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By Pía Figueroa
The writer is Co-Director of Pressenza, humanist, author of several monographs and books. This feature appeared first in www.pressenza.com.
SANTIAGO DE CHILE (IDN) – The hashtag #lastesissenior was broadcast on Twitter December 6. It had not been communicated before by social networks. It quickly became a trending topic in Chile. And this came as a surprise, though everything had been organized with a lot of discretion.
![* Branko Milanović is a visiting professor at the City University of New York. Prior to that, he was a senior economist of the research department at the World Bank. Most recently, he published the book "Global Inequality. A New Approach for the Age of Globalization". This article is a joint publication by Social Europe and International Politics and Society Journal. [IDN-InDepthNews – 04 December 2019]](/images/Grand_Concourse.jpg)
Viewpoint by Branko Milanović*
NEW YORK (IDN) – In a series of books, and especially in Antifragile, Nassim Taleb has introduced an important concept — that of being antifragile, referring to ‘things that gain from disorder’. ‘Fragile’ is, of course, the opposite: it connotes something that thrives under stable conditions but, being brittle, loses, and at times loses big, amid volatility. In the middle, ‘robust’ indicates resilience against uncertainty and turmoil, without the capacity to profit from it.
By Aidana Yergaliyeva
NUR-SULTAN | BAGHDAD (IDN | The Astana Times) – Kazakhstan’s humanitarian operation on November 27 brought 14 children back to their homeland from an Iraqi prison, where they have been living for two years with their mothers. The life “after” will start for them with courses of rehabilitation at Pravo public fund’s regional centres.
“There are six of them (mothers). They are in an Iraqi prison in Baghdad. They have been serving the life sentence, which in Iraq means 25 years. And for two years they (children) have been there with their mothers. Unfortunately, our government only got to know that our citizens are in an Iraqi prison in March,” said The Astana Times reporter Assel Satubaldina who was reporting from Baghdad.
By Global Times*
BRASILIA (IDN-INPS) – Chinese President Xi Jinping on November 14 night urged an end to violence and chaos in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), which he said is the most pressing task for the city, in his latest remarks that have been seen as a strong support for tougher actions against violent criminals.
In comments made at a meeting of major emerging markets in Brazil, Xi also stated China's determination to protect its national sovereignty and security, and opposition to external influence in Hong Kong affairs, in what analysts call a clear bid to gain understanding from the international community and warn radical elements in Hong Kong and their foreign backers.
Deutsche Welle Interview
BERLIN (IDN-INPS) – "I think democracy has got a lot of strengths that may not be evident in the short run, but will play out over the longer run because the ability to change your leaders, ability to hold them accountable is really important," American political scientist and writer Francis Fukuyama, author of the much debated 1989 "The End of History" article, told Germany’s international broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW).
Viewpoint by Siegfried Knittel
The writer studied German literature and political science. He now works as a freelance journalist and, since 2011, lives in Japan. This article first appeared on the website of International Politics and Society on 5 November 2019.
TOKYO (IDN-INPS) – In Japan, harmony lies at the heart of everything, from politics to society in general. The recent change on the imperial throne, however, has brought to the fore how much Japan searches for its core identity beneath the harmonious surface.
Viewpoint by Eric Zuesse *
NEW YORK (IDN-INPS) – On October 26, the New York Times headlined “Keep the Oil’: Trump Revives Charged Slogan for New Syria Troop Mission” and opened by saying that “in recent days, Mr. Trump has settled on Syria’s oil reserves as a new rationale for appearing to reverse course and deploy hundreds of additional troops to the war-ravaged country.”
They closed with a statement from Bruce Riedel, retired from the CIA: “‘Let’s say he does do it,’ Mr. Riedel said. ‘Let’s say we establish the precedent that we are in the Middle East to take the oil. The symbolism is really bad.’”
By Countercurrents Collective
This article is the 9th in a series of joint productions of South Asian Outlook and IDN-InDepthNews, flagship of the International Press Syndicate.
NEW DELHI (IDN) – The 27-member delegation of European Parliament members visited the troubled region of Jammu and Kashmir. It’s the first foreign delegation allowed to visit Kashmir after abrogation of Article 370 on August 5, 2019.
NEW YORK (IDN) – A group of civil society organizations is warning that a growing global movement to decriminalize and rebrand prostitution as "sex work" could lead to more, not less, violence against the world's most vulnerable women and girls.
The critics are petitioning UN Women, which is leading a review of the results of the 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women, alleging that many dissenting voices against decriminalization have been shut out of the discussions.
Viewpoint by Henrik Maihack *
NAIROBI (IDN-INPS) – In the next 25 years, Africa’s urban population is set to double. By 2040, the majority of Africans will be living in cities. There are numerous reasons for this: climate change, violent conflicts and the hope of finding work or education, although this list could easily be extended. Urbanisation thus constitutes one of the greatest transformations facing Africa in the 21st century.
