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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.
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.
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.
Viewpoint by Professor Gerrit Olivier and Michèle Olivier
Gerrit Olivier is an emeritus professor at Pretoria University and former South African Ambassador in Russia and Kazakhstan. Michèle Olivier is a consultant in international law.
PRETORIA, South Africa | HULL, England (IDN) — A seemingly non-negotiable principle of South Africa’s foreign policy, is to be on the side of autocrats and dictators and habitually anti-West, irrespective of the issues. Cosy relations with the likes of Ethiopia’s Mengistu Haile Mariam, Sudan‘s Omar al Bashir Cuba’s Fidel Castro and Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe, characterised our foreign policy under all presidents since Nelson Mandela. With the present government being enamoured with a rabid war criminal like Vladimir Putin, we see a continuation of this policy.
By Jeffrey Moyo
HARARE, Zimbabwe (IDN) — Life is no longer the same for Zimbabwe’s shop owner, 34-year-old Richwell Mhasi in the capital Harare who has had to park his car at home, switching to his bicycle, cycling to and from work amid the rising prices of fuel since the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine war this year.
Viewpoint by Katrina van den Heuvel*
This article is distributed by Globetrotter in partnership with The Nation.
NEW YORK (IDN) — What are the United States’ goals in the Ukraine war? Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin recently announced that the United States wants “Russia weakened to the degree that it can’t do the kinds of things that it has done in invading Ukraine.” The U.S. commitment toward that end has been substantial.
By Thalif Deen
UNITED NATIONS (IDN) — The United States, which is holding the rotating presidency of the UN Security Council this month, has summoned an “emergency session” of the Council on May 19 to focus largely on world food security in the context of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken told reporters May 15 the United States and Western allies are coming together to address “some of the broader consequences that are flowing from Russia’s aggression, primarily the global food shortages and rising food prices”.
By Kester Kenn Klomegah*
MOSCOW (IDN) — Despite the Russia-Ukraine crisis going on from bad to worse, with a visible geopolitical impact, the historic city of St. Petersburg is gearing up for the mid-June International Economic Forum. Titled "New Opportunities in a New World", it will take place from June 15–18 in the ExpoForum Convention and Exhibition Centre.
Viewpoint by Jeffrey D. Sachs
This article was issued by Project Syndicate and is being republished with the author's permission.
NEW YORK (IDN) — Wars often erupt and persist because of the two sides’ miscalculations regarding their relative power. In the case of Ukraine, Russia blundered badly by underestimating the resolve of Ukrainians to fight and the effectiveness of NATO-supplied weaponry. Yet Ukraine and NATO are also overestimating their capacity to defeat Russia on the battlefield. The result is a war of attrition that each side believes it will win, but that both sides will lose.
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...
It was the season of light, it was the season of darkness
It was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair — A Tale of Two Cities 1859
Viewpoint by Joseph Camilleri
This article was issued by the Toda Peace Institute and is being republished with their permission.
MELBOURNE, Australia (IDN) — These opening lines of Charles Dickens’s great historical novel, set against the violent upheaval of the French Revolution, offer us a remarkable insight into humanity’s current predicament.
IDN-InDepthNews offers news analyses, features, reports and viewpoints that impact the world and its peoples. It has been online since 2009. Its network spans countries around the world.