Viewpoint by Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – We are soon going to have a clash between President Donald Trump and international law. This is predicable when one examines the presidential discourse over what to do about North Korea and its possession of nuclear-tipped rockets. He has threatened “fire and fury” which doesn’t sound like […]
Trump Appears to be Getting Ready to Wage War in Syria
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – President Donald Trump said it would never happen. Now it is. During the election he said he did not want more interventions – no more Iraqs, no more Afghanistans, Libyas or Syrias. A year into his presidency the American military is involved in all these places and […]
US Military Bases Devastating Communities Across the World
By Alice Slater* This article was originally published in The Nation on January 24 with the caption: ‘The US Has Military Bases in 80 Countries. All of Them Must Close.’ It is being reprinted with their permission. NEW YORK (IDN-INPS) – On the weekend of Martin Luther King Day (January 15), Baltimore University fittingly hosted […]
Trump’s Kurdish Militia in Syria
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, […]