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By Kingston Reif and Shannon Bugos
WASHINGTON, DC (IDN | Arms Control Association) – Russian officials repeated in late December and early January President Vladimir Putin’s call for extending the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) as soon as possible, though Washington continues to remain silent on the future of the accord, which is scheduled to expire in just over 12 months.
By Kalinga Seneviratne
COLOMBO (IDN) – Two months after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa assumed office on November 18, 2019, the Indian ocean island republic of Sri Lanka has had the unique distinction of hosting top diplomats of three world powers – the United States, China and Russia. One of the president’s first significant announcements was that Sri Lanka would follow a staunchly non-aligned independent foreign policy.
January 14 was a busy day for President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, his brother Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena when they had a series of meetings with three foreign dignitaries: the U.S. Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Alice Wells, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network
NEW YORK (IDN) – French-speaking countries will have to put the cork back in the champagne bottle after six member countries of the West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ) comprising Nigeria, Ghana, Gambia, Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, have rejected the adoption of 'Eco' as the name of the proposed single currency for West Africa.
At a special meeting, five English speaking countries in West Africa in the Nigerian capital Abuja met on January 15 and put the kibosh on adopting the Eco as African common currency as desired by mostly , French-speaking states.
Viewpoint by Dr. Yossef Ben-Meir
The writer is a sociologist and president of the High Atlas Foundation, a Moroccan-U.S. not-for-profit organization dedicated to sustainable development in Morocco.
MARRAKECH (IDN) – In recent years, Morocco has put in place the right frameworks for mobilizing rural communities to advance the nation’s Sustainable development Goals (SDGs), yet it falls woefully short when it comes to implementation. As someone who has been engaged in rural development in Morocco for the past 26 years, I have analyzed how these frameworks can work together and complement each other.
15-Year Old Children Can Self-Test Without Parental Consent
By Kizito Makoye
DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania (IDN) – Perched on a plastic chair at his shop in the bustling Sinza suburb in Dar es Salaam, Abdul* is anxiously looking at a small kit containing liquid and a stick.
“I want to know my HIV status,” says Abdul while glancing at his watch.
A moment ago, the 28-year-old trader briskly swiped a plastic swab across his upper gum to draw some fluid and slotted it into the kit for testing.
![[IDN-InDepthNews – 20 January 2020] Photo: The German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, addresses the Berlin Conference on Libya alongside the UN Secretary-General António Guterres (r). Credit: Federal Government/Guido Bergmann.](/images/berlin_conf_on_libya.jpg)
By Ramesh Jaura
BERLIN (IDN) – A tiny glimmer of hope has emerged for Libya which has been torn by fighting between rival armed factions since the ouster of late ruler Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. Participants in a high-level ‘Berlin Conference on Libya’, hosted by German Chancellor Angela Merkel on January 19, gave the go-ahead for the comprehensive ‘Berlin Process’ to put an end to the conflict and bring lasting peace to the oil-rich North African country trapped in clashing interests of Russia and Turkey – and other countries.
Participants agreed to respect the UN arms embargo and truce in the war-ravaged country. They pledged to establish an oversight mechanism to ensure long-term peace and put an end to the “disastrous humanitarian situation faced by thousands of civilians,” as UN Secretary-General António Guterres put it, in the face of conflict growing “deeper and more destructive”.
By Kainga Seneviratne
SINGAPORE (IDN) – The small Southeast Asian island republic of Singapore has been praised by both global business leaders and the international media for its openness to global trade and professional talent movements. It has made this nation of just over 4 million people – 1 million of who are foreigner – one of the richest nations in the world on a per-capita basis.
But, the open economic policy that has led to this may have run its course with locals becoming increasingly resentful of having to compete with “foreign talent” for jobs.
By Reinhard Jacobsen
BRUSSELS (IDN) – A new set of European Commissioners has taken office in Brussels. The main migration focus of the previous cabinet of Commissioners was halting migration – which led to deals with third countries on stopping and returning refugees and migrants. People evacuated from Libya, for example, are brought to Niger and Rwanda, where they are processed before those successfully registered as refugees are taken to Europe – often after long processes filled with uncertainty.
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.
By Kester Kenn Klomegah
MOSCOW (IDN) – “We need to address large-scale social, economic and technological tasks facing the country more quickly and, without delay. Our society is clearly calling for change. People want development,” President Vladimir Putin said in his wide-ranging address on January 15 to the Federal Assembly at the Manezh Central Exhibition Hall, a few metres away from the Kremlin.
Putin emphasised that this year Russia will celebrate the 75th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War – World War 2. He said: “For Russia, May 9 is the greatest and sacred holiday. We are proud of the generation of victors and honour their feat, and our memory is not only a tribute to our heroic past, but it also serves our future, inspires us and strengthens our unity.”
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