Viewpoint by Jan Oberg*, The Transnational Foundation, TFF. LUND, Sweden (IDN) -– Defender Europe 20 is a huge, basically US military exercise, on European soil between February and May this year. It has already started. In the midst of a closed-down coronavirus Europe. And it is war-preparing, not peace- or confidence-building. The diagram above from […]
International Cooperation Vital to Defying the Consequences of Coronavirus
Viewpoint by Beate Trankmann*, UNDP Resident Representative in China BEIJING (IDN) – Since its outbreak, the effects of the coronavirus have been felt in countries across the world. With around 110,000 confirmed cases of COVID19 and over 4,000 deaths as of March 10, this epidemic has put public health systems and emergency services under immense pressure. […]
Coronavirus Reaches African Shores
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) – Only a few weeks ago, African leaders were breathing a sigh of relief as the new coronavirus skipped the continent to lodge in Italy, Spain and other European countries. “Whether it’s a matter of faulty detection, climatic factors or simple fluke, the remarkably low rate […]
Massive African Infrastructure Projects Often Hurt, Not Help, Local People
Viewpoint by Tom Goodfellow* SHEFFIELD (IDN) – Big infrastructure projects are always controversial. Yet in parts of the world associated with severely deficient infrastructure, the positive value of major infrastructure investments is often taken as a given. This assumption needs to be subjected to much greater scrutiny, as I argue in new research that explores […]
A COVID-19 Vaccine Quickly and Cheaply Is Possible
Viewpoint by John Scales Avery* The writer is a theoretical chemist noted for his research publications in quantum chemistry. COPENHAGEN (IDN) – Public health experts say that if the COVID-19 epidemic is not successfully contained, it could become a global pandemic, perhaps spreading to 80% of the world’s population. With a 1% mortality rate, this […]
Postpone the NPT Review Conference to 2021 and Convene in Vienna
Viewpoint by Tariq Rauf The writer has attended all nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) meetings since 1987 as a delegate, including as senior adviser to the chair of Main Committee I (nuclear disarmament) in 2015 and to the chair of the 2014 preparatory committee; as alternate head of the International Atomic Energy Agency delegation to the […]
New ACP Chief to Enhance the 79-Nation Group’s Effectiveness at the UN
By Georges Rebelo Pinto Chikoti, ACP Secretary General The following are extensive excerpts from the inaugural address of Georges Rebelo Pinto Chikoti, Secretary General of the 79-nation ACP Group of States to the Special Meeting of the ACP Committee of Ambassadors on 2 March 2020 at the ACP House in Brussels. Angola’s Minister of Foreign […]
Russian Govt Prohibits ‘Only Illegal’ NGO Activities
By Kester Kenn Klomegah MOSCOW (IDN) – President Vladimir Putin maintains that Russia does not prohibit the activities of civil society and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) as long as these abide by the country’s laws, refrain from meddling in internal politics and inciting extremism and civil disobedience in the country. He told Russia’s state-owned TASS News […]
US Prison Conditions Risk Intense Coronavirus Outbreak
By Julia Conley, Staff Writer Common Dreams WASHINGTON. D.C. (IDN) – Prisoners’ rights advocates are warning that the coronavirus outbreak in the U.S. may soon have dire implications for the 2.2 million people living in the American penal system, as prison officials across the country shared little about their plans to keep inmates safe and […]
Our Addiction to Fossil Fuels Can Kill Us
Viewpoint by John Scales Avery* COPENHAGEN (IDN) – The Industrial Revolution marked the start of a massive human use of fossil fuels. The stored energy from several hundred years of plant growth began to be used at roughly a million times the rate at which it had been formed. The effect on human society was […]