Viewpoint by P. Soma Palan COLOMBO (IDN) — I have advocated the abolition of political parties from contesting elections to form a government, in previous articles, both in the electronic and print media. In the present unprecedented political, economic, financial and social instability in the country, the need to revive this plea assumes greater relevance […]
The Risk of a Nuclear Attack has Risen to its Highest Level Since the Cold War
By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS (IDN) — Speaking during a ceremony marking the 77th anniversary of the devastating atomic bombing of Hiroshima, UN Secretary-General António Guterres remarked on August 6 that it is totally unacceptable for states in possession of nuclear weapons to admit the possibility of nuclear war. “The elimination of nuclear weapons is […]
Beyond First Steps: Phasing out Nuclear Weapons and Energy
By M. V. Ramana* VANCOUVER, Canada (IDN) — The UN Secretary-General António Guterres has called for “all military activities in the immediate vicinity of the [Zaporizhzhia Nuclear] plant [in Ukraine] to cease immediately and not to target its facilities or surroundings” because “any potential damage to Zaporizhzhia or any other nuclear facilities in Ukraine, or […]
The West’s Chickens Are Coming Home to Roost
Mistakes Made Since The 1990s Might End in A Disaster Viewpoint by Jonathan Power LUND, Sweden (IDN) — You can interpret it on any level you like—that the Russians are inherently parochial and out of touch with how most of the world thinks and have it coming to them; that Russia is instinctively and cleverly […]
The Poor Can be Saved from the Coming Depression
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power LUND, Sweden (IDN) — The gathering economic crisis, which the financial papers are sombrely predicting, has too many of the makings of turning into a World Depression and must be a time for mental stock-taking. If we wind back the clock just a few years to the beginning of the century […]
Squaring the Circle
Viewpoint by Herbert Wulf This article was issued by the Toda Peace Institute and is being republished with their permission. Immediately after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, all the governments of the EU and the European NATO countries reacted. Not only with support for Ukraine but also by announcing an increase of their own military […]
Coalition Calls for Securing Rights of Indigenous Peoples
Viewpoint by Galina Angarova (Buryat), Executive Director, Cultural Survival CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts, USA (IDN) — On August 9, 2022, the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous leaders will launch a new site—www.sirgecoalition.org—as part of the official public announcement of a new coalition to Secure Indigenous People’s Rights in a Green Economy (SIRGE Coalition).
From Hiroshima, UN Chief Calls for Global Nuclear Disarmament
UN News HIROSHIMA (IDN) — It is totally unacceptable for states in possession of nuclear weapons to admit the possibility of a nuclear war, António Guterres underscored early on August 6 in Japan at a ceremony marking the 77th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. “Nuclear weapons are nonsense. Three-quarters of a century later, […]
Is Serbia Planning a “Special Operation” in Kosovo?
Viewpoint by Aurora Weiss The possibility of the Serbian president Vučić starting to play the role of the Balkan Vladimir Putin with an eventual invasion of Kosovo seems never to have been more serious. VIENNA (IDN) — Escalation: it’s like lighting a match. Two separate components, Phosphorus and Match, can spark several times before the […]
Pelosi’s Pivot as Cold War and Colonialism Rebound
Viewpoint by Darini Rajasingham-Senanayake* COLOMBO (IDN) — All bets were off as Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House and second in line to the United States Presidency, pivoted to Asia on August 1. As Ms Pelosi tottered off a US Air Force plane at Singapore’s Changi Airport in her signature stilettos, Southeast Asia tripped into […]