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Photo: The British destroyer HMS Coventry (D118) underway in the Atlantic Ocean, circa in 1981. In the background is the U.S. Navy frigate USS Bagley (FF-1069). Wikimedia Commons.

Malvinas, Falklands and the Lines on the Map for the United Kingdom

Viewpoint by Manish Uprety F.R.A.S. and Jainendra Karn

Manish Uprety F.R.A.S. is an ex-diplomat & ALCAP’s Special Adviser for Asia & Africa and Jainendra Karn is a senior leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Any views or opinions expressed are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of IDN-InDepth News.

NEW DELHI (IDN) — A recent Tweet by Piers Morgan about the impending and inevitable collapse of the United Kingdom reminded one of the Twitter post made in February 2022 titled “Will British brinkmanship result in Argentina getting Malvinas (Falklands) back in 2023-24?.”

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 14 May 2022

Photo: The World Food Programme (WFP) resumed its operations in the Tigray region of Ethiopia after fighting had halted its emergency response. WFP/Rein Skullerud

European Union Sued for Not Responding to Eritrea’s Rights Violations

By Robert Johnson

BRUSSELS (IDN) — The Foundation Human Rights for Eritreans, a Netherlands based organization, has decided to sue the European Union and international bodies for failing to respond to human rights abuses by the Eritrean President Isaias Afewerki and his associates.

At the press conference on May 10, the Foundation’s lawyer, Emiel Jurjens from Kennedy van der Laan made the announcement of legal action by the Foundation on the Responsibility of Eritrea for Grave Human Rights Violations, the details of which can be found here.

: Robert Johnson; THE WORLD; Horn of Africa; 13 May 2022

Photo: The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) 2019. Source: SPIEF’22

Intl. Economic Forum in St. Petersburg Despite the Russia-Ukraine Crisis

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.

: Kester Kenn Klomegah; THE WORLD; Russia; 13 May 2022

Photo: Abuja central business district at night. CC BY-SA 4.0

Costly Road to Nigeria’s Presidency

Viewpoint by Azu Ishiekwen

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

ABUJA (IDN) — After emerging as the consensus Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in March, Abdullahi Adamu was faced with a major crisis. Healing the deep divisions in the party was urgent but it was not even the most serious concern of the 75-year-old senator, former governor, and former member of the opposition party. Nor was the dilapidated, rudderless state of the party organs his most pressing task.

: Africa & ME Editor; OPINION; 12 May 2022

Image: South Korean commuters watch TV coverage of the North Korean missile launch from a Seoul railway station. (AFP: Jung Yeon-je)

North Korea Continues to Defy UN with 17 Missile Tests in 2022

By Thalif Deen

UNITED NATIONS (IDN) — The United Nations, faced with a defiant nuclear-armed Russia in a destructive war with Ukraine now running towards the third month, is fighting an equally unsuccessful confrontation with North Korea which is openly violating multiple Security Council resolutions as it continues launching ballistic missiles threatening neighbouring countries.

: Thalif Deen; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 12 May 2022

Photo: A dead person inside a destroyed car in Bucha, 2 April 2022. CC BY 4.0

Ending the War of Attrition in Ukraine

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.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 11 May 2022

Image: Irpin, Ukraine, Kutsenko Volodymyr/Shutterstock

The Best of Times, The Worst of Times

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.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 11 May 2022

Image: Taj Mahal, Agra, India. Credit: © Yann Forget / Wikimedia Commons / CC-BY-SA.

Is The Taj Mahal Not a Part of Indian Culture?

Viewpoint by Dr Ram Puniyani

This article is the 19th 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) and meanwhile a social activist and commentator.

: Asia Editor; ARTS & CULTURE; 11 May 2022

Photo: Protestors at a February 2022 rally against Russia's invasion of Ukraine march past the statue of Tsar Alexander II in Senate Square in Helsinki. CC BY 2.0

Endless Wars

Viewpoint by Sergio Duarte

The writer is an Ambassador, former United Nations High Representative for Disarmament Affair, and President of Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs.

NEW YORK (IDN) — The Charter of the United Nations consolidated important norms of international law. Its Preamble affirms the decision to “save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind”. At the time of its adoption, the world was deeply shocked by two successive wars that directly involved Europe and other regions. In spite of the lofty purposes expressed in the Charter, several armed conflicts in many parts of the globe have marked the seventy-seven years of the United Nations’ existence.

: Sergio Duarte; OPINION; 10 May 2022

Image: The Opium wars. Source: Wikimedia Commons

The Legacy of The Opium Trade in Hong Kong

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power

LUND, Sweden (IDN) — During the difficult years that preceded the British handover of Hong Kong to China the Chinese government's intense antipathy to opium and the still-fresh memories of the evil that eighteenth-century buccaneering Britain had inflicted on China and Hong Kong added an extra emotional charge to what, anyway, was a most complicated transition.