By Norman Solomon* SAN FRANCISCO, USA | 26 December 2024 (IDN) — This week, the New York Times reported that the U.S. government made war in Afghanistan while helping to “recruit, train and pay for lawless bands of militias that pillaged homes and laid waste to entire communities.” Those militias “tortured civilians, kidnapped for ransom, […]
Ecuador Opens World Heritage Natural Site Galapagos Islands to US Military
By Pablo Meriguet and Benjamin Zinevich* QUITO, Ecuador | 23 December 2024 (IDN) — On 15 February 2024, Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboasigned a series military cooperation treaties with the US government, allowing ships, military personnel, armament, equipment, and submarines to be installed in the natural reserve, which UNESCO declared a World Natural Heritage Site in […]
Who Will Stop Israel as it Defies the UN and Invades Syria?
By Nicolas J. S. Davies* NEW YORK | 23 December 2024 (IDN) — The United States, Turkey and Israel all responded to the fall of the Assad government in Damascus by launching bombing campaigns on Syria. Israel also attacked anddestroyed most of the Syrian Navy in port at Latakia, and invaded Syria from the long-occupied […]
Coal Will Be a Central Pillar of UN Climate Summit in 2026
By Christopher Wright and Ufuk Alparslan* LONDON | 22 December 2024 (IDN) — Australia and Türkiye went into COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, with a range of diplomatic goals, but none greater than each country’s hopes to be announced as the host of the UN climate summit in 2026. For Ufuk and myself, the competition between […]
UN Warns of Hunger Reaching New Heights in the Arab Region
By Ramesh Jaura BERLIN | 20 December 2024 (IDN) — Six UN agencies have called for enhanced funding for transforming and strengthening agrifood systems, address inequalities, and ensure that healthy diets are affordable and accessible to all in the Near East and North Africa as a new report warns that the Arab region remains off-track […]
U.S. Defense Official Outlines Continued Support for Ukraine
By Joseph Clark, DOD News WASHINGTON, D.C. | 18 December 2024 (IDN) — The Defense Department is committed to helping Ukraine prevail amid Russia’s ongoing war of aggression and will continue sending key capabilities to meet Ukraine’s battlefield needs in the weeks to come, a senior defense official said Monday (16 December). The department is […]
Cuba: Lights and Shadows of Tourism
By José Luis Perelló Cabrera HAVANA, Cuba | 17 December 2024 (IDN) — Over the past 60 years business relations between the United States and Cuba have travelled on a road plagued by obstacles, restrictions, convergence and divergence, where tourism, as the principal symbol of mobility and trade among persons, has been a mirror, marking […]
How NPT Members Can Support Justice for Victims of Nuclear Weapons
By Jana Baldus and Dr Caroline Fehl* This commentary first appeared on the The European Leadership Network. FRANKFURT, Germany | 15 December 2024 (IDN) — Nuclear weapons harm humans – not only when used in war. Since the onset of the nuclear age, hundreds of thousands of people have suffered as a result of activities […]
Empowering Indian Street Vendors to Transition from Single-use Plastics
By Satyarupa Shekhar and Om Prakash Singh* NEW DELHI | 14 December 2024 (IDN) — With the intergovernmental negotiations for a Global Plastics Treaty now over, it is opportune to discuss India’s approach to plastic pollution. The single-use plastic ban (SUP ban) by the Indian government came into effect from 1 July 2022. What the country needed […]
Asia-Pacific: Leaving No one Behind Amid Climate Change
By Selahattin Selsah Pasali* BANGKOK, Thailand | 14 December 2024 (IDN) — Over four in five people in Asia and the Pacific face multi-hazard risks associated with slow or sudden onset climate events. However, the degree of exposure is by no means uniform across individuals and households and diversity prevails in vulnerability to and capacity […]