THE WORLD

Photo: The pyre of light weapons being readied ahead of a ceremony in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire at which small arms and light weapons were set alight and destroyed in April 2013. Credit: The United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS)

A Senior Kenyan Ambassador Stresses the Need to Tackle Illicit Weapons, Ammunition

By Franck Kuwonu, UN Information Officer

NEW YORK (IDN | Africa Renewal) — BMS7 took place in New York, in July. In this interview with Africa Renewal’s Franck Kuwonu, Ambassador Kimani, chair of the Seventh Biennial Meeting of States (BMS7) to consider the Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects (PoA) and its international Tracing Instrument (ITI), talks about the proliferation of dangerous firearms in Africa, and welcomes efforts to trace ammunitions. These are excerpts from the interview.

: Africa & ME Editor; OPINION; 12 October 2021

The Afghan Paradox: China, India and The Future of Eurasia After the Fall of Kabul

Viewpoint by Jorge Heine

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

WATERLOO, ON Canada (IDN) — One joke making the rounds in Kabul’s diplomatic circles these days is that the power transition in Kabul from the Ghani government to that of the Taliban was smoother than the one that took place in Washington D.C. earlier this year. That may be a (slight) exaggeration, but there is little doubt that the swiftness with which the Taliban entered the Afghan capital caught most observers by surprise.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 12 October 2021

Photo: Desmond Tutu. Source: cayman.loopnews.com

Nobel Peace Laureate Tutu Celebrates 90 With Global Leaders

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) — Celebratory messages of love and appreciation for Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu poured in from across the world on the Nobel Peace laureate’s 90th birthday on October 7.

A week’s worth of events culminated on his birthday with the 11th Desmond Tutu International Peace Lecture delivered this year by four global leaders.

: Global Information Network; SUSTAINABILITY; Peace & Justice; 11 October 2021

Nobel Laureate Abdulrazak Gurnah Ignites Debate in Zanzibar

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) — Out of 118 Nobel Prize laureates between 1901 and 2021, only six have gone to African writers with only two to Black Africans. So, there was a measure of celebration, excitement, and pride when this year’s prize was awarded to Zanzibar-born writer Abdulrazak Gurnah.

: Global Information Network; SUSTAINABILITY; Peace & Justice; 11 October 2021

Photo: King Mohammed Zahir Shah and the visiting Afghan delegation with Mao Zedong, Liu Shaoqi, Zhou Enlai and the Chinese leadership in Beijing on November 1, 1964. Wikimedia Commons.

China Resolute to Establish Geostrategic Foothold In A New Afghanistan

Viewpoint by BM Jain

The writer is a Professor of Political Science and the Editor-in-Chief of the Indian Journal of Asian Affairs.

NEW DELHI (IDN) — China is determined to establish a geostrategic foothold in the new Taliban-led Afghanistan. A decade ago, China forayed into Afghanistan’s strategic space by inking deals with the Afghan government in the mining, power and oilfields sectors—although Afghanistan’s chaotic political environment prevented any real progress. China then played a key role in facilitating peace talks with the Taliban from 2014. With the Taliban back in power, China can once again advance its interests.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 10 October 2021

Image: The "Sputnik V" vaccine. CC BY 4.0

New U.S. Travel Rules Exclude Foreigners Vaccinated With Russia's Sputnik V

By Kester Kenn Klomegah*

MOSCOW (IDN) — Russian and foreign media have stepped up reports about rising Covid-19 infections. The reports also indicate high deaths in the country. Some new trends are noticeable. Interestingly, Tourism and Travel agencies have revealed that vaccine uptake has lagged in Russia and worse, due largely to mistrust, so many Russians are lining up for vaccine tourism in Serbia, Bulgaria and Germany and a few other foreign countries.

: Kester Kenn Klomegah; SUSTAINABILITY; Health & Well Being; 08 October 2021

Image credit: The High Atlas Foundation,

Women’s Empowerment and Yoga in Rural Morocco and in Your Life

Viewpoint by Catrin Waters

The writer is a student at University of Virginia in the U.S. and a volunteer with the High Atlas Foundation, a U.S./Moroccan non-profit organization focused on sustainable development.

VIRGINIA, USA (IDN) — Before you read this, I challenge you to pause and ask your body the question: how do you like the thoughts I think about you?

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 07 October 2021

Why Does Congress Fight Over Childcare but Not F-35s?

Viewpoint by Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J. S. Davies*

NEW YORK (IDN) — President Biden and the Democratic Congress are facing a crisis as the popular domestic agenda they ran on in the 2020 election is held hostage by two corporate Democratic Senators, fossil-fuel consigliere Joe Manchin and payday-lender favorite Kyrsten Sinema.

But the very week before the Dems’ $350 billion-per-year domestic package hit this wall of corporate money-bags, all but 38 House Democrats voted to hand over more than double that amount to the Pentagon. Senator Manchin has hypocritically described the domestic spending bill as “fiscal insanity,” but he has voted for a much larger Pentagon budget every year since 2016.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 07 October 2021

Joe Biden Acclaimed for Transparency on Nuclear Arsenal

Viewpoint by Daryl G. Kimball

The following statement by Daryl G. Kimball, Executive Director of The Arms Control Association, was issued on October 6, 2021.

WASHINGTON, DC (IDN) — The Biden administration’s decision to declassify updated information on the number of nuclear warheads in the U.S. nuclear weapons arsenal is a welcome step that reverses an unwise decision by the Trump administration to classify this information. It also puts pressure on other nuclear armed states that maintain excessive secrecy about their arsenals, and highlights the need for further steps to reduce the number, role, and risk of nuclear weapons in the United States and world’s other eight nuclear-armed states.

: Arms Control Association; OPINION; 06 October 2021

Kazakhstan Has A Vested Interest In Afghanistan’s Stability

By Akhas Tazhutov

The writer is a political analyst. This article first appeared in Eurasia Review on October 1, 2021.

ALMATY (IDN) — What should be taken into account when analyzing the Kazakh government’s attitude and policies toward Afghanistan? According to Kazakh media reports, Kazakhstan’s ambassador to Kabul, Alimkhan Esengeldiev, met with the acting foreign minister in the Taliban (insurgent group banned in Kazakhstan) government of Afghanistan, Amir Khan Muttaqi, on September 26, 2021.