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Russia is about to part from Europe

by Guy Mettan,* freelance journalist

(25 January 2023) In mid-December, I had the opportunity to make a short trip to Moscow and Novosibirsk, the capital of Siberia located 4000 kilometres from the Ukrainian front. That gave me enough time to evaluate the public opinion of the Russian population after ten months of war.

The Tamil People: “Unsung Victims”

by Alfred de Zayas,* Geneva1

(25 January 2023) The Tamils of the island of Sri Lanka (Ceylon) belong to that category of victims of major human rights violations who only few in the world want to acknowledge as victims. Not only today, but during the past 50 years when I have been associated in various capacities in United Nations organs and human rights NGO’s, I have met many Tamils but noticed how, unlike other victims, the Tamils do not enjoy that aura of empathy that benefits other victim groups.

On “Swiss Neutrality”

Neutral mediation services or entering the war?

by Ralph Bosshard,* Switzerland

(25 January 2023) (Edit.) On 6/7 January 2023, “Swiss Standpoint” held a conference in German on the topic of “Swiss Neutrality and Peace” in Frauenfeld TG. Ralph Bosshard, one of the four invited speakers, has written the following text for our readership with some important aspects of content from the presentations and the discussion.

Primary school failure forces us to return to successful learning methods

In all of Germany’s federal states the performance of primary school pupils has declined

by Rainer Werner*

(16 January 2023) The study by the “Institute for Quality Development in Education” (IQB) on the performance of our primary school students in mathematics and German (2021) has revealed alarming results.

In all 16 federal states, performance has declined compared to the test results of 2011 (in spelling: 2016). What is particularly alarming is that the number of high-achieving pupils has declined just as much as the number of those who achieve the average standard.

“The cat is out of the bag”

The US is fighting in Ukraine to preserve its global hegemony

by M. K. Bhadrakumar,* India

(16 January 2023) The bipartisan consensus in the Beltway on the United States being the ‘indispensable’ world power is usually attributed to the neocons who have been the driving force of the US foreign and security policy in successive administrations since the 1970s.

About the war in Ukraine

by Stefan Hofer,* Switzerland

(16 January 2023) The war in Ukraine, like any war, is terrible and should be ended as soon as possible. However, one cannot assess this war and its political responsibility without first knowing and taking into account its origins. (Written in late December 2022)