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 […]
2021 Yet Another Testing Year for COVID-19 Hemmed Sri Lanka’s Economy
Viewpoint by Dushni Weerakoon The writer is the Executive Director and Head of the Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka. COLOMBO (IDN) — The unprecedented disruptions of COVID-19 are causing a geopolitical reset — and as the global order is redrawn, small emerging market economies like Sri Lanka are vulnerable to the fallout. Sri […]
President Joe Biden Marks the Start of a New Era in the US
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden (IDN) – President Joe Biden is more peacenik than war-monger. Compared with all recent previous presidents, apart from Jimmy Carter, he has been a dove. But be warned. When Barack Obama became president he forswore “more dumb wars” yet he got involved in more than any of them did. […]
People’s Movement Launched in South Africa To Defeat Covid-19
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) – A call to action endorsed by over 500 organizations and individuals in South Africa is aiming to unite millions of the nation’s citizens in order to acquire 40 to 80 million doses of vaccine to defeat the coronavirus pandemic. “The pandemic is wreaking havoc,” organizers […]
Transformation of Agri-Food Systems Crucial for FAO in 2021
By Ronald Joshua ROME (IDN) – Director-General QU Dongyu of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations has declared 2021 a key year to move forward the transformation of agri-food systems, marked by big events, particularly the UN Food Systems Summit in New York, the Pre-Summit in Rome, and FAO’s Youth World […]
Insurrection and the Racist Underpinnings of US Exceptionalism
Viewpoint by Ravi Arvind Palat The writer is a professor at the State University of New York (SUNY) at Binghamton NEW YORK (IDN) – Several commentators have underlined the sharp contrast between law enforcement responses to the storming of the U.S. Capitol by mobs unleashed by President Trump on January 6, 2021, and to the […]
One Planet Summit on Biodiversity Pledges Action Commitments
By Jaya Ramachandran PARIS (IDN) – The global health crisis of the COVID 19 came as a dramatic reminder of the importance of Nature for our daily lives and economies: biodiversity is our life insurance. Yet, the damage to ecosystems is unprecedented and will have major consequences on our lifestyles in the decades to come. […]
Time to Dispense with the Rhetoric of Decolonisation
Viewpoint by Themrise Khan* KARACHI (IDN) – While preparing to speak at an online discussion on decolonising the aid sector, I searched Google Translate for a corresponding word for ‘decolonisation’ in my native language of Urdu. I couldn’t find one. In many other languages, from Arabic to Spanish, only a loanword exists. It’s just one […]