Viewpoint by Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden (IDN) – Trump wants to get in. Scotland wants to get out. That sounds a bit odd. Let me explain. A few days ago, the first minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon, said she’d heard that one of the White House’s planes had asked for permission to land in Glasgow […]
75 Years On The First UN General Assembly Resolution
Viewpoint by Sergio Duarte The author is Ambassador, President of Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs and former UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs. NEW YORK (IDN) – Seventy-five years ago, in January 1946, the United Nations General Assembly met for the first time after the signature of the Charter. Its first resolution was […]
Humanity Needs to Take a Course That Does Not Conflict with Nature
By Kwame Buist NEW YORK (IDN) – The process of recovery from the coronavirus pandemic offers the chance to change course and put humanity on a path which is not in conflict with nature, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said January 11, urging greater efforts by everyone to protect biodiversity and step up action to counter […]
Corruption Trials in Algeria – No More Facebook for Museveni – Nobel Laureate Denounces Rise of Armed Groups
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) – While corruption trials continue for Algerian officials ousted in nation’s ‘Arab Spring’ 2010-2012, on the eve of elections, social media leader Facebook has barred Ugandan President Museveni, and the Nigerian Nobel Laureate has decried the rise of armed groups as a threat to sovereignty. Responding […]
The Assault on the Citadel of US Democracy
Viewpoint by Somar Wijayadasa* NEW YORK (IDN) – On January 6, Americans and the world watched in disbelief, horror and disgust as President Donald Trump’s fiercest supporters, stoked by the commander in chief himself, stormed, smashed windows, and desecrated the Capitol building that hasn’t been breached since the War of 1812, when British soldiers burned […]
Fierce Fighting Blocks the UN Access to Refugee Camps
Compiled by EEPA BRUSSELS (IDN) – Fierce fighting has been reported for the last two or three days on the Tekeze belt of Abi Adi of Tigray Central Zone, between Tigray forces and Ethiopian National Defence Forces (ENDF) and Eritrean forces. Intense fighting in the North Western zone of Tigray, Endebaguna area, specifically DebreAbay and […]
A New UN Report Calls for Living in Balance with The Planet
By J Nastranis NEW YORK (IDN) – As the UN Secretary-General António Guterres has repeatedly pointed out, humanity is faced with a “defining moment”, a warning that is highlighted in the 30th-anniversary edition of the Human Development Report (HDR), The Next Frontier: Human Development and the Anthropocene. Though humankind has achieved incredible progress, we have […]
Why We Care
By Ramu Damodaran The writer is Chief, United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI) hosted in the Department of Global Communications. This OpEd first appeared in the UNAI Weekly Newsletter – January 8. NEW YORK (IDN | UNAI) – Graffiti is terse but truthful and even if I failed in identifying the specific trigger for a carefully […]
Capitol Hill Insurrection Demonstrates What the US Does Abroad
Viewpoint by Kalinga Seneviratne SYDNEY (IDN) – While protestors were occupying Washington DC’s Capitol Hill and ransacking the Congress Chambers – the centre of American power – President-elect Joe Biden addressing the nation said that the attempted insurrection was “not what we are”, perhaps unintentionally conveying the first ‘lie’ of his presidential reign beginning January […]
UN Chief Points to Fragility and Conflict as Major Obstacles to Sustainable Development Goals
By Santo D. Banerjee NEW YORK (IDN) – “Challenges of Maintaining Peace and Security in Fragile Contexts” were the focus of Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks at the Security Council virtual open debate on January 6. The debate was organized by Mr Kais Saied, the Security Council’s Presidency for the month of January. He called for […]