Viewpoint by P. I. Gomes* PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad and Tobago (IDN) – The “catastrophic moral failure” into which the world is seen as heading, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), Director-General, Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus, can readily be understood as having its ideological basis in the callous principle of “profits before people for optimum […]
Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons – UN Chief
Reflections on the Groundbreaking UN Nuclear Ban Treaty
By Ramu Damodaran The writer is Chief, United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI) hosted in the Department of Global Communications. This OpEd first appeared in this week’s #WhyWeCare, @ImpactUN on January 22. NEW YORK (IDN | UNAI) – Memory, more than modesty, made me miss mention last week of the single exclusive conversation I was privileged […]
Nuclear Weapons Are Now Banned, Prohibited, Outlawed!
Viewpoint by Tariq Rauf The writer is the former Head of Verification and Security Policy at the International Atomic Energy Agency and was a member of the Group of Eminent Persons for Substantive Advancement of Nuclear Disarmament established by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan. VIENNA (IDN) – As the day broke today, 22 […]
Asia Welcomes An “Engaging” US President Biden
By Kalinga Seneviratne SYDNEY (IDN) – Asian newspapers have welcomed the new American President Biden’s “engaging with the world” message in his inauguration speech to that of his predecessor Trump’s “America First” rhetoric. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has welcomed President Biden’s “engaging” tone in his speech on January 20.
“The Hill We Climb”: A Poem by Amanda Gorman
NEW YORK (IDN) – Amanda S. C. Gorman is an American poet and activist from Los Angeles. Her work focuses on issues of oppression, feminism, race, and marginalization, as well as the African diaspora. She was the first person to be named National Youth Poet Laureate. She published the poetry book “The One for Whom […]
Nigeria: A Governor’s Wife Goes Houston To Take the Vaccine
Viewpoint by Azu Ishiekwene The writer is the Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of The Interview magazine based in Abuja, Nigeria. ABUJA (IDN) – Whether Jean-Jacques Rousseau miscredited the words to Marie Antoinette in Confessions or not, Nigeria is happy to supply a modern-day princess who has earned the title of Her Royal Spite-tress without controversy. And unlike […]
Revisiting A Historic Day in Divided America
Viewpoint by Somar Wijayadasa* NEW YORK (IDN) – January 20 was a historically momentous day as Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. was sworn in as the 46th President of the United States of America, and Kamala Harris, a person of colour was sworn in as the first woman Vice President – and now the highest-ranking woman […]
UN Chief Welcomes the US Move to Re-Enter the Paris Accord as Biden and Harris Are Sworn in as New Leaders
By J Nastranis NEW YORK (IDN) – United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has warmly welcomed President Joe Biden’s “steps to re-enter the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and join the growing coalition of governments, cities, states, businesses and people taking ambitious action to confront the climate crisis”. Biden signed an executive order accepting the Paris […]
The Political Significance of the UN Nuclear Ban Treaty
Viewpoint by Thomas Hajnoczi The writer is the outgoing Director of Arms Control at the Austrian Foreign Ministry. He negotiated the TPNW* VIENNA (IDN) – With its entry into force on January 22 the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) will become binding international law for the growing number of State Parties, for […]