OPINION

Photo: Pastoralist with herd, Horn of Africa. Credit: Katherine Bundra Roux, IFRC

Africa’s Livestock Sector is Key to its Covid-19 Response & Recovery

Viewpoint by Rhoda Peace Tumusiime

The writer is a member of the Malabo Montpellier Panel and former AU Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture at the African Union Commission (AUC).

ENTEBBE, Uganda (IDN) – Livestock have long been the insurance policy of Africa’s poorest, with even a single goat or a chicken providing a buffer against economic hardship and hunger.

But as Covid-19 forces many to fall back on these safety nets, the need for more long-term support of the continent’s livestock sector is laid bare.

: Africa & ME Editor; OPINION; 15 July 2020

Kenya Having Another Go at Passing a Reproductive Rights Bill

Viewpoint by Anthony Ajayi and Meggie Mwoka*

Kenya’s Senate is considering a reproductive healthcare bill, which seeks to address reproductive health gaps. This is the second time the bill has come before the senate. It has, once again, drawn fire from religious groups, some politicians and civil society lobbies opposed to its proposals. Anthony Ajayi and Meggie Mwoka unpack the bill and the lessons from previous failed attempts.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 15 July 2020

Photo: Moscow, Kremlin. Bird's Eye View from the southwest. Source: TASS. CC BY 4.0

Not Western Meddling But A Russian Leader with the Power of a Moral Voice Will Replace Putin

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power*

LUND, Sweden (IDN) – Change is absolutely necessary in Russia, but how to bring it about? One doesn’t have to be a prejudiced Western ideologue to point this out. As the weekend’s demonstrations in the far eastern city of Khabarovsk underline, there are a good number of people, mainly young, who feel the political system, as is presently organized, doesn’t give them the chance to express their feelings.

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 14 July 2020

Trump and Senator Cotton Embrace Enhanced Testing & Face Kilotons of Surprises

Viewpoint by Robert Kelley

VIENNA (IDN) – There are growing rumours that the United States is considering carrying out a nuclear test in the near future. Legislation introduced in the United States Senate suggests that this may not be an idle threat. The language in the recent amendment reads: “carry out projects related to reducing the time required to execute a nuclear test if necessary,” This threat indicates a complete lack of understanding of the political and technical difficulties such a move would introduce.

: UN Bureau; OPINION; 14 July 2020

Photo: Tichka Pass in the High Atlas mountains, Morocco. Credit: Britannica Researchers

Reflections on Omar Himmi of Toubkal in the High Atlas Mountains of Morocco

Viewpoint by Yossef Ben-Meir *

MARRAKECH (IDN) – Recently, I had a moment of self-reflection brought about by the passing of someone who made a difference in the trajectory of my life. Years ago, I lived in the home of Omar Himmi Ait Omrar in the village of Amsouzerte in the High Atlas Mountains of Morocco. Sharing stories about those two years (1993-1995) living in Omar's home and what followed, those stories of life, may be meaningful to others.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 12 July 2020

Photo: U.S. Soldiers with Forward Support Company, 65th Engineer Battalion conduct a presence patrol March 26, 2014, in Kandahar province, Afghanistan. Credit: Defense.com

Why Doesn't the U.S. End the Afghan War, Instead of Focussing on Russian Bounties to the Taliban?

Viewpoint by Sonali Kolhatkar

This article was produced by Economy for All, a project of the Independent Media Institute. Sonali Kolhatkar is the founder, host and executive producer of “Rising Up With Sonali,” a television and radio show that airs on Free Speech TV and Pacifica stations.

LOS ANGELES (IDN) – The New York Times in late June published an explosive revelation about the longest official U.S. war in modern history. According to high-level sources, Russia had been paying cash bounties to Taliban forces to kill U.S. soldiers.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 11 July 2020

Image: Cover of Bolton's book. Credit: The writer

Bolton's Book Fires Blanks at the Trump Administration

Viewpoint by Charlotte Munns

Charlotte Munns is a London-based freelance writer who has specialized in English Literature and Middle Eastern Studies at Columbia University, New York

LONDON (IDN) – John Bolton's 'The Room Where It Happened' opens with a bizarre epigraph touting the British triumph over Napoleon in the Battle of Waterloo. To liken Bolton's 'tell-all' memoir of the Trump administration to the actions that destroyed an empire is a stretch, to say the least.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 09 July 2020

Photo: An Indian fighter jet flies over Leh, the joint capital of the union territory of Ladakh, on June 25, after the border showdown between Delhi and Beijing. Source: Bangkok Post.

Prelude to a China-India Strategic Showdown?

Viewpoint by PS Suryanarayana*

This article first appeared on East Asia Forum on 5 July 2020. You might also like to read a related article: Cultural Wisdom Might Help Resolve India-China Conflict

SINGAPORE (IDN) – Perpetual border tensions between Asia's biggest neighbours turned ominous in the harsh Himalayan terrain of the Galwan Valley in the twilight of June 15, 2020. The agreed de-escalation of a nearly 40-day confrontation was to take place in that valley in the western sector of disputed Sino–Indian boundary.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 09 July 2020

Photo: People in a Park in Stockholm without observing social distancing. Images / H. Credit: Imago Images/H. Montgomery. Source: The Coversation.

Could Coronavirus Be Burning Out After 20 Percent of a Population Is Infected?

Viewpoint by Paul W. Franks and Joacim Rocklöv*

LUND | Umeå, Sweden (IDN) – More than half a million people have died from COVID-19 globally. It is a major tragedy, but perhaps not on the scale some initially feared. And there are finally signs that the pandemic is shuddering in places, as if its engine is running out of fuel. This has encouraged many governments to relinquish lockdowns and allow everyday life to restart, albeit gingerly.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 08 July 2020

Photo: Voting station in Kamchatka Krai in the Far East region of Russia, with a population of 322,079. CC BY-SA 4.0

Putin's "Soft Authoritarian" Regime and Russian Freedom

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power*

LUND, Sweden (IDN) – One of the founders of Russia's Pussy Riot rock band, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, was interviewed at length on the BBC this past weekend. She has no time for President Vladimir Putin. When the group played inside the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour she was sent to jail for two years for "religious hatred". She doesn’t seem bitter but she seems damning. She thinks that last week’s referendum on a new constitution was only held to cement Putin in power for another couple of decades. She barely discussed the other articles of the constitution.