By Michael von der Schulenburg* The Ukrainian war must not go into a third year. BERLIN | 28 February 2024 (IDN) — Recently, the majority of members of the German Bundestag (federal parliament) declared their unrestricted support to Ukraine’s war aims: “Regaining full territorial integrity within the borders recognized in 1991“. With it, the Bundestag […]
Deadlock Over Disarmament ‘Not Acceptable’: Guterres
GENEVA | 28 February 2024 (IDN | UN Geneva) — Amid geopolitical divides, arms competition, increasingly dangerous new technologies and an elevated nuclear risk, the Secretary-General highlighted his concern that the UN Conference on Disarmament is consistently failing to deliver. The Conference, which was established with the primary goal of fostering cooperation for mutual disarmament, […]
The US Should Negotiate with China in Better Faith Than in Recent Past
By Jonathan Power LUND, Sweden | 27 February 2024 (IDN) — In Munich, recently, at the important annual Security Conference, we heard yet again that the West must not allow itself to be penetrated by Huawei’s 5G phone technology (which is cheaper than any Western counterpart). But there was no intelligent response to a former […]
Earthquake Recovery in Morocco: All “Phases” at Once
By Yossef Ben-Meir* MARRAKECH, Morocco | 27 February 2024 (IDN) — It has been more than six months since that calamitous night in the High Atlas Mountains in the Kingdom of Morocco. Devastating earthquakes are nightmarish realities, and it is only by waking and doing day after day where we slowly, but surely, hopefully recover. […]
Gaza War: Europe, Israel and the US Form the Triangle of Guilt
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 […]