By Justus Wanzala BUSIA, Kenya (IDN) – It is a hot afternoon at a bus station at Mungatsi market centre, Nambale Sub-County, in Busia County, Western Kenya. Many people, many travellers, are queuing to wash their hands. Each person is maintaining a distance from the other as they wash their hands and board public service […]
Women Leaders Rise in Solidarity to Save Lives and Protect Livelihoods
By UN Women “Rise for All” calls on all leaders to meet the human crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic and fully fund the UN Response and Recovery Trust Fund NEW YORK (IDN) – Supporting the UN Secretary-General’s call for solidarity and urgent action in response to the socio-economic impacts of COVID-19, an initial group of […]
COVID-19: The Trump Administration’s Attack on China and the WHO Is Unfounded
Viewpoint by Vijay Prashad* This article was produced in partnership by Indian Punchline and Globetrotter, a project of the Independent Media Institute where it first appeared. This is the first part of a two-part series. The second is available here. KOLKATA, India (IDN) – On April 14, 2020, U.S. President Donald Trump addressed a news […]
COVID-19: This Is No Time to Start A Coronavirus Blame Game
Viewpoint by John McCarthy * MELBOURNE (IDN) – Australia’s decision to spearhead an international enquiry into the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic — read China’s lack of transparency and the WHO’s mistakes — is a nice hoary bellow from the domestic political ramparts, but it is a policy mistake. The Australian opposition’s support for the […]
One Year on, Easter Bombing in Sri Lanka Continues to Puzzle
By Kalinga Seneviratne This article is the 39th in a series of joint productions of Lotus News Features and IDN-InDepthNews, the flagship of the International Press Syndicate. Click here for previous reports. SYDNEY (IDN) – A 22-year-old Sri Lankan law graduate became the first Islamic suicide terrorist a year ago in the predominantly Buddhist Sri […]
ISRAEL: How ‘Centrist’ Gantz Resurrected Rightist Netanyahu
By Ramzy Baroud * This article was first published on the author’s website www.ramzybaroud.net on 22 April 2020. MOUNTLAKE TERRACE, Washington (IDN) -– It was intended to be a Machiavellian move, but the decision by Benny Gantz, leader of Israel’s Kahol Lavan (Blue and White) coalition, to join a Benjamin Netanyahu-led government is likely to […]
Why the OPEC+ Deal Is a Many-Splendoured Thing
Viewpoint by M.K. Bhadrakumar The writer is a former Indian diplomat. This article was produced in partnership by Indian Punchline and Globetrotter, a project of the Independent Media Institute where it first appeared. NEW DELHI (IDN) – A perfect deal is where all protagonists get something out of it. All oil-producing countries stand to gain […]
Who Should Be in Charge: Doctors or Politicians?
Viewpoint by Jan Zielonka* This article was originally published on open Democracy. Any views or opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of IDN-InDepth News. VENICE (IDN) – Our lives currently seem to be in the hands of doctors, and this concerns not only those who have caught […]
COVID-19: Strengthen WHO for Systemic Change of Health Systems
Viewpoint by Dr P. I. Gomes The writer is former-Secretary-General of the African, Caribbean & Pacific Group of States (now known as Organisation of Africa, Caribbean & Pacific States – OACPS) PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (IDN) – As the curve flattens in the trajectory of the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in some countries, or […]
COVID-19: Should You Believe What ECA Is Saying About Africa?
Viewpoint by Azu Ishiekwene * ABUJA, Nigeria (IDN) – In one of his bestsellers, The Zahir, Paulo Coelho said there are two major problems in life: knowing when to begin and knowing when to stop. If, for example, Nigeria had closed its borders early on and enforced quarantine for all returning Nigerians, whoever they are, […]