Viewpoint by Jeffrey D. Sachs This article was published in The Economist and is being republished with the author’s permission. NEW YORK (IDN) — Neither Russia nor Ukraine is likely to achieve a decisive military victory in their ongoing war: both sides have considerable room for deadly escalation. Ukraine and its Western allies have little […]
“Forge the Pathways to Cooperation in Our Fragmented World”
By António Guterres, United Nations Secretary-General The following are extensive excerpts from the UN Chief’s address to the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, on 18 January 2023. The focus of the Forum (16-20 January) is on ‘Cooperation in a Fragmented World’. NEW YORK | DAVOS (IDN) — [The Forum’s] theme perfectly sets […]
The Idea Biden Is the One to Beat the GOP in 2024
Viewpoint by Norman Solomon* SAN FRANCISCO (IDN) — For many months, conventional media wisdom has told us that Joe Biden would be the strongest candidate to defeat Donald Trump in 2024 because he did it before. The claim was always on shaky ground—after all, Trump was the ultimate symbol of the status quo when he […]
UNICEF Calls for Urgent Action to Ensure Education Resources
By Caroline Mawanga NEW YORK (IDN) — A one percentage point increase in the allocation of public education resources to the world’s poorest 20 per cent is expected to pull 35 million primary school-aged children out of learning poverty globally, says the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). However, a new report released on January 17 […]
It’s the Right Time to Diminish War
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden (IDN) — With unanimous approval in the Security Council, the UN, over the course of December, passed resolutions directed at seven different locations of conflict. Most of what the Security Council ordered doing was to the point. Even at a time of heightened antagonism between the West and Russia, […]
Amnesty International Condemns Atrocities in Mozambique
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) — A 20-second video showing soldiers throwing dead bodies onto a pile of burning rubbish in northern Mozambique gives just a glimpse of what is happening far from view in this “forgotten war”, the human rights group Amnesty International has declared. It is the “latest evidence […]
Early Anti-Apartheid Activist Passes At 90 Years of Age
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) — “Too often, democracy is seen as an event which happens once in five years.” Thus spoke Frene Noshir Ginwala, a South African of Indian descent who was the first speaker of the country’s democratic parliament. While she was modest about her achievements, she left an […]
MLK Urged Americans ‘Not To Rest’ While African Nations Struggle For Freedom
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) — Africa was ever on the mind of Martin Luther King Jr. and his concerns for the continent appear in in his many papers in the King Institute. MLK spoke out about the Congo at an event celebrating the independence of Kenya. “There are many problems […]
The Ukraine War Should Alert Us to The Need to Ban Nuclear Weapons
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden (IDN) — In the year 2000, President Vladimir Putin, having just won his first election, made his own contribution to solving the nuclear weapons imbroglio. He said in a speech that Moscow was prepared to drastically reduce its stockpile of nuclear missiles. Putin’s call was not just for further […]
India Seeks to Rekindle Old Ties with Egypt
By Navdeep Suri Observer Research Foundation published this article. The writer has had a 36-year-long career in the Indian Foreign Service. He served, among others, in India’s diplomatic missions in Cairo, Damascus, Washington, Dar es Salaam and London. NEW DELHI (IDN) — The decision to invite President Abdel Fattah al Sisi of Egypt as the […]