Joseph Kayira interviews Oxfam Malawi country director, Lingalireni Mihowa LILONGWE, Malawi | 9 March 2025 (IDN) — The persistent challenge in increasing women’s participation in politics, decision-making, and the broader economy in Malawi stems from deeply entrenched patriarchal structures that have not been effectively dismantled, despite the existence of progressive policies and legal frameworks, said […]
IN LIGHTER VEIN — At the UN: from the Sublime to the Hilarious
By Thalif Deen* UNITED NATIONS | 8 March 2025 (IDN) — The primary mandate of the United Nations is to maintain international peace and security, but the world body is also a rich source of political anecdotes — from the sublime to the hilarious. The debates and resolutions in the 15-member Security Council, the UN’s most […]
Ending The Second Cold War Between Russia and The West
By Jonathan Power LUND, Sweden | 4 March 2025 (IDN) — George Orwell, the author of “Animal Farm”, the satire on how a dictatorship can slowly but steadily evolve in a democratic society, and “1984”, a novel about three dystopian dictatorships always at war with each other, was the first person to use the phrase […]
From A National Initiative to A Non-Discriminatory Concept of NWFZs
Follow-Up On a Cold War Era Lesson By Enkhsaikhan Jargalsaikhan The writer is Chairman of Blue Banner NGO, Former Mongolian Permanent Representative to the United Nations. NEW YORK | 4 March 2025 (IDN) — During the Cold war years Mongolia has learned a bitter lesson of the implications of hosting military bases of a nuclear-weapon […]
UN Undertakes Yet Another Attempt to Ban the Bomb
By Ramesh Jaura BERLIN | 4 March 2025 (IDN) — The West’s preoccupation with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine three years ago on 24 February and the spectre of a nuclear clash has put out of sight the urgent menace of 2,100 nuclear warheads nine states — Russia, United States, China, France, United Kingdom, Pakistan, India, […]
Global Ocean Treaty Two Years On: A Chance for International Cooperation
By Reinhard Jacobsen BRUSSELS | 3 March 2025 (IDN) — Greenpeace deems the second anniversary of the Global Ocean Treaty being agreed on March 4 “a victory for multilateralism and a chance to protect the ocean worldwide”. Bringing it to life as soon as possible is the only way to keep the 30×30 ocean target […]
UN Nuclear Agency Chief Voices Safety Concerns Over Sites in Ukraine and Iran
By Jaya Ramachandran VIENNA (IDN) — As the Ukraine war drags on, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi has expressed concern about the escalating nuclear safety risks. Reiterating the UN-backed IAEA’s commitment to monitoring facilities such as the Khmelnitsky, Rivne and South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs), he described how […]
On the Brink of a New Era Where Great Powers Seize Craved Territories
By John P Ruehl* This article was produced by Economy for All, a project of the Independent Media Institute. It is republished with permission. WASHINGTON, DC | 1 March 2025 (IDN) — Amid ongoing discussions over Donald Trump’s plans for trying to resolve conflicts in Ukraine and Israel, the US president has maintained steady pressure […]
UN Peacekeepers and Associated Personnel Killed in 2024
By the Staff Union Standing Committee UNITED NATIONS | 27 February 2025 (IDN) — At least five United Nations personnel — including four military peacekeeping personnel — and one civilian UN security coordination officer, were killed in deliberate attacks in 2024, according to the United Nations Staff Union Standing Committee on the Security and Independence of […]
Nuclear Weapons Are ‘One-Way Road to Annihilation’, Warns Guterres
By Vibhu Mishra, UN News NEW YORK | 26 February 2025 (IDN) — UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Monday warned that the risk of nuclear conflict is rising – as global security arrangements unravel and military spending soars – urging governments to push for total disarmament. “The nuclear option is not an option at all,” […]