100 leading academics and writers call on leaders to govern with compassion and see the crisis as a chance for a radical change of direction. The following is the full text of the letter, being reproduced courtesy of African Arguments under a Creative Commons Licence 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0). LONDON (IDN) – The threats […]
COVID-19: Urgent Need for African Governments to Upgrade the Health Systems
By Kester Kenn Klomegah* MOSCOW (IDN) – Amid multifold theories and disinformation spreading around the COVID-19 in Africa, it is important for African governments to consider strengthening the existing health systems and infrastructures, and allocate substantial funds for health research and production of basic equipment, for attaining sustainable development goals set in the African Agenda […]
Pandemics: Lessons Looking Back from 2050 – Part 1
Viewpoint by Fritjof Capra and Hazel Henderson* This article was originally published on Other News, a vehicle for “voices against the tide” and is being reproduced with thanks. Berkeley | JACKSONVILLE (IDN) – Imagine, it is the year 2050 and we are looking back to the origin and evolution of the coronavirus pandemic over the […]
Sri Lanka Has Been Successful in Countering COVID-19
The Small Indian Ocean Island Deserves Recognition Viewpoint by Dr Palitha Kohona The writer is former Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations, and former Foreign Secretary. COLOMBO (IDN) – Sri Lanka has been successful so far, compared to most countries in the world, in the fight against Covid-19. The mind-numbing […]
Russia’s Victory in WWII Changed the World but War Drums Continue
Viewpoint by Somar Wijayadasa* NEW YORK (IDN) – On May 9, 1945, after four years of violent battles inside Russia, recorded as the bloodiest and most destructive military conflict in the whole history of humanity, the Russians defeated Nazi Germany in World War II. It is the single most important day in Russian history that […]
ICC Prosecutor Reminds the Security Council of a Special Responsibility for Libya
By Fatou Bensouda The following are extensive excerpts from the International Criminal Court Prosecutor Ms Fatou Bensouda’s statement by video to the UN Security Council on May 5. NEW YORK | THE HAGUE (IDN) – Despite some inevitable limitations caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, my Office’s Libya team is forging ahead with its judicial work […]
Limited Progress Achieved in Deterring War Crimes
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power LUND, Sweden (IDN) – With a bit more pushing and, after, unfortunately, a bit more killing the three remaining serious wars on the planet, in Syria, Afghanistan and Yemen, should come to an end. Then it will be time to take stock on what caused the killing, especially why so many […]
Fake News Is ‘Infodemic’ That Puts Lives at Risk
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) – While Americans hotly debate the subject of “fake news,” Africans and others around the world marked a day for reflection on press freedoms in theory and in practice. The theme for this year’s event launched by the UN agency UNESCO was “Journalism without fear or […]
People in the Global South Don’t Need Debt Relief, They Need a New System
Viewpoint by Meera Karunananthan* This article was originally published on openDemocracy. Any views or opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of IDN-InDepth News OTTAWA (IDN) – “Those who led us into debt were gambling, as if they were in a casino … there is talk of a crisis. No. They […]
Remembering Ludwig van Beethoven – A Genius with a Disability
By Heike Kuhn The writer, Dr Heike Kuhn, is Head of the “Human Rights Gender Equality, Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities” of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) in Bonn, the capital of divided Germany. The other part of the BMZ is in Berlin, the capital city of unified Germany since 3 […]