By Azu Ishiekwene The writer is the Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of LEADERSHIP newspaper based in Abuja, Nigeria. ABUJA | 10 February 2024 (IDN) — As the troubled Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) convened its Ministerial Council meeting in Abuja on February 8 to discuss the quit notice served by three of its members—Mali, Burkina […]
Diplomacy and Neutrality—Not More Killing—Is the Answer to Ukraine’s Security
By Jeffrey D. Sachs* This article was published in Common Dreams and is being republished with the author’s permission. NEW YORK | 9 February 2024 (IDN) — President Joe Biden is refusing to fold a losing hand as he bets with Ukrainian lives and U.S. taxpayer money. Biden and Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer […]
The Anatomy of Default and the IMF in Sri Lanka: Of Elections, Bond Scams, and Money Politics
By Darini Rajasingham-Senanayake COLOMBO, Sri Lanka | 7 February 2024 (IDN) — With the wisdom of hindsight, the Root Causes of Sri Lanka’s first-ever Sovereign Default, staged three years ago on the eve of 75 years of ‘Independence’ from the British Raj are clear. When the Default happened in March 2021, there was too much […]
MYANMAR: Three Years After the Coup, Hope Remains
By Jan Servaes BANGKOk | 7 February 2024 (IDN) — Myanmar’s military junta has increasingly carried out unlawful airstrikes killing civilians in its military operations against a coalition of the People Defense Force (PDF) and ethnic armed groups (EAOs), Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on January 30, 2024, on the eve of the anniversary of […]
The US Preaches Democracy but Dictates Covert Regime Change
The Story of Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Ouster By Jeffrey D. Sachs* This article was published in Common Dreams and is being republished with the author’s permission. NEW YORK | 2 February 2024 (IDN) — A principal instrument of U.S. foreign policy is covert regime change, meaning a secret action by the U.S. government […]
Peace is not Merely the Absence of War
By Simone Galimberti* KATHMANDU | 2 February 2024 (IDN) — There is an overall perception to see SDG 16 as a goal only centred on peace, while it is much more than that. That thinking is founded on a false premise that narrowly and too considers peace as the absence of war. Debunking this myth […]
ECOWAS: Behind the Surprise Exit of Three Countries
By Azu Ishiekwene The writer is the Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of LEADERSHIP newspaper based in Abuja, Nigeria. ABUJA | 1 February 2024 (IDN) — Mali and Burkina Faso obviously have a lot more in common than squaring off in a game of football like they just did in the Round of 16 knockout stage of the […]
The War on Drugs Needs a Total Rethink
By Jonathan Power LUND, Sweden | 31 January 2024 (IDN) — Not that long ago, Sherlock Holmes could quite legally sit by the fire in his London flat with his pipe and sniff cocaine. If friends wanted to join him they could, without fear of a police raid, and smoke marijuana. Opium was used for […]
Smearing Ceasefire Protesters, Pelosi Combines Devotion to Israel with Cold-War Mania
By Norman Solomon* SAN FRANCISCO | 30 January 2024 (IDN) — Sometimes there’s a thin line between vile demagoguery and pure idiocy. Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi straddled both during a Sunday (28 January) appearance on CNN, when she smeared protesters who’ve been demanding a ceasefire to end Israel’s slaughter of Palestinian people in Gaza. “The former […]
Palestine Will Survive, Deeply Wounded — Israel’s Future Hangs In the Balance
By Jeffrey D. Sachs* This article was published in Common Dreams and is being republished with the author’s permission. NEW YORK | 30 January 2024 (IDN) — It is easy to be cynical about the international rule of law. No sooner had the International Court of Justice (ICJ) found that Israel is plausibly committing genocide […]