By J Nastranis with UN News in Brief NEW YORK (IDN)— As the coronavirus continues to spread globally, the UN’s top human rights official Michelle Bachelet appealed on March 6 to countries and businesses to put rights “front and centre” to protect their most vulnerable citizens. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said that although the […]
Singapore’s Fight Against the Coronavirus on Social Media
Viewpoint by Archana Atmakuri The writer is a Research Analyst at the Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS) at the National University of Singapore. This opinion piece first appeared on East Asia Forum on 6 March 2020. SINGAPORE (IDN) — Over 60 countries are now fighting confirmed and suspected cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), […]
CORVID 19 – The Insatiable Urge to Bash China Surfaces Again!
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) — Historically, the West has always had an equivocal attitude towards China, not to mention the non-white world. A fear, a suspicion, a fascination, an uncertainty, a sense of […]
The Virus of Nuclear Proliferation
Viewpoint by Alice Slater The writer serves on the Board of ‘World Beyond War’, and represents the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation at the United Nations. NEW YORK (IDN) — In an avalanche of reporting we are now assaulted with information about how the world is urgently attempting to batten down the hatches to avoid the […]
Former ACP Secretary General Appeals for Calm in World’s Newest Oil State Guyana
By Reinhard Jacobsen BRUSSELS | PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (IDN) – Former secretary general of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group, Dr. Patrick I. Gomes whose five-year tenure concluded end of February, has called on “all political leaders to let the rule of law prevail and the country remain calm”. He told the Caribbean […]
Coronavirus Exposes Australia’s Economic Dependence on China
By Kalinga Seneviratne SYDNEY (IDN) — Australia hasn’t had a recession for 29 years. Economists are now warning that the coronavirus (COVID-19) is almost certainly driving the country towards it and thus exposing Australia’s heavy dependence on China for its economic prosperity. Until the mid-1970s Australians were paranoid about a ‘yellow peril’ (the Chinese takeover) […]
The Spiritual and Socialist Start of International Women’s Day
Viewpoint by Rene Wadlow, President, Association of World Citizens GENEVA (IDN) – March 8 is the International Day of Women and thus a time to highlight the specific role of women in local, national and world society. International Women’s Day was first proposed by Clara Zetlin (1857-1933) at the Second International Conference of Socialist Women […]
Trump’s Abandonment of Nuclear Deal with Iran Backfires
By Reinhard Jacobsen VIENNA (IDN) — The quarterly report on Iran released by UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), on March 3 has revealed a significant increase in the country’s stockpile of enriched uranium since its last report. The stockpile stood at 1,020.9 kg in February, up from 372.3 kg in November […]
Risks and Realities of Extending the UN Arms Embargo on Iran
Viewpoint by Kelsey Davenport and Daryl K. Kimball This article first appeared as Issue Brief of the Arms Control Association on 5 March 2020. Kelsey Davenport is director for nonproliferation policy, and Daryl G. Kimball, executive director, Arms Control Association. WASHINGTON, DC (IDN) — More than a decade ago, the United States and its partners […]
Unlocking the Potential of Tanzania’s Smallholder Farmers
By Kizito Makoye IRINGA, Tanzania (IDN) – When Osmund Ueland met a group of farmers to pitch his idea about starting a goat milk project at a village in Tanzania’s southern highlands to help poor families improve nutrition and boost incomes, he elicited loud applause from the crowd. Huddled in a dimly lit mud-walled house […]