By Jan Servaes* BRUSSELS, Belgium | 12 March 2025 (IDN) — The digital revolution has undeniably transformed the way we communicate and interact. In just under 50 years, we have evolved from a system of basic linear communication to one of complex and intertwined interactions. This digital media ecosystem has diluted structures and contexts, blurred […]
Why South Asian Militaries Need to Reduce Their Carbon Footprint
By Mahmud Hussain* DHAKA, Bangladesh | 12 March 2025 (IDN) — Militaries, which are among the biggest consumers of fuel, account for 5.5 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions. If the world’s militaries were a country, they would have the fourth-highest carbon footprint China, the USA and India. The US Air Force’s F-35 fighter […]
Men Continue to Dominate Politics
By J Nastranis NEW YORK | 11 March 2025 (IDN) — New data from the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and UN Women underscores the critical need for immediate action, as progress toward gender equality in political leadership at the start of 2025 has been unacceptably slow. According to the 2025 edition of the IPU-UN Women Women […]
Criticism Of Israel Is Misrepresented as Anti-Semitism
By Jonathan Power LUND, Sweden | 11 March 2025 (IDN) — In the New York Times, columnist Roger Cohen argued that anyone who queries the Jewish right to Israel is anti-Semitic. More than that, he accuses us of being racist, even though many of us fought against South African apartheid. He accuses us of “pursuing […]
Is This the Beginning or the End of a New Cold War?
By Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J. S. Davies* NEW YORK | 10 March 2025 (IDN) — When European Union leaders met in Brussels on 6 March to discuss the war in Ukraine, French President Emmanuel Macron called this time “a turning point in history.” Western leaders agree that this is an historic moment when decisive […]
EU Leaders Miss Chance at Emergency Defense Summit
By Simone Galimberti* KATHMANDU, Nepal | 10 March 2025 (IDN) — Was the emergency meeting of the European Council, held on the 6 March in Brussels, a real “watershed” moment for Europe? The President of European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen defined it as a day in which “history has been written”. Considering the chaos […]
A Momentous Occasion for Humanity
By Ambassador Anwarul K. Chowdhury* NEW YORK | 9 March 2025 (IDN) — This year’s International Women’s Day has been celebrated by the world as we observe two major anniversaries — the 30th for the Beijing Platform for Action adopted in 1995 and the 25th for the UN Security Council Resolution 1325 adopted in 2000. […]
A Gender-equal World Free of Discrimination Remains a Pipedream
By Ramesh Jaura BERLIN, NEW YORK | 9 March 2025 (IDN) — In an inspiring song “Imagine” from his 1971 album, British musician John Lennon encouraged listeners to imagine a world of peace, without materialism, borders separating nations and religion. Much to our chagrin, that world has remained a pipedream. So has a gender-equal world […]
Entrenched Patriarchal Structures Hindering Women’s Political Participation’
Joseph Kayira interviews Oxfam Malawi country director, Lingalireni Mihowa LILONGWE, Malawi | 9 March 2025 (IDN) — The persistent challenge in increasing women’s participation in politics, decision-making, and the broader economy in Malawi stems from deeply entrenched patriarchal structures that have not been effectively dismantled, despite the existence of progressive policies and legal frameworks, said […]
IN LIGHTER VEIN — At the UN: from the Sublime to the Hilarious
By Thalif Deen* UNITED NATIONS | 8 March 2025 (IDN) — The primary mandate of the United Nations is to maintain international peace and security, but the world body is also a rich source of political anecdotes — from the sublime to the hilarious. The debates and resolutions in the 15-member Security Council, the UN’s most […]