Showing 1 - 8 of 8
A small Slovak assassination bid; few hurt
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 21/05/2024
» Madeleine Albright, the former US Secretary of State, once called Slovakia "the black hole at the heart of Europe", which seems a harsh judgement on five million Slovaks. The assassination attempt on Prime Minister Robert Fico was alarming, but we can narrow the problem down to a more specific group of people.
Poorest miss out as Serbia adopts digital welfare
News, Adam Smith, Published on 30/08/2023
» Jovana Andjela, a single mother from Belgrade, has done odd jobs as a cook, cleaner, even a tour guide, but she relied on state benefits to make ends meet -- until last year, when Serbia's new digital welfare system locked her out.
Governing the right to access food
Oped, Nora McKeon, Published on 25/07/2023
» When I was a child, my father, who had witnessed the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, told me how common ground was sought around shared principles in a world fractured by the Cold War. Adopted in 1948, it upheld a series of basic rights, including to adequate food. States have the duty to protect, respect and fulfil such rights and can be called to account if they fail to do so.
Eternal City's charms to boost World Expo chances
Oped, Romeo Orlandi, Published on 08/07/2022
» A stroll through downtown Rome is enough to understand why the city earned the title of "Eternal City", and how well deserved it is. Its many and deep layers of history coexist together, overlapping in a harmonious whole. This historical stratification is invaluable for scholars, unique for the city's proud inhabitants, and fascinating for tourists from all over the world. For more than two thousand years the capital of Italy has offered an example of awe-inspiring continuity, of thriving splendour, and of a profound and diverse artistic richness. Now this city has offered to host the 2030 World Expo.
António Guterres does not deserve a second term
Oped, Mark S Cogan, Published on 22/01/2021
» United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced on Jan 11 that he would be seeking a second five-year term. Guterres, a former prime minister of Portugal, campaigned for the position in 2016 with an agenda focused on UN reform, as well as positioned himself as someone who could bring consensus to persistent global challenges such as climate change and the forced displacement of people from around the globe. However, his tenure as the world's top diplomat has been disappointing, marked by failures to address human rights abuses, initiate fundamental institutional reforms, or champion multilateralism in the face of withering criticism by an isolationist American administration.
Why is Eastern Europe honouring suspect national figures?
News, Daina S Eglitis & Michelle Kelso, Published on 08/06/2019
» When is a hero not really a hero? When a country resurrects a tainted figure to serve the needs of a new national mythology. Consider the case of Latvian national hero Herberts Cukurs and his role in the Holocaust.
Peeving Putin: Making Latvian society less Russian
News, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 07/04/2018
» Lots of countries have two or more official languages: Canada (two), Belgium (three), Switzerland (four), South Africa (11), India (23) and so on. They all have trouble balancing the competing demands of the various language groups. But Latvia has only one official language, and it has a bigger problem than any of them.
Social media a double-edged sword
News, Sherif Elsayed-Ali, Published on 28/02/2018
» Donald Trump's retweets of anti-Muslim videos first circulated by an anti-immigrant, right-wing British party were just the tip of the iceberg. From Myanmar to the United States, controversial posts by political leaders and public figures have sparked a growing and increasingly global debate about how social media may be facilitating the spread of hatred and discrimination.