By Yossef Ben-Meir* MARRAKECH | 21 October 2024 (IDN) — The commitment of Kamala Harris’ U.S. Presidential campaign to create an opportunity economy—one that lowers costs and strengthens opportunities for working families and small businesses—has established goals that are consistent with observed outcomes of participatory approaches to community development around the world. The participatory approach […]
Cuts in Education, Health and Social Protection Trigger Rise in Economic Inequalities
By Rodney Reynolds NEW YORK | 21 October 2024 (IDN) — A new global index reveals that nine out of ten countries worldwide are pursuing policies that are likely to increase levels of economic inequality. Education and health cuts by nearly every country under World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) programs are being described as “dispiriting, dangerous, […]
Sixty-Three Years on The Death of Hammarskjöld Remains a Mystery in UN History
By Vibhu Mishra, UN News NEW YORK | 20 October 2024 (IDN) — One of the most enduring mysteries in United Nations history—the 1961 plane crash that killed Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld and all on board as he sought to broker peace in the Congo—will linger on, with a new assessment announced on 18 October suggesting […]
Crocodile Tears from Washington Over Gaza
By James E. Jennings* ATLANTA, USA | 19 October 2024 (IDN) — Crocodiles shed copious tears while eating their prey. “Crocodile Tears” has therefore become a slogan for insincerity and hypocrisy. It’s a bit late, while gnawing on a human or other prey, to cry tears for the victim. Even if the tears were sincere, […]
Up to 41 billion USD in World Bank Climate Finance Unaccounted for, Oxfam Finds
By Rodney Reynolds NEW YORK | 17 October 2024 (IDN) — Up to $41 billion in World Bank climate finance—nearly 40 percent of all climate funds disbursed by the Bank over the past seven years— is unaccounted for due to poor record-keeping practices, reveals a new Oxfam report published ahead of the World Bank and […]
Would Trump Use Nuclear Weapons?
By Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden | 16 October 2024 (IDN) — In the Cold War days, some of us used to say, “Better red than dead”—to rebuff those who believed in nuclear deterrence as a way of political life that gave them security. Now those of us who are frightened that Trump could start a nuclear […]
Germany Rejects Ukraine’s Demands for Taurus Missiles and NATO Membership
By Ahmed Adel The writer is geopolitics and political economy researcher. This article was originally published in InfoBrics. CAIRO | 15 October 2024 (IDN) — Berlin has spurned two key demands that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky tried to “sell” during his European tour to promote his so-called Victory Plan: getting the green light for deep […]
How the Evolution of BRICS Is Reinforcing a Multipolar World
By Janakie Seneviratne* COLOMBO, Sri Lanka | 15 October 2024 (IDN) — BRICS, the brainchild of Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, was founded in 2006 by Brazil, Russia, India, and China, with South Africa joining in 2011. In January, this year, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates became full members of the […]
Time for a United Front Against Trump and Realism About Harris
By Norman Solomon* SAN FRANCISCO | 14 October 2024 (IDN) — With Election Day just three weeks off and voting already underway in some states, the race for president is down to the wire. Progressives could make the difference. While no one in their left mind plans to vote for the fascistic and unhinged Donald […]
From High Noon to Steadfast Noon
By Tariq Rauf* VIENNA | 14 October 2024 (IDN) — As the ink dried on the announcement of the award of the Nobel Peace Prize for 2024 to Nihon Hidankyo, the grassroots movement of the Hibakusha (atomic bomb survivors from Hiroshima and Nagasaki); the merchants of death continued weapons supplies to ongoing wars in central […]