Viewpoint by Michele Nobile* This is the second of a five-part article looking at US foreign policy in historical context and its global implications under President Donald Trump. BERGAMO, Italy (IDN) – With the arrival of the Trump administration, the threshold of potential use of the nuclear weapon has been lowered considerably, according to a […]
UN, EU, Experts Hail Outcome of Inter-Korean Talks, Call For Availing of Peace Opportunities
By Ramesh Jaura BERLIN (IDN) – The United Nations and the European Union as well as independent arms control experts have welcomed the results of latest talks between South and North Korea, and called for seizing the opportunities opening up for peace in the region and for reducing international tensions. The significance of emerging prospects […]
Mixed Reactions To Inter-Korean Accord
By Yonhap News Agency This report was carried by the South Korean news agency on March 6 (local time: 23.38) and is being reproduced to give a glimpse into how the current development on the Korean peninsula is viewed in the Republic of Korea. – The Editor SEOUL (IDN-INPS) – South Korean political parties on […]
What the Prophet Implied and What Sustains Fundamentalists
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – What do we in the West know about Islam? Perhaps more than we did before 9/11 but not much. When Tony Blair was prime minister of the United Kingdom he was photographed walking along holding the Koran. President George W. Bush said repeatedly that Islam was a […]
New South Africa President Endorses Land Transfers to Blacks
By Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) – Barely a month into his presidency, Cyril Ramaphosa has taken sides on a hot button issue whose resolution had eluded previous leaders. He vowed to speed up the seizure of land from white owners and turn the properties over to blacks. “This original sin that was committed […]
‘Unequal Realities’ Hold Back Rural Women, Says UN On Eve of Women’s Confab
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) – In the run up to International Women’s Day on March 8, the United Nations is renewing its call for concrete actions to address the plight of rural women who make up over a quarter of the world population yet are being left behind in every […]
Nuclear Deterrence Policy Gathering Steam in India
By Sudha Ramachandran BANGALORE (IDN) – “Though India is a reluctant nuclear power, nuclear deterrence will continue to play a crucial role in India’s national security strategy over the next few decades,” says Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal, Distinguished Fellow at India’s Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA). In his recent book ‘Sharpening the Arsenal: India’s […]
US Foreign Policy and Trump’s Contradictions – Part 1
Viewpoint by Michele Nobile* This is the first of a five-part article looking at US foreign policy in historical context and its global implications under President Donald Trump. BERGAMO, Italy (IDN) – During a speech on foreign policy in April 2016, US President Donald Trump thundered: “We are totally predictable. We tell everything. We’re sending […]
Kazakhstan Signs Ban Treaty After Security Council Debut
By J Nastranis UNITED NATIONS (IDN) – Kazakhstan, known as an active and staunch supporter of a world free of nuclear weapons, became 57th country to sign the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons on March 2. The Treaty, which opened for signature on September 20, 2017, will remain open indefinitely. It will enter […]
UN at Pains to Weed Out Sexual Exploitation and Abuse
By Santo D. Banerjee NEW YORK (IDN) – At a critical moment when allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse from within the United Nations are mounting, and a leaked UN staff survey shows fears over whistleblowing and ethical accountability, Secretary-General António Guterres has in his message for International Women’s Day on March 8, called for […]