Showing 1 - 8 of 8
A bright spot in global landscape
Oped, John J. Metzler, Published on 02/01/2026
» It's time to consult the crystal snow globe and try to peer ahead to what may be on the horizon for the new year. Without question 2025 has been tumultuous but the year ahead holds cautious promise to finally solve some political crises mixed with some epic events on tap.
Does 'slacktivism' deserve its bad reputation?
Oped, Lisa Mueller, Published on 23/08/2024
» Earlier this year, activists opposing the war in Gaza marched onto the Golden Gate Bridge and Interstate 880 in Oakland. They blocked traffic for hours, some chaining themselves to vehicles or cement-filled drums. Twenty-six were arrested and charged.
How we can break free from polio
Oped, Andrew Stein, Published on 25/10/2023
» Eradicating polio has taken far longer than anyone expected. But the last 35 years of efforts to immunise every child against polio represent a major win for global health: a 99% reduction in cases means that nearly 20 million people are walking today who otherwise would have been paralysed.
Don't be a bystander to mass famine
Oped, Peter Singer, Published on 16/08/2022
» In March 1964, The New York Times reported that 38 witnesses saw or heard a brutal, drawn-out, and ultimately fatal attack on a woman called Kitty Genovese, but none did anything to help her or even summoned the police. The report was later shown to be erroneous, but the "bystander effect" is real. As many psychology experiments have shown, an individual is less likely to come to the aid of another if they can see that other people who could help are not doing so.
Africa's domestic violence woes
Oped, Tijani Salami and Jane Otai, Published on 14/06/2022
» In April, the beloved Nigerian gospel singer Osinachi Nwachukwu died at the hands of her husband. Accounts from relatives and friends indicate that, despite enduring severe abuse, she had stayed in her marriage because she hoped things would get better. And Nwachukwu's situation was hardly unique. Earlier this month, the Kenyan actor Idah Alisha opened up about the violence she suffered before she divorced her husband, a youth pastor.
Breathing life into medical oxygen
Oped, Leith Greenslade, Published on 18/05/2022
» Covid-19 has taken at least 18 million lives by some accounts, and it is anyone's guess how many of those deaths were due to a lack of medical oxygen. Governments don't want to talk about the issue, because that could mean admitting that thousands -- or even hundreds of thousands -- of their citizens died unnecessarily. But unless health systems take steps to ensure a sufficient supply of oxygen in the future, they will be risking a repeat of the past two years.
The guardians of civil society and democracy
Oped, Michelle Bachelet, Darren Walker & Mark Malloch-Brown, Published on 16/12/2021
» When global leaders gathered virtually last week from Dec 9-10 for US President Joe Biden's Summit for Democracy, they ought to have asked themselves a simple question: What can we do to help democracy's bravest advocates, like the protesters who are risking their lives in Sudan?
Dismantling Africa, one nation at a time
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 04/11/2021
» Something is going wrong in Africa. Nigeria and Ethiopia, the two most populous countries on the continent, are both stumbling towards disintegration. There are now 54 sovereign African countries, which really ought to be enough, but in a few years there could be 60.