OPINION

Photo: Dr. Babafemi A. Badejo, Professor of Political Science/International Relations at Chrisland University, Abeokuta, Nigeria and former Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Somalia.

Russia Needs A Comprehensive African Agenda and Economic Diplomacy

Kester Kenn Klomegah* interviews Dr. Babafemi A. Badejo, former Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Somalia.

MOSCOW (IDN) — The scramble for the multidimensional control of the African continent by global players is a geopolitical reality. In order to be part of this geopolitical arena, foreign players have been devising different mechanisms for revitalizing partnership and strengthening cooperation with Africa, says Dr. Babafemi A. Badejo, Professor of Political Science/International Relations at Chrisland University, Abeokuta, Nigeria and former Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Somalia.

: Kester Kenn Klomegah; OPINION; 02 September 2021

Image: Ecological collapse. Bleaching has damaged the Great Barrier Reef and threatens reefs worldwide. CC BY-SA 3.0

Climate Change — Emerging Human Adaptations

Viewpoint by Bill Dahl*

QUERETARO, Mexico (IDN) — In August 2021, NBC News published a piece about the renewed interest in schools providing survival skills and urban disaster preparedness. The increase in attendance in these schools have one thing in common: climate change. Furthermore, the most common demographic is families with young children. I explore several of these emerging human adaptations to climate change by humans in this article.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 01 September 2021

Photo: Alok Sharma, President of COP 26 Climate Conference. Credit: UNDESA.

Together, We Can Change the Way We Power the World

Viewpoint by Alok Sharma, President of COP 26 Climate Conference

LONDON (IDN | UNDESA) — Solar changed Neville’s life. I saw this for myself when, as UK Secretary of State for International Development, I visited his home in Kenya, and he told me how off-grid solar power was helping him to study for his degree.

: Opinion Editor; SUSTAINABILITY; Affordable Clean Energy; 01 September 2021

Photo: Afghanistan civilians attempt on the airfield as a C-17 attempts to take off from the Kabul airport. Source: USNI News

Massive Intellectual Dishonesty Prevails Debate on Exodus from Afghanistan

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power

LUND, Sweden (IDN) — I like this. It’s from yesterday’s New York Times. Senator Christopher Murphy, a Democrat of Connecticut who supports President Joe Biden’s withdrawal, said those arguing to keep troops in Afghanistan were the ones who failed to win the war for two decades and perpetually pushed to stay even though “we have been losing for six to eight years.”

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 31 August 2021

Photo: Millions of Afghans have been displaced by the war. Credit: MikrofonNews

Afghan Crisis Must End America’s Empire of War, Corruption and Poverty

Viewpoint by Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J. S. Davies*

NEW YORK (IDN) — Americans have been shocked by videos of thousands of Afghans risking their lives to flee the Taliban’s return to power in their country—and then by an Islamic State suicide bombing and ensuing massacre by U.S. forces that together killed at least 170 people, including 13 U.S. troops.

Even as UN agencies warn of an impending humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, the U.S. Treasury has frozen nearly all of the Afghan Central Bank’s $9.4 billion in foreign currency reserves, depriving the new government of funds that it will desperately need in the coming months to feed its people and provide basic services.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 31 August 2021

Photo: Lower Manhattan skyline as seen from Governors Island in June 2017. CC BY-SA 4.0

The Ultimate Nuclear Terrorist Attack?

Viewpoint by Donald A. Collins

Donald A. Collins is a former US Navy officer, banker, venture capitalist, and a free-lance writer who has spent over 40 years working for women’s reproductive health as a board member and/or officer of numerous family planning organizations including Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Guttmacher Institute, Family Health International and Ipas.

WASHINTON D.C. (IDN) — A nuclear attack on New York city? It can’t happen. But the question of a nuclear war has been feared since Hiroshima.

: Opinion Editor; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 30 August 2021

Photo: Remains of 6, 7, and 1 WTC on September 17. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Lies About How the Attack on Afghanistan Started

Viewpoint by John Scales Avery*

COPENHAGEN (IDN) — The mainstream media, including the BBC, do not tell us the true story of how Afghanistan was invaded by the United States and its allies. Here is a link to an article by Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J.S. Davies about the invasion of Afghanistan:

https://truthout.org/articles/will-the-voices-of-those-who-were-always-right-on-afghanistan-still-be-ignored/?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=0260a0ca-3224-4181-89de-adf54fb583df

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 28 August 2021

Image: Cropped cover of the book reviewed.

New Book Explores How Adversarial Reporting Culture Drives Politicized COVID-19 Coverage

By Krishan Dutta

BANGKOK (IDN) — While the COVID-19 pandemic’s relentless cyclone continues across the globe wreaking havoc on economies and social systems, a new book sheds light on the adversarial reporting culture of the media, and how it impacts on racism and politicization driving the coverage.

‘COVID-19, Racism and Politicization: Media in the Midst of a Pandemic’ published by the UK-based Cambridge Scholars Publishing explores the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the role of national and international media, and governments, in the initial coverage of the developing crisis.

: Asia Editor; SUSTAINABILITY; Health & Well Being; 27 August 2021

Photo: Indian evacuation in Afghanistan. Source: DNA.

India Has Lost the First-Mover Advantage in Afghanistan

Viewpoint by Shastri Ramachandaran

NEW DELHI (IDN) — In the wake of the US retreat from Afghanistan, as the world’s leading nations engage with the Taliban in Kabul, India appears to have shot itself in the foot and gone into a sulk. When New Delhi does break its sullen silence, it only serves to remind the world of its seething animus against Pakistan.

As the regional superpower with unique civilisational connections and people-to-people ties with Afghanistan, India ought to have been a prominent player at this juncture of historic transition.

: Shastri Ramachandaran; SUSTAINABILITY; Peace & Justice; 27 August 2021

Countries Around the World Are Still Ill-Prepared to Deal with Multiple Overlapping Crises

Viewpoint by Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana

Ms. Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana is the United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific (ESCAP).

BANGKOK (IDN) — Over the past two decades, the Asia-Pacific region has made remarkable progress in managing disaster risk. But countries can never let down their guard. The COVID-19 pandemic, with its epicentre now in Asia, and all its tragic consequences, has exposed the frailties of human societies in the face of powerful natural forces. As of mid-August 2021, Asian and Pacific countries had reported 65 million confirmed coronavirus cases and more than 1 million deaths.