By Kalinga Seneviratne SYDNEY (IDN) – China may have one nation and two systems, but in Australia, it looks like there is one nation and six systems. As the second wave of coronavirus spreads across the continent, the State Premiers have taken unilateral decisions to close borders to travellers from other states to the dismay […]
Extinguishing Prometheus’ Nuclear Flame: International Day Against Nuclear Tests
By Tariq Rauf* VIENNA (IDN) – The first nuclear explosive device was detonated at the Alamogordo Test Range in the New Mexico desert in the United States of America on July 16, 1945, and then on August 6 and 9 the US carried out the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In the next seven […]
Voters Are the Limit to Democracy
Viewpoint by Roberto Savio* ROME (IDN) – On August 23, a respected Brazilian polling institute found that the country’s president, Jair Bolsonaro, enjoys an approval rating of 51 per cent, the highest since he was elected. Brazil ranks second as the country with the highest number of coronavirus deaths (116,000), according to Wikipedia, after the […]
Concerted Campaign to Protect Nairobi National Park
By Dominic Kirui* This article was originally published on Waging Nonviolence and is made available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. NAIROBI (IDN) – The Nairobi National Park is a rare gem that defines the Kenyan capital and it is the only national park in the world that shares a fence with a […]
What Is Mali Telling Africa?
Viewpoint by Azu Ishiekwene The writer is the Managing Director/Editor-In-Chief of The Interview magazine based in Abuja, Nigeria. ABUJA (IDN) – The headlines, especially in the Western press, suggest that Africa is back again in the news for the wrong reasons. Misery has really never been too far away, but in the last few years, […]
Biafra Politicians Advocate Comprehensive Review of Nigeria’s Constitution
By Kester Kenn Klomegah* MOSCOW (IDN) – Leaders of integrated associations and politicians, mostly from the Eastern region of Nigeria, are calling for a thorough constitutional review that will incorporate the diverse ethno-political interests and also offer equal representation in the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGR). Several archival reports made available and different interviews conducted […]
Four Ways the Philippine Strongman Rodrigo Duterte Could Fall
Viewpoint by Walden Bello * “This is the way the world ends Not with a bang but a whimper.” — T.S. Eliot, The Hollow Men NEW YORK (IDN) – The fix that Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is in now illustrates the truth in the saying that the best-laid plans of mice and men are often […]
Nuclear Testing Should Have No Place in the 21st Century
By Santo D. Banerjee NEW YORK (IDN) – UN Secretary-General António Guterres has in a message for the International Day against Nuclear Tests warned of resurgent nuclear menace and called for a complete ban on testing. Following is the full text of his message. Commemorated annually since 2010 on the anniversary of the closure of […]
The nomination of Kamala Harris Attracts Great Attention in Neighbouring Canada
By Suresh Jaura TORONTO (IDN) – Any student of world affairs may know the phrase “when America sneezes, the world catches a cold.” What the phrase means, of course, is that what happens in America affects the rest of the world, be it for good or bad. It is no surprise, therefore, that citizens and […]
How the Shadow of Slavery Still Hangs over Global Finance
Viewpoint by Philip Roscoe* ANDREWS, Scotland (IDN) – When the infamous Zong massacre trial began in 1783, it laid bare the toxic relationship between finance and slavery. It was an unusual and distressing insurance claim – concerning a massacre of 133 captives, thrown overboard the Zong slave ship. The slave trade pioneered a new kind […]