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By Reinhard Jacobsen
VIENNA (IDN) — The OPEC Fund for International Development has signed a US$20 million loan agreement with Honduras to co-finance the 'Northeastern Small Producers' Economic and Social Inclusion Project—PROINORTE'. The importance of the project lies in the fact that the Central American nation's economy is primarily agricultural, making it especially vulnerable to natural disasters such as Hurricane Mitch in 1998.
By Fermin Koop*
LONDON (IDN) — Protecting and restoring natural areas in Latin America, home to 50% of the planet’s biodiversity and over a quarter of its forests, could help the region achieve a ‘green’ post-pandemic recovery and meet biodiversity conservation targets, experts say. Doing so could even create thousands of jobs in key economic sectors such as agriculture.
By Thalif Deen*
NEW YORK (IDN) — When Raul Castro decided to retire, both as leader of Cuba and head of the Communist Party last April, it was the end of a politically adventurous era for a country most American leaders loved to hate.
In the late 1950s, it was Raul and his more famous older brother, Fidel Castro, who led an insurgency that toppled the American-backed dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista.
By Caroline Mwanga
NEW YORK | SANTO DOMINGO (IDN) — The three-day Virtual Thematic Sessions of the Latin America and the Caribbean Climate Week 2021 (LACCW2021), which wrapped up on May 14, hosted by the Government of the Dominican Republic, are reported to have provided important momentum for a successful UN Climate Change Conference COP26 from November 1 to November 12 in Glasgow.
By Leonardo Flores
This article was produced by Globetrotter. Leonardo Flores is a Venezuelan political analyst and peace activist with CODEPINK. He is a Globetrotter/Peoples Dispatch fellow.
VENICE, CA (IDN) — “We don’t just repair machines; we repair consciences,” says Sergio Requena of the Productive Workers Army (EPO by its Spanish-language initials) in Venezuela. The EPO is a group of 2,270 volunteers with a broad range of technical expertise. They go from factory to factory repairing broken machinery. Their mission is to recover Venezuela’s industrial production by empowering workers to take matters into their own hands.
By P.I. Gomes
Dr P.I. Gomes is former Secretary-General of the Organisation of African, the Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS was previously ACP Group of States).
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad and Tobago (IDN) — La Soufriere volcano in the northeast of the main island of St. Vincent & the Grenadines, after warning signs of rumblings some months ago and the volcanologists’ prediction of an imminent eruption, just a week ago, the fate of nature’s fierce foray was felt on April 8, 2021 by the first explosive eruption of metre-high clouds of ash, smoke, rocks and debris. This was the first most severe event causing the evacuation of some 16,000 persons from a red zone in close proximity to the volcanic area.
By Dr Kumar Mahabir
The writer is an anthropologist who has published 12 books on Indo-Caribbean identity.
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad & Tobago (IDN) — In March 2020, Trinidad and Tobago’s (T&T’s) relation with Venezuela shot into the spotlight. It was sparked by a secretive and suspicious meeting by Venezuela’s Vice President Delcy Rodriguez with Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley. Another controversy was sparked by the fuel shipment from T&T’s Paria Fuel Trading Company to Aruba, which was then surprisingly sent to Venezuela.
Viewpoint by Beth Geglia*
WASHINGTON, D.C. (IDN) — “The life of just one person is worth more than the private property of the richest man.” This is what’s written on the Calixto Garcia public hospital in Havana Cuba as a testament to the country’s commitment to free public healthcare, and to putting people before profit. I know this about Cuba because in March, at the onset of the global COVID-19 pandemic, I spent a week in the ICU at Calixto Garcia. I had been hit by a speeding ambulance, and Cuban doctors saved my life, operated on me twice, and nursed me to stability before putting me on a private medical evacuation flight back to the US.
By Isabella Duque Muñoz
This article first appeared as one of Youth Community's Spotlight Stories on February 26, 2021, as a part of UNODA's #Youth4Disarmament Initiative.
BOGOTA (IDN) — As a Colombian, I grew up in a nation marked by violence and armed conflict. These matters seized my interest from a very young age; learning about them felt vital to understanding my country and the factors that drive conflicts around the world.
In 2016, Colombia signed a historic peace agreement and began a process of laying down arms. Witnessing these developments confirmed my passion for issues of peace, security and disarmament, as well as development in emerging countries. I wanted to get involved and make my own contribution.
Viewpoint by Robert Muggah*
RIO DE JANEIRO (IDN) — It was once fashionable to describe Brazil as the country of the future. What a difference half a decade makes. In recent years, a democratically elected president was stripped of power and ultimately replaced by an authoritarian strongman. Today, Latin America's largest country is suffering from a “triple crisis” — a raging pandemic, economic turmoil and political turbulence. It wasn't supposed to be this way. So what accounts for Brazil's malaise?
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.