By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS (IDN) — As a politically and militarily tense 2022 came to an inglorious end, nuclear threats kept hitting the front pages of newspapers with monotonous regularity last year. The rising tensions were triggered primarily by threats from Russia, the continuous military rhetoric spilling out of North Korea and Iran’s unwillingness […]
UN Takes to New Ways to Promote Nuclear Disarmament
By Jaya Ramachandran GENEVA (IDN) — UN Secretary-General António Guterres announced on 24 May 2018 his Agenda for Disarmament, which outlines a set of practical measures across the entire range of disarmament issues, including weapons of mass destruction, conventional arms and future weapon technologies. Action 1 for “Securing Our Common Future,” the title of the […]
UNICEF Pledges Humanitarian Assistance in 11 Emergencies
By Radwan Jakeem NEW YORK (IDN) — UN Children’s agency UNICEF has pledged to continue to support children and families facing humanitarian crises across the globe in 2023. “Today, there are more children in need of humanitarian assistance than at any other time since the Second World War,” says UNICEF. Worldwide, children and their families […]
Jews and Muslims Can Live Peacefully
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden (IDN) — The newly appointed prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, makes little pretence of his hatred of Muslim Palestinians. Neither does an overwhelming majority of those who elected him. Yet they never answer the conundrum, how can they expect to live indefinitely cheek-by-jowl with the Palestinians with animus […]
Ghana Seeks IMF Bailout As Inflation Soars
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK | KAMPALA (IDN) — For years, few expected a financial crisis in Ghana, much less to see Ghana become a debtor nation like some of its more troubled neighbors in West Africa. “Ghana is a major cocoa and gold exporter, so why is the West African nation […]
New Year’s Tragedy at Uganda Mall Takes Nine Lives
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK | KAMPALA (IDN) — A poorly designed shopping mall in Kampala, Uganda, according to visitors, was a disaster waiting to happen. On New Year’s Eve, that disaster became every parent’s nightmare. After fireworks were exploded outside the Freedom City Mall, families moved towards narrow corridors to exit—and […]
Dutch Court Upholds $15 Million Payout to Nigerian Communities
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK | AMSTERDAM (IDN) — A Dutch court has upheld a payout to residents of the Niger Delta of US$15.9 million for oil spills that contaminated land and waterways in three communities. In the case brought by Friends of the Earth, Shell’s Nigerian subsidiary was found to be […]
Sri Lanka: A Year of Turmoil and Suffering—And No End in Sight
By Neville de Silva* This article was issued by Asian Affairs (London). LONDON (IDN) — Not since the British left in 1948, handing over power to its former colony then known as Ceylon, has Sri Lanka suffered such economic calamity and political turmoil as in the year just ended. Struggling to survive under ever weightier […]
No Nuclear Weapon Can Save Iran from its Internal Strife
Viewpoint by Dr Alon Ben-Meir Dr Alon Ben-Meir, a retired professor of international relations at the Center for Global Affairs at New York University (NYU), taught courses on international negotiation and Middle Eastern studies for over 20 years. NEW YORK (IDN) — Words from various officials in the know suggest that, although President Biden stated […]
Ageing Dalai Lama Attracts Huge Crowds to Buddhist Sacred Site
By Kalinga Seneviratne This article is the 51st in a series of joint productions of Lotus News Features and IDN-InDepthNews, the flagship agency of the Non-profit International Press Syndicate. Click here for previous reports. BODHGAYA, India (IDN) — The Dalai Lama, Tibet’s spiritual leader, has just concluded a three-day speaking engagement here at Bodhgaya, known as […]