By Ramesh Thakur* This article was issued by the Toda Peace Institute and is being republished with their permission. CANBERRA, Australia. 16 August 2023 (IDN) — Lord Ismay, NATO’s first secretary-general (SG), famously said the purpose of NATO was to “keep the Americans in, the Russians out, and the Germans down”. The end of the […]
Impact of Social Media: Trivialization of Pakistani Society
Viewpoint by Hamid Ali Khan BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan. 13 August 2023 (IDN) — The prevalence of social media has snowballed in recent years in Pakistan, ushering in a new era of digital interconnectedness. But with this technological advancement comes the unintended consequence of trivializing Pakistani society. Social media platforms like YouTube, Twitter, TikTok, and Facebook have […]
Russian Invasion of Ukraine Triggers Self-defence
By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS. 11 August 2023 (IDN) — The Russian invasion of Ukraine—now in its 16th month—has been described by the United Nations as violations of both the UN charter and the territorial integrity of a sovereign nation. But it has also triggered the concept of self-defence: you hit me, and I’ll hit […]
It’s Time for No-First Use as Doomsday Clock Moves Closer to Midnight
By Aurora Weiss VIENNA. 11 August 2023 (IDN) — At the two-week-long Preparatory Committee meeting here for the 2026 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), the Buddhist organization Soka Gakkai International (SGI)—in consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)—and the Nuclear Age […]
Will ‘Oppenheimer’ Movie Avert Nuclear Holocaust?
By Ramesh Jaura BERLIN. 4 August 2023 (IDN) — The release of Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer sparked a media frenzy just weeks before the first session of the Preparatory Committee for the 2026 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) in Vienna. It is a biopic about the “father” […]
Niger Coup: US Loses Another ‘Vital African Ally’
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK. 31 July 2023 (IDN) — Located at the crossroads of North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa, Niger is the largest country in West Africa and the 6th largest country in Africa. Yet, it is hardly a familiar name like Nigeria, Ghana or Kenya. That is about to change. […]
Glimpses of an Endgame in Ukraine
By M K Bhadrakumar * NEW DELHI. 27 July 2023 (IDN) — The problem with the war in Ukraine is that it has been all smoke and mirrors. The Russian objectives of “demilitarisation” and “de-Nazification” of Ukraine wore a surreal look. The Western narrative that the war is between Russia and Ukraine, where the central […]
Ghanaian Pleads for Help Finding Missing Journalist Brother
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK. 24 July 2023 (IDN) — It’s been over four years since assassins came to his neighborhood, waited for investigative journalist Ahmed Hussein-Suale Divela, and then shot him in his car. “We heard the gunshot,” Kamilu Ibrahim Tahidu, Divela’s brother, recalled in a recent interview with the Committee […]
Peace Planners: Awake!
By René Wadlow, President, Association of World Citizens GENEVA. 23 July 2023 (IDN) — The recent NATO Summit in Vilnius is an indication that the war planning community is busy at work in the spirit of Von Clausewitz that war is a continuation of politics by other means. Thus, there is a need for the peace […]
Modern Day Slavery – Even in the US
By Thalif Deen* UNITED NATIONS. 22 July 2023 (IDN) — The United States banned slavery centuries ago—going back to December 1865, along with a 13th amendment to the American constitution. In 2021, the US declared “Juneteenth” —June 19—a federal holiday commemorating Emancipation Day and celebrating black history and black culture and the final days of […]