By Kalinga Seneviratne SUVA, Fiji. 18 August 2023 (IDN) — The United States government’s overseas development aid arm US Agency for International Development (USAID) opened two new offices in Papua New Guinea (PNG) and Fiji on 15 August, pledging to assist Pacific island countries in addressing the sustainable development goals (SDGs). The last USAID office […]
NATO Enlargement Enthusiasts Look to the Indo-Pacific
By Ramesh Thakur* This article was issued by the Toda Peace Institute and is being republished with their permission. CANBERRA, Australia. 16 August 2023 (IDN) — Lord Ismay, NATO’s first secretary-general (SG), famously said the purpose of NATO was to “keep the Americans in, the Russians out, and the Germans down”. The end of the […]
Hiroshima Was Not Necessary or Inevitable
By Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden. 15 August 2023 (IDN) — 78 years ago, the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima on August 6 and on Nagasaki on August 9 was premeditated mass murder. President Harry Truman had a workable alternative to using the atom bomb- to cooperate with Stalin, as Roosevelt and Churchill had done on the […]
Cold War Hawk Takes Over US Response to Expanding Niger Crisis
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK. 14 August 2023 (IDN) — Less than a year ago, U.S. Ambassador Johnnie Carson was the object of fulsome praises on his appointment as special representative to the U.S.-Africa Leaders’ Summit. “There is no better qualified person to serve in this important, new role,” declared Ambassador George […]
Impact of Social Media: Trivialization of Pakistani Society
Viewpoint by Hamid Ali Khan BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan. 13 August 2023 (IDN) — The prevalence of social media has snowballed in recent years in Pakistan, ushering in a new era of digital interconnectedness. But with this technological advancement comes the unintended consequence of trivializing Pakistani society. Social media platforms like YouTube, Twitter, TikTok, and Facebook have […]
First Person: Life Story of a 3rd Generation Survivor of Soviet Nuclear Tests in Kazakhstan
At a side event co-organized by the Permanent Mission of Kazakhstan in Vienna, Soka Gakkai International (SGI), and Center for International Security and Policy (Kazakhstan), Dmitriy Vesselov—a third-generation Semipalatinsk nuclear-testing survivor—spoke at the first session of the Preparatory Committee for the 2026 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear […]
Bangladesh Grappling with Severe Dengue Outbreak
By Sohail Choudhury* DHAKA. 12 August 2023 (IDN) — Bangladesh is currently facing a significant challenge as it grapples with a dengue epidemic. Since January, hospitals in the country have reported a staggering 80,074 cases of dengue, with 2,046 new cases added in the latest daily count. The death toll has risen by nine in […]
A Perilous Implosion Awaits Israel Unless True Democracy Prevails
By Alon Ben-Meir* NEW YORK. 12 August 2023 (IDN) — To prevent creeping authoritarianism and the complete disintegration of Israel’s democracy, it will be crucial to not only preserve the independence of the judiciary but to embrace other central pillars on which democracy rests The socio-political turmoil in Israel which is manifested by the pervasive […]
Russian Invasion of Ukraine Triggers Self-defence
By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS. 11 August 2023 (IDN) — The Russian invasion of Ukraine—now in its 16th month—has been described by the United Nations as violations of both the UN charter and the territorial integrity of a sovereign nation. But it has also triggered the concept of self-defence: you hit me, and I’ll hit […]
It’s Time for No-First Use as Doomsday Clock Moves Closer to Midnight
By Aurora Weiss VIENNA. 11 August 2023 (IDN) — At the two-week-long Preparatory Committee meeting here for the 2026 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), the Buddhist organization Soka Gakkai International (SGI)—in consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)—and the Nuclear Age […]