SUSTAINABILITY

Photo: Bloodied Nigerian flag from after the massacre. CC BY-SA 4.0

The 'Lekki Toll Gate' Massacre and What It Means for Nigeria

Viewpoint by Azu Ishiekwene

The writer is the Managing Director/Editor-In-Chief of The Interview magazine based in Abuja, Nigeria.

ABUJA (IDN) – It was hard to keep up with the torrent of posts as the power of social media was deployed in all its ferocity for good and evil. Through it all though, one thing was constant on my mind on October 20 night: the images of vulnerable, distressed youths fighting for their lives. You couldn’t make up the chaos if you tried.

[Nigerian Armed Forces shot at #End SARS protesters at the Lekki toll gate in Lagos, Amnesty International states that at least 12 protesters were killed.]

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 22 October 2020

Photo: BRICS Civil Forum 2020 Credit: civilbrics.ru

BRICS Civil Forum Evolving from Strength to Strength

By Kester Kenn Klomegah*

MOSCOW (IDN) – Since its establishment in 2009, BRICS, an association of five major emerging economies Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, has had a significant influence and expanded in many directions, one of which is the BRICS Civil Forum. Significant to recall that during the 7th summit held in July in the Russian provincial city of Ufa in Bashkortostan, on Russia’s initiative the BRICS established the BRICS Civil Forum.

Its mission is to put public priorities on the BRICS agenda as well as to present civil initiatives to the leaders of BRICS countries. Some of the proposals provide the leaders with an opportunity to look at the current development issues, taking public interest into serious consideration.

: Kester Kenn Klomegah; THE WORLD; Russia; 21 October 2020

Image: A coloured engraving that depicts the Peterloo Massacre (military suppression of a demonstration in Manchester, England by cavalry charge on August 16, 1819 with loss of life) in Manchester, England. Richard Carlile, Manchester Libraries. Wikimedia Commons.

Ye Are Many, They Are Few!

By John Scales Avery

COPENHAGEN (IDN) – I would like to announce the publication of a new book, which discusses the question of how oligarchs maintain their grasp on an excessive share of wealth and power when, as Shelley pointed out, the have-nots are many, while the power-holders are few.

Here the link to a new freely downloadable book

http://eacpe.org/app/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Ye-are-Many-They-are-Few-by-John-Scales-Avery.pdf

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 20 October 2020

Photo: A photo combo of president Museveni (L) and Kyaddondo East MP Robert Kyagulanyi (Bobi Wine). Credit: Daily Monitor, Uganda.

Ugandan Opposition Leader Bobi Wine's Headquarters Raided and Robbed

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – Security forces raided the offices of reggae star and prominent opposition leader Bobi Wine, reportedly seizing cash, posters, banners and boxes of red berets – Wine’s signature headgear and a “symbol of resistance” which the government says is illegal.

The raid took place in a suburb of Kampala, the capital, on October 14. It comes as tensions are rising ahead of upcoming presidential elections.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 19 October 2020

Photo: 82-year-old Alpha Condé, President of Guinea, with Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2017.

A ‘Wind Of Change’ Could Block African Leaders Seeking ‘Presidency For Life’

By Lisa vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) As British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan once said it, there’s a “wind of change" blowing through the African continent. “Whether we like it or not,” he said, “this growth of national consciousness is a political fact.”

That was the ‘60s, as countries across the continent were lowering the British flag and raising their national one.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 19 October 2020

Photo: Reverend John MacArthur. Credit: Wikimedia.

The US Pastor Who Preaches Climate Change Denial

Viewpoint by Paul Braterman*

LANCASTER (IDN) – Every so often you come across a piece of writing so extraordinary that you cannot help but share it. One such piece is a sermon on global warming by American pastor John MacArthur. Full of beautifully constructed rhetorical flourishes, it is forcefully delivered by an experienced and impassioned preacher to a large and appreciative audience.

: Phil Harris; OPINION; 19 October 2020

Photo: The Dalai Lama, spiritual head of the Tibetan people, interacts with the media during his visit to the Mahabodhi temple in Bodhgaya, December 2019. Credit: PTI.

Xi Ready to Turn Free Tibetans Into Hapless Uighurs

By Nadir Ali Wani*

SRINAGAR, India (IDN) – Taiwan, Hong Kong, Tibet. Which of them would be the first to completely lose its separate and independent identity under the watch of the expansionist Chinese president, Xi Jinping? Critics say while the world pays more attention to Taiwan and Hong Kong and the Ladakh stand-off against India, Tibet is his chosen prey.

President Xi has used the COVID-prompted isolation since January to create the atmosphere – in terms of an ideological justification coupled with amendments to laws and governance of autonomous regions – for the felling of Tibet.

: Europe Editor; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 18 October 2020

Photo: Nurses working in a South African COVID-19 clinic, based on a train, which travels to reach different communities. Credit: EPA-EFE

COVID-19: Europeans Can Learn from Developing Countries

Developed Countries Should Change Their Mindset

Viewpoint by Maru Mormina and Ifeanyi M. Nsofor*

OXFORD | WASHINGTON (IDN) – Nine months into the pandemic, Europe remains one of the regions worst affected by COVID-19. Ten of the 20 countries with the highest death count per million people are European. The other ten are in the Americas. This includes the US, which has the highest number of confirmed cases and deaths in the world.

Most of Africa and Asia, on the contrary, still seems spared. Of the countries with reported COVID-related deaths, the ten with the lowest death count per million are in these parts of the world. But while mistakes and misjudgements have fuelled sustained criticism of the UK’s handling of the pandemic, the success of much of the developing world remains unsung.

: Phil Harris; SUSTAINABILITY; Health & Well Being; 18 October 2020

Photo: Hanization raising discontent among Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang. Credit: The Kootneeti.

China Continues 'Hanization' Violating the Freedom of Ethnic Minorities

By Nadir Ali Wani*

SRINAGAR, India (IDN) – China claims, as in a 2019 white paper, "Seeking Happiness for People: 70 Years of Progress on Human Rights in China”, that it fully protects the freedom of ethnic minorities to use and develop their spoken and written languages and that the state protects by law the legitimate use of spoken and written languages of ethnic minorities in the areas of administration and judiciary, press and publishing, radio, film and television, and culture and education.

: Asia Editor; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 17 October 2020

Photo: We will never know whether or not Reinoehl was guilty of murdering Danielson, as he was not given a chance to stand trial. Source: Insider.

Death Before Due Process in Trump's America

Viewpoint by Sonali Kolhatkar

This article was produced by Economy for All, a project of the Independent Media Institute. Sonali Kolhatkar is the founder, host and executive producer of “Rising Up With Sonali,” a television and radio show that airs on Free Speech TV and Pacifica stations.

LOS ANGELES (IDN) – The federal government’s killing of Michael Reinoehl exactly two months before the November 3 presidential race ought to have been one of the most high-profile election issues being discussed in America. Instead, it has been almost forgotten save for some media outlets starting to question the official narrative of his death.