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Photo: Russian imports have dropped sharply, reflecting the decision of multinational companies to sever ties with Russia. Courtesy: The New York Times.

Sanctions Hit Russia as Moscow Attempts to Overcome Them

Viewpoint by John P. Ruehl

This article was produced by Globetrotter. John P. Ruehl is an Australian-American journalist living in Washington, D.C. He is a contributing editor to Strategic Policy and a contributor to several other foreign affairs publications. He is currently finishing a book on Russia to be published in 2022.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (IDN) — Immediately after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the U.S., the UK, and the EU placed major sanctions on Russia to constrict its economy and restrain its war effort. Having been updated several times since, these sanctions have compounded the effects of the previous sanctions placed on Russia in 2014 after it annexed Crimea.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 06 December 2022

Recalling the Massacre in Namibia on Genocide Prevention Day

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) — Genocide Prevention Day falls on December 9 and marks the anniversary of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (also known as the UN Genocide Convention. On this day, the victims of genocide worldwide are remembered. People around the world are encouraged to learn from the past and take action to prevent future atrocities.

: Global Information Network; SUSTAINABILITY; Peace & Justice; 05 December 2022

Global Arms Trade Survives the Pandemic Lockdown

By Thalif Deen

UNITED NATIONS (IDN) — As the global economy came to a virtual standstill during the height of the 2020-2021 Covid-19 pandemic, the world’s arms trade remained relatively unscathed.

Sales of arms and military services by the 100 largest companies in the industry reached $592 billion in 2021, a 1.9 per cent increase compared with 2020 in real terms, according to new data released December 5, by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

: Thalif Deen; ARMAMENTS; Arms Trade; 05 December 2022

"Most People Have No Idea What's Going On" - Jeffrey Sachs

[IDN-InDepthNews — 05 December 2022]

Video credit: InvestoPads

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: Ramesh Jaura; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 05 December 2022

Nuclear Risks and Technological Proliferation

Viewpoint by Sergio Duarte

The writer is a former High Representative of the United Nations for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) and President of Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs.

NEW YEAR (IDN) — 60 years after the Cuban missile crisis, the spectre of the imminent use of nuclear weapons once again haunts humankind. On that occasion, however, the crisis lasted for just 13 days until John Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev, in direct contact, arrived at the agreement that made possible the withdrawal of the Soviet weapons from the Caribbean Island in exchange for the non-stationing of American nuclear arms in Turkey.

: Sergio Duarte; OPINION; 05 December 2022

Image: Collage of Pele appointed by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan in 1992 a UN ambassador for ecology and the environment, and with UNESCO DG Federico Mayor who appointed him 1994 as UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador. Source: UN photos.

Of Pele, of Brazil, of Rio

By Ramu Damodaran

The author is the first Director of UN Academic Impact and a Senior Fellow at the New Delhi-based Centre for Social and Economic Progress (CSEP).

NEW YORK (IDN) — It was 55 years ago that those involved in the Nigerian civil war paused their hostilities to watch a much-anticipated football match starring Pele, the tenacious and graceful player for whom the United Nations holds a special affection as it recalls the time he was, very literally, a poster child in his home country, Brazil, for protecting infant health through breastfeeding.

: UN Bureau; UN INSIDER; 04 December 2022

Photo: From ‘Democrat’ to Autocrat: Sri Lanka’s President Ranil Wickremesinghe Credit: Asian Affairs London.

Sri Lanka’s Economic Recovery? False Positive

By Neville de Silva*

This article was issued by Asian Affairs (London).

LONDON (IDN) — The sense of economic optimism expressed by Sri Lanka’s increasingly despotic president is not shared by the country’s long-suffering people.

Presenting his first budget since assuming office as president after his predecessor fled the country, Ranil Wickremesinghe seemed to see a new dawn on the horizon. Speaking in parliament in mid-November, he saw ‘a glimmer of hope on emerging from the economic abyss’, adding that it was ‘currently visible’.

: Asia Editor; OPINION; 04 December 2022

Planned Biden-Museveni Meeting at U.S.-Africa Summit Draws Protests

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) — President Joe Biden is scheduled to meet his Ugandan counterpart Yoweri Museveni on the sidelines of the US-Africa Leaders’ Summit this on December 13-15 in Washington, DC.

The meeting will take place at the White House with the two leaders expected to discuss, among other things, the security situation in Africa.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 04 December 2022

Putting Anti-racism & Anti-discrimination High on the International Agenda

Viewpoint by Simone Galimberti*

KATHMANDU (IDN) — A recent UNESCO Forum provided some impetus to the fight against racism and discrimination, but the level of the problems involved required a much bigger commitment.

It is unfortunate that the second edition of the Global Forum against Racism and Discrimination, organized by UNESCO in Mexico City on November 28-29, did not get the attention and visibility it should have commanded.

: Opinion Editor; SUSTAINABILITY; Reduced Inequalities; 03 December 2022

Image: Refugees arrive at a 'temporary' camp. Source: University of Birmingham.

Climate Change Threatens the Health of Refugees in Camps

By Jaya Ramachandran

GENEVA | LONDON (IDN) — Climate uncertainty is creating health threats for thousands of migrants as overcrowding and pollution place huge stresses on humanitarian organisations’ ability to provide sanctuary in refugee camps, a new study reveals.

Locating camps in disaster-prone or climate hotspot areas increases their vulnerability and, coupled with stress from overcrowding that increases pressure on water, sanitation, and hygiene resilience (WaSH), leads to the overexploitation of resources.