By Jonathan Power LUND, Sweden | 16 January 2024 (IDN) — Of all the present foes of America, it is Iran, which has consistently been, over time, the number one. Since its Islamic Revolution in 1979 that overthrew the secular-minded Shah and supplanted him with a militant, sometimes warlike, Islamic theocracy, it has been America’s […]
Is a “Muscular” India Alienating Neighbours?
Analysis by Kalinga Seneviratne SINGAPORE | 16 January 2024 (IDN) — After returning from a week-long trip to China on January 14, the new Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu told journalists in Male: “We may be small, but that doesn’t give you the licence to bully us”. There was no doubt in anyone’s mind that he […]
EU Enters Political Partnership with 79 African, Caribbean and Pacific States
By P.I Gomes The writer is a Former Cooperative Republic of Guyana Ambassador to the European Union and ACP Group of States, Brussels (2005 -2015) and Secretary-General of the ACP Group of States (2015-2020). PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad & Tobago | 15 January 2024 (IDN) — On 15 November 2023 in Apia, the capital of […]
North Korea: Short on Food but Arms Aplenty
By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS | 14 January 2024 (IDN) — North Korea, which has long suffered a shortage of food and medicine, has made relatively fast progress in cranking out ballistic missiles and emerging as an arms supplier to one of the world’s major nuclear powers: Russia. A joint statement issued on January 10 by […]
Magical Thinking About Biden 2024 Paves Way For Another Trump Presidency
By Jeff Cohen and Norman Solomon* SAN FRANCISCO | 11 January 2024 (IDN) — An avalanche of polling shows Joe Biden with abysmal approval ratings and grim re-election prospects, but Democratic leaders keep spinning away in dreamland. Even before the Israeli war on Gaza began three months ago, party loyalists were in denial about Biden’s unpopularity with key Democratic-leaning constituencies. […]
New Bangladesh Govt. May Face Oxymoronic Hegemon from the US and UK
By Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury* DHAKA | 11 January 2024 (IDN) — Although the 7 January 2024 general election in Bangladesh has been free, fair, and peaceful, which has already been applauded by foreign and local election observers and media, policymakers at the US Department of State are not willing to admit this fact. Instead, […]
Taiwan: The Impact of Developing US-China Rivalry
By Jonathan Power LUND, Sweden | 10 January 2024 (IDN) — Is what you see what you’ll get? President Xi Jinping of China is poking the US in the eye again. China, he suggests, is all set to wrest Taiwan back into the “China fold”. Xi appears far more determined than his predecessors to try […]
Beyond Gaza and Ukraine, 10 Humanitarian Crises Demand Urgent Attention
This story was originally published by The New Humanitarian* GENEVA | 8 January 2024 (IDN) — As the conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine continue to dominate headlines going into 2024, it’s important to remember the many other crises that are too easily forgotten by the media and neglected by aid donors—often just because of their […]
India: Desperate Youths Taking to Illegal Migration to the West
By Devinder Kumar NEW DELHI | 8 January 2024 (IDN) — A charter flight heading to Nicaragua from Dubai with 303 Indians on board was stopped in France on 21 December 2023 because of the authorities “human trafficking”. The plane was stuck in France for four days as neither Nicaragua nor the United Arab Emirates […]
Thailand: Farm Academy Training Takes Kids Away from Screens
By Pattama Vilailert KHON KAEN, Thailand | 6 January 2024 (IDN) — Nalinthip has been a nurse for 13 years and is the mother to two children aged three and five. Her husband is a YouTuber who spends most of his time on the screen at the age of 40. His Internet using behavior alarmed […]