Viewpoint by Kalinga Seneviratne* SYDNEY (IDN) – With the spread of COVID-19 to Europe and the US a bout of Sinophobia seems to have infected the western media. On March 29, Australia’s 60-minute program – that is well known for sensational reporting – broadcast a program that portrayed China as the villain of the COVID-19 […]
The Philippines Moving to Active Middle Power Diplomacy
Viewpoint by Aileen S P Baviera* Professor Aileen Baveira died of COVID-19 in Manila on 21 March 2020. MANILA (IDN) — The Philippines was first a colony and then a formal treaty ally of the United States for so long that many Filipinos tend to take the existence of reciprocal defence obligations for granted. For […]
The Bigger Picture Is Hiding Behind a Virus
Viewpoint by Jonathan Cook*, Countercurrents.Org NAZARETH, Israel (IDN) – Things often look the way they do because someone claiming authority tells us they look that way. If that sounds too cynical, pause for a moment and reflect on what seemed most important to you just a year ago, or even a few weeks ago. Then, […]
COVID-19: Call for Freeing All Journalists Jailed Globally
By CPJ NEW YORK (IDN) – The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has launched the #FreeThePress campaign to call for the unconditional release of all jailed journalists to ensure their safety during the COVID-19 pandemic. For the past four years, CPJ’s annual census has found a record high number of journalists in jail because of […]
Trump’s ‘Pivot to Asia’ To ‘Make America Great Again’ Setting the Stage for a New Clash of Civilizations
Viewpoint by Darini Rajasingham-Senanayake The writer is a cultural anthropologist with research expertise in international political economy, peace, and development studies in South and South East Asia.* COLOMBO (IDN) – India’s capital New Delhi burned in the last week of February 2020 as US President Donald Trump pivoted to India. Visiting the world’s largest and […]
Military Intervention Alone Will Fail to Resolve the Sahel Crisis
Viewpoint by Jan Egeland and Jean-François Riffaud Jan Egeland is Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council. Jean-François Riffaud is Chief Executive Officer of Action Against Hunger-France. OSLO (IDN) — President Emmanuel Macron invited the five G5 West African leaders to the French city of Pau in January 2020 to shore up support for international […]
Update: Postponed 2020 NPT Review Conference
Viewpoint by Tariq Rauf * VIENNA (IDN) – On 30 March 2020, IDN-InDepthNews published my article, Challenge for the NAM: Move the NPT Review Conference to 2021 in Vienna, in which I had noted the announcement of the postponement of the 2020 review conference of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), scheduled to be held in […]
A Nobel Peace Laureate Calls for Slashing Military Spending and Investing in Healthcare
By Jutta Wolf BERLIN (IDN) – The world’s oldest peace NGO, the 1910 Nobel Peace Prize-winning International Peace Bureau (IPB), is calling for a “dramatic reduction” of military spending in favour of healthcare and meeting social needs. A petition launched on March 27 and signed by all interested will be submitted to the United Nations […]
Our Economic System is on Life Support – But Who are We Really Saving?
Viewpoint by Laurie Macfarlane* 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. LONDON (IDN) – In recent weeks governments around the world have injected extraordinary sums of money into the economy to support businesses and households […]
COVID-19 Could Derail Russia’s Constitutional Reform Vote
Viewpoint by Ben Noble* LONDON (IDN) – Russia’s nationwide vote on controversial constitutional reforms is likely to be postponed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The vote is currently scheduled for April 22. The vote is the last hurdle before this set of reforms – including a change allowing Vladimir Putin to stay in […]