Viewpoint by Nandita Bajaj* ST PAUL, Minnesota (IDN) — As the global population fast approaches 8 billion, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Executive Director Dr Natalia Kanem wants us to avoid what she calls “population alarmism.” A fearless advocate for reproductive rights, Dr Kanem, has rightfully noted that reproductive coercion, whether in an effort to […]
What’s Next in the Ukraine War?
Viewpoint by Herbert Wulf This article was issued by the Toda Peace Institute and is being republished with their permission. BONN (IDN) — In order to find an answer to the difficult question about the future of Ukraine, it is worth analysing the two extreme and polarised positions currently propagated in Western Europe. On the […]
Is President Putin Offering an Olive Branch to the West?
Viewpoint by Somar Wijayadasa* NEW YORK (IDN) — The 19th Annual Meeting of the Valdai Discussion Forum, titled “Peace after Hegemony: Justice and Security for all” was held in Moscow from October 24-27. The meeting was attended by 111 international policy experts, politicians, diplomats and economists from 41 countries, including from France, Germany, and the […]
Panch Mahabhoot, Climate Change and UN SDGs
Viewpoint by Manish Uprety F.R.A.S. The writer is an ex-diplomat and Special Adviser for Asia & Africa of ALCAP, the Latin American Parliamentary Association of Audio-Visual Communication. Any views or opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of IDN InDepth News. NEW DELHI (IDN) — Bad news first. […]
Time To Think Again About Abolishing Torture
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power LUND, Sweden (IDN) — Right now, 47 years ago to the day in the autumn of 1975, the corridors of the UN in New York were abuzz with a small army of Amnesty International staff members lobbying countries to agree on a Declaration Against Torture.
Biden’s Foreign Policy Is Sinking the Congressional Dems—and Ukraine
Viewpoint by Jeffrey D. Sachs The proxy war between the U.S. and Russia is devastating Ukraine, ironically in the name of saving Ukraine. This article was published in Common Dreams and is being republished with the author’s permission. NEW YORK (IDN) — President Joe Biden is undermining his party’s Congressional prospects through a deeply flawed […]
Will Sunak as Prime Minister Halt Britain’s Slide into Chaos?
Viewpoint by Azu Ishiekwene The writer is the Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of LEADERSHIP newspaper based in Abuja, Nigeria. ABUJA (IDN) — In a widely shared story earlier this month, The Economist likened the political carnage in Britain to the situation in Italy in the 1940s. Italy was a major theatre of the First World War at […]
And What If Saudi Arabia Were the Owner of Nuclear Missiles?
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power LUND, Sweden (IDN) — In any body politic there will be a group of powerful people who, if not in the inner circle of the president or prime minister, can win access to it at regular intervals. Security is their profession, and they can be met at discrete academic conferences where […]
Building Tech “Trust and Safety” for a Digital Public Sphere
Viewpoint by Lisa Schirch Toda Peace Institute issued this article, and it is being republished with their permission. Notre Dame, Indiana, USA (IDN) — The first annual “Trust and Safety” conferences took place this week in Palo Alto, California. Tech platform staff from Zoom, Meta, TikTok, and DoorDash met together with researchers studying how to […]
India: Universal Eye Health & Impact of COVID-19
By Arjun Kumar, Anshula Mehta, Simi Mehta and Kuldeep Singh NEW DELHI (IDN) — Vision loss and impairment affects more than how people see; it has implications for inequities in employment, healthcare access, and income. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), it has been estimated that 80% of vision loss is preventable or treatable. […]