By Swagato Sarkar, O.P. Jindal Global University, India in Sonipat* NEW DELHI | 22 May 2024 (IDN) — The business elite funds political parties and elections in return for economic favours or for securing favourable policies for their industry Many years ago in West Bengal, I encountered school-age boys playing Carrom or cricket all day. […]
Europeans Should Part from the US Solitary Foreign Policy
By Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden | 21 May 2024 (IDN) — The greatest American foreign affairs columnist since Walter Lippmann was William Pfaff of The International Herald Tribune. He wrote in his path-breaking book, “Barbarian Sentiments”, that the US political atmosphere was full of “exhausted ideas, like a dead star”. Nevertheless, “these ideas remain central […]
Ukraine War Costs the West More Than Two Trillion Dollars
By Nik Martin* BERLIN | 19 May 2024 (IDN) — Governments face increased borrowing, taxes and public sector cuts to finance their soaring military budgets. European NATO members are set to spend a record $380 billion on defence this year—a tough sell to voters. If you want a reminder of the security threats faced by […]
Fifty Years On: The Decision of India to Conduct Its First Nuclear Tests
By Ashish Kumar Singh* NEW DELHI | 18 May 2024 (IDN) — On this day in 1974, India conducted its landmark first nuclear tests in Pokhran, Rajasthan, as part of the ‘Smiling Buddha’ operation. Until it actually happened, secrecy surrounded the event, as many major world powers at the time attempted to restrict the proliferation […]
US Halts 2,000-Pound Bombs to Israel, But Compensates with New Weapons
By Thalif Deen NEW YORK | 15 May 2024 (IDN) — US President Joe Biden’s much-ballyhooed decision to halt the delivery of about 3,500 bombs to Israel seems only a token political gesture to keep his critics silent. The 2,000-pound bombs, used by the US during the Vietnam War, have caused the deaths of thousands […]
Latin America and the Caribbean: Initiative to Empower Young People in Arms Control, Peacebuilding
By Rodney Reynolds NEW YORK | 15 May 24 (IDN) — The United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC) has launched the first edition of GenerAcción Paz: building dreams, disarming violence (GenerAcción Paz: armando sueños, desarmando la violencia), which aspires to empower young people to create […]
US Declassified Documents Reveal How Concocted Lies Trigger Wars
By Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden | 15 May 2024 (IDN) — President Barack Obama once observed, “ISIS [Islamic State] is a direct outgrowth of Al Qaeda in Iraq that grew out of our invasion—which is an example of unintended consequences—which is why we should generally aim before we shoot”. Many of us, looking back at […]
China Turns Focus to Europe in a Diplomatic Game
By Nickolay Kapitonenko* KYIV | 14 May 2024 (IDN) — The ongoing Russian-Ukrainian war has gradually changed the international political landscape, which is being closely monitored even by states far removed from its realities. The war is unleashing complex mechanisms of international interaction, testing the strength of alliances and changing power relations. In addition to […]
U.S. Weapons to Israel are an Arsenal of Genocide
By Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J. S. Davies* NEW YORK | 14 May 2024 (IDN) — On May 8, 2024, as Israel escalated its brutal assault on Rafah, President Biden announced that he had “paused” a delivery of 1,700 500-pound and 1,800 2,000-pound bombs, and threatened to withhold more shipments if Israel went ahead with its full-scale […]
Latin America: Several Countries Look to Combat Gang Violence by Fighting Fire
By Amalendu Misra The writer is a Professor of International Politics, Lancaster University. This article was issued by The Conversation. LANCASTER, UK (IDN) — Gangs have an enduring presence in Latin America. They have existed as power brokers, illicit economic actors and spoilers in the developmental processes of several countries. And yet, despite their power […]