Viewpoint by Clemens Breisinger, Abla Abdel Latif, Mariam Raouf and Manfred Wiebelt WASHINGTON, DC (IDN) – The economic impacts of the COVID-19 crisis are increasingly hitting low- and middle-income countries and the poor. International travel restrictions and the full or partial closure of businesses and industries in Asia, Europe, and North America have led to […]
COVID-19: UN Joins Kenya in $267.5 million Flash Appeal
By Devendra Kamarajan NAIROBI (IDN) – The Government of Kenya, the United Nations and humanitarian partners have launched a Flash Appeal requesting $267.5 million to respond to the most immediate and critical needs of 10.1 million people. Cabinet Secretary for National Treasury and Planning, Ukur Yatani Kanacho, said: “When times are challenging you get to […]
COVID-19: Are the World’s “Leaders” up to the Challenge?
Viewpoint by Roberto Savio* CASAPROTA, Rieti, Italy (IDN) – The letter of 7 April 2020 calling for immediate international action to address issues arising from the COVID-19 crisis sent to the G20 by more than 200 former world leaders, leading economists and global health experts, makes sad reading. The letter, sent by a group that […]
An Unexpected Chance for the Success of Postponed NPT Review Conference
Viewpoint by Sergio Duarte The writer is Former UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs and current President of Pugwash. NEW YORK (IDN) – It took patience from the President-designate of the 2020 NPT Review Conference, a sober assessment of the situation by a number of states, particularly from the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and help from […]
The Pandemic of Fear Haunts Moscow
Viewpoint by Lyubov Sharkova* MOSCOW (IDN) – In just a short period of time, the world in Russia has changed for everyone. I’ve started to notice how people around me are going mad. They’ve started blaming and avoiding other people, making social distance the priority of their lives. These people are well-educated, well-off, with flexible […]
Welcome to the Viral Desert – Coronavirus and the Reinvention of Communism
Viewpoint by Slavoj Žižek* LJUBLJANA (IDN) – The current spread of the coronavirus epidemic has also triggered a huge contagion of ideological viruses, which had been lying in a dormant state in our societies: fake news, paranoid conspiracy theories, outbursts of racism, and so on. The founded and real need for the implementation of quarantine […]
Ponder Who We Are and the World We Live In
Viewpoint by Roberto Savio* ROME (IDN) – If you could fit the entire population of the world into a village consisting of 100 people, maintaining the proportions of all the people living on Earth, that village would consist of
COVID-19: A Global Buddhist Network Contributing to Overcoming the Pandemic
Viewpoint by Soka Gakkai President Minoru Harada Following is the text of a press release conveying President Harada‘s Message in response to the COVID-19 Pandemic. [Read in Spanish, Traditional Chinese, and Simplified Chinese.] TOKYO (IDN) – Japan, where until recently we hoped that we would contain the spread of COVID-19, has now entered into a […]
The End of Bernie Sanders’ Socialist Agenda
Viewpoint by Somar Wijayadasa* NEW YORK (IDN) – The Socialist-Democrat Presidential candidate, Sen. Bernie Sanders, ended his campaign as it lost momentum – and the coronavirus pandemic changed everything. Claiming that he is a democratic socialist, he wanted to stage a political revolution in America. The dreaded words “socialist” and “revolution” are anathema to Americans […]
COVID-19: Trump’s Bizarre Performance Blocked His Emergence as a ‘Hero’
Viewpoint by Dr. Alon Ben-Meir The writer is a professor of international relations at the Center for Global Affairs at New York University (NYU). He teaches courses on international negotiation and Middle Eastern studies. NEW YORK (IDN) – For a man who is a self-absorbed, power hungry narcissist who wants to be recognized as one […]