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Gorbachev Changed the World

Viewpoint by Ramesh Thakur

This article was issued by the Toda Peace Institute and is being republished with their permission.

CANBERRA, Australia (IDN) — Most people have modest aspirations of being able to feed, house, clothe and educate their families, assist their children to climb one rung higher on the social ladder and spend their autumn years in comfortable retirement. Some aim a little higher and strive to make a mark in a chosen field of human activity. There are very few of whom it can be said: they changed the world.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 07 September 2022

Photo: Mikhail Gorbachev arrives to participate in celebrations for the 40th anniversary of the GDR (East Germany) in (East) Berlin on 6 October 1989 Credit: Bundesarchiv.

Gorbachev Was Sad the World Did Not Develop as He Had Hoped

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power

LUND, Sweden (IDN) — Mikhail Gorbachev, the last head of the Soviet Union, the idealistic leader from within who accepted the end of communism, arrived in Berlin in November 1999 on a private visit to mark the fall and destruction of the Berlin Wall ten years before. The Cold War had ended a year later. In one speech, with a tone of great sadness in his voice, he said, "Now, ten years after, we see the world does not appear as we had hoped".

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 06 September 2022

Photo: Peace talks in Turkey, March 2022. Credit: Murat Cetin Muhurdar / Turkish Presidential Press Service

Peace Talks Are the Way Out of the War in Ukraine

Viewpoint by Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J.S. Davies*

NEW YORK (IDN) — Six months ago, Russia invaded Ukraine. The United States, NATO and the European Union (EU) wrapped themselves in the Ukrainian flag, shelled out billions for arms shipments, and imposed draconian sanctions intended to severely punish Russia for its aggression.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 06 September 2022

UN’s Economic Ties to a Blacklisted Russia May Threaten Peacekeeping Missions

By Rodney Reynolds

UNITED NATIONS (IDN) — After the invasion of Ukraine last February, Russia has been widely described, particularly by the US and Western nations, as an "international pariah".

The United Nations has been equally critical of the invasion of a sovereign nation resulting in thousands of civilian killings and the destruction of entire cities in Ukraine.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has accused the Russians of a military invasion that was in clear "violation of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine—and inconsistent with the principles of the Charter of the United Nations".

: Rodney Reynolds; THE WORLD; Russia; 06 September 2022

Photo: Wooden fishing boats sinking into the oily mud in the Bodo City of Ogoniland in Nigeria's Niger Delta region, the third largest mangrove ecosystem in the world. Credit: Friends of the Earth International

UN Agency Slates Clean-up of Nigeria's Most Polluted Region

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) — There were high hopes for a one-billion-dollar clean-up of Nigeria’s most polluted region of Ogoniland in Nigeria's Niger Delta region, the third largest mangrove ecosystem in the world when it got off the ground in 2019. It would address the greasy rainbow sheen over the 386-mile wetlands, the continual ooze from dormant wellheads and active pipelines, the once-lush mangroves coated in crude, and the smells of benzene while farmlands stood charred and barren.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 05 September 2022

Photo: The Rolling Hills of the Wild Coast at dusk in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. CC BY-SA 4.0

South Africa's Nature Preserve Saved from Risky Oil Drilling

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK | PRETORIA (IDN) — Energy giant Shell Global suffered a major setback in its fight for prospecting rights, overstepping the needs of rural communities seeking to protect whales and other marine life and keeping their coastline safe from oil spills and other dangers.

A panel of South African judges sided with the rural communities, fishermen, traditional healers and environmental activists against the oil giant and the South African government, which granted exploration rights to Shell and a local partner over the objections of people living on the coastline.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 05 September 2022

Photo: Mali soldiers being trained by the Wagener Group. Source: Middle East Online.

Russian Mercenaries May Have Also Killed Hundreds of Africans

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) — The Wagner Group, a Kremlin-affiliated private military contractor, is playing a central role in the rising levels of violence against civilians across Africa, especially in the Central African Republic and Mali, according to records newly seen by The New York Times.

The Wagner Group, which has been accused of committing human rights atrocities, is said to also have operations in Libya, Mozambique, Syria, Sudan and Venezuela, according to the Jerusalem Post.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 05 September 2022

Japan Doubles Down on Defending The Post-War Order

By Sheila A Smith

The writer, Sheila A. Smith, is John E. Merow, Senior Fellow for Asia Pacific Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (IDN) — Japan has gone all-in with the Western response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The strategic consequences for Tokyo are considerable. Japan’s long-running efforts to conclude a formal peace agreement with its northern neighbour have come to an end.

Putin’s aggression has also accelerated debate in Japan about its own strategy and future military preparedness. Most important of all, the Japanese people have also defined this crisis as a challenge to the norms of the post-war order that they have relied upon for their own security.

: Asia Editor; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 03 September 2022

The War in Ukraine Continues to Be A Conflict Between The West And Russia

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) — On August 24, Ukraine’s independence day, the U.S. provided a $3 billion military aid package to the country. The additional assistance adds to more than $80 billion worth of support that Kyiv has already received between January 24 and August 3, the majority of which was provided by the U.S., the UK, and the EU.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 03 September 2022

Photo: Mikhail Gorbachev (1931-2022) Source: Meer

On Gorbachev, The World's Last Great Statesman

Viewpoint by Roberto Savio*

This article was issued by Meer and is being re-published with the author's permission.

ROME (IDN) — With the death of Mikhail Gorbachev, the last great statesman, an entire epoch has ended.

I had the privilege of working with him as deputy director of the World Political Forum, which 'Gorbi' had founded in Turin in 2003, with a headquarters agreement with the Piedmont Region.