Viewpoint by Dr. Ulysses Dorotheo The writer is Executive Director of Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance (SEATCA). BANGKOK (IDN) – Many corporations make money at the expense of the public interest, but the world’s largest tobacco company, Philip Morris International (PMI) has raised the bar again. In 2017 PMI pledged US$80 million annually for 12 […]
Iran at the Edge of a Cliff as the Bomb Question Hangs Fire
Trump Scrapped Security Council Endorsed Nuclear Deal Viewpoint by Jonathan Power LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – There’s never been a full-scale war between two nuclear-armed states. If Iran one day did cross the nuclear threshold the same deterrence will apply. No one rational would want to provoke their own incineration. Columbia university professor, Kenneth Waltz, the […]
Damocles’ Sword Hanging Over Netanyahu and Netanyahu’s Over Palestine
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – A sword of Damocles hangs over the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. The sword of Netanyahu hangs over Palestine – and Israel. Which will fall first? A court case approaches. A new election in September approaches. Netanyahu is being accused of a serious crime of corruption. He […]
Many More Than Just Maritime Powder Kegs in the Gulf
Viewpoint by James M. Dorsey James M. Dorsey – a senior fellow at Nanyang Technological University’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, an adjunct senior research fellow at the National University of Singapore’s Middle East Institute and co-director of the University of Wuerzburg’s Institute of Fan Culture – offered this viewpoint to IDN. SINGAPORE (IDN) […]
The Need to Revitalize Global Partnership in Trade
Viewpoint by Mukhisa Kituyi The following are extended excerpts from UNCTAD Mukhisa Kituyi’s Secretary-General blog on UNCTAD Website. In the face of barriers and protectionism, says the writer, the multilateral trade rulebook needs to be revised to ensure that it can deliver its full development potential. GENEVA (IDN) –The multilateral trading system provides a unique […]
The Taliban and Iran Topped Pompeo’s Visit to Afghanistan
Viewpoint by Abdul Bari Nijrabi and R. Maxwell Bone* WASHINGTON, DC | KABUL (IDN) – The U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pomepo made an unannounced visit to Kabul on June 25, 2019 During his nearly eight hours in the Afghan capital, the top diplomat of the United States met with senior government officials along with […]
There’s Only One Way Out of the Global Coffee Crisis: Pay More
Viewpoint by Darío Soto Abril & Roberto Vélez Darío Soto Abril is CEO of Fairtrade International and Roberto Vélez is CEO of the Colombian Coffee Growers Federation (FNC). BONN | BOGOTA (IDN) – The global coffee industry is facing an unprecedented price crisis which not only threatens our daily cup of the black stuff but […]
Putin’s Russia Doesn’t Compare with The Days of The Gulag
Putin’s Russia Doesn’t Compare with The Days of The Gulag Viewpoint by Jonathan Power MSCOW (IDN-INPS) – Here’s a joke, borrowed from a Russian website. The Russians always have had a dry humour. “Trump, Merkel, May and Macon – Putin is heartily sick of them all. They keep calling and calling, so he switches his […]
Ultimata to Iran and Pakistan Threaten to Cloud China’s FATF Presidency
Viewpoint by James M. Dorsey James M. Dorsey – a senior fellow at Nanyang Technological University’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, an adjunct senior research fellow at the National University of Singapore’s Middle East Institute and co-director of the University of Wuerzburg’s Institute of Fan Culture – offered this viewpoint to IDN. SINGAPORE (IDN) […]
President Xi of China Remains an Enigma
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – Xi Jinping, president of China, remains an enigma. You watched him on television reviewing the dancing in Pyongyang in the company of Kim Jong-un and his face is near to expressionless when in repose. He doesn’t stand like an arrogant man and we recall that time when […]