OPINION

Photo: From left to Right- Manish Uprety F.R.A.S. and Jainendra Karn

India-UK Free Trade Agreement: Band-Aid or a Band of Democracies

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

Manish Uprety 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) — Post Magna Carta and the Treaty of Westphalia, international relations between nations are like the sacred marriage vows of Henry VIII or Elizabeth Taylor; and no one knows what the future might unfold. Indo-British relations can also be seen explored in the same light.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 26 January 2022

Image: Subhash Chandra Bose. Source: Indian Express.

Hindu Nationalism in India Attempts Appropriation of 'Netaji' Bose

Viewpoint by Dr Ram Puniyani

This article is the 18th 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.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 26 January 2022

Image: Mansudae Grand Monument in Pyongyang (mundosemfim/Shutterstock)

Kim Dynasty: Firmly in Control

Viewpoint by Herbert Wulf

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

BONN (IDN) — When Kim Jong-un took power in North Korea in December 2011, many observers speculated that the young 28-year-old, politically inexperienced son of the late Kim Jong-il and grandson of the first president, Kim Il-sung, would hardly remain in power for long. The communist Kim dynasty was likely to end soon. Today, after ten years, the dictator is firmly in control. What is his economic and security record after ten years?

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 26 January 2022

Image source: Map of Ukraine conflict region. Courtesy of Adobe Stock. Source: RUSI

The West Needs to Understand Why Ukraine Is So Important to Russia

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power

LUND, Sweden (IDN) — “George, you have to understand that Ukraine is not even a country. Part of its territory is in Eastern Europe and the greater part was given to us.” These were the ominous words of President Vladimir Putin of Russia to President George W. Bush in Bucharest, Romania, at a NATO summit in April 2008. (This is the beginning paragraph of Fiona Hills’s article on January 24 in New York Times.)

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 25 January 2022

Image: Covers of 'Born in Blackness'. Sources: Amazon and Hugenduble

"Africa Has Been the Linchpin of The Machine of Modernity"

By Jan Servaes*

BRUSSELS (IDN) — This remarkable quote appears on page 6 of Howard French's latest book, published in October 2021, "Born in Blackness. Africa, Africans, and the Making of the Modern World. 1471 to the Second World War". In doing so, he casts a lot of doubt on traditionally held opinions about Africa over the centuries.

Howard French, professor of journalism at Columbia University in New York and former bureau chief of the New York Times in the Caribbean and Central America, West and Central Africa, Tokyo, and Shanghai, tries to make it clear that the way we think about history is often wrong.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 23 January 2022

Photo: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa at Hyderabad House, in New Delhi, Saturday, February 8, 2021. Credit: PTI

Sri Lanka: Calling For Indian Intervention Will Not Help Tamil Aspirations

Viewpoint by Sugeeswara Senadhira

The writer is a senior Sri Lankan journalist and political commentator.

COLOMBO (IDN) — “Solicitation of foreign interference in an election represents a betrayal of public trust because it threatens to undermine the people’s right of self-determination—a foundational norm of our Constitutional order,” said Dean of Cornell Law school, Jens David Ohlin in his book ‘Election Interference’ published by Cambridge Press.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; OPINION; 23 January 2022

Photo: Ikoyi Bridge, Nigeria | Rejoice Emmanuel, UNDP Nigeria

The Global Corporate Tax Deal--An African Perspective

Viewpoint by Orria Goni and Luckystar Miyandazi

Orria Goni is SDG Financing and South-South Cooperation Advisor, UNDP, and Luckystar Miyandazi is Regional Tax Specialist, UNDP. This article was posted on UNDP Blog.

NEW YORK (IDN) — On October 30, 2021, the leaders of the world's 20 largest economies, the G20, endorsed a two-pillar blueprint to address the tax challenges arising from the digitalization of the economy. The agreement includes partial reallocation of taxing rights to market jurisdictions and a 15 per cent global minimum tax for multinational enterprises (MNEs).

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 23 January 2022

Gender Inequality Might Explain Why Women Outlive Men

Viewpoint by Azu Ishiekwene

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

ABUJA (IDN) — My wife occasionally jokes that my stressful, high-strung lifestyle could mean I’ll die before her. I’ve hardly paid any attention, until recently. Three weeks ago, we both visited a friend who lost his father on New Year’s Day. The deceased was over 90.

We went in company with my friend and neighbour who also came along with his wife. We met two other friends at the home of the bereaved family.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 22 January 2022

The Anti-Colonial Roots of Relations Between Cuba and Africa

By Kester Kenn Klomegah*

MOSCOW (IDN) — Many Africans remember Fidel Castro and Ernesto Guevara, internationalist symbols in the struggles for the independence of the peoples in Latin America and the Caribbean. Africa and Cuba have maintained cordial relations for decades, before and after the Cold War.

: Kester Kenn Klomegah; THE WORLD; Africa; 21 January 2022

Image: Wikimedia Commons, Ministry of Defence

Behind Russia’s Security Concerns

Viewpoint by Alexey Gromyko*

This article was issued by the European Leadership Network on January 20, 2022.

MOSCOW (IDN) — The current discussions between Russia and NATO pivot on Russia’s requirement for the Alliance to provide legally binding security guarantees: specifically, that the alliance will not expand east, which will require revoking the 2008 NATO Bucharest summit decision that Ukraine and Georgia “will become members of NATO”.