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 […]
New UN Women Report Warns That Gender Equality Is Under Threat — Major Women Conference Falls Prey to Coronavirus
By Caroline Mwanga NEW YORK (IDN) —While a new UN Women report warns that progress towards gender equality is faltering and hard-won advances are being reversed, the 64th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) has fallen prey to concerns regarding coronavirus disease (COVID-19). CSW is the principal global intergovernmental body […]
Sri Lanka Challenges UN Human Rights Council’s Impartiality
By Kalinga Seneviratne SINGAPORE (IDN) — Sri Lanka’s Minister of Foreign Relations, Dinesh Gunawardena, has officially withdrawn from the co-sponsorship of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) Resolution on “Promoting reconciliation, accountability, and human rights in Sri Lanka”. His predecessor, Mangala Samaraweera, had co-sponsored it along with the U.S. and a number of European member […]
COVID-19: Switching to Airplane Mode — Life Lessons From the Unchartered
Viewpoint by Nisar Keshvani SINGAPORE (IDN) — Like many others around the world, life took an unexpected turn around Lunar New Year. With the world health situation suddenly becoming unpredictable, we’ve had to adapt to new scenarios, almost by the hour, based on new information. I feel privileged to be in my communications role — […]
USA Needs Social Democracy or What Sanders Calls Socialism
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power LUND, Sweden (IDN) – The U.S. presidential candidate Bernie Sanders is having trouble with his socialism. The younger voters get it, but many of the older liberally-minded people don’t — the kind of people who read the New York Times and probably like its endorsement of Joe Biden and Amy Klobuchar […]
African Students Trapped In China
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) — The coronavirus is spreading fast beyond its China borders, with cases now rising in parts of Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Some 90,000 people have been infected in over 65 countries and 3,000 worldwide have died of Covid-19. As soon as the virus emerged, […]