By Pier Francesco Zarcone* ROME (IDN) – The U.S. decision to train about 30,000 men of a Kurdish militia on the Turkish-Syrian border was considered a reckless initiative with catastrophic consequences – and that immediately turned out to be the case – but, paradoxically, it is also understandable in the global Syrian situation. Let us […]
Mattis-Trump Duo Uncovers China and Russia as US Adversaries
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – The American secretary of defence, Jim Mattis, has declared a new era: “There has been a return of great power competition ……great power competition – not terrorism – is now the primary focus of U.S. security.” In the new national defence strategy document*, unveiled on January 19, […]
The Earth’s Future Will Not Come from Heaven
Viewpoint by Leonardo Boff The author is a Brazilian liberation theologian, author and campaigner for the rights of the poor and disadvantaged. He is a professor of theology, ethics and philosophy at universities all over the world and a member of the Earth Charter Commission. This article is a slightly modified version of an article […]
Concern Over Using Aid To Promote Rich Countries’ Commercial Interests
Viewpoint by Jesse Griffiths The writer is Director of Eurodad, the European Network on Debt and Development, a network of 46 civil society organisations (CSOs) from 19 European countries, which works for transformative yet specific changes to global and European policies, institutions, rules and structures. BUSSELS (IDN) – At first glance, the latest figures on […]
Democracy Under Assault and in Retreat Around the Globe
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – Is democracy in decline? If you talk about the quality of democracy the answer is clearly yes. The US, the world’s first and most important democracy – although at the beginning a limited democracy for white men only – is in trouble. President Donald Trump has brought […]
UN Chief Pleads For ‘Making Migration Work for All’
By António Guterres Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks at the launch of the report ‘Making Migration Work for All’, in New York on 11 January. – The Editor UNITED NATIONS (IDN-INPS) – I am very pleased to be with all of you to present the report “Making Migration Work for All”. This serves […]
Torture Begets More Brutality
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – Looking for a good cause for 2018? Something you can do while sitting in your arm chair. Something that needs to be done if we are to live in a “clean” planet. Campaigning against torture is what it is. It can be done by e-mail, s-mail, phone, […]
Let’s Put Order in Tourism and Tourism in Order
Viewpoint by Roberto Savio The writer is publisher of Other News, an eminent proponent of “information that markets eliminate” and founder of IPS-Inter Press Service News Agency. This article is being reproduced courtesy of Other News with the writer’s permission. He can be contacted at utopia@robertosavio.info and his articles and comments can be read on […]
A Time Bomb Waiting to Explode
Viewpoint by Roberto Savio The writer is publisher of Other News, an eminent proponent of “information that markets eliminate” and founder of IPS-Inter Press Service News Agency. This article is being reproduced courtesy of Other News with the writer’s permission. He can be contacted at utopia@robertosavio.info and his articles and comments can be read on […]
An Encounter with a Star Footballer Now President of Liberia
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – It was late 2003, the Liberian war was winding down after taking the lives of 250,000 civilians, spawning a small army of deadly child soldiers, and I was sitting at lunch in Monrovia inside the president’s palatial office and residence with the American ambassador on my right […]