THE WORLD

Photo: President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law, June 17, 2021. Source: Wikimedia Commons.Photo: President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law, June 17, 2021. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Education Is the Key to Unlock the Door to Freedom

By Professor Ellen Hernandez*

The article below explores the importance of education and literacy in the U.S. and Morocco in informing citizens of their rights.

COLLINGSWOOD, USA (IDN) — On June 19, 2021, Americans officially recognized “Juneteenth” as a national holiday. Most Americans understand the holiday to be a celebration of the end of slavery brought about by the U.S. Constitution’s 13th Amendment.

However, the day is actually a recognition of when a remote enclave of enslaved people were informed of the end of slavery more than two years after its declaration and several months before the last states ratified the amendment.

: Europe Editor; SUSTAINABILITY; Quality Education; 24 June 2021

UN Photo/Yutaka Nagata Fidel Castro Ruz, President of Cuba addressing the General Assembly at UN Headquarters in New York in 1979.

DON'T QUOTE ME: Cuba Survives One of the Longest Economic Wars in Modern History

By Thalif Deen*

NEW YORK (IDN) — When Raul Castro decided to retire, both as leader of Cuba and head of the Communist Party last April, it was the end of a politically adventurous era for a country most American leaders loved to hate.

In the late 1950s, it was Raul and his more famous older brother, Fidel Castro, who led an insurgency that toppled the American-backed dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista.

: Thalif Deen; UN INSIDER; 23 June 2021

Photo: The Covid Vaccine Intelligence Network (CoWIN) system is emerging as the backbone of the vaccination programme in India. Photo: Manisha Mondal | Credit: ThePrint

Cloud-based CoWIN Platform & India’s Journey towards Universal Vaccination

By Arjun Kumar, Ritika Gupta, Chhavi Kapoor, Kashish Babbar, Rohit Mehta*

NEW DELHI (IDN) — With the rolling out of vaccinations early in the year 2021, there was a need for an efficient vaccination drive to dose about 1.39 billion Indians.

To pave the way for a universal and citizen-centric structure of vaccination drive, Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled a digital vaccination management system called CoWIN, a cloud-based IT solution for planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of COVID-19 vaccination in India.

: Opinion Editor; SUSTAINABILITY; Health & Well Being; 22 June 2021

Photo: Nelson Mandela and Kenneth Kaunda. Credit: AFP/The Australian

Kenneth Kaunda, Giant Of African Nationalism, Passes At 97

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) — One of the giants of 20th century African nationalism, Kenneth Kaunda, former president of Zambia was to many, the gentle giant who pioneered African socialism. The “patriarch of African independence” passed away June 17 at a military hospital in Zambia’s capital, Lusaka. He was 97.

Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta eulogized him for bravely hosting various liberation groups and he received international kudos for bowing out peacefully after losing an election.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 21 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

New Conference to Strengthen Africa's Economic Stability and Growth

By Bernhard Schell

DUBAI (IDN) — The African continent is emerging as one of the preferred destinations for investments, because it has immense untapped economic potential that presents innumerable opportunities for investors, according to data released in 2020 by the United Nations Population Division. Business experts across the globe have regarded this region as the future economic growth engine of the world.

: Bernhard Schell; THE WORLD; Africa; 21 June 2021

Photo: Nisar Keshvani (third from left) at the UCA campus in Naryn during its launch.

Dreams Have Come True As the University of Central Asia Graduates its Inaugural Cohort

By Nisar Keshvani

SINGAPORE (IDN) — Imagine. The most remote of mountains. Two thousand metres above sea level. On the Silk Road, and 240 km away from China. In secondary cities with populations going up to 150,000. Therein, majestically stands a fully-residential university, delivering a world-class education for the next generation of Central Asian learners—regardless of their financial position.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; THE WORLD; Central Asia; 20 June 2021

China's Three-Child Policy Is Unlikely to Better the Demographic Situation

Viewpoint by Shastri Ramachandaran*

NEW DELHI (IDN) — China’s announcement of May 31 to allow couples to have three children, instead of two as is the rule now, has not captured the attention it deserves for its ramifications because the country is so much in the news for the wrong reasons such as its military stand-off with India or glossing over the origin of Covid-19 virus. The ruling Communist Party Politburo’s decision shows that although China’s economy is doing better than any other major economy in the Covid-ravaged world, the country is caught in a demographic crisis that could begin eroding its economic strength.

: Shastri Ramachandaran; OPINION; 19 June 2021

Photo: A ship in The Arctic Sea. Source: eurasiareview.vom

Russia, US and The Churning Arctic Geopolitics

Viewpoint by K.M. Seethi*

KOTTAYAM | India (IDN) — The Arctic geopolitics has become one of the strategic policy planks of big powers. This has been reflected in the separate statements issued by Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Joe Biden after the US-Russia summit in Geneva on June 16.

Putin told reporters that Moscow and Washington “should interact on issues related to the Arctic region.” He said: “Russia and the United States are among the eight members of the Arctic Council; Russia chairs the Arctic Council this year. Moreover…there is a strait between Alaska and Chukotka, the United States is on one side and Russia is on the other. All this together should push us to join efforts” (The TASS News 16 June 2021).

: Opinion Editor; THE WORLD; USA and Canada; 18 June 2021

Photo: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met with Foreign Minister of China Wang Yi on the sidelines of ASEAN ministerial events, Singapore, August 2, 2018. Credit: Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

China and Russia Build a Central Asian Exclusion Zone

Viewpoint by Emil Avdaliani*

TBILISI, Georgia (IDN) — State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi hosted the China+Central Asia (C+C5) Foreign Ministers’ meeting in the Chinese city of Xi'an on May 12. This is the second such meeting, which increasingly focuses (with Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, and Tajikistan) on geopolitical issues. More broadly, it signals China’s lack of concern for what Russia considers its vital economic and political interests in the region.