Viewpoint by Temesgen Kahsay The author is an Assistant Professor at the Norwegian School of Leadership and Theology. The following appeared first in ‘African Arguments’ on January 12, 2021. OSLO (IDN) – We’re told the war is not with ordinary Tigrayans. Yet as thousands suffer and our compatriots remain silent, that’s how it feels. As […]
Whither the G20 in a World of Declining Multilateralism: Part 2
Viewpoint by Roberto Savio* ROME (IDN | OtherNews) – A decision on the debt issue is now expected from the next G20 Summit in Rome, in November. But before that, the Global Health Summit called by the G20 together with the EU in May will be the occasion to verify what will happen with vaccines. […]
Whither the G20 in a World of Declining Multilateralism: Part 1
Viewpoint by Roberto Savio* ROME (IDN | OtherNews) – For 2021, Italy has been given chairmanship of the Group of 20, which brings together the world’s 20 most important countries. On paper, they represent 60 percent of the world’s population and 80 percent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP). While the shaky Italian government will […]
The Rationale for Scotland Returning to the European Union
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden (IDN) – Trump wants to get in. Scotland wants to get out. That sounds a bit odd. Let me explain. A few days ago, the first minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon, said she’d heard that one of the White House’s planes had asked for permission to land in Glasgow […]
The Assault on the Citadel of US Democracy
Viewpoint by Somar Wijayadasa* NEW YORK (IDN) – On January 6, Americans and the world watched in disbelief, horror and disgust as President Donald Trump’s fiercest supporters, stoked by the commander in chief himself, stormed, smashed windows, and desecrated the Capitol building that hasn’t been breached since the War of 1812, when British soldiers burned […]
Why We Care
By Ramu Damodaran The writer is Chief, United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI) hosted in the Department of Global Communications. This OpEd first appeared in the UNAI Weekly Newsletter – January 8. NEW YORK (IDN | UNAI) – Graffiti is terse but truthful and even if I failed in identifying the specific trigger for a carefully […]
Capitol Hill Insurrection Demonstrates What the US Does Abroad
Viewpoint by Kalinga Seneviratne SYDNEY (IDN) – While protestors were occupying Washington DC’s Capitol Hill and ransacking the Congress Chambers – the centre of American power – President-elect Joe Biden addressing the nation said that the attempted insurrection was “not what we are”, perhaps unintentionally conveying the first ‘lie’ of his presidential reign beginning January […]
Is China Seeking to Remake the World in Its Own Image?
Viewpoint by Richard Hanania* This is the second of a four-part series. Click here for Part 1 NEW YORK (IDN) – No other state was considered a fundamental threat to the U.S. over the issue, with a mix of external pressure and internal incentives leading them to ultimately develop more rigorous patent laws and enforcement. […]
What Is the U.S. Afraid of China Actually Doing?
Viewpoint by Richard Hanania* This is the first of a four-part series. NEW YORK (IDN) – Across the political spectrum, there is widespread agreement that America must get serious about the threat posed by China. As the Trump administration comes to a close, the State Department has just released a document called ‘The Elements of […]
Ending Our Suicidal War Against Nature
Viewpoint by John Scales Avery* COPENHAGEN (IDN) – “Our planet is broken,” the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, has warned. Humanity is waging what he describes as a “suicidal” war on the natural world. “Nature always strikes back, and is doing so with gathering force and fury,” he told a BBC special event […]