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Photo: Woomera Test Range. An effort to create a manual on law governing space war is named for the Woomera Test Range in South Australia. Credit: Commonwealth of Australia, Department of Defence.

Time to Negotiate for Peace in Space!

Viewpoint by Alice Slater

The writer serves on the Board of 'World Beyond War'.

NEW YORK (IDN) – The US mission to dominate and control the military use of space has been, historically and at present, a major obstacle to achieving nuclear disarmament and a peaceful path to preserve all life on earth.

Reagan rejected Gorbachev's offer to give up Star Wars as a condition for both countries to eliminate all their nuclear weapons when the wall came down and Gorbachev released all of Eastern Europe from Soviet occupation, miraculously, without a shot.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 09 February 2021

Photo: UN North Delegates' Lounge. Credit: dezeen.com and @NLatUN

No Comment!... And Don't Quote Me on That

Book Review by Roderic Grigson*

NEW YORK | MELBOURNE (IDN) – It takes years to write a good book and in this insightful memoir, Thalif Deen, a former UN Bureau Chief and Regional Director at Inter Press Service news agency, recounts colourful and amusing stories from his 40-year career ‘reporting from the United Nations’.

No Comment is told through a series of news stories, interviews, anecdotes, and personal recollections. This compelling page-turner is held together by flashes of surprising humour and an overarching third world focus and point of view.

: UN Bureau; OPINION; 08 February 2021

UN Development System Reform Far from Inclusive

By Caroline Mwanga

NEW YORK (IDN) – An independent survey prepared by the Global Policy Forum and Social Watch, comprising the Global Policy Watch, shows that civil society organizations (CSOs) have "a very high level of commitment to United Nations (UN) values and principles, much dissatisfaction with the actual operations at the country level and articulation of areas for improvement".

: UN Bureau; UN INSIDER; 08 February 2021

Photo: Memorial to the Victims of the Holocaust, Rio de Janeiro credit: UN Academic Impact

Taking Action to Repair Our World

By Ramu Damodaran

The writer is Chief, United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI) hosted in the Department of Global Communications. This OpEd first appeared in the #WhyWeCare, @ImpactUN on February 5.

NEW YORK (IDN | UNAI) – “Nostalgia for the present“ is a phrase I once heard (or think I have), and it came to mind when reading a response received to last week’s (January 29) column and its looking back on CTAUN’s quarter-century of affirmation and affection. The question asked was straightforward; had CTAUN (Committee on Teaching) been able to “convene” over the past year? The answer, which I missed noting in my nostalgia for the past, is yes…three times actually.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 07 February 2021

Photo: Rohingya refugees in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, protesting against what they view as a dangerous repatriation to Myanmar. Credit: Jafor Islam-VOA. Created: 23 February 2018.

Rohingya Continue to Suffer Even After Escaping to Supposed Safe Land

By Bahauddin Foizee*

DHAKA (IDN) – The horrible scenes of hungry, tired and almost lifeless Rohingya refugees entering Bangladesh shocked the world in 2017. Even today, many Rohingyas are attempting to make the journey from Myanmar to Bangladesh, believing that a foreign land (Bangladesh) would be safer than their homes (Myanmar). Although they aren’t migrating in large numbers now unlike what they did in 2017, their journey today is as unsafe, horrifying and terrible as it was three years earlier.

: Asia Editor; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 07 February 2021

Image: Are we really all in this together? ‘Vaccine nationalism’ must be addressed to ensure equitable distribution of a COVID-19 vaccine. Credit: Pixabay.

Even the IMF Is Being Forced to Rethink Its Callousness to the Global South

It could cost as much as $5 trillion if rich countries don’t help vaccinate the rest of the world.

Viewpoint by Prabir Purkayastha*

NEW DELHI (IDN) – The world seems to have turned topsy-turvy when the undisputed voices of global capital start talking about the virtues of “cooperation” among nations and “universal distribution of vaccines” to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 07 February 2021

Photo source: Top of the 'Africa No Filter' Website's Home Page.

'Africa No Filter' Encourages African Media to Abandon Clichéd Narratives

Interview by Kester Kenn Klomegah*

MOSCOW (IDN) – Africa No Filter is a not-for-profit set up last year to help shift harmful and stereotypical narratives about Africa through research, advocacy and grant-making to storytellers. It is funded by the Ford Foundation, Bloomberg, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Luminate, Open Society Foundation, Comic Relief, the Hilton Foundation and the British Council.

: Kester Kenn Klomegah; Africa; 06 February 2021

Handfuls of the Wealthiest Could Fix Awful Inequality in the USA

Viewpoint by Sonali Kolhatkar

There is no better time than now to address the ridiculous levels of wealth and income inequality in the United States. It can be done with ease through aggressive taxation of the wealthiest handfuls of individuals, writes Sonali Kolhatkar. She 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. This article was produced by Economy for All, a project of the Independent Media Institute.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 06 February 2021

Photo: President Barack Obama signs the New START (treaty) in the Oval Office, Feb. 2, 2011 - with Vice President Joe Biden on the extreme right. Credit: Chuck Kennedy (official White House photograph)

The United States and Russia: Warmongers and Peacemakers

By Somar Wijayadasa*

NEW YORK (IDN) – Just days after the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) that explicitly and unequivocally prohibits the use of nuclear weapons entered into force on January 22, 2021 – a remarkable victory for humanity – the United States and Russia extended their Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) until 2026, just two days before it was set to expire.

: Somar Wijayadasa; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 05 February 2021

Photo: Tourists in Myanmar (Created: 4 January 2013) CC BY-SA 2.0

Myanmar Military Regime Can Rely on China, Russia and India

By Thalif Deen*

NEW YORK (IDN) – When million-dollar arms sales knock on the door, human rights violations and war crimes fly out of the window.

As the United Nations grapples for a reaction to the military coup in Myanmar, both China and Russia, two veto-wielding permanent members of the UN Security Council (UNSC), refused to support a statement condemning the army takeover—a collective statement that warrants consensus from all 15 members.