By James E. Jennings* ATLANTA | 24 August 2024 (IDN) — There’s an ongoing dispute about the meaning of Genocide, which is important because the case against Israel’s war in Gaza is scheduled to be decided soon by the International Court of Justice (ICJ). It’s actually not that complicated. Confucius allegedly said, “The naming of […]
Muhammad Yunus Faces a Herculean Task in Bangladesh
By Ishrat Hossain* BERLIN | 24 August 2024 (IDN) — Bangladesh’s new leader is facing a difficult task. He needs to rebuild a country that has been in democratic decline for decades, suffering from systematic corruption and a shattered relationship between state and society. Just 72 hours after the resignation of the authoritarian Prime Minister […]
Iran: Neutralizing Nuclear Threat Without Force or Sanctions
By Dr Alon Ben-Meir* NEW YORK 22 August 2024 (IDN)— All past efforts to block Iran’s march toward becoming a nuclear power have failed. It is time for the US and Israel to develop a new strategy that factors in the possibility that Iran will become a nuclear power but renders it futile without using […]
Strengthening the Chemical Weapons Convention
By Kudakwashe Mapako The writer is Research Officer at the African Center for Science and International Security (AFRICSIS). The Hague | 23 August 2024 (IDN) — In pursuit of comprehensive chemical security and to strengthen the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) across the African continent, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) needs to […]
The US Democratic Convention Fiddles While the World Burns
By Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J. S. Davies* NEW YORK | 22 August 2024 (IDN) — An Orwellian disconnect haunts the 2024 Democratic National Convention. In the isolation of the convention hall, shielded from the outside world behind thousands of armed police, few of the delegates seem to realize that their country is on the […]
Nuclear-Weapon States Should Pledge No First Use
By Chie Sunada The writer is the Director of Disarmament and Human Rights at Soka Gakkai International. TOKYO | 21 August 2024 (IDN) — This summer, Hironobu Maekawa, alongside his wife Hiroko, spoke for the first time about an experience from almost eight decades earlier. Just weeks after the August 6, 1945, atomic bombing of […]
Gaza War: Israel Should Declare Victory and Go Home
By David L. Phillips* WASHINGTON DC | 21 August 2024 (IDN) — “Declare victory and go home” typically refers to US engagement in the Vietnam War. It is also relevant in other intractable conflicts, such as today’s war in Gaza. With the Gaza war entering its 11th month, Israel has achieved 90 percent of its […]
Compromise Is a Way Out of the Cold War Turning Hot
By Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden | 20 August 2024 (IDN) — Nearly everyone I talk politics to says the world is in a mess. But I live in a student town and most of them have nothing to measure their opinions against. They know not much about the Cold War, the Cuban missile crisis, Watergate […]
Youth-led Protests: The Start of an African Spring?
By Henrik Maihack, IPS-Journal.EU* BERLIN | 20 August 2024 (IDN) — People are taking to the streets in Africa. Following a wave of protests and an election, a millennial president has come to power in Senegal, who just a few weeks earlier was a political prisoner. In Kenya, street protests led by Gen Z students […]
UN Urged to Probe Charges of US Complicity in Ousting Regimes in Pakistan and Bangladesh
By Jeffrey D. Sachs* This article was published in Common Dreams and is being republished with the author’s permission. NEW YORK | 20 July 2024 (IDN) — Two former leaders of major South Asian countries have reportedly accused the United States of covert regime change operations to topple their governments. One of the leaders, former […]