Haider Rizvi

NEW YORK, Sep 27 2008 (IPS) – With the presidential polls just over a month away, tens of thousands of U.S. war veterans are still wondering whether or not they will be able to vote for the candidate of their choice.
About 100,000 former soldiers who are currently residing in government-run facilities can no longer vote because they cannot register without assistance from volunteers due to disabilities and serious illnesses.

Rights groups say they want to help war veterans with the registration process but officials at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) are creating hurdles for them.

They keep putting bureaucratic roadblocks in our way, said Sharon Kufeldt, vice president of Veterans for Peace. There are very few weeks left to register voter…

The writer is special adviser on Africa to United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres and former finance minister of Cabo Verde.

Viral Facts Africa, a first of its kind African initiative to combat health misinformation online, was launched recently by the World Health Organization (WHO) and a network of fact-checking organizations and leading public health bodies.

UNITED NATIONS, May 7 2021 (IPS) – In rebuilding after COVID-19, policymakers must invest in innovative technology to leapfrog obstacles to inclusive development. Africa has enjoyed strong economic growth for most of the 21st century, mainly because of robust global demand for primary commodities.<…

The man reading is a displaced man in the IDP camp ISP in Bunia. Credit: Elena L. Pasquini

ROME, Jul 29 2021 (IPS) – He moves aside the curtain, thin as gauze, and then bends over. The darkness dazzles for a few seconds when one enters the house—actually, a den made of earth where air and light filter through the narrow entrance. Jean de Dieu Amani Paye holds her tiny baby, wrapped in an elegant fabric, in his arms. He was a teacher of French and Latin and had a small business. He also cultivated the land: cassava, corn, sorghum, and beans.

Now he is a leader of the ISP camp on the outskirts of Bunia, the capital of the province of Ituri, where internall…

An activist during COP27 in Egypt. Credit: Oliver Kornblihtt / Mídia NINJA

BRUSSELS, Jan 25 2023 (IPS) – In 2022, Saudi Arabia “quietly” to 34 years in prison over her Twitter activity, marking the longest Saudi sentence ever for a peaceful activist. Fast forward and award-winning Ugandan author Kakwenza Rukirabashaija was charged with two after making unflattering remarks about the president and his son on Twitter. The message is clear: your well-crafted 280 characters can land you in jail.

But what if, not only your online expressions could put you behind bars, but that the internet, today’s window to the rest of the world shuts down? …