By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS | 20 November 2023 (IDN) — UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has continued his relentless criticism of Israel, condemning the daily attacks on civilians in Gaza. “I am deeply shocked that two UNRWA schools were struck in less than 24 hours in Gaza. Dozens of people—many women and children—were killed and […]
Weakness of Europe’s Soft-power is Shameful — Denial of the Call for a Ceasefire
By P.I. Gomes* PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad & Tobago | 19 November 2023 (IDN) — The Israeli brutal bombardment continues into a second month by an unprecedented violation of international humanitarian law. Some 12,000 persons have been killed, that include more than 4000 babies, infants and children. This slaughter of innocent women and children with […]
Is the US Democracy Worth Emulating?
By Jonathan Power LUND, Sweden | 15 November 2023 (IDN) — It should take a long time before America can again strut the world stage and lecture us all about the values of democracy and human rights, poking its finger in the eye of every authoritarian or dictatorial government it has the desire to show […]
Somali-American Woman Scoops Race For Mayor in Minnesota
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK | 13 November 2023 (IDN) — Voters in the Minnesota city of St. Louis Park turned out in force for Nadia Mohamed, a 27-year-old Somali-American, choosing her as the city’s first Black, first Somali, and first Muslim mayor. Mohamed easily defeated Dale Anderson, a former banker and […]
Freeze on Arms Sale to Nigeria Over Enforced Disappearances?
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK | 12 November 2023 (IDN) — An arms race has been breaking records around the world—defying efforts to keep firearms, handguns, and larger weapons from falling into the wrong hands. Of the many countries currently in conflict, 32 are in Africa. The list includes Algeria, Burkina Faso, […]
Argentina: A Battle Between the Known and the Unknown
By Hari Seshasayee* NEW DELHI | 11 November 2023 (IDN | ORF) — After three decades of failed attempts by both right- and left-wing governments to bring stability to the Argentine economy, the elections in 2023 offered an opportunity ripe for a political outsider. With inflation at a staggering 138 percent this year, the timing […]
Global Progress Towards Ending Land Loss to Be Reviewed in Uzbekistan
By Jutta Wolf BONN | 10 November 2023 (IDN) — The UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) has announced the launch of its first-ever Data Dashboard compiling national reporting figures from 126 countries, which shows that land degradation is advancing at an astonishing rate across Africa, Asia and Latin America. Between 2015 and 2019, the […]
Crisis in Sri Lanka and the World
A Book Review by W. D. Lakshman The writer is Professor Emeritus, University of Colombo Asoka Bandarage| Crisis in Sri Lanka and the World: Colonial and Neoliberal Origins – Ecological and Collective Alternatives. De Gruyter Contemporary Social Sciences. Vol 30. Berlin and Boston: De Gruyter. 2023 9 November 2023 (IDN) — Asoka Bandarage is known […]
Nuclear Tensions Loom Over War Zones
By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS | 9 November 2023 (IDN) — The two ongoing military conflicts in Europe and the Middle East are pitting two nuclear powers—Russia and Israel—against a non-nuclear state (Ukraine) and a non-nuclear militant armed force (Hamas). The military might is overwhelmingly in favor of both Russia and Israel in the two […]
A Russian Region is an Alternative to Jewish Settlements in Palestine
By Jonathan Power LUND, Sweden | 7 November 2023 (IDN) — Could this century-long upheaval between Israel and the Palestinians have been avoided? There were alternative places for the Jews to create their own state—some in the Jewish leadership in the early years of the last century thought Uganda and Argentina were possibilities. At that […]