By Ramesh Jaura BERLIN | 31 December 2023 (IDN) — The New Year marks our 15th anniversary. Since going online in 2009, we have devoted ourselves to in-depth news and analysis of issues that impact the world, particularly the countries of the Global South. Our focus has been on promoting the bold and transformative 2030 […]
Cold War Politics at the Security Council—and its Lighter Side
By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS | 29 December 2023 (IDN) — The devastating battle between Israel and Hamas has proved once again the ineffectiveness of the 15-member Security Council which is mandated to ensure international peace and security. But that mandate has not helped either in resolving some of the longstanding civil wars and military […]
President Biden: Learn the Names of Children You’ve Helped Israel to Murder
Following is the letter Norman Solomon* wrote to President Joe Biden on 26 December 2023. SAN FRANCISCO | 29 December 2023 (IDN) — You’ve often spoken of how much you care about children and how terrible it is when they’re murdered. “Too many schools, too many everyday places have become killing fields,” you said at […]
India: Is the World’s Largest Democracy A “Mockery”?
By Kalinga Seneviratne SINGAPORE | 28 December 2023 (IDN) — India’s national Parliament—known as Lok Sabha (Lower House of the People)—has become a “mockery of democracy,” says the main opposition party Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge following a splurge of expulsions of their members from the chambers before important criminal law reform bills were debated and […]
Bosnia and Herzegovina: The German High Representative Is Sowing Conflict
By Aurora Weiss VIENNA | 28 December 2023 (IDN) — To be convinced of the legal position of the High Representative Christian Schmidt, we asked for a review of the resolution and vote in the UN Security Council. We spoke with President Milorad Dodik, the famous lawyer Anto Nobilo, and many others to find out […]
Ideologues and Military-Industrial Complex Hack US Foreign Policy
By Jeffrey D. Sachs* This article was published in Common Dreams and is being republished with the author’s permission. NEW YORK | 28 December 2023 (IDN) — US foreign policy seems to be utterly irrational. The US gets into one disastrous war after another—Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Ukraine, and Gaza. In recent days, the US […]
Sheikh Hasina Has Elevated Bangladesh’s Geopolitical Significance
By Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury* DHAKA | 26 December 2023 (IDN) — Bangladesh, a land woven with resilience, heritage, and a drapery of culture, stands at a crucial juncture in the contemporary geopolitical landscape. At the wheel of this dynamic nation is Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, an indomitable leader, whose statesmanship has wielded an influential […]
Homicide Is a Bigger Killer Than Armed Conflict and Terrorism Combined
By Aurora Weiss VIENNA | 26 December 2023 (IDN) — More people were killed due to homicide than armed conflict and terrorism combined. It is estimated that there were roughly 458,000 victims of intentional homicide worldwide in 2021, meaning that an average of 52 individuals lost their lives to homicidal violence every single hour around […]
The Future Role of Youth in Climate Action
By Simone Galimberti* KATHMANDU | 24 December 2023 (IDN) — The recently concluded COP 28 in Dubai has been heralded as the beginning of the end for fossil fuels. Though criticized by many activists, scientists and representatives of the most climate vulnerable nations, the decision taken at the end of negotiations of “transitioning away” from […]
Guyana-Venezuela Border Controversy: Caribbean Dialogue & Diplomacy Avoids Annexation
By P.I. Gomes The writer is a former Cooperative Republic of Guyana Ambassador to the European Union and ACP Group of States, Brussels. These remarks are made as a citizen of Guyana residing in the Diaspora. PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad & Tobago | 22 December 2023 (IDN) —The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on 8 […]