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, […]
Space Warfare Is the Newest Fighting Domain
By Bharat Dogra* NEW DELHI | 14 April 2024 (IDN) — In December 2019, when the Space Force was formed in the USA, President Trump called this a big moment and added that there are “going to be a lot of things happening in space. Because space is the world’s newest war-fighting domain.” Mark Esper, […]
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 […]
Diplomatic Debate Over Autonomous Weapons Heats Up
By Michael T. Klare* This article was issued by Arms Control Today and is being republished with their permission. WASHINGTON, D.C. | 6 April 2024 (IDN) — Diplomatic activity concerning the regulation of autonomous weapons systems is accelerating. The United States convened a conference on the subject in March, Austria has scheduled one for April, […]
Japan Chairs a Rare UN Security Council Disarmament Debate
By Shizuka Kuramitsu and Daryl G. Kimball* This article was issued by Arms Control Today and is being republished with their permission. WASHINGTON, D.C. | 5 April 2024 (IDN) — Japan chaired a rare, high-level UN Security Council meeting on nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation on March 18. Although the meeting underscored the urgency of addressing […]