Viewpoint by Jayasri Priyalal* SINGAPORE (IDN) — How many of us can predict continuing to hold the job that we do currently into the future? That is the challenge many policyholders grapple to address to develop strategies to stimulate the stalled economies to grow sustainably. The concept of a job is disappearing as there is […]
UN Report Finds Survival Chances of a Child or Youth Worrisome
By Jaya Ramachandran GENEVA (IDN) — Some five million children died before their fifth birthday and another 2.1 million children and youth aged between 5–24 years lost their lives in 2021, according to the latest estimates released by the United Nations Inter-Agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UN IGME).
Security Disorder: Is There a Way Out?
Viewpoint by Herbert Wulf This article was issued by the Toda Peace Institute and is being republished with their permission. BONN (IDN) — Putin’s war against Ukraine has not only damaged the cooperative security architecture but destroyed it permanently. The Helsinki Act of 1975, the Paris Charter of 1990 and the NATO-Russia Founding Act of […]
On the March to Destroy Israel as We Know it
Viewpoint by Dr Alon Ben-Meir* NEW YORK (IDN) — For the past four decades, I have been a keen observer of Israel. I taught scores of courses and wrote several books and hundreds of articles and essays, featuring the country’s uniqueness. I praised its democratic institutions, revered its untainted judiciary, admired its inner strength and […]
US Must Offer a Nuclear Deal That Iran Cannot Afford to Decline
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden (IDN) — The policies of Iran’s government are not set in stone, as critics interminably suggest. Early December Iran’s prosecutor-general was reported as saying that the morality police were being disbanded. Clearly two months of demonstrations, led mainly by women, and now with open support by Iran’s football World […]
South Korea Warned Against Talk of Pursuing Nuclear Weapons
By J C Suresh TORONTO | WASHINGTON (IDN) — A former U.S. official has cautioned South Korea against talk of pursuing nuclear weapons. Mr Thomas Countryman, who served as the acting Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security until January 2017, was responding to remarks by South Korea’s president Yoon Suk Yeol.
Australia May Not Like China But Likes Chinese Tourists
By Kalinga Seneviratne SYDNEY (IDN) — In April 2020, the then Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison called for an independent inquiry into the origins of Covid-19, which riled the Chinese leadership. China rapidly imposed sanctions on Australian imports, especially on the lucrative barley, wine and wheat trade. They also started looking for new iron ore […]
The Nuclear Taboo Remains Strong for Now
Viewpoint by Daryl G. Kimball The writer is the Executive Director of the Arms Control Association (ACA). The following text was published in the organization’s monthly journal, Arms Control Today. WASHINGTON, D.C. (IDN) — Even before his disastrous decision to invade Ukraine last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin had demonstrated a malign indifference toward basic […]
On the Ukraine Crisis and No First Use of Nuclear Weapons
By Daisaku Ikeda The following is the text of the statement by peacebuilder and Buddhist leader Daisaku Ikeda, who is president of the Soka Gakkai International (SGI). TOKYO (IDN) — The Ukraine crisis that erupted in February last year continues with no prospect for cessation. The intensified hostilities have inflicted great suffering in population centers […]
Iranian Drones Include US & Western Components
By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS (IDN) — The United States has continued to accuse Russia of using scores of Iranian-made drones in its 11-month-old conflict with Ukraine. But in an ironic twist, the Biden administration is now investigating widespread reports that Iranian drones include American and Western components— despite longstanding economic and military sanctions against […]