News Media

Photo: International Criminal Court (ICC) assembly hall. Credit: ICC.

President Biden Repeals Trump Sanctions on the Criminal Court

By Jessica Corbett*

Common Dreams first published this report on April 2, 2021.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (IDN) — Progressives in Congress and human rights organizations on April 2 welcomed the Biden administration's repeal of sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC) imposed under former President Donald Trump in a bid to pressure the Hague-based tribunal to not investigate alleged U.S. and Israeli crimes. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced in a statement that President Joe Biden revoked Trump's Executive Order 13928, "ending the threat and imposition of economic sanctions and visa restrictions in connection with the court."

: UN Bureau; SUSTAINABILITY; Peace & Justice; 04 April 2021

Photo: Indian Flag at the Red Fort, Delhi. CC BY-SA 2.0

Secularism Is the Principle That Binds India Together

Viewpoint by Dr Ram Puniyani

This article is the 12th in a series of joint productions of South Asian Outlook and IDN-InDepthNews, the flagship of the International Press Syndicate. The writer is a former professor of biomedical engineering and former senior medical officer affiliated with the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (now Mumbai).

NEW DELHI (IDN) — India got independence from British colonial rule on August 15, 1947 after a long struggle which was inclusive and had plural dimensions. The Foundation of Indian Constitution is Liberty, Equality, Fraternity and Justice. The values of secularism are deeply ingrained all through and particularly in Articles 14, 19, 22, and 25. It gives us freedom of religion, to practice, preach and propagate the same.

: Suresh Jaura; OPINION; 19 March 2021

Photo: United Nations Headquarters in New York City, view from Roosevelt Island. CC BY-SA 3.0

A Campaign Plans ‘Global Primaries’ for the UN Chief's Post

The goal of the campaign is to democratize the selection process and give António Guterres a viable candidate to run against.

By Stéphanie Fillion*, Passblue

NEW YORK (IDN) — A new grass-roots campaign, called #Forward, is launching open, digital global primaries to find a “people-backed” candidate to run for United Nations secretary-general this year, for a five-year term starting in 2022. The campaign aims to make the selection process more transparent and democratic while also attracting more attention to the election itself.

: UN Bureau; UN INSIDER; 13 March 2021

Photo: The “Billionaire Raj” is preparing to turn India back from a country of hunger (on the 2020 Global Hunger Index, India is 94th out of 107 countries) to a country of famine. Child who starved to death during the Bengal famine of 1943. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Profit Hungry Modi Government Ready to Risk Famine in India

Viewpoint by Justin Podur*

This article was produced by Globetrotter, a project of the Independent Media Institute.

TORONTO (IDN) — India’s right-wing government has been deploying all the modern tools of repression against a historic farmers’ protest. Much is at stake. For the people of India, their agricultural system is about to get far more precarious. For its farmers, ruin, and bankruptcy for millions, is all but guaranteed. For the government of Narendra Modi and his elite backers, it’s a crossroads moment; they calculate that their political power is assured for decades if they can refashion the politics of rural India and force dependency upon the farmers.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 13 March 2021

Photo: The fourth session of the 13th National People's Congress (NPC) opens at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2021. Credit: Xinhua/Li Xueren

China Sets Over 6% GDP Target & 11 Million Urban Jobs in 2021

By Press Trust of India (PTI)

BEIJING (IDN) — China, which was the first to be hit by COVID-19 and the earliest to recover from the lockdown effects, has fixed a GDP (Gross Domestic Product) target of over 6% in 2021, optimistic of an economic recovery after last year’s 2.3% growth, its weakest in decades.

Premier Li Keqiang, in an announcement at the country’s Parliament National People's Congress (NPC), said China, the world's second largest economy, aims to expand its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by over 6% in 2021, with more efforts on reform, innovation and high-quality development.

: J C Suresh; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 05 March 2021

India Driving Toward 'Authoritarianism' — Media Being Gagged

The following is a revised version of the previous report titled "India Falls from ‘Free’ to ‘Partly Free’ in Freedom Index"

By Ditsa Bhattacharya, NewsClick and ICF Team

NEW DELHI (IDN) — India's status fell from "free" to "partly free" in the Freedom in the World 2021 report released on March 3. India's score in the index decreased by four points, from 71 in 2020, to 67 in 2021. The report, published by Freedom House, a US-based non-governmental organisation, measures the strength of democratic processes in countries. The report attributed the decline in India's score to the policies of the Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government.

: Asia Editor; THE WORLD; South Asia; 04 March 2021

Photo: A community kitchen at one of the protest sites. Credit: WNV/Manu Moudgil.

Farm Crisis Fuelling India’s Farmers’ Protests

By Manu Moudgil*

NEW DELHI (IDN) – On February 6, protesters blocked roads at an estimated 10,000 spots across India as part of the ongoing movement against the new farm laws enacted by the national government last year. For over two months, the most populous democracy in the world has witnessed what is being called one of the biggest protests in human history.

: Phil Harris; THE WORLD; South Asia; 19 February 2021

Photo: Stuart Appelbaum, the president of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU). Credit: RWDSU.

Behind Amazon's 'Most Aggressive Anti-Union Effort’

Viewpoint by Sonali Kolhatkar

Workers at one of Amazon’s warehouses are deciding whether or not to join a union. Amazon’s union-busting efforts indicate just how important the vote is, writes Sonali Kolhatkar. She 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. This article was produced by Economy for All, a project of the Independent Media Institute.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 11 February 2021

Photo: UN North Delegates' Lounge. Credit: dezeen.com and @NLatUN

No Comment!... And Don't Quote Me on That

Book Review by Roderic Grigson*

NEW YORK | MELBOURNE (IDN) – It takes years to write a good book and in this insightful memoir, Thalif Deen, a former UN Bureau Chief and Regional Director at Inter Press Service news agency, recounts colourful and amusing stories from his 40-year career ‘reporting from the United Nations’.

No Comment is told through a series of news stories, interviews, anecdotes, and personal recollections. This compelling page-turner is held together by flashes of surprising humour and an overarching third world focus and point of view.

: UN Bureau; OPINION; 08 February 2021

Photo credit: Alternative Information & Development Centre (AIDC), Cape Town

Time to Dispense with the Rhetoric of Decolonisation

Viewpoint by Themrise Khan*

KARACHI (IDN) – While preparing to speak at an online discussion on decolonising the aid sector, I searched Google Translate for a corresponding word for 'decolonisation’ in my native language of Urdu. I couldn’t find one. In many other languages, from Arabic to Spanish, only a loanword exists. It’s just one example of how the discussion on decolonisation rarely centres the colonised.