By Dr Alon Ben-Meir* NEW YORK | 21 March 2024 (IDN) — Since the Iranian revolution in 1979, the US has not developed a long-term strategy toward Iran but instead has made tactical moves to deal with the various conflicting issues with Tehran as they arose. Conversely, from the time the clergy assumed power, Iran […]
Photoshopping Princess and The Perils of Manipulation
By Azu Ishiekwene The writer is the Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of LEADERSHIP newspaper based in Abuja, Nigeria. ABUJA | 21 March 2024 (IDN) — The press has been unkind to Kate Middleton, the Princess of Wales. I find it hard to understand why, of all the problems at this time, from the cost-of-living crisis to the […]
Is Violence in the Blood of Muslims?
By Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden | 19 March 2024 (IDN) — Is Islam violent? ISIS in Syria and Iraq. In Pakistan, there is Lashkar-e-Taiba and the attempted murderer of the schoolgirl, Malala Yousafzai. Immigrant Moroccan men roughly pushing women and fondling them in the crowd in Cologne. Murderous bombs in Paris. Right now, much of […]
Ukraine War: European Union May Risk Its Political Future
By Michael von der Schulenburg, Hans-Joachim Funke* BERLIN | 19 March 2024 (IDN) — The deteriorating military situation in Ukraine and the United States’ increasing withdrawal from this war created a situation in which the EU is now pushed to the forefront in dealing with this problem. Probably for the first time since the end […]
The Origin of COVID-19 and US Responsibility
By Jeffrey D. Sachs* This article was published in Common Dreams and is being republished with the author’s permission. A US-funded laboratory origin of COVID-19 would constitute the most significant case of governmental gross negligence in history. The people of the world deserve transparency and factual answers to vital questions. NEW YORK | 18 March […]
Online Activism in China
By Jan Servaes BANGKOK| 15 March 2024 (IDN) —There are already more than 1 billion netizens in China, more than 3 times the population of the USA and almost one and a half times that of Europe. This means that about 20% of the world’s internet users, or almost 1 in 5, live in China. […]
Biden’s Balancing Act: Israel’s National Security vs The Palestinians’ Humanitarian Crisis
By Dr Alon Ben-Meir* NEW YORK | 15 March 2024 (IDN) — In recent weeks, the Biden administration has found itself facing a serious dilemma as to how to balance its commitment to Israel’s national security along with the humanitarian crisis facing the Palestinians in Gaza. Whereas the United States provides military aid to Israel, […]
The Wealth of Nations and the Poverty of Theory
IMF, Sri Lanka’s Resource Curse, and Privatization of the Central Bank By Darini Rajasingham-Senanayake COLOMBO, Sri Lanka | 14 March 2024 (IDN) — With the world distracted by kinetic wars in Ukraine and Gaza, a hybrid economic proxy war against the Global South and China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) for global connectivity is unfolding […]
Multilateral Development Banks Play Crucial Role in Financing Global Public Goods
By José Antonio Ocampo and Karla Daniela González, Columbia University This article was first published in the 2023/2024 UNDP Human Development Report – Breaking the Gridlock: Reimagining cooperation in a polarized world –on 13 March 2024. NEW YORK | 14 March 2024 (IDN) — There is broad-based agreement among the United Nations and the Group […]
Are We Stumbling into World War III in Ukraine?
By Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J. S. Davies* NEW YORK | 13 March 2024 (IDN) — President Biden began his State of the Union speech with an impassioned warning that failing to pass his 61 billion dollar weapons package for Ukraine “will put Ukraine at risk, Europe at risk, the free world at risk.” But […]