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IDN-InDepthNews

 

CENTRAL ASIA

   

 

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UN INSIDER

OPINION

Photo: President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron in their bilateral discussion on September 24, 2018, at the Lotte New York Palace in New York. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power*

LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – Reacting to the radio interview by the French president, Emmanuel Macron, to mark Armistice Day, in which he was reported as saying, “We have to protect ourselves with respect to China, Russia and even the United States of America… We need a true European army”, President Donald Trump blew a fuse. He tweeted: “President Macron of France has just suggested that Europe build its own military in order to protect itself from the U.S., China and Russia. Very insulting.”

OPINION

Photo: U.S. Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power meets Northern Province Governor H. M. G. S. Palihakkara at the Governor's Secretariat in Chundikuli, Jaffna, Sri Lanka on 22 November 2015. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

Viewpoint by H.M.G.S. Palihakkara *

The author is a Sri Lankan civil servant, diplomat and former Governor of Northern Province. This article first appeared in The Island and is being republished in view of its fervent plea for 'building a culture of consensual governance'. – The Editor.

COLOMBO (IDN-INPS) – Many concerned citizens are seen to describe the current state of our Republic as being at a crossroads. It is not difficult to join this conversation, not least because the challenges involved are multiple and touch upon all strata of our national life.

OPINION

Photo: NATO Deputy Secretary General Rose Gottemoeller addressing the Beijing Xiangshan Forum. Credit: NATO

By J C Suresh

TORONTO (IDN-INPS) – "We know that we cannot fight tomorrow's threats with today’s tools. Defending ourselves is no longer about just looking at a map and deciding where to position troops and equipment. We need to defend ourselves in the digital age, and in the age of artificial intelligence," NATO Deputy Secretary General Rose Gottemoeller told  experts participating in the 8th Beijing Xiangshan Forum in China from October 24 to 26 2018.

OPINION

Photo: Sr Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena. Credit: Colombo Telegraph.

Viewpoint by Friday Forum

Sri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena's move to remove Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and prorogue Parliament was "a shameless disregard of this political mandate given to him by the people", avers the Friday Forum in a statement circulated on November 5. The Friday Forum is "an informal group of concerned citizens pledged to uphold norms of democracy, good governance, the rule of law, human rights, media freedom and tolerance in our pluralist society". We are publishing this statement in full with a view to offering a perspective different from that reflected in two viewpoints* we have carried. in the aftermath of President Sirisena's "shock decision on October 26 to appoint his political foe of recent years Mahinda Rajapakse as Prime Minister", which has evoked outrage among Western diplomats and the international media. – The Editor.

OPINION

Photo: British Prime Minister Theresa May (left) and German Chancellor Angela Merkel (right). Credit. The Mirror

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power*

LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – Is Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany, responsible for Brexit? In a way yes she is because at the time of the great economic crisis of 2007-2013, counterproductively she insisted on austerity throughout the European Union. Austerity helped turn the poorer classes of the UK towards Brexit.

But so also are the people in high places who lied to the British electorate and persuaded them to vote in a referendum for it. So are those who have fanned the anti-immigrant flames all over Europe. Angela Merkel, in this case, was the most heroic of all the leaders of the West in going the other way and taking in one million, mainly Syrian, refugees.

OPINION

Photo: Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasingha (left) with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi who participated in the International Vesak Day celebrations in Colombo in May 2017. The measured response to the "crisis" in India and Australia suggests a greater appreciation of the real situation in Sri Lanka. Credit: Daily News & Analysis (DNA)

Viewpoint by Dr Palitha Kohona

Ambassador Dr Palitha Kohona, Former Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations.

COLOMBO (IDN) – The change of Government in Sri Lanka, following the unceremonious sacking of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasingha by President Maithripala Sirisena, has given rise to a crescendo of alarmist commentary in the Western media, which is slowly seeping in to the non-Western media as well. One after the other, the Western media outlets have taken a critical approach to the change and have begun to characterize the replacement of the Prime Minister as a "Crisis".

THE WORLD
Asia-Pacific

Image credit: Utopia Rossa.

Viewpoint by Pier Francesco Zarcone*

ROME (IDN) – Sorry to say so, but the future of the Palestinians is darker and more bleak than ever, because the Sunni Arab countries have become disinterested in them and they have no powerful friends in the world. Today their loneliness is stronger and more evident, as even the residual veils of hypocritical rhetoric have disappeared among the Arabs could support them, having money and political and media influence. Let's see why.

OPINION

Photo: Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena with his political foe of recent years, Mahinda Rajapakse. Source: Colombo Telegraph.

Viewpoint by Kalinga Seneviratne

SINGAPORE (IDN) – After Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena's shock decision on October 26 to appoint his political foe of recent years Mahinda Rajapakse as Prime Minister, Western diplomats and the international media have expressed outrage at what they perceive as "lack of respect for democratic institutions" such as the Parliament.

But, within an hour of the announcement, Sri Lankan media broadcast images of people lighting celebratory fire crackers across the country including in Tamil-dominated Jaffna.

THE WORLD
Asia-Pacific

Photo: U.S. President Donald Trump with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Helsinki on 16 July 2018. Credit: website of the President of the Russian Federation.

Viewpoint by Daryl G. Kimball

The author is Executive Director of the Arms Control Association. This article appeared on 1 November 2018, and is being reproduced by courtesy of the think-tank. – The Editor

WASHINGTON, D.C. (IDN-INPS) – Earlier this year, President Donald Trump told reporters that he wanted to work with Russian President Vladimir Putin "to discuss the arms race, which is getting out of control." He characterized the costly nuclear weapons upgrade programs being pursued by each side as "a very, very bad policy."

OPINION

Photo credit: Energy 4 Impact

Viewpoint by Ben Good*

The author is CEO of Energy 4 Impact, a London-based non-profit organisation working with local businesses to extend access to energy in Africa, particularly East and West Africa.

LONDON (IDN) – Digital technologies are helping sub-Saharan African countries tap new sources of capital as they seek ways to close the energy access gap.

Last year, the Tanzania-based social enterprise Simusolar raised 50,000 dollars to finance its work selling solar powered systems to farmers and fishermen in rural areas traditionally excluded from mainstream energy provision. 

THE WORLD
Africa

  1. Tear Down Walls, Those Manifestations of Superficial Thinking
  2. Non-Proliferation and Nuclear Disarmament Go Hand in Hand
  3. The INF Treaty Looks Likely to be a Dead Letter by April 2019
  4. Women, Peace and Security is Germany's Priority in 2019-2020 Security Council Membership
  5. A New Book Proposes an Alternative U.S. Foreign Policy

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