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Photo: The Porcupine caribou herd in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). Credit: Peter Mather/petermather.com

ARCTIC: Protecting the Sacred Place Where Life Begins

Viewpoint by Nick Engelfried*

BELLINGHAM, Washington (IDN) – As the Trump administration neared the end of its first year in office in 2017, it seemed environmental activists had lost one of the most hard-fought battles in the movement's history. Thanks to a last-minute manoeuvre by Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, Congressional Republicans succeeded in passing legislation allowing oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). Some of the worst fears of environmental and Indigenous rights groups for what might happen under the administration appeared to be coming true.

: Phil Harris; OPINION; 03 July 2020

India's Ties with South Asian Neighbours Strained

News briefs compiled by Suresh Jaura*

TORONTO | NEW DELHI (IDN) – Though India became a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council on June 17, with undisputed support from all countries in the 55-member Asia-Pacific Group for a two-year term in 2021-22, the country's relations with its South Asian neighbours are strained and in some cases antagonistic. One view is that the country is being "strategically encircled".

Following are news briefs underlining that view:

: Suresh Jaura; THE WORLD; South Asia; 03 July 2020

Photo: Polish president Andrzej Duda meets with soldiers assigned to the Tennessee Army National Guard's 2nd Squadron, 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment's Task Force Raider, during a visit to Bemowo Piskie Training Area, Poland, March 6, 2019. Credit: SARAH KIRBY/U.S. ARMYring troops from Germany to Poland.

Russia Feels Threatened by Bigger US Presence in Poland

By Kester Kenn Klomegah

MOSCOW (IDN) – Russia and the United States, since the end of the Cold War, have had confrontations on many issues, and it is highly unlikely if both will ever find something in common. There have been differences on regional issues from the Middle East and North Africa through Asia to Europe. Now the latest, that has drawn both global leaders into sharp antagonism is the proposed [re]deployment of US military forces from Germany to Poland.

: Kester Kenn Klomegah; THE WORLD; Russia; 02 July 2020

Photo: Bill Nichols at the Women’s Cooperative of Tassa Ouirgane, January 2020. Credit: HAF

An Illuminating Farmer-to-Farmer Story in Morocco

Viewpoint by Yossef Ben-Meir

The writer, Dr Yossef Ben-Meir, is a sociologist and president of the High Atlas Foundation (HAF) in Morocco.

MARRAKECH (IDN) – Bill Nichols served as a volunteer consultant to the High Atlas Foundation (HAF) through the Farmer-to-Farmer Program (F2F) for two weeks in January 2020. Originally from New Mexico, now residing in Boston, Bill collaborated as an F2F volunteer with four of HAF’s tree nursery cooperatives in southern Morocco.

: Africa & ME Editor; OPINION; 02 July 2020

What the EU's Corona Fundraising Tells us about Global Solidarity

Viewpoint by Inge Kaul

The writer, Dr Inge Kaul, is Senior Fellow, Hertie School, Berlin and Non-resident Senior Fellow, Center for Global Development, Washington, DC.

BERLIN (IDN) – European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen organized two spectacular fund-raising events, one on May 4 and the other on June 27, 2020. The first drive collected €9.8 billion and the second €6.15 billion, including €4.9 billion announced together by the EU and the European Investment Bank.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 02 July 2020

Wanted 'Information Volunteers' to Halt Viral Spread of COVID-19 Misinformation

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) — Never before has there been a more pressing need for accurate, verified information as in the current situation marked by the Coronavirus spreading its tentacles around the world. Like the virus itself, Misinformation about COVID-19 spreads rapidly from person-to-person and heightens the risk to health disseminating fear and division.

Subsequently, to contain the disease and its impacts, people around the world require access to trusted, accurate information based on science and aiming at solutions and building solidarity within and between nations.

: J Nastranis; SUSTAINABILITY; Health & Well Being; 02 July 2020

Photo: Johnson visited the British Virgin Islands after Hurricane Irma on 13 September 2020. Source: Wikimedia Commons

Boris Johnson's Merger of DFID – Will it Massacre UK’s ODA?

Viewpoint by Patrick I Gomes

The writer, Dr Patrick I Gomes, was Secretary-General of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States for five years until Angola's Ambassador to the European Union, Mr. Georges Rebelo Pinto Chikoti, took over on March 1. The 79-nation inter-regional body officially became the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) on April 5, 2020. Dr Gomes was previously Ambassador of the Republic of Guyana, to the EU in Brussels.

: Opinion Editor; SUSTAINABILITY; Global Partnerships; 01 July 2020

We Won't Have a Truly Global Economy Until People Start Taxing It That Way

Viewpoint by Marshall Auerback

The writer is a market analyst and commentator. This article was produced by Economy for All, a project of the Independent Media Institute.

NEW YORK (IDN) – Major talks between the United States and the European Union to establish a shared tax framework for multinational companies broke down on the issue of seeking to secure an agreement on digital taxation. Big tech, which is heavily a U.S. creation, has long been in the sights of European economies, as their profits and revenues have soared and they have increasingly become major components of the 21st-century economy.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 01 July 2020

Photo: The UN Population Fund (UNFPA) is providing services to displaced women and girls across northeast Syria. Credit: UNFPA Syria.

Put Women at The Centre of Syria Crisis Response

Viewpoint by Dr Natalia Kanem and Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka

Dr Natalia Kanem is the Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and Ms Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka Executive Director of UN Women.

NEW YORK (IDN) – As the Syria crisis enters its 10th year, the situation is especially dire for women and girls, with the effects of COVID-19 compounding the risks and hardships for millions of people inside the country and for refugees around the region.

Today nearly 12 million people in Syria require urgent humanitarian assistance and around 4 million depend on cross-border aid. Some 5.7 million Syrians have fled and are now residing in countries throughout the region.

: UN Bureau; OPINION; 01 July 2020

Photo: Mass graves – such as these in northern Rio de Janeiro – have been needed to bury the dead during the pandemic. Credit: EPA-EFE

COVID-19: How Brazil Became the World's 2nd Worst Hit Country

Viewpoint by Alfredo Saad Filho*

LONDON (IDN) – The COVID-19 pandemic has stress-tested countries, economies and political systems like never before. Nowhere has the outcome been more devastating than in Brazil, arguably the country with the worst pandemic response in the world.

Brazil’s vulnerabilities are visible in the mass graves in São Paulo and Manaus. The country is competing with the USA for the largest number of diagnosed COVID-19 cases (more than one million) and the highest number of fatalities (above 50,000 – but likely to be a vast undercount). Disturbingly, there is no sign that Brazil’s cases or deaths have peaked yet.