OPINION

Photo: The aftermath of a nuclear test carried out in Licorne in French Polynesia in 1971. Credit: The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO).

Nuclear Weapons Have Always Been Illegal; It’s Long Past Time to Abolish Them

“History is written by the victors. Thus, the heinous massacre that was Hiroshima has been handed down to us as a perfectly justified act of war.... It is clear that the use of nuclear weapons, which cause indiscriminate mass murder that leaves survivors to suffer for decades, is a violation of international law.”– Hiroshima Mayor Takashi Hiraoka before the International Court of Justice, Nov. 7, 1995

Viewpoint by Jacqueline Cabasso*

OAKLAND, California, USA (IDN) — July 8, 2021, marks the 25th anniversary of the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ’s) Advisory Opinion on the legal status of nuclear weapons.

: Opinion Editor; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 05 July 2021

Photo: Then Health Minister Hridayesh Tripathi receiving the first batch of 348,000 doses of Covishield AstraZeneca vaccines from the UN Resident Coordinator in Nepal Sara Beysolow Nyanti in March. The remaining 1.92 million doses promised by COVAX never arrived. Photo: UN

Hope, Hyperbole and Hypocrisy of COVAX

The realpolitik of vaccine nationalism and how it impacts countries like Nepal

Viewpoint by Kul Chandra Gautam*

KATHMANDU (IDN) — As a previously unknown mystery disease caused by the novel coronavirus struck Planet Earth in the winter of 2019-20, public health officials and the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended universal mask-wearing, physical distancing, lockdowns and travel restrictions, while awaiting the arrival of preventive vaccines and effective therapies.

On two sides of the Atlantic, two contrasting approaches emerged to tackle what came to be known as the Covid-19 pandemic.

: Opinion Editor; SUSTAINABILITY; Health & Well Being; 03 July 2021

Photo: Collage of pictures of Merkel, Putin and Marcon from Wikimedia Commons.

Europe Should Be Taking the Lead to Agree on Putin Summit

Merkel and Macron Ready to Talk Despite EU Refusal

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power*

LUND, Sweden (IDN) — That bar, the Red Star, on the far side of eastern Europe is closed. So why is the Black Star on this side of the street still open, and even extending its drinking hours?

Once the Warsaw Pact closed shop there was no good or honest reason for keeping NATO going. The threat that NATO was created to deter disappeared when the Soviet Union collapsed.

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 29 June 2021

COVID Recovery Needs Universal Civil Registration and Vital Statistics

By Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, Kanni Wignaraja, Omar Abdi*

BANGKOK (IDN) — With health systems at a breaking point, hospitals at capacity and desperate family members searching for oxygen for loved ones, the devastating second wave of COVID-19 that has swept across South Asia has felt unreal. Official figures have indicated record-breaking daily coronavirus cases and deaths, not only in South Asia but across the entire Asia-Pacific region during the latest surge. As devastating as it has been, the truth is we may never know how many people have died during the pandemic.

: UN Bureau; OPINION; 28 June 2021

Photo: Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari as German Chancellor Angela Merkel looks at him embarrassed. Source: BBC News

The 'Missing' iPad and #TheOtherRoom Comments

Viewpoint by Azu Ishiekwene

The writer is the Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of LEADERSHIP newspaper based in Abuja, Nigeria.

ABUJA (IDN) — Awkward moments are human, and hardly call attention when mere mortals are involved. But when the high and might trip, they make the headlines.

Both experts and laypeople sometimes feel obliged to ask if such awkward moments may not indeed, like Freudian slip, mean more than meets the eye. And quite often their suspicions are right.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 25 June 2021

financial topics are published by numerous international media outlets. Photo: At the present time, mankind is losing the battle against the climate crisis. Wall Steet International.

Climate: The Collaboration Crisis

Viewpoint by Bill Dahl*

This is the third in a series of four articles. Click here for the second in the series.

QUERETARO, Mexico (IDN) — In their 2013 treatise, NY Times bestselling authors Ori Brafman and Judith Pollack observe: Information doesn’t change behavior. If it did, none of us would smoke and we’d all floss. (Ori Brafman and Judith Pollack, The Chaos Imperative – How Chance and Disruption Increase Innovation Effectiveness and Success, 2013, p. 40).

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 24 June 2021

Image: A time exposure of seven MIRVs from Peacekeeper missile passing through clouds while approaching an open-ocean impact zone during a flight test. (U.S. Air Force photo)

Nuclear Risks: Reduction or Elimination?

Viewpoint by Sergio Duarte

Ambassador, former UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, President of Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs.

NEW YORK (IDN) — “We escaped the Cold War without a nuclear holocaust by some combination of skill, luck and divine intervention—probably the latter in greatest proportion.”[1]

— Gen. Lee Butler, former commander of U.S. nuclear forces.

: Sergio Duarte; OPINION; 23 June 2021

Little Sense of Proportion When It Comes to War, Conflict and Corona

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power*

LUND, Sweden (IDN) — “How sour sweet music is, When time is broke, and no proportion kept! So it is in the music of men’s lives”

Shakespeare wrote this in his play Richard II in 1595. In the events of his day in high politics, there was little sense of proportion. In Europe war was everywhere. Neither is there much today, particularly when it comes to conflict and war.

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 22 June 2021

SADC Executive Secretary Proud of Her Achievements

By Kester Kenn Klomegah*

MAPUTO | MOSCOW (IDN) — The Southern African Development Community (SADC) has recorded numerous achievements since its establishment, some of which during the term of office, from September 2013 to date, of Executive Secretary, Stergomena Lawrence Tax. She concludes her second term in August 2021. Her key responsibilities have been engaging all the members as an economic bloc, overseeing, and implementing various programmes and projects in the Southern African region.

: Kester Kenn Klomegah; THE WORLD; Africa; 21 June 2021

Photo: At the present time, mankind is losing the battle against the climate crisis. Wall Steet International.

Climate: The Creativity Crisis

Viewpoint by Bill Dahl*

This is the second in a series of four articles. Click here for the first in the series.

QUERETARO, Mexico (IDN) — If Covid-19 has taught us one lesson, it is that the creativity within the scientific community led to effective vaccine development in a timeframe nobody anticipated. Frankly, humanity got lucky. Imagine if science had not made the requisite advances to create effective COVID-19 vaccines in record time. Regarding the climate challenge, there are no effective vaccines available. There is no immunity from the deleterious effects of climate change. Like the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the climate challenge threatens the survival of humanity.