Viewpoint by Hazel Henderson* JACKSONVILLE, Florida (IDN) – We humans are at the absurd stage in our technological evolution when we seem to have abandoned our common sense. Billions are spent by governments, corporations and investors in training computer-based algorithms (i.e. computer programs) in today’s mindless rush to create so-called “artificial” intelligence, widely advertised as […]
Aftermath of Turkey’s ‘Failed’ Coup Triggers Ugly Memories
Analysis by Vice Admiral Anil Chopra*
The attempted coup on July 15 in Turkey as well as its aftermath have irreparably dented President Erdogan’s international image and impacted Turkey’s standing as a democratic state, a military power, a NATO member, an EU aspirant, and an emerging economy. This downtrend is unlikely to be reversed in the near future and the country is in for an extended period of instability
MUMBAI (IDN-INPS | Gateway House) – There has been, and continues to be, much speculation about whether the attempted coup in Turkey was staged by President Recip Erdogan himself; about him orchestrating it in order to identify and eliminate his enemies, both Kemalists and Gulenists – as the millions of moderate and pro-western followers of the U.S.-based cleric, Fethullah Gulen, are now referred to. Parallels are even being drawn with Adolf Hitler’s purges after the staged Reichstag fire in 1933.
Argentina’s Deal Calls for a Debt Workout Mechanism
Analysis by Yuefen Li*
GENEVA (INPS | South Centre) – Argentina signed an agreement in principle on February 29, 2016 with four “super holdout” hedge funds including NML Capital Ltd, Aurelius Capital, Davidson Kempner and Bracebridge Capital. Buenos Aires would pay them a total of about $4.65 billion, amounting to 75 percent of the principal and interest of all their claims of Argentina’s bonds that were defaulted on during the 2001 debt crisis.
The payment is to be made in cash before April 14, 2016, provided that Argentina’s Congress approves the repeal of Argentina’s domestic laws, namely the Lock Law and the Sovereign Payment Law, which prohibit the country from proposing terms to the holdouts that are better than those Argentina offered to its creditors in earlier restructurings.
Counter-terrorism – South East Asian Style
At the recent counter-terrorism conference in Jaipur, a star-studded galaxy of policy makers, security analysts and law enforcement officials debated on tackling the Daesh threat. Some of the most positive steps to counter the terror propaganda came from South East Asia and India’s neighbourhood
By Sameer Patil
“कोई बेगुनाह फंसे नहीं, और कोई गुनहगार बचे नहीं (No innocent should suffer and no guilty should escape),” will be the cornerstone of India’s counter-terrorism policy, as stated by Home Minister Rajnath Singh, in a fitting end to the India Foundation’s Counterterrorism Conference held in Jaipur on February 2-3, 2016.
South Centre Pleads for Cooperation Between WIPO and UN Agencies
The South Centre pleaded for a new strategic framework for the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) with strategic goals aligned to those of the broader UN system in the following statement delivered to the 2015 World Intellectual Property Organization Assemblies held at its headquarters in Geneva on 5-14 October 2015.
Modi’s India Forging New and Improved Global Partnerships
India’s foreign policy think tank ‘Gateway House’ based in Mumbai sifted through the speeches of Prime Minister Narenda Modi during his visits abroad in 2015 to assess the terms—such as cooperation and economy—he used most frequently. As the terminology pattern shows, India’s foreign policy is now focussed on forging new and improved global partnerships. And as the most-travelled head of state in the world, Modi’s words indicate India’s new global positioning.