THE WORLD

“Weaponizing Trade” Has Gained New Impetus and Focus

This article was issued by COUNTERCURRENTS and is being republished courtesy of them.

Viewpoint by Anis Chowdhury*

SYDNEY (IDN) — “Weaponising trade”, i.e., using trade as a tool of foreign policy aspirations and marginalising rivals instead of as an opportunity for economic growth, is not new.

It is well known that “the United States bears a good share of responsibility” for increasingly weaponising trade among most countries. The US and its allies have used trade embargoes, and sanctions against countries, such as Cuba, Iran, and Venezuela, and recently against Russia, that have been/are deemed ‘unfriendly’ to them.

: Opinion Editor; THE WORLD; USA and Canada; 18 July 2022

Photo: Sir Mo Farah, CBE, is a multiple Olympic, World and European Champion athlete. For many he is Britain’s greatest ever athlete having accumulated 10 global titles which includes the ‘double double’ of gold medals over 5,000m and 10,000m at both the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games. Source: MoFarah.com

New Film Shows Eminent Somali Runner Forced into Slavery in the UK

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) — Somalia-born runner Mohamed Abdi Jama Farah, known as Mo Farah, won 10 gold medals (four Olympic and six World titles) for being the second man in history to win long-distance doubles at successive Olympics and World Championships.

But he won much more than that.

He won a platform to tell his story of forced servitude and how he was trafficked to Britain as a child and forced to look after other children.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 18 July 2022

Image source: Global Information Network

Rwandan 'Genocidaire' Finally Convicted in French Court

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) — A former senior Rwandan official linked to the deaths of 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus has been found guilty of complicity in that nation’s genocide, 20 years after the horrific crime occurred.

Laurent Bucyibaruta is the highest-ranking Rwandan to face trial in France over the 1994 massacres that took place in 100 days of mass killings.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 17 July 2022

Sharp Rise in Gun Violence Triggers Debate

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK | PRETORIA (IDN) — An outbreak of shootings at three different bars over one weekend has rocked the nation. Illegally obtained weapons were blamed for the violence in which 22 people died.

According to police, the gunmen in the Soweto shooting used high-calibre rifles, including AK-47s, leaving 137 empty cartridges on the scene. This has raised concerns about how criminals can access such high-powered weapons. The country’s abundance of guns held illegally is partially to blame for the shootings, community activists said.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 17 July 2022

Image: File picture of UNHCR where Sri Lanka has been censured many times.

Something Is Rotten in the State of Sri Lanka

Viewpoint by Asoka N.I. Ekanayaka

Prof. Asoka N.I. Ekanayaka is an Emeritus Professor of Community Dentistry and former Dean of the Faculty of Dental Science University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka.

COLOMBO (IDN) — This article is not primarily about the woeful record of the present government. Nor is it about the abomination of governance by a family oligarchy in whose stranglehold a nation groans in every part as if being slowly crushed by the constricting coils of some giant Anaconda.

: Asia Editor; OPINION; 17 July 2022

Photo: PDP National Headquarters, Abuja.

Multi-Religious Nigeria's Ruling Party Picks 2 Muslims as Top Candidates

Viewpoint by Azu Ishiekwene

The writer is the Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of LEADERSHIP newspaper based in Abuja, Nigeria.

ABUJA (IDN) — If the flag bearer of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in next year’s presidential election, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, thought a “placeholder” would be a lightning rod and maybe soften the blow of his final decision, he has seen by now that he is mistaken. There is a gathering storm.

Tinubu’s decision on July 12 to choose a fellow Muslim as his running mate has riled many Christians, who make up nearly 49 per cent of the country’s population. They are doubly upset that it took him five weeks after his nomination to decide what they always suspected he would do: pick a Muslim running mate to complete what is now Nigeria’s first Muslim-Muslim ticket in nearly 30 years.

: Africa & ME Editor; OPINION; 16 July 2022

Image: Sri Lanka protestors storming presidential palace. Source: Hurriyet Daily News

Lessons to be Learnt from Sri Lankan Crisis

Viewpoint by Dr Ram Puniyani

This article is the 22nd in a series of joint productions of South Asian Outlook and IDN-InDepthNews, the flagship of the International Press Syndicate. The writer is a former professor of biomedical engineering and former senior medical officer affiliated with the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (now Mumbai) and, meanwhile, a social activist and commentator.

: Asia Editor; OPINION; 15 July 2022

Photo: Bosnia bids farewell to 50 newly identified victims of 1995 Srebrenica massacre. Credit: Anadolu Agency

How The Netherlands Expunged Responsibility for The Genocide in Srebrenica

The Missing Chapter in The History Books

By Aurora Weiss

VIENNA (IDN) — Thousands of people converged on the eastern Bosnian town of Srebrenica on July 11 to mark the 27th anniversary of Europe's only acknowledged genocide since the Holocaust. While thousands of Bosniaks grieve over the more than 8,000 loved ones killed by the Serbs, the Netherlands erases its responsibility for the genocide more and more every year. Srebrenica is a missing chapter in Dutch history.

: Europe Editor; SUSTAINABILITY; Peace & Justice; 13 July 2022

Image: Moscow State Pedagogical University's three uniquely qualified and acclaimed educators have co-authored a unique publication “International Standards of Education: History lessons and modern times”. Source: WIKIDATA

A Unique Book on International Education and Origins of the UN and UNESCO

By Somar Wijayadasa*

NEW YORK (IDN) — The famous Russian publishing house “Etnosfera" has published an unparalleled publication,“ International Standards of Education: History lessons and modern times”.

The 200-page publication that has generated glowing reviews in diverse news media is co-authored by three uniquely qualified and acclaimed Moscow State Pedagogical University educators.

: Somar Wijayadasa; SUSTAINABILITY; Quality Education; 13 July 2022

Photo (From Left to Right): Manish Uprety F.R.A.S. and Jainendra Karn

The Challenges for Indo-French Relationship in a Multi-Polar and Fragmented World

Viewpoint by Manish Uprety F.R.A.S. and Jainendra Karn

Manish Uprety F.R.A.S. is an ex-diplomat & ALCAP’s Special Adviser for Asia & Africa and Jainendra Karn is a senior leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Any views or opinions expressed are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of IDN-InDepth News.

NEW DELHI (IDN) — The current global food crisis brought back memories of the days gone by as a diplomat over a decade or so back which underlined the notion that the quest and security of basic needs is an essential part of international relations and geopolitics.