Viewpoint by Azu Ishiekwene The writer is the Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of LEADERSHIP newspaper based in Abuja, Nigeria. ABUJA (IDN) — Former US President Donald Trump didn’t just happen to the United States. He hit the world like the climax of a horror movie. Scene after scene, act after act, left the thoughtful in bewilderment, the […]
China–Sri Lanka: Two Millennia of Mutually Enriching Relations
Viewpoint by Ambassador Palitha Kohona* BEIJING (IDN) — Sitting in the middle of the Indian Ocean at the southern tip of India, Sri Lanka occupies an enviable strategic position. A blessing that it has successfully leveraged to advantage in the past and a curse that will continue to attract the rapacious attention of global and […]
Finding The Right Money for Vulnerable Countries
The Importance of Loss and Damage Fund (LDF) Viewpoint by Inge Kaul The author is a fellow at the Hertie School of Governance, Berlin, Germany. Comments are welcome and can be addressed to contact@ingekaul.net. BERLIN (IDN) — For decades, there have been non-conclusive deliberations regarding how the international community can support poor and vulnerable countries […]
Myanmar Junta Craves Legitimacy Amid Crimes Against Humanity & War Crimes
Viewpoint by Jan Servaes BRUSSELS (IDN) — Since the February 1, 2021 coup, Myanmar’s military has committed a variety of atrocities that, according to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, may amount to “crimes against humanity and war crimes”. To consolidate its power against widespread popular resistance, the self-proclaimed State Administration Council (SAC) led […]
Push Forward—Act Now to End Violence Against Women & Girls
Viewpoint by Sima Bahous The following is the text of the statement by Ms Bahous, UN Under-Secretary-General and UN Women Executive Director, on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, 25 November 2022. NEW YORK (IDN) — Five years ago, the global #MeToo movement brought new urgency and visibility to the extent […]
The US Midterm Election: A Rude Awakening for the Republican Party
Viewpoint by Alon Ben-Meir Dr Alon Ben-Meir is a retired professor of international relations at the Center for Global Affairs at New York University (NYU). He taught courses on international negotiation and Middle Eastern studies for over 20 years. NEW YORK (IDN) — The result of the midterm election has caused a seriously widening fissure […]
India Could Navigate the G20 Next Year in a New Direction
Viewpoint by M. K. Bhadrakumar* NEW DELHI (IDN) — The seventeenth G20 Heads of State and Government Summit held in Bali, Indonesia, on November 15–16 stands out as a consequential event from many angles. The international politics is at an inflection point and the transition will not leave unaffected any of the institutions inherited from […]
UN Military Intervention in Haiti Offers No Added Value but Added Chaos
Viewpoint by P.I. Gomes The writer is the former Secretary-General of The Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad & Tobago (IDN) — Haiti’s history of horror and resolute self-determination is once again a subject of controversy and confusion in much of the world’s media.
The Climate Dispossessed are not Refugees
Viewpoint by Teall Crossen * This article was issued by the Toda Peace Institute and is being republished with their permission. WELLINGTON, New Zealand (IDN) — Let’s be clear, people displaced by climate breakdown are not climate refugees under international law. They are not being forced from their countries because of persecution by their own […]
The US Is Making a Mess of the Concept of Democracy
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power LUND, Sweden (IDN) — It should take a long time before America can again strut the world stage and lecture about the values of democracy, poking its finger in the eye of every authoritarian or dictatorial government it has the desire to show up. A former president, about to announce he […]