By Rahul Mukherji and Berk Esen* HEIDELBERG, ISTANBIL | 5 January 2025 (IDN) — The elections in India, Turkey and the US in 2024 point to the rapidly shrinking liberal political space in democracies. Despite the enormity of the threat to a secular and inclusive vision of politics, the elections in India and Turkey, however, […]
Israel’s Attacks Have Devastating Impact on Gaza’s Hospitals
By Volker Türk* GENEVA | 4 January 2025 (IDN) — A human rights catastrophe continues to unfold in Gaza before the eyes of the world. Israel’s means and methods of warfare have killed tens of thousands of people, inflicted vast displacement, and laid waste to the territory. This has raised utmost concerns about compliance with […]
U.S. Congress Members Face a Lawsuit for Funding Israel’s War on Gaza
By Norman Solomon* SAN FRANCISCO, USA | 4 January 2025 (IDN) — On the last day of 2024, the deputy general counsel for the House of Representatives formally accepted delivery of a civil summons for two congressmembers from Northern California. More than 600 constituents of Jared Huffman and Mike Thompson have signed on as plaintiffs […]
How Prosecutors Work Against Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling
UNODC Report VIENNA | 4 January 2025 (IDN) — “If countries do not cooperate, we will never be able to effectively combat human trafficking and migrant smuggling,” said Patrick Gomez, Prosecutor and Principal State Counsel in Gambia. Gomez was speaking on the sidelines of the first International Forum of Prosecutors countering human trafficking and migrant […]
Sustainable Clean Energy Remains a Distant Dream
By Ramesh Jaura BERLIN | 3 January 2025 (IDN) — The world continues to advance towards sustainable energy targets, but not fast enough. About 685 million people still live in the dark. Four in five are in Sub-Saharan Africa. 2.1 billion people are cooking with dirty fuels that create unhealthy indoor smoke, causing over 3.2 […]
G20 South Africa Presidency: Unique Opportunity for Unlocking Africa’s Vast Potential
By Kester Kenn Klomegah MOSCOW | 3 January 2025 (IDN) — The Group of 20 (G20) is an intergovernmental forum comprising 19 sovereign countries, the European Union (EU), and the African Union (AU). It works to address major issues related to the global economy, such as international financial stability, climate change mitigation and sustainable development, […]
The Climate Crisis: Five Things to Watch Out for in 2025
By Conor Lennon NEW YORK | 2 January 2025 (IDN | UN News) — The Amazonian city of Belém, Brazil, will be the global focus of efforts to tackle the climate crisis in November 2025, when it hosts one of the most significant UN climate conferences in recent years. However, throughout the years there will […]
Jimmy Carter Told Trump How to Put America First. But Will He Do It?
By Medea Benjamin & Nicolas J. S. Davies* NEW YORK | 2 January 2025 (IDN) — With President Jimmy Carter’s passing and Donald Trump about to return to the White House, it’s a good time to recall a phone conversation that Carter had with Trump during his first term. Carter’s advice would serve Trump well […]
Jimmy Carter’s Life Is Not Ending in Failure
By Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden | 2 January 2025 (IDN) — The lives of all politicians end in failure”. So said Enoch Powell, a maverick former cabinet minister in the British government. Of recent US presidents Jimmy Carter has not been alone in being considered “a failure”. Think of Lyndon Johnson (Vietnam war). George W. […]
UN Considers Haiti’s Destiny ‘Bright’ Despite Terrifying Escalation of Violence
By Caroline Mwanga NEW YORK | 28 December 2024 (IDN) — Haiti is faced with a multifaceted crisis including rising gang violence, political instability, the displacement of over 700,000 people as well as widespread hunger. UNICEF has reported a sharp increase in the recruitment of minors by armed gangs, with the number of child recruits […]