Viewpoint by Jonathan Power LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – By 1914 Europeans ruled 84 percent of the globe. How did they do it? Eleven hundred years ago Europe was a backwater. There were no grand cities, apart from Muslim Cordoba in Spain, and the remnants of Rome and Athens. The Middle East, India and China were […]
Commonwealth Offers Closer Cooperation to Help ACP Group Realise ‘Full Potential’
By Robert Johnson BRUSSELS | BUCHAREST (ACP-IDN) – Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland has reaffirmed the 53-nation group’s support for the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States, while urging deeper collaboration to boost their trade and development potential. She was addressing the 37th session of the ACP and European Union (EU) Joint Parliamentary Assembly […]
France and U.S. Striking Different Notes In Africa
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) – There were smiles all around in Kenya as French President Emmanuel Macron and Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta shook hands over a series of infrastructure deals worth $3.3 billion. It was the third stop on the French president’s East African charm offensive – and the first-ever […]
DR Congo President Resists Latest Power Grab by Predecessor
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) – Joseph Kabila, ex-president of the Democratic Republic of Congo, may have gone once too often to the cookie jar, taking back one by one all of the powers and rights earned by his successor from a recent election, Felix Tshisekedi. President Tshisekedi may have had […]
India at Crossroads as Modi’s Promises Remain Unfulfilled
By Ram Puniyani This article is the sixth in a series of joint productions of South Asian Outlook and IDN-InDepthNews, flagship of the International Press Syndicate. MUMBAI (IDN) – Elections in a democracy can rightly be called as festival of the masses. They determine the course of the country in times to come. That is […]
Japan Funds UNIDO Projects in 9 Countries with $5.8 Million
By Reinhardt Jacobsen VIENNA (IDN) – Japan will contribute more than US$5.8 million for sustainable development projects in Ethiopia, Gabon, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Liberia, South Sudan, the State of Palestine and Syria. The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) has welcomed an official announcement to this effect. “We thank the Government of Japan for the […]
Germany Backs UN Chief in Countering Autonomous Weapons
By Ramesh Jaura BERLIN (IDN) – Keeping humans in control of autonomous weapons and artificial intelligence is an important element of UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ action plan to implement the Agenda for Disarmament, Securing Our Common Future, presented in May 2018. “Essentially, the question is whether we are in control of technology or whether, ultimately, […]
New Report on Arms Control and the Convergence of Biology and Emerging Technologies
By Jaya Ramachandran BERLIN | STOCKHOLM (IDN) – A new report has warned of the risks and challenges posed by the interaction of developments in biotechnology and advances in three emerging technologies: additive manufacturing (AM or so-called 3D printing), artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics. The report from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) cautions […]
Countering Challenges Affecting Disarmament, Arms Control and Non-Proliferation
Viewpoint by Izumi Nakamitsu The following are extensive excerpts from remarks by Izumi Nakamitsu, UN Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA), at the International Conference on ‘Capturing Technology. Rethinking Arms Control’ in Berlin on 15 March 2019. BERLIN (IDN-INPS) – Many of us feel a growing sense of unease about the challenges rapid […]
Overdue Ban on a Faction of the Nepalese Communist Party
By Ajit Kumar Singh This article is the fifth in a series of joint productions of South Asian Outlook and IDN-InDepthNews, flagship of the International Press Syndicate. The writer is Research Fellow, Institute for Conflict Management. NEW DELHI (IDN) – The Nepal Cabinet during a meeting on March 12, 2019, decided to ban the Netra […]