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 […]
The AU Peace Process to Solve the Conflict in Tigray Alleged to Have Been Undermined
Compiled by EEPA BRUSSELS (IDN) – Ethnic Tigray soldiers suspended and/or returned from Ethiopian peace-keeping missions are being reportedly imprisoned by the Ethiopian Federal Government. Ethnic Tigrayan military attachés in Ethiopian diplomatic services abroad are being sacked. Eritrean soldiers were ambushed by Tigrayan forces East of Wukro. Pictures have emerged of the ambush between Mekoni […]
Is China Seeking to Remake the World in Its Own Image?
Viewpoint by Richard Hanania* This is the second of a four-part series. Click here for Part 1 NEW YORK (IDN) – No other state was considered a fundamental threat to the U.S. over the issue, with a mix of external pressure and internal incentives leading them to ultimately develop more rigorous patent laws and enforcement. […]
What Is the U.S. Afraid of China Actually Doing?
Viewpoint by Richard Hanania* This is the first of a four-part series. NEW YORK (IDN) – Across the political spectrum, there is widespread agreement that America must get serious about the threat posed by China. As the Trump administration comes to a close, the State Department has just released a document called ‘The Elements of […]
Uncertainty Stalks Ethiopia, the Tigray Region and the Horn of Africa
Compiled by EEPA BRUSSELS (IDN) – A video has emerged of the head of the Ethiopian Northern Command, General Belay, saying that the Eritrean Soldiers in Tigray had not been invited and were undesirable. It is the latest statement by an Ethiopian Federal official which confirms the presence of Eritrean troops in Tigray. General Belay […]
The Nuclear Weapon States Urged to Advance Disarmament
By Bernhard Schell AMMAN (IDN) – The upcoming Review Conference (postponed to August 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic) of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) is expected to be characterised by deep divisions among the nuclear-weapon states (NWS), and between them and the non-nuclear-weapon states (NNWS), which are deeply disappointed with the lack of progress […]
Ending Our Suicidal War Against Nature
Viewpoint by John Scales Avery* COPENHAGEN (IDN) – “Our planet is broken,” the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, has warned. Humanity is waging what he describes as a “suicidal” war on the natural world. “Nature always strikes back, and is doing so with gathering force and fury,” he told a BBC special event […]
There Is A Silver Lining in The Cloud of Brexit
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden (IDN) – Writing in 1751 Voltaire described Europe as “a kind of great republic, divided into several states, some monarchical, the others mixed but all corresponding with one another. They all have the same religious foundation, even if divided into several confessions. They all have the same principles of […]
Ocean Threatened by Loss of Coral Reefs
Viewpoint by Vijay Prashad * NORTHAMPTON, Massachusetts (IDN) – With a recent report titled “Projections of Future Coral Bleaching Conditions,” published by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) in November, Leticia Carvalho—head of the Marine and Freshwater Branch of UNEP—said on December 21 that coral reefs are the “canary in the coalmine for climate’s impact […]