By Hans Kundnani* LONDON | 13 July 2024 (IDN) — The conventional wisdom in Germany is that Ostpolitik—which is usually taken to mean a policy based on the idea of peaceful co-existence with Russia going back to the approach taken by Willy Brandt as chancellor—is now completely discredited. Even those who admit that it was […]
Doubts On the Origins of World War II, On The 80th Anniversary of D-Day
By Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden | 9 July 2024 (IDN) — It is a common trait in mankind to apply to ourselves a generosity of interpretation which we do not extend to others. We find proofs of wickedness, using evidence that we would not use against our own. We play down the sins of ourselves, […]
Prince Henry of Portugal—The Forerunner of Globalization
By Jan Servaes LAGOS, Portugal | 8 June 2024 (IDN) — We all know that when Christopher Columbus landed in ‘America’ in 1492, he thought it was India. Much less is known about the Portuguese navigator Vasco Da Gama who was the first to reach the real India in 1498. This ‘discovery’ was due to […]
Germany-European Elections: Will Lowering the Voting Age to 16 Benefit the Right Extremists?
By Gabriele Abels* The Conversation issued this article. TÜBINGEN, Germany | 9 May 2024 (IDN) — Ahead of the European Parliament elections on 6 June, Germany has lowered the age limit on participation to 16. This makes it the largest of just a handful of states in the EU to allow people under the age […]
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 […]
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 First Europeans Reached Ukraine 1.4 Million Years Ago—New Research
By John Jansen, Czech Academy of Sciences* PRAGUE, Czechoslovakia | 11 March 2024 (IDN) — During warm periods in Earth’s history, known as interglacials, glaciers the size of continents pulled back to reveal new landscapes. These were new worlds for early humans to explore and exploit, and 1.4 million years ago this was Europe: a […]
Russia Must Withdraw Unconditionally from Ukraine
By Stavros Lambrinidis The author is Head of the European Union‘s Delegation to the United Nations, at the UN Security Council. Following are extensive excerpts from his Statement to the UN Security Council on 8 March 2024. NEW YORK | 10 March 2024 (IDN) — When the UN Secretary-General visited Kyiv in 2022, Russian missiles […]
French Police Found Guilty of Racist Brutality, but Sentence is Light
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK | 22 January 2024 (IDN) — Three officers who received suspended jail sentences over their violent assault of a French Black man are symbols of out-of-control racist police violence tolerated by the government in France. The officers were convicted on 19 January of “voluntary violence” towards the […]
Kurti-EU Tensions Harming Kosovo’s National Interests
By Dr Alon Ben-Meir* NEW YORK. 24 September 2023 (IDN) — Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti is still wallowing in his obsession with Serbia and seems to never understand that Kosovo’s independence, security, and well-being do not depend on what Serbia’s President Vucic says or does but only on the commitments of the EU and […]