OPINION

Photo: Mother in shreds of clothing with child begging on the streets of Calcutta during the Bengal famine of 1943 (left), and a family on the sidewalk in Calcutta during the Bengal famine of 1943 (right). Source: Wikipedia

How Reparations Can Help Eradicate Poverty and Secure SDGs

Viewpoint by Manish Uprety F.R.A.S. and Jainendra Karn *

NEW DELHI (IDN) – Dealing with numbers can take a toll and might make one seek fulfillment in other spheres. No wonder the most influential poet of the last Century penned The Waste Land in 1922 when he was dutifully employed with the foreign transactions department of Lloyd’s, an austere English bank in London.

Another case that one can think of is of Peter Bone, an accountant by training and Conservative party Member of Parliament in England from Wellingborough and Rushden who in November 2018 found glee when he made no bones about how and where the Republic of India should spend its resources. The latter reminds one of the famous aphorism Par Updesh Kushal Bahutere.

: Asia Editor; OPINION; 02 November 2019

Bring Women at the Peace Table, Build from the Grassroots to the Tree Tops

“Some people change when they see the light; others when they feel the heat”. – Caroline Schoeder, former U.S. Congress member

Viewpoint by Rene Wadlow, President, Association of World Citizens

GENEVA (IDN) – The UN Security Council Resolution 1325 of 2000 is a commitment to work resolutely toward greater protection of women and girls in conflict zones, to appoint more women in UN peacekeeping operations and ensuring that women would increasingly become more active participants in decision-making processes, especially at “peace table” negotiations.

: Rene Wadlow; OPINION; 30 October 2019

Photo: Women of Afghanistan stand outside the U.S. Embassy in Kabul. Credit: Eric Draper | The White House.

The Afghans Have to Find Their Own Way

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power

LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – It’s the most repeated maxim in all the reportage on the war in Afghanistan: “The Americans have the watches, we, the Taliban, have the time.”

“Play it again, Sam” was said in “Casablanca”. It should be played, said and listened to in Kabul and Washington today. This is America’s longest war ever – 18 years and counting. It has cost over one trillion dollars and taken 2,500 American lives. President Barack Obama, blind-sided by the generals, he confided later, pumped up the numbers of troops to 100,000.

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 29 October 2019

Image: A 1791 British caricature of an attempted mediation between Catherine (on the right, supported by Austria and France) and Turkey. Source: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, LC-USZC4-6756.

Ample Reasons Why the West’s Break with Russia Must End

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power

LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – It’s time overdue for the West to make up with Russia. The contretemps over Ukraine, now played out over five years, is too long. As the world goes it doesn’t deserve so much attention. Ukraine in land mass may be a big country but its population is only 44 million and its national income per head a quarter of Russia’s.

The Ukrainian puppy’s tail has been wagging the West’s dog. It’s part of the West’s human rights commitment to stand up for the little man, but the Ukraine government’s behaviour at the time of its great upheavals didn’t deserve the large amount of support it was given.

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 22 October 2019

The Sochi Summit and the Pride of Africa

Viewpoint by Kester Kenn Klomegah

MOSCOW (IDN) – After nearly three decades of extremely low political, economic and cultural engagement, Russia is indeed returning to Africa. For obvious reasons, Russia's relations with Africa turned extremely worse as some diplomatic representations were unexpectedly cut, all cultural centers closed, and many projects were suspended. Of course, relations with many foreign countries have faded into the background compared with the challenges the country had to deal with in order to preserve its statehood.

: Kester Kenn Klomegah; OPINION; 20 October 2019

Individuals with Disabilities Need U.S. Lawmakers’ Attention

Viewpoint by J W Jackie

RENO, Nevada, USA (IDN) – Nearly 12.8 percent of the U.S. population are living with disabilities, according to the latest report by the American Community Survey (ACS). Over the years, American lawmakers recognized the immediate need to provide the members of this community with their basic needs of employment, health, and accessible housing options. At the moment, there is a series of progressive legislative proposals existing for the cause.

: Opinion Editor; THE WORLD; USA and Canada; 20 October 2019

Photo: UN Day Concert of 2018 entitled “Traditions of Peace and Non-violence” featuring Sarod Maestro Amjad Ali Khan with The Refugee Orchestra Project. UN Photo/Loey Felipe

Renewal and Reform Are Challenges of the UN Day

Viewpoint by Rene Wadlow, President, Association of World Citizens

GENEVA (IDN) – The dreams of vast horizons of the Soul
                            Through dreams made whole,
                            Unfettered free ... help me!
                            Help me make our world anew – Langston Hughes

The United Nations remains the only universally representative and comprehensively empowered body the world has to deal with threats to international peace and security, to promote human rights, and to foster ecologically-sound development worldwide.

: Rene Wadlow; OPINION; 19 October 2019

Photo: View of Kibera in Nairobi, the largest urban slum in Africa. CC BY-SA 3.0

Burgeoning Urban Population Will Decide the Future of Africa

Viewpoint by Henrik Maihack *

NAIROBI (IDN-INPS) – In the next 25 years, Africa’s urban population is set to double. By 2040, the majority of Africans will be living in cities. There are numerous reasons for this: climate change, violent conflicts and the hope of finding work or education, although this list could easily be extended. Urbanisation thus constitutes one of the greatest transformations facing Africa in the 21st century.

: Africa & ME Editor; THE WORLD; Africa; 18 October 2019

Photo credit: Office of the Prime Minister of Ethiopia

Timing of Nobel Peace Prize for Ethiopian Leader Questioned

Viewpoint by Makeda Saba

BRUSSELS (IDN) – On October 11, 2019, the Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the 2019 Nobel Peace prize to the Prime Minister of Ethiopia Dr Abiy Ahmed. He is the fourth African leader to be bestowed that honour after President Anwar Sadat in 1978; President FW de Klerk in 1993); and President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in 2011.

: Africa & ME Editor; THE WORLD; Africa; 16 October 2019

Photo: German, French, and Spanish fighters of the People's Protection Units (YPG) in northern Syria call for people to join the Kurdish-Turkish conflict in Turkey. CC BY 3.0

The EU Pulled the Rug from Under the Kurds

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power

LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – Insurgencies may not die, but at least, like old soldiers, they usually fade away. Well, that seemed to be the case with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, the PKK. For the best part of five years between 2000 and 2005 there was a truce in Turkey’s bitter and savage civil war. But it did not last.

The Kurdish “problem” goes back to the Ottoman Empire. The rugged mountains where Turkey, Iraq and Iran meet have been called Kurdistan since the early 13th century, and the Kurds’ roots can be traced back at least 2,000 years. Most of the world’s 20m Kurds live in the region, although well over a million have emigrated to Istanbul, Baghdad, Tehran and Beirut, often assimilating well with the local people.