns

By Kalinga Seneviratne

SYDNEY (IDN) – In the 19th century, European powers came to Asia and used gunboats and gunpowder along with doublespeak to intimidate and coerce local rulers to accede their land for the European mercantile elites to establish plantations.

Sri Lankan born American sociology professor Dr Asoka Bandarage’s Colonialism in Sri Lanka: The Political Economy of the Kandyan Highlands 1833-1886’* published originally in 1983 documented extensively how the British used doublespeak to grab land and ultimately the country to establish coffee and tea plantations.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 25 September 2020

Photo: Louis Pasteur a French biologist, microbiologist, and chemist renowned for his discoveries of the principles of vaccination, microbial fermentation and pasteurization, in his laboratory. Painting by A. Edelfeldt in 1885. Public Domain.

The Boons and Banes of Technology – Is It Really Making Things Better?

Viewpoints by John K. Davis and Jason Crawford

NEW YORK (IDN) – Technology and science have played a key role in human history. Many successive civilizations have contributed to the world's advancement. Often the development of technology also helped these societies to dominate militarily, politically, and economically their neighbours, as well as increase the welfare of their citizens.

Following is the dialogue between Dr John K. Davis, Professor of Philosophy at California State University, Fullerton, and Mr. Jason Crawford, the author of The Roots of Progress. The bilateral exchange is posted on PAIRAGRAPH, a hub of discourse between pairs of notable individuals.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 25 September 2020

Is Technology Really Making Things Better?

Viewpoints by John K. Davis and Jason Crawford

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 24 September 2020

Photo: The port at Tema, Ghana. @ Jonathan Ernst / World Bank.

COVID-19 Crisis Underlines the Importance of Economic Diversification in Africa

Business as Usual Will Only Reinforce Economic Hardship

Viewpoint by Njuguna Ndung’u*

NAIROBI (IDN) – Africa’s low level of economic diversification is a leading factor in the continent’s economic fragility. Further, the COVID-19 pandemic has magnified the risks of countries’ over-dependence on a single natural resource such as oil.

Africa is endowed with abundant natural resources, including minerals, and revenues from their export constitute a major source of income for many countries.

: Opinion Editor; THE WORLD; Africa; 19 September 2020

Image source: Governing Africa: British records from African countries under colonial rule

Russia Sees Neocolonialism as An Investment Barrier in Africa

By Kester Kenn Klomegah

MOSCOW (IDN) – Russia not only supported African countries in liberating themselves from the yoke of colonialism and attaining political independence but also facilitated in the UN General Assembly adopting in 1960 the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples. It's a landmark document which states that all people have a right to self-determination and proclaimed that colonialism should be brought to a speedy and unconditional end.

Russia has now embarked on fighting “neo-colonialism” which it considers a fortified barrier on its way to regain Soviet-era multifaceted influence in Africa.

: Kester Kenn Klomegah; THE WORLD; Africa; 09 August 2020

Photo: Pemex Tower at Night. Source: Wikimedia Commons

Oh No! Mexico!

Viewpoint by Bill Dahl

Bill Dahl is an investigative journalist based in Queretaro, Mexico. You can find more of his work at https://www.BillDahl.net

QUERETARO, Mexico (IDN) – As the world moves ahead, Mexico lurches backward.

In June 2020, Mexico dropped out of the top 25 countries for foreign investment for the second time in over 20 years. For the second largest economy in Latin America, this is bad news. What has precipitated this decline in confidence by the global investment community? This article explores the central reasons for this reality.

: Opinion Editor; THE WORLD; Latin America & the Caribbean; 11 July 2020

Image: Owned by Ethiopian-born Saudi billionaire Mohammed Hussein al-Amoudi, MIDROC Gold Mine Plc has operated the open-cast mine in Guji zone of the Oromia region for more than two decades. (Image courtesy of Wardell Armstrong.)

Ethiopian Gold Mine Leaves Deadly Toxic Waste Trail in Prime Minister's Home Town

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – A gold mine in Ethiopia's most populous and restive region, Oromia, has been anything but a blessing. Residents claim that contamination from the mine, owned by an Ethiopia-born Saudi tycoon, has led to disastrous health problems.

Locals say chemicals used to process gold at the open-pit mine near Shakiso, 222 miles south of the capital, Addis Ababa, have polluted water streams and the air, causing humans and animals respiratory illnesses, miscarriages, birth defects and disabilities.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 14 June 2020

Image: This page with Country Data provides access to key UN data resources on COVID-19 including specialized datasets on how COVID-19 has impacted key areas of development on the continent. Credit: Africa UN Knowledge Hub for COVID-19.

New Africa Digital Hub to Offer Quick, Factual Information On COVID-19

By Carla McKirdy

This report by Carla McKirdy first appeared in Africa Renewal, a magazine published by the United Nations in New York. The writer is Associate Information Management Officer at the United Nations, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

ADDIS ABABA (IDN) – As part of a coordinated approach to strengthen developing countries' responses to COVID-19, as well as increase access to lifesaving health technologies, the United Nations has launched a digital hub to circulate much-needed information, fast.

: UN Bureau; SUSTAINABILITY; Health & Well Being; 29 May 2020

Photo: Container line shipping has been hard hit by COVID-19. Source: The European Shippers' Council (ESC).

COVID-19: Europe Must Regain Sovereignty Over Key Industries

Viewpoint by Camille Rustici

The writer is chief editor of the e-magazine DirectIndustry. This article was first published on the online journal of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung's Brussels office, International Politics and Society on April 28.

MARSEILLE (IDN) – Since the outbreak in China, which led to the closing of a large number of factories in the country in late January, not a single industrial sector in the rest of the world has been spared. The automotive, electronics and textile industries, among others, have suffered and continue to suffer colossal losses unheard of in peacetime.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 02 May 2020

Image credit: Independent Online (IOL), South Afruca.

New Initiative to Fight COVID-19 with Information Technology

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – With support from UNICEF, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations specialized agency for information ((ITU) are set to work with telecommunication companies to text people directly on their mobile phones with vital health messaging to help protect them from COVID-19.

These text messages, as part of the joint 'WHO-ITU Be initiative', will reach billions of people who are not in a position to connect to the internet for information, said a joint statement on April 20.