By Boaventura de Sousa Santos* ‘Z’ originally published this article under the Creative Commons licence. COIMBRA, Portugal | 26 February 2023 (IDN) — In 1947, Karl Jaspers published a short book entitled The Question of German Guilt (Die Schuldfrage)[1]. It was the time of a Germany devastated in body and soul, a pariah people, disgraced […]
Cautious Hope for African Economies in 2024
By Franck Kuwonu This article appeared in the January 2024 issue of Africa Renewal E-Magazine. NEW YORK | 24 February 2024 (IDN) — As African economies look to the new year, countries are poised to make moderate economic gains but must navigate the maze of domestic and international challenges. According to the UN World Economic […]
Is Nuclear Outer Space a Possible Reality or an Empty Threat?
By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS | 21 February 2024 (IDN) — The growing fear of a nuclear weapon in outer space was perhaps never anticipated 65 years ago when the UN General Assembly routinely created a Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) back in 1959. The 102-member committee, described as one of […]
The Missing Nexus between Foreign Policy and Domestic Policy: Overseas Sri Lankans
By A.L.A. Azeez* COLOMBO | 21 February 2024 (IDN) — During my recent visit to Australia I took a keen interest in engaging with several young persons of Sri Lankan origin in different cities. They were among the second and third generation youths from Sri Lanka’s migrant communities resident in Down Under. For me, this […]
Ending the Existential Risks of the Menace of Nuclear Weapons
By Tariq Rauf* VIENNA | 20 February 2024 (IDN) — Following the Trinity nuclear test detonation of 16 July 1945, nuclear scientist Leó Szilárd observed: “Almost without exception, all the creative physicists had misgivings about the use of the bomb” and further that “[President] Truman did not understand at all what was involved regarding nuclear […]
Middle-Income Countries, Hit by Debt Burdens and Rising Inflation, Fight for Survival
By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS | 16 February 2024 (IDN) — The Group of 77 (G77) is the largest single coalition of developing countries comprising over two-thirds of the 193-member United Nations. Besides protecting and promoting the economic interests of 134 nations, the G77 is also home to several sub categories, including the world’s least […]
Bridging Faiths, Preserving Legacies
By Soukaina Kherdioui* RABAT, Morocco | 16 February 2024 (IDN) — The archives digitization project, initiated by the Diocese of Rabat in partnership with the High Atlas Foundation, is a promising endeavour. I hope that it will enable us to amplify the work on other archival collections so as to pay tribute to the countless people […]
Asia-Pacific Will Not Achieve SDGs Before 2062, Says a UN Report
By Jutta Wolf BERLIN | 15 February 2024 (IDN) — The UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) has projected a delay until 2062 to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the region, missing the schedule by a staggering 32 years. The world leaders adopted the 17 Goals in 2015 […]
The Complexity of Nuclear Submarine Safeguards Impacts the Current Landscape
By Leonam dos Santos Guimarâes* RIO DE JANEIRO | 14 February 2024 (IDN) — The topic of applying safeguards to nuclear submarine fuel, focusing on ensuring security and proliferation resistance, involves a complex interplay of international regulations, agreements, and technical considerations. A pivotal aspect of this discussion centres on the application of International Atomic Energy […]
The Ukraine War Could Come to An Unexpected End
By Michael von der Schulenburg* BERLIN | 14 February 2024 (IDN) — Even if there is still fighting at the front, recent developments in Ukraine would suggest that the war could end in a way that is entirely unexpected in the West – with a Ukrainian-Russian agreement. It all concerns the fact that the war […]