OPINION

Photo: Body temperature being checked at the exit of a railway station in Fuyang, Anhui province, China, January 29, 2020. Credit: AN Ming/EPA

Why China’s Strategy to Contain the Coronavirus Might Work

Viewpoint by Fei Chen*

LIVERPOOL (IDN) – On January 23, the authorities of Wuhan City, China, sealed off the motorways and shut down all public transport to stop the corona virus outbreak from spreading. Shortly afterwards, at least ten other cities in China were under quarantine orders, most of them located in the areas surrounding Wuhan.

It sounds unbelievable to quarantine a city of 11 million people, but it may work because movement within and between cities in China relies heavily on public transport infrastructure. Major cities in China are well connected by airports, express railways, motorways and long-distance buses.

: Phil Harris; OPINION; 31 January 2020

Trump the Transgressor: The Psychological Appeal of Leaders Who Break the Rules

Viewpoint by Barry Richards*

LONDON (IDN) – Many of today’s politicians appear to appeal to the basic human need for safety, presenting their versions of strong leadership as the best hope for order and safety in a fearful world of growing instability and risk.

Much evidence confirms that this appeal is certainly an important factor in the political landscape.

But alongside this, other psychological dynamics are currently influential in a number of Western democracies – particularly in attracting people to support populist leaders and their agendas.

: Phil Harris; OPINION; 30 January 2020

Photo: Main Building of the Peoples Friendship University in Moscow. Courtesy of PFUR University.

A Renowned Russian University Celebrates 60th Anniversary

Viewpoint by Somar Wijayadasa*

MOSCOW (IDN) – If education is the ultimate gift one can give a child, then, the Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia has given that gift to more than 150,000 deserving young men and women from many countries around the world – who otherwise would never have had the opportunity to receive higher education — especially in a foreign country.

Besides, the university is characterised by a cooperative and friendly attitude — one of respect and mutual assistance. With multinational traditions and customs, cuisine, dancing and music — the whole world is in one Moscow street: the Miklukho-Maklaya Street.

: Somar Wijayadasa; THE WORLD; Russia; 29 January 2020

Photo: On May 30, 2016, former Chadian dictator Hissène Habré was convicted of crimes against humanity, war crimes, and torture, including sexual violence and rape, by the Extraordinary African Chambers in the Senegalese court system and sentenced to life in prison.Source: Human Rights Watch.

World Court Gives Myanmar 4 Months to Put Its House in Order

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power

LUND, Sweden (IDN) – Let’s cut to the chase – there is no question, no doubt, that the government of Myanmar and the army which controls it have committed the most vile atrocities against the Rohingya people, a Muslim minority that lives in the West of the Buddhist-dominated country.

The International Court of Justice (the World Court) which ruled on January 23 against the Myanmar government, may not have concluded it was genocide as some say but it did unreservedly condemn the government for its atrocious sowing of violent mayhem against the Rohingya.

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 28 January 2020

Photo: U.S. President Donald Trump withe Chinese Vice Premier Liu He. Source: The While House.

US-China Trade Deal – The Show Isn't Over Yet

Viewpoint by Manish Uprety F.R.A.S. and Dr. Yiyong Liang*

NEW DELHI | BEIJING (IDN) – Trade wars are fascinating where not only the outcomes but also the tactics and strategy matter. Sun Tzu said: “All men can see these tactics whereby I conquer, but what none can see is the strategy out of which victory is evolved.”

The world was waiting with a baited breath for easing out of tensions between the U.S. and China during the meeting of President Donald Trump with Vice Premier Liu He. The ongoing China-U.S. trade war resulted in profound consequences including contributing to conditions pushing the entire global economy to the edge of a possible recession in 2020. The accompanying contortions including contradictory reports and veiled criticisms alongside high rhetoric from both sides was not of much help either.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 17 January 2020

Photo: Ukrainian troops in Donbass, March 2015. CC BY 2.0

Breaking the Impasse on Donbass

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power

LUND, Sweden (IDN) – The struggle for the Donbass region in the eastern and southern Ukraine goes on, seemingly never endingly. It’s now six years since dissident militias threw off the yoke of the central government in Kiev and declared their de-facto independence.

They were supported by Russian troops which at first president Vladimir Putin denied and then later admitted. It was the Russians who supplied the missile launcher that accidentally shot down a Malaysian airlines passenger jet. Altogether 17,000 people, mostly civilians, have died in this conflict.

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 14 January 2020

The Multinational Nestlé a New Colonial Power

Viewpoint by Franklin Frederick*

BELO HORIZONTE, Brazil (IDN) – On November 14 the Canadian group Wellington Water Watchers organized the «All Eyes on Nestlé» conference in the city of Guelph, Ontario, bringing together indigenous’ peoples and citizens’ movements fighting Nestlé’s water takings from Canada, the U.S., France and Brazil. Following this public event, the representatives of the organizations involved met for a workshop to exchange information and discuss possible common strategies of resistance to this giant corporation water grabbing.

: Opinion Editor; SUSTAINABILITY; Climate Action; 12 January 2020

Photo: John Scales Avery. Source: escape.org

The Laws of Nature and the Passions of Mankind

Viewpoint by John Scales Avery

The following are excerpts from ‘The Passions of Mankind’ in which John Scales Avery discusses human emotions from an evolutionary perspective. The book consists mainly of chapters and articles that he has previously published, although some new material has been added. It can be freely downloaded and circulated from the following link: http://eacpe.org/app/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/The-Passions-of-Mankind-by-John-Scales-Avery.pdf

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 12 January 2020

Image source: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Iran Discards the Last Key Component of Nuclear Deal Operational Limitations

Viewpoint by Kelsey Davenport and Julia Masterson*

WASHINGTON, DC (IDN | Arms Control Association) - Iran announced its fifth breach of the 2015 nuclear deal January 5, stating that it “discards the last key component of its operational limitations” put in place by agreement. In the January 5 statement Iran said its nuclear program “no longer faces any operational restrictions,” however Foreign Minister Javad Zarif did say that Iran will still continue to “fully cooperate” with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

: Arms Control Association; OPINION; 09 January 2020

The US-Iran War Continues Though Current Crisis Is Averted

Viewpoint by John Feffer

The writer is the director of Foreign Policy In Focus, which first carried it on 8 January. He is the author of several books and numerous articles. He has been an Open Society Foundation Fellow and a PanTech fellow in Korean Studies at Stanford University. He is a former associate editor of World Policy Journal.

WASHINGTON, DC (IDN) – The United States has been in a 40-year cold war with Iran.