By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK | 15 April 2024 (IDN) — When Niger suspended military cooperation with the US earlier this year, it was a major story for a country rarely in the media spotlight. The story has only grown bigger since then. This week, thousands of Nigerien protesters gathered in Niamey, […]
Sudan: UN Concerned About Fast Unfolding Humanitarian Crisis
By Caroline Mwanga NEW YORK | 14 April 2024 (IDN) — One year after war erupted between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on 15 April 2023, Sudan is facing one of the fastest unfolding crises globally, with unprecedented needs. About 25 million people—of whom over 14 million are children—need […]
Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant: The “Sum of All Fears”
By Leonam dos Santos Guimarães* RIO DE JANEIRO | 12 April 2024 (IDN) — Drone attacks on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, whether carried out by Ukraine or Russia, introduce a new and dangerous dimension to the conflict between the two largest former Soviet Socialist Republics, with possible far-reaching ramifications, not just for the region […]
How Finland Succeeded In Reducing Homelessness
By Sarah Britz from the Swedish street paper Faktum This article was issued by the International Network of Street Papers and is being republished with their permission. GOTHENBURG, Sweden | 11 April 2024 (IDN) — Nearly 20 years ago, Finland opened the door to Housing First—a system in which people experiencing homelessness are provided with […]
New Militarism: Biden Is Doing the Very Things He Criticized During His Campaign
By Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden | 9 April 2024 (IDN) — “Diplomacy is back”, President Joe Biden said shortly after becoming president. But then, in the middle of a delicate diplomatic dance with Iran, he went and bombed a small, politically inconsequential, Iranian surrogate in Syria in retaliation for the killing of one American soldier. […]
Agonizing over Europe’s Defence: Some Narratives are Getting Ahead of the Facts
By Herbert Wulf* This article was issued by the Toda Peace Institute and is being republished with their permission. BONN, Germany | 9 April 2024 (IDN) — Russia’s aggression against Ukraine in February two years ago was a shock to European security policy. It did not come entirely out of the blue, however, because Russia […]
Indian Ocean “Zone of Peace” Sinking in Troubled Waters
By Thalif Deen* UNITED NATIONS | 8 April 2024 (IDN) — Just after a group of mercenaries tried to unsuccessfully oust the government of the Maldives in 1979, I asked a Maldivian diplomat, using a military jargon, about the strength of his country’s “standing army”. “Standing army?”, the diplomat asked with mock surprise, and remarked […]
Abusive Gender Practices “Tragically Embedded” in American Life
By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS | 5 April 2024 (IDN) — The United Nations has continued a longstanding campaign against female genital mutilation (FGM) and child marriages, both still prevalent, mostly in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. According to the UN children’s agency UNICEF, FGM refers to “all procedures involving partial or total removal […]
Haiti: Unprecedented Human Rights Violations and Humanitarian Catastrophe
By Reinhardt Jacobsen BRUSSELS | 4 April 2024 (IDN) — The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, has warned that the “scale of humanitarian right violations is unprecedented in Haiti’s modern history” and an already exhausted people are facing a “humanitarian catastrophe”. Mr Türk said in a video statement to the Geneva-based UN […]
India Considers Island States New Nodes of National and Security Interests
By C. Raja Mohan* This article was published in The Indian Express. MUMBAI | 4 April 2024 (IDN) — Delhi’s surprising focus on Katchatheevu, an island in the narrow strip of waters between India and Sri Lanka, is a part of the ruling BJP’s determination to break into Tamil Nadu’s electoral map. Hopefully, the potential […]