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Europe Pivots Towards Indo-Pacific Amid Row with China

By Atul Aneja

The writer is a veteran Indian journalist who reported conflicts from Baghdad, Beirut, Cairo, Benghazi, Kabul, Tehran, and Dushanbe. He is an expert on the Middle East and China political affairs. He was Strategic Affairs Editor of an eminent Indian newspaper, The Hindu.

CHENNAI (IDN) – Enticed for decades by China, which became the fulcrum of its Asia policy, continental Europe has finally broken ranks and pivoted towards the democracies of the Indo-Pacific, in its search for allies.

: Ramesh Jaura; THE WORLD; South Asia; 29 September 2020

Photo: Western visitors to Moscow and St Petersburg are often struck by how “European” these cities are. Russians in these cities dress like Europeans. The picture shows people walking on the main street of Saint Petersburg, Nevsky Prospekt C BY 2.0.

Whether Trump Wins or Not, Europe Must Move Towards Russia

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power*

LUND, Sweden (IDN) – If Donald Trump wins re-election as president, is Europe going to bellyache about him for another four years without, as now, having any firm, cohesive, strategy for dealing with him and his foreign policies?

There is a chance that Trump will surprise the political establishment, as he did last time, and win. Europe can’t continue with its wing and a prayer approach, hoping that his perniciously volatile policies will be terminated in the very near future. Maybe they will, maybe they won’t.

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 29 September 2020

Photo: In Chad and other countries where it is working, SWEDD-The Swedish Development Aid Organization has already provided professional training to almost 100,000 women so they can pursue income-generating activities. Credit: Vincent Tremeau/The World Bank.

Beijing +25: Overcoming 21st Century Challenges to Deliver for Africa's Women

Beyond legislation, countries must tackle negative social norms and rising bias.

Viewpoint by Angela Lusig *

NEW YORK (IDN) – The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action signed in 1995 committed the world to end discrimination, promoting women’s rights and advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment.

This Platform for Action remains a guiding framework for realizing women’s rights. African countries have responded by translating commitments to action in twelve critical areas of concern including environment, decision making, the girl child, economy, poverty, violence, human rights, education, institutions, health, media, and armed conflict through continental, regional and national frameworks.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 28 September 2020

Photo: Georges Rebelo Chikoti, an Angolan diploma, who served as Angola's Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2010 to 2017 before taking over on 1 March 2020 the post of the Secretary-General of the Organization of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS). CC BY 2.0.

Call For “Another ‘Paris’ Moment to Mobilise Action on Biodiversity for Sustainable Development”

Viewpoint by Georges Rebelo Pinto Chikoti

The writer is Secretary-General of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS)

BRUSSELS (IDN) – 2020 marks the end of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity (2011 – 2020) and the 20 global biodiversity targets (Aichi targets). The mission of the Strategic Plan was to “take effective and urgent action to halt the loss of biodiversity in order to ensure that by 2020, ecosystems are resilient and continue to provide essential services, thereby securing the planet’s variety of life and contributing to human well-being and poverty eradication.”

: Ramesh Jaura; OPINION; 28 September 2020

Photo: Panorama of the west facade of United States Supreme Court Building at dusk in Washington, D.c. CC BY-SA 3.0

A Tilt to Far-Right Looming Over the U.S. Supreme Court

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) – In the hours after Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died, shocked Americans speculated about whether or not Republican Senator Mitt Romney would oppose a Senate confirmation vote just weeks before the election.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 26 September 2020

Photo: Cover the reviewed book. Credit: Amazon

Colonialism Is Not Dead, it has Acquired A New Face

Sri Lankan Author of a New Book Warns

By Kalinga Seneviratne

SYDNEY (IDN) – In the 19th century, European powers came to Asia and used gunboats and gunpowder along with doublespeak to intimidate and coerce local rulers to accede their land for the European mercantile elites to establish plantations.

Sri Lankan born American sociology professor Dr Asoka Bandarage’s Colonialism in Sri Lanka: The Political Economy of the Kandyan Highlands 1833-1886’* published originally in 1983 documented extensively how the British used doublespeak to grab land and ultimately the country to establish coffee and tea plantations.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 25 September 2020

Photo: Louis Pasteur a French biologist, microbiologist, and chemist renowned for his discoveries of the principles of vaccination, microbial fermentation and pasteurization, in his laboratory. Painting by A. Edelfeldt in 1885. Public Domain.

The Boons and Banes of Technology – Is It Really Making Things Better?

Viewpoints by John K. Davis and Jason Crawford

NEW YORK (IDN) – Technology and science have played a key role in human history. Many successive civilizations have contributed to the world's advancement. Often the development of technology also helped these societies to dominate militarily, politically, and economically their neighbours, as well as increase the welfare of their citizens.

Following is the dialogue between Dr John K. Davis, Professor of Philosophy at California State University, Fullerton, and Mr. Jason Crawford, the author of The Roots of Progress. The bilateral exchange is posted on PAIRAGRAPH, a hub of discourse between pairs of notable individuals.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 25 September 2020

Photo: A community meeting. Credit: High Atlas Foundation

Mobilizing Decentralized, Participatory Energy Transition in Morocco

Viewpoint by Kerstin Opfer, Yossef Ben-Meir, Imane Akhezzane & Marine Pouget

Kerstin Opfer is a Policy Advisor with Germanwatch. Dr. Yossef Ben-Meir is President of the High Atlas Foundation (HAF) in Morocco. Imane Akhezzane is a Program Director at HAF. Marine Pouget is a Project Manager at the Climate Action Network in France.

MARRAKECH (IDN) – Humankind faces the unprecedented challenge of existing on the warmest earth we have known. A lack of political will and societal awareness has inhibited the necessary, vigorous change to meet this challenge.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 23 September 2020

The Virality of Hate Is the Lifeline of Facebook

Viewpoint by Prabir Purkayastha

The writer is the founding editor of Newsclick.in, a digital media platform. He is an activist for science and the free software movement. This article was produced in partnership by Newsclick and Globetrotter, a project of the Independent Media Institute.

NEW DELHI (IDN) – A recent Wall Street Journal (WSJ) article, “Facebook’s Hate-Speech Rules Collide With Indian Politics,” has blown the lid off Facebook’s unholy alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the right-wing ruling party in India.

: Opinion Editor; THE WORLD; South Asia; 23 September 2020

Photo: The International Seabed Authority.

UN At 75: How the Law of The Sea Has Shaped A More Fair and Equal Society

Viewpoint by Michael W. Lodge

Secretary-General of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) based in Jamaica.

KINGSTON (IDN) – In his address to the United Nations Economic and Social Council in July 2020, reflecting on what kind of UN we need at the 75th anniversary, the Secretary-General of the UN called for strengthened and renewed multilateralism, geared towards the overarching goals of peace and security, human rights, and sustainable development.