Viewpoint by Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, Kanni Wignaraja, and Bambang Susantono Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana is the Executive Secretary, Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). Kanni Wignaraja is the Assistant Secretary-General, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Bambang Susantono is the Vice-President of Asian Development Bank (ADB). BANGKOK (IDN) — If the world wants […]
Belgium to Return Plundered Artworks to DR Congo
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) — Belgium is the latest European country to promise to return artworks plundered from its former Congolese colony, as it seeks to confront its brutal colonial past. Belgium’s Africa Museum has said up to 2,000 works, including statues, musical instruments and weapons, were acquired illegally during […]
US Exit from Afghanistan Promises Opportunities for China
Viewpoint by Emil Avdaliani* TBILISI, Georgia (IDN) — China fears the repercussions associated with the looming US withdrawal from Afghanistan as a rise of extremism in the country could spread and threaten Beijing’s key positions in Xinjiang and Central Asia. However, America’s exit might yet bring some unforeseen benefits. A Chinese-led peacebuilding agenda would mean […]
Ethiopian Leader Wins New 5-Year Term in A ‘Credible’ But ‘Flawed’ Vote’
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) — In a vote the US called “significantly flawed,” Ethiopia’s “Prosperity Party”, headed by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, carried the majority of votes cast. Prime Minister Abiy hailed the election as Ethiopia’s first attempt at a free and fair vote. The vote was a test for […]
Protracted Talks Lead States to Settle on Next CTBTO Leader
By Daryl G. Kimball* The writer is the Executive Director of the Arms Control Association. WASHINGTON, DC (IDN) — After an unusually contentious process that lasted for months, representatives from the member states of the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) finally agreed to appoint Robert Floyd of Australia to […]
The Opposition in India Should Focus on Restoration of Democracy
Viewpoint by Dr Ram Puniyani This article is the 14th 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 […]
New Efforts to Reduce Homeownership Disparity in the US
By J W Jackie RENO, Nevada, USA (IDN) — The White House has announced that it will be taking new actions to build black wealth and narrow the racial wealth and homeownership gaps that currently exist in the US. The Administration has vowed to “Take action to address racial discrimination in the housing market, including […]
US Should Commit to A No-First-Use Nuclear Policy
Viewpoint by Van Jackson* WELLINGTON, New Zealand (IDN) — It was one of the most potent lessons of the Cold War—nukes are good for deterring others from using nukes, but not much else. Weapons capable only of spasmodic mass violence are too crude as a credible tool of coercion in most circumstances. If the United […]
DON’T QUOTE ME: When the UN’s Most Powerful Body Enjoyed its Lighter Moments…
By Thalif Deen NEW YORK (IDN) — As the UN’s most powerful political body, the 15-member Security Council (UNSC) is armed with a mandate to maintain international peace and security. But regretfully, it has been missing in action (MIA) in recent months, particularly in the ongoing conflicts in Palestine and Myanmar, where it has failed […]
Sixteen States Urge the Nuclear-Weapon States to Take Decisive Steps Towards Disarmament
By Aar Jay Persius BERLIN (IDN) — “A nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought.“ On June 16, at their meeting in Geneva, US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin re-affirmed this fundamental truth, famously coined by their predecessors, Reagan and Gorbachev, at the last peak of the cold war, […]