Corruption

Hungary’s Leader Grabbed Powers to Fight the Virus. Some Fear Other Motives.

By Benjamin Novak and Patrick Kingsley — The New York Times

By Benjamin Novak and Patrick Kingsley – The New York Times Prime Minister Viktor Orban can now rule by decree. Doctors worry he won’t use that power to improve the country’s coronavirus response BUDAPEST — In the days since the Hungarian Parliament gave Prime Minister Viktor…

7 April 2020 · 7 min read

Civil Society

The Tragic Transparency of the Virus

Boaventura de Sousa Santos* 6 April 2020 – Today’s cultural, political and ideological debates are imbued with a strange opacity, the result of their remove from the concrete day-to-day experience of the vast majority of people — ordinary citizens, or la gente de a pie, as…

6 Apr 2020 · 9 min read

Civil Society

Back to normal? The great fear

Riccardo Petrella* I hope not. Guido Viale has written some wise things about this, explaining why a “return to normal” would be a return to catastrophe.

6 Apr 2020 · 4 min read

Armed conflicts

CORONAVIRUS: MARCH 2020, ALL GLOBAL FACTS FROM LAST MONTH

By Cecilia Capanna — IlDigitale

By Cecilia Capanna* – IlDigitale.it Covid-19 spreads all over the world, WHO declares it’s a pandemic. A global overview on how Countries are dealing with the emergency.

3 Apr 2020 · 6 min read

Civil Society

Martin Khor, Third Worldist

By Jomo Kwame Sundaram

By Jomo Kwame Sundaram* PENANG, Apr 3 2020 (IPS) – Martin Khor Kok Peng passed away just after the end of the first quarter of 2020. He leaves behind an unusually rich legacy.

3 Apr 2020 · 3 min read

English

Hungary just became a coronavirus autocracy

By R. Daniel Kelemen — The Washington Post

Daniel Kelemen* – The Washington Post Will Europe respond to Orban’s power grab? On Monday, Hungary’s Parliament granted Prime Minister Viktor Orbán the sweeping emergency powers he had asked for.

2 Apr 2020 · 5 min read

Health

For Autocrats, Coronavirus Is a Chance to Grab Even More Power

By Selam Gebrekidan — The New York Times

By Selam Gebrekidan* – The New York Times Leaders around the world have passed emergency decrees and legislation expanding their reach during the pandemic. Will they ever relinquish them?

1 Apr 2020 · 14 min read

Climate Change

The epidemic provides a chance to do good by the climate

The Economist The chances are, though, that it will not be taken In Venice, water in the canals is running clear, offering glimpses of fish swimming against the current. As human activity grinds to a halt, natural rhythms resume.

1 Apr 2020 · 7 min read

Economy / Finance

The Coronavirus Closes Borders

By George Friedman

By George Friedman* The border between the United States and Canada has been closed. I don’t recall that ever happening before; I’m not sure what it is supposed to achieve, given that the coronavirus is rampant in both countries, and I don’t know how to close a border that is…

31 Mar 2020 · 6 min read