By Kalinga Seneviratne SYDNEY (IDN) — This fourth issue of Sustainable Development Observer focuses on the global health crisis that has been exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic and pharmaceutical industry’s greed—at the cost of peoples’ health. While the world’s media has gone berserk about a new “Omicron” variant of the COVID virus, the World Trade […]
Kazakhstan Might Turn Out to Be Russia’s Next Ukraine
Viewpoint by James M. Dorsey* SINGAPORE (IDN) – With Russian troops massing on Ukraine’s borders, it’s not only Ukrainians who worry about what President Vladimir Putin may have in store for them. It’s Kazakhs too. For now, Kazakhs don’t have to be immediately concerned about Russian troop movements. What unsettles them is years of Russian […]
UN Report Concerned About Hunger and Food Insecurity in Latin America and the Caribbean
By Jaya Ramachandran ROME (IDN) — The rise in hunger and food insecurity levels that have been occurring in Latin America and the Caribbean since 2015, were exacerbated by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The region is now even further off-track to achieve Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target 2.1 to end hunger and achieve […]
Putin and Biden: Who Will Blink First?
Viewpoint by Herbert Wulf This article was issued by the Toda Peace Institute and is being republished with their permission. After constant Cold War rhetoric and sabre-rattling, the presidents of the USA and Russia talk to each other about the Ukraine conflict and more generally about the security architecture in Europe. The EU is directly […]
Three African Countries Lose U.S. Trade Benefits Over Rights Violations
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) — The Biden administration has cracked down on three African countries accused of serious rights violations, expelling them from AGOA, a duty-free trade program worth millions in benefits. The three countries—Ethiopia, Mali and Guinea—had been warned in November of the threatened action which affects imports and […]
The NPT-5 Joint Statement—Cum grano salis
Viewpoint by Sergio Duarte The writer is President of Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs and former UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs. NEW YORK (IDN) — On January 3, the five nuclear-weapon states party to the Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) issued an important Joint Statement on “preventing nuclear war […]
‘Unity in Diversity’ Is an Essential Part of Indian Culture
Viewpoint by Dr Ram Puniyani This article is the 17th in a series of joint productions of South Asian Outlook and IDN-InDepthNews, the flagship of the International Press Syndicate. The writer is a former professor of biomedical engineering and former senior medical officer affiliated with the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (now Mumbai) and meanwhile […]
‘Even In Death, Tutu Remains a Vigilant Protector of The Environment’
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) — Over the course of his 90 years, Archbishop Desmond Mpilo Tutu gave voice to his beloved nation in its struggle for change and reconciliation under Black majority rule. His last wishes for a green burial have sparked a tweetstorm on the mostly unfamiliar practice among […]
Controversial Kenyan Conservationist Dies Aged 77
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) — World-famous Kenyan conservationist and fossil hunter Richard Leakey, cited for “great contributions to human origins and wildlife conservation”, has passed away in Nairobi. He was 77 years of age. Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta expressed “deep sorrow” at the news of Leakey’s death. His will and […]
At The Onset Of 2022, We Need a Return to Perspective
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power LUND, Sweden (IDN) — We had much to be glum about as we came to the end of 2021. We are brainwashed with bad news. “If it bleeds it leads”, say the wags in the newsroom. One plane crash or celebrity’s death or royal family transgressions or Russian military manoeuvres are […]