OPINION

Photo: The Japanese Peace Bell and its en:pagoda at United Nations Headquarters, New York City. Photograph credit: Drag | Wikimedia Commons

Peace as Form of Life

Viewpoint by Tito Alvarado

MONTREAL (IDN) – Of the world's more than six thousand extant languages, three thousand have little chance of continuing to be used in the next century. This tragic fact represents a terrible finding: we will lose three thousand ways to approach life and humanity from the perspective of others in their relationship with the environment that surrounds them.

However, as this is a case of death for the people who use these languages, it is perceived as anecdotal, as a kind of fatalism; in fact, we wash our hands whereas we are responsible for working for the survival of the variety of cultures and languages.

: Phil Harris; OPINION; 27 July 2018

Photo: Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang Holds Talks with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan. Credit: www.china-un.org

Japan-China Relations Apparently Back On Track

Viewpoint by Katsuji Nakazawa*

TOKYO (IDN-INPS) – In early May 2018 during his first visit to Japan since being appointed in 2013, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang publicly remarked that Japan-China relations had returned to a path of normality. This "throw-away line" revealed that China's official perspective prior to then was that Japan-China relations had been off course and abnormal.

While this shift is a welcome change, unless the developments leading up to this point are properly understood Japan may find itself unable to respond appropriately if history repeats itself and bilateral relations takes another turn for the worse.

: Asia Editor; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 26 July 2018

Photo: Putin gifts Trump a Telstar Mechta, the official match ball for the knockout stage of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. CC BY 4.0

The Media Is Misleading On Trump's Remarks in Helsinki

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power*

LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – I don't think I've ever witnessed in all my years of journalism such a hysterical outpouring against a presidential statement as I've seen in the aftermath of Helsinki summit. President Donald Trump has even been accused of treason by prominent columnists and politicians. There’s barely a voice of dissent in the media. (Maybe it's written but not published.) No wonder that even some of my normally open-minded friends feel that things are as bad as they are made out to be. Sorry to say it, as I've told them, they are being brainwashed.

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 24 July 2018

Photo: Dalian Hi-Tech Industrial Zone, Dalian, China. CC BY-SA 4.0

Trump's Trade War With China Prompted By Flimsy Reasons

Viewpoint by Yu Yongding*

BEIJING (IDN-INPS) – No one wins in a trade war. Yet U.S. President Donald Trump seems determined to pursue one with China, which he accuses of causing the United States' trade deficit, violating World Trade Organization (WTO) rules and using unfair practices to acquire foreign technology.

While most economists marvel at Trump's ignorance of how trade balances work, many broadly agree with his charges regarding intellectual property (IP). But the evidence supporting these claims is also weak, at best.

: Asia Editor; OPINION; 23 July 2018

Photo: The Aboghlou women’s cooperative meets outside in Ourika Valley, Morocco.

Education Isn't the Only Key to Female Employment in Morocco

Viewpoint by Katherine O’Neill*

MARRAKECH (IDN) – The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) has the lowest female employment rate of anywhere in the world. Though most countries in the MENA region, including Libya and Iran, have seen gradually increasing rates of working women, Morocco’s female labour force participation (FLFP) rate has actually decreased since 1999, now sitting at 26 percent, according to Brookings.

This decline not only contradicts global and regional trends, but also comes despite significant efforts both by the Moroccan government and NGOs to increase women’s education, in hopes of improving their employment opportunities. The World Bank estimates that higher FLFP rates could result in a 25 percent average increase in household income, something which would dramatically improve the lives of men, women, and youth in the region.

: Africa & ME Editor; THE WORLD; Middle East; 23 July 2018

Photo: Vladimir Putin (right) and Donald Trump (left) at a news conference after their summit meeting in Helsinki on July 16, 2018. Credit: en.kremlin.ru

A U.S.-Russia Summit That Left Trump In The Hot Seat

Viewpoint by Somar Wijayadasa*

NEW YORK (IDN | INPS) – In a historic bilateral summit, the United States President Donald Trump met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki on July 16, 2018. The summit took place notwithstanding myriad objections, conjectures and apprehensions from many U.S. political leaders who oppose rapprochement with Russia over a plethora of issues: Crimea, East Ukraine, Syria, and Russia's alleged meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

Just two days before the summit, the U.S. Justice Department indicted 12 Russians for interfering in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, giving impetus to a steady drumbeat of demands that Trump cancel the meeting. The New York Times reported, "according to an internal government document, the U.S. has imposed sanctions on 213 Russian-related targets".

: Somar Wijayadasa; OPINION; 21 July 2018

Humanitarian Hypocrisy Helps the Criminals Behind Migrant Embarkations

Viewpoint by Roberto Massari*

This article and the previous one entitled 'The Trafficking of Human Beings' by Fred Kuwornu deal with the phenomenon of human trafficking from an Italian point of view – Editor.

ROME (IDN) – I start from the premise that I am in favour of the maximum welcoming of migrant flows provided these take place in a human and legally planned way according to the traditions and values of Western secular (that is, illuminist) civilisation.

Here I am not concerned with the phenomenon of immigration or "landings" as such, but rather the international trafficking of human beings and therefore of the crime against every principle of humanity represented by "embarkations", the terminal point of an international criminal network.

: Phil Harris; OPINION; 20 July 2018

Photo: Fred Kuwornu. Credit: facebook.com/fred.kuwornu

The Trafficking of Human Beings

Viewpoint by Fred Kuwornu*

This article and the one which follows entitled 'Humanitarian Hypocrisy Helps the Criminals Behind Migrant Embarkations' by Roberto Massari deal with the phenomenon of human trafficking from an Italian point of view – Editor.

NEW YORK (IDN) – The trafficking of human beings worldwide produces 150 billion dollars for the various mafias, of which 100 billion come from the trafficking of Africans. Every woman trafficked earns the Nigerian mafia 60,000 euro. Trafficking 10,000 in Italy results in 600 million euro a year for the mafia. No African would willingly come if they knew the truth about what awaits them in Europe.

: Phil Harris; OPINION; 20 July 2018

Photo: A global overview of migration and migrants. Credit: IOM

Reality Submerged by Myths on Immigration

Viewpoint by Roberto Savio

The writer is publisher of Other News, an eminent proponent of "information that markets eliminate" and founder of IPS-Inter Press Service News Agency. This article is being reproduced courtesy of Other News with the writer's permission. He can be contacted at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and his articles and comments can be read on Facebook @robertosavioutopia

ROME (IDN) – The latest statistics show that the total flow of immigrants so far in 2018 is 50.000 people, compared with 186,768 last year, 1,259,955 in 2016 and 1,327,825 in 2015. The difference between reality and perceptions is so astonishing that we are clearly witnessing one of the most brilliant manipulations in history.

The latest survey carried out of 23,000 citizens of France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States shows an enormous level of disinformation. In five of those countries, people believe that immigrants are three times higher than they actually are.

: Roberto Savio; OPINION; 19 July 2018

Climate Change Is Driving Up Forced Displacement By Disasters

By Mami Mizutori

The author is Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction and Head of the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR). The following appeared as blog on 'Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform' on 17 July 2018. – The Editor.

NEW YORK (IDN-INPS) – If there was a SDG18 it might well coalesce around the concept of 'Resilience for All.' As it is, the concept of resilience is fundamental to achieving all of the SDGs, seeking as they do to strengthen people’s ability to survive, cope and thrive on this planet.