OPINION

Image: Pornpipat Charoenthai / Shutterstock

IPCC Mitigation Report, 2022: What it Implies for Developing Countries

This article was issued by the Toda Peace Institute and is being republished with their permission.

NEW DELHI (IDN) — There is no doubt that climate change needs to be addressed by all countries in a concerted manner. The fact remains, however, that there is a wide variance among countries both in terms of capacity to address and culpability for the problem. Developing and least developed countries are likely to suffer disproportionately the effects of climate change.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 01 June 2022

Ukraine War: Germany Stops Appeasing Russia

Viewpoint by Franz Baumann

This article was issued by Meer and is being republished with the author's permission.

NEW YORK (IDN) — The “special military operation,” launched on 24th February by the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, did not go as planned. It also had unexpected consequences.

For instance, Ukraine defended itself fiercely, indeed heroically, against the unprovoked, brutal attack. It inflicted gigantic losses in life and equipment on the Russian invaders.

: Franz Baumann; OPINION; 31 May 2022

Gun Violence is a Fact of Life in America

Viewpoint by Somar Wijayadasa*

NEW YORK (IDN) — Once again, for the umpteenth time, another massacre of young school children shocked the United States of America (US), and the heart-breaking news reverberated across the world.

On Tuesday (5/24) in a deadly rampage, an 18-year-old shooter slaughtered 19 children and two teachers at the Robb Elementary school in Uvalde, Texas—marking the 30th shooting at a K-12 school in just the first five months of this year.

: Somar Wijayadasa; OPINION; 30 May 2022

Photo: ESCAP Executive Secretary Ms. Salsiah Alisjahbana. Source: ESCAP

Asia-Pacific Will Attain Development Goals Only in 2065

Viewpoint by Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana

The writer is the United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific.

BANGKOK (IDN) — The Asia-Pacific region is at a crossroads today—to further breakdown or breakthrough to a greener, better, safer future.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 29 May 2022

Image: Some experts say Austria might be a model of neutrality for Ukraine. Source: 24 News Recorder.

Is It Time for Austria to Re-Evaluate Its Neutrality?

Viewpoint by Robert Misik

Robert Misik is a writer and essayist. He publishes in many German-language newspapers and magazines, including Die Zeit and Die Tageszeitung. This article was issued by International Politics and Society (IPS) and is being republished courtesy of the Brussels-based journal.

VIENNA (IDN) — ‘Black Thursday’—February 24—the day Putin’s army fell upon Ukraine, was a turning point for the whole of Europe, according to German chancellor Olaf Scholz. German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock put it like this: ‘Today we woke up in a different world’.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 29 May 2022

Did US Biotechnology Help to Create COVID-19?

Viewpoint by Neil Harrison and Jeffrey D. Sachs

This article was issued by Project Syndicate and is being republished with the authors’ permission.

NEW YORK (IDN) — When US President Joe Biden asked the United States Intelligence Community to determine the origin of COVID-19, its conclusion was remarkably understated but nonetheless shocking. In a one-page summary, the IC made clear that it could not rule out the possibility that SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) emerged from a laboratory.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 29 May 2022

Photo: ‘Profiting from pain’: Covid-19 pandemic creates new billionaire every 30 hours, says Oxfam WEF 2022 report. Image source: DNA India

Davos Forum: ‘Profiting from Pain’ amid ‘Inequality Pandemic’

Viewpoint by Sonali Kolhatkar

This article was produced by Economy for All, a project of the Independent Media Institute. Sonali Kolhatkar is the founder, host and executive producer of “Rising Up With Sonali,” a television and radio show that airs on Free Speech TV and Pacifica stations.

LOS ANGELES (IDN) — The World Economic Forum (WEF), which took place this year from May 22 through 26 in Davos, Switzerland, brought together elected officials and corporate executives from all over the world to tackle global problems. The annual meeting was delayed, first by two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and then by five more months due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 26 May 2022

Photo: Women fruit and vegetable vendors chat at a market in La Paz, Bolivia. Source: UN News/Unsplash/Lesly Derksen

There Should Be No Crisis in World Food Supplies

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power

LUND, Sweden (IDN) — The world is lather about the jump in world food prices in world food prices. Just this last weekend the Minister of Agriculture of Egypt was saying that, without assured grain supplies from Russia and Ukraine, he expected a rise of widespread malnutrition.

: Jonathan Power; SUSTAINABILITY; Food security, nutrition & sustainable agriculture; 24 May 2022

US Presses India to Reassess Its Foreign Policy Options

Viewpoint by John P. Ruehl

This article was produced by Globetrotter. The writer is an Australian-American journalist living in Washington, D.C. He is a contributing editor to Strategic Policy and a contributor to several other foreign affairs publications. He is currently finishing a book on Russia to be published in 2022.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (IDN) — The United States’ approach to India since the outbreak of the Ukraine crisis has reignited India’s historical grievances toward Washington. But outreach by other major powers—such as Russia and China—to New Delhi illustrates India’s growing clout in international affairs.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 23 May 2022

Image: River Pripyat, Polesia / Fedor Lysenko/Shutterstock

Grave Concern for Environmental and Climate Damage Caused by Russian Invasion of Ukraine

Viewpoint by Kazuo Matsushita

This article was issued by the Toda Peace Institute and is being republished with their permission.

TOKYO (IDN) — War is the worst destruction of the environment and human rights.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine is truly a humanitarian crisis. In addition, the war has caused extensive damage to the environment, the effects of which are feared to be long-lasting. Even if the war were to end, the environmental devastation and pollution will make reconstruction difficult.