ARTS & CULTURE

Photo: “Manhattan cocktail” (Creative Commons image) served at the UN North Delegates' Lounge (designed by Hella Jongerius and Rem Koolhaas) "where Diplomats and Renegades Rendezvous!” (Image source: dezeen.com)

Great Expectations! The Non-Proliferation Treaty and The Coming of The Messiah!

Viewpoint by Tariq Rauf* from Vienna for IDN

Great Expectations is a novel published in July 1861 by the renowned British writer, Charles Dickens. It depicts the education of an orphan nicknamed Pip who has a stroke of good luck and great expectations but then loses both his luck and his expectations. Against that backdrop, the writer – an eminent nuclear disarmament expert – cautions that the taking of office by Joe Biden as US President next January would not mark the coming of the Messiah for nuclear arms control as wished for by his supporters. Besides, he argues, the already postponed tenth review conference of the parties to the NPT should be held in April-May 2022 in the Austrian capital city Vienna and not in August 2021 at the UN headquarters in New York. And this for two reasons: the wide-ranging impact of COVID-19 pandemic and Vienna offering an ideal venue for nuclear disarmament conferences.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 14 December 2020

Photo: Maradona visited Argentina's new president Alberto Fernández (right) on 26 December 2019. CC BY 4.0

How Nigerians Remember Maradona

Viewpoint by Azu Ishiekwene

The writer is the Managing Director/Editor-In-Chief of The Interview magazine based in Abuja, Nigeria.

ABUJA (IDN) – When the news of the death of Diego Maradona broke, I was in a friend’s office. Our initial spontaneous reaction was sorrow and regret. And then we drifted, almost as if we had rehearsed it, to the next thing: who is football’s all-time greatest? Maradona or Pele?

My friend wasted no time in declaring that for him, it is and always will be Maradona. He spoke about the Argentine’s prodigious talent, talked about his imagination and gushed, above all, about his artistry and genius.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 10 December 2020

Photo: The Indian Ocean could play a major role in future climate change. Credit: Earth.com

The Rich Historical Archive That Is the Indian Ocean

By Isabel Hofmeyr and Charne Lavery*

In the run-up to the COP26 climate change conference scheduled for November 2021 in Glasgow, Scotland, The Conversation has prepared a five-part series entitled Oceans 21 examining the history and future of the world’s oceans. This is the first article in the series which looks into ancient Indian Ocean trade networks.

JOHANNESBURG | PRETORIA (IDN) – On many beaches around the Indian Ocean, keen observers may spot bits of broken pottery. Washed smooth by the ocean, these shards are in all likelihood hundreds of years old, from centres of ceramic production like the Middle Eastern Abbasid Caliphate and the Chinese Ming dynasty.

: Phil Harris; SUSTAINABILITY; Climate Action; 09 December 2020

Photo credit: Valeriia Miller from Pexels

Sports and Art Suggested as Means to Promote Teens' Mental Health

By J W Jackie

RENO, Nevada, USA (IDN) – Art, music and sports have all been proven to boost mental health across a wide range of age groups, but one new study by researchers at the University of British Columbia indicates that these extracurricular activities are a powerful way to boost teen mental health. The study, published in the journal Preventive Medicine, showed that teens who spent less than two hours daily on leisure-centred screen time had higher levels of life satisfaction and felt more positive about life in general. The findings were especially strong amongst girls.

: Europe Editor; SUSTAINABILITY; Health & Well Being; 21 November 2020

Photo credit: Ms. Jane Mufamadi, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Freedom Park Memorial Museum Complex in Pretoria, South Africa.

The Five-Nation BRICS Finds Unity in Cultural Diversity

Interview by Kester Kenn Klomegah*

MOSCOW (IDN) – Under the Russian Chairmanship of BRICS 2020, Moscow has organised and hosted a series of corporate conferences, business forums and other important events. For example, the Roundtable discussion on the theme “International Cultural Cooperation for Strengthening BRICS Unity” brought high-profiled participants from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. It was part of efforts at broadening the scope of cooperation in different directions, and steps toward attaining an admirably influential position and becoming active on the global stage.

: Kester Kenn Klomegah; THE WORLD; Russia; 13 November 2020

Image: A coloured engraving that depicts the Peterloo Massacre (military suppression of a demonstration in Manchester, England by cavalry charge on August 16, 1819 with loss of life) in Manchester, England. Richard Carlile, Manchester Libraries. Wikimedia Commons.

Ye Are Many, They Are Few!

By John Scales Avery

COPENHAGEN (IDN) – I would like to announce the publication of a new book, which discusses the question of how oligarchs maintain their grasp on an excessive share of wealth and power when, as Shelley pointed out, the have-nots are many, while the power-holders are few.

Here the link to a new freely downloadable book

http://eacpe.org/app/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Ye-are-Many-They-are-Few-by-John-Scales-Avery.pdf

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 20 October 2020

Photo: Hanization raising discontent among Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang. Credit: The Kootneeti.

China Continues 'Hanization' Violating the Freedom of Ethnic Minorities

By Nadir Ali Wani*

SRINAGAR, India (IDN) – China claims, as in a 2019 white paper, "Seeking Happiness for People: 70 Years of Progress on Human Rights in China”, that it fully protects the freedom of ethnic minorities to use and develop their spoken and written languages and that the state protects by law the legitimate use of spoken and written languages of ethnic minorities in the areas of administration and judiciary, press and publishing, radio, film and television, and culture and education.

: Asia Editor; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 17 October 2020

Image credit: Kazinform, IDN-INPS partner.

Kazakhstan Celebrates 175th Anniversary of Eminent Poet Abai

By Saltanat Suraganova

ALMATY (IDN | Kazinform) – The name of Abai is known worldwide just as Shakespeare, Goethe, and Pushkin are well-known in many countries. His books were translated into many foreign languages. So, we can say definitely that Abai made a contribution to not only Kazakh culture and folklore but world literature as well. This year Kazakhstan celebrates the 175th anniversary of Abai. His popularity in our country is undeniable.

: Admin; THE WORLD; Central Asia; 09 October 2020

Photo: Irreecha is a thanksgiving festival celebrated every year. Oromo people gather from all places to the sacred lake and sprinkle the water to their body. In 2019, Irreecha was celebrated at artificial lake for the first time due to the drying up of lake. CC BY-SA 4.0

Popular Harvest Fest in Ethiopia Scaled Back as Opposition to Leadership Grows

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – Harvest festivals are a common sight in Africa although this year organizers were advised to keep the numbers down due to the COVID-10 pandemic.

The Homowo Festival – a celebration by the Ga people of Ghana – was held as scheduled in Ga Mashie. Many of the celebrants could be seen wearing masks while cooking pots held steaming soups and other dishes.

In Ethiopia, massive crowds were expected in the Oromia region for the harvest festival of Irreecha – one of the year’s most important cultural and religious events for millions of ethnic Oromos. Flowers and long grasses are traditionally tossed into a pool of water to thank God for the blessings of the past year and to wish prosperity for the coming year.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 05 October 2020

Reviewing the Book 'Myth of ‘Free Media’ and Fake News in the Post-Truth Era’

By Kannan Salazar

BANGKOK (IDN) – With Julian Assange’s “show trial” in progress in the UK for alleged national security breaches in the US, and a cold war era propaganda campaign between the Anglo-American media and China gathering momentum, a timely new book sheds some light on how the so-called “free media” has ditched its libertarian values.

The book titled Myth of ‘Free Media’ and Fake News in the Post-Truth Era published by SAGE 2020 and written by Sri Lankan born journalist and communication scholar Kalinga Seneviratne* challenges the Anglo-American media’s claim to be an objective ‘free media’. He maintains that the western media fails to understand that objectivity in news is subjective.