Viewpoint by Clemens Breisinger, Abla Abdel Latif, Mariam Raouf and Manfred Wiebelt WASHINGTON, DC (IDN) – The economic impacts of the COVID-19 crisis are increasingly hitting low- and middle-income countries and the poor. International travel restrictions and the full or partial closure of businesses and industries in Asia, Europe, and North America have led to […]
COVID-19: Are the World’s “Leaders” up to the Challenge?
Viewpoint by Roberto Savio* CASAPROTA, Rieti, Italy (IDN) – The letter of 7 April 2020 calling for immediate international action to address issues arising from the COVID-19 crisis sent to the G20 by more than 200 former world leaders, leading economists and global health experts, makes sad reading. The letter, sent by a group that […]
An Unexpected Chance for the Success of Postponed NPT Review Conference
Viewpoint by Sergio Duarte The writer is Former UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs and current President of Pugwash. NEW YORK (IDN) – It took patience from the President-designate of the 2020 NPT Review Conference, a sober assessment of the situation by a number of states, particularly from the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and help from […]
Welcome to the Viral Desert – Coronavirus and the Reinvention of Communism
Viewpoint by Slavoj Žižek* LJUBLJANA (IDN) – The current spread of the coronavirus epidemic has also triggered a huge contagion of ideological viruses, which had been lying in a dormant state in our societies: fake news, paranoid conspiracy theories, outbursts of racism, and so on. The founded and real need for the implementation of quarantine […]
COVID-19: A Global Buddhist Network Contributing to Overcoming the Pandemic
Viewpoint by Soka Gakkai President Minoru Harada Following is the text of a press release conveying President Harada‘s Message in response to the COVID-19 Pandemic. [Read in Spanish, Traditional Chinese, and Simplified Chinese.] TOKYO (IDN) – Japan, where until recently we hoped that we would contain the spread of COVID-19, has now entered into a […]
The End of Bernie Sanders’ Socialist Agenda
Viewpoint by Somar Wijayadasa* NEW YORK (IDN) – The Socialist-Democrat Presidential candidate, Sen. Bernie Sanders, ended his campaign as it lost momentum – and the coronavirus pandemic changed everything. Claiming that he is a democratic socialist, he wanted to stage a political revolution in America. The dreaded words “socialist” and “revolution” are anathema to Americans […]
COVID-19: Trump’s Bizarre Performance Blocked His Emergence as a ‘Hero’
Viewpoint by Dr. Alon Ben-Meir The writer is a professor of international relations at the Center for Global Affairs at New York University (NYU). He teaches courses on international negotiation and Middle Eastern studies. NEW YORK (IDN) – For a man who is a self-absorbed, power hungry narcissist who wants to be recognized as one […]
What the Dickens, Let’s Fight the Stress of Coronavirus
Viewpoint by Dr. Dilkhush Panjwani * The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely my own and do not express the views or opinions of people, institutions or organizations that the author is affiliated with, in a professional or personal capacity. TORONTO (IDN) – Humanity is in the midst of an unfolding global […]
Violence Against Women Is the Growing Shadow Pandemic
Viewpoint by Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka Following is the statement by Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Executive Director of UN Women on 6 April 2020. NEW YORK (IDN) – With 90 countries in lockdown, four billion people are now sheltering at home from the global contagion of COVID-19. It’s a protective measure, but it brings another deadly danger. We see […]
COVID-19: Why the Nordics are Our Best Bet for Comparing Strategies
Viewpoint by Paul W. Franks* LUND, Sweden (IDN) – Daily updated graphs illustrating the rising COVID-19 death rates in different countries raise hopes that we can understand impact of the virus and work out how to stop it from spreading further. But when comparing countries as different as South Korea, China, Italy and the UK, […]