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By Kalinga Seneviratne
SYDNEY (IDN) — On May 21 when Australians go to the polls to elect a new government, the vast continent which was stolen from the indigenous people in 1788 and annexed to the British crown may have its ‘independent day’—not one that would declare itself a republic, but a day when ‘independent’ members of parliament may hold the balance of power in the lower house in Canberra.
This article was issued by Common Dreams. It is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
By Jake Johnson
PORTLAND, Maine, USA (IDN) — The Ukrainian news outlet Ukrayinska Pravda reported May 5 that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson used his surprise visit to Kyiv last month to pressure President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to cut off peace negotiations with Russia, even after the two sides appeared to have made tenuous progress toward a settlement to end the war.
This article was issued by the Toda Peace Institute and is being republished with their permission.
Viewpoint by Herbert Wulf
BONN (IDN) — At present, historical analogies are very often used to explain reasons for or against the causes of the war in Ukraine or to describe the horrors of this war with historical arguments. Some of these comparisons are downright perfidious, like equating Adolf Hitler and Vladimir Putin.
By Kalinga Seneviratne
SYDNEY (IDN) — During the months-long Covid lockdowns across Australia in 2021, the reason given was that the country's public hospitals would be overwhelmed by the virus-infected patients, and they would not be able to cope with the situation. Thus, while the surgery scheduled was postponed, there were long queues of patients waiting for hours seeking admission to hospital emergency units.
By Thalif Deen
NEW YORK (IDN) — A sign outside a gun store in the United States was dead on target: "We sell guns to every Dick, Tom and Dirty Harry."
Clint Eastwood, one of Hollywood's enduring tough guys, played the role of the maverick San Francisco cop "Dirty Harry" in the 1971 crime thriller in which he took the law into his own hands trying to track down a serial killer on the loose. Described by some critics as a fascist movie, "Dirty Harry" helped Eastwood climb the top of the box office charts.
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power
This article builds on a column of 1974 the author wrote for the New York Times. It was the most prominent article printed that day on the op-ed page. Over a long career, he has developed those ideas and the following is the result.
LUND, Sweden (IDN) — Sweden has been a different land from almost every other. If we overlook Sweden’s military contribution on the side of the US in Afghanistan when it deployed a mere 500 troops, it’s been 206 years since it went to war—and lost to Norway, which then achieved its independence. Immediately before that, it lost two wars to Russia—in 1790 and earlier in 1721.
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network
NEW YORK | FREETOWN (IDN) — Schoolteachers in Sierra Leone say they’ve had enough after the arrest of Mohamed Salieu Khan, interim chair of the Teachers Solidarity Movement (TSM). On April 26, he was grabbed by police outside the popular AYV TV station after speaking about the dismal plight of schoolteachers and their unequal conditions of service.
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network
NEW YORK (IDN) — Reparations—a system of redress for egregious injustices—are not a foreign idea imposed from the outside on the United States. On the contrary, the U.S. has given lands to Native Americans, paid $1.5 billion to Japanese Americans interned in the U.S. during World War II, and helped Jews receive reparations for the Holocaust, including making various investments over time.
By Jim Garamone & David Vergun, DOD News
This report was issued by the U.S. Department of Defense.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (IDN) — U.S. service members in Germany have begun training Ukrainian soldiers on key systems being used to defend Ukraine against the Russian invasion, according to Pentagon Press Secretary John F. Kirby.
"These efforts build on the initial artillery training that Ukraine's forces already have received elsewhere and also includes training on radar systems and armored vehicles that have been recently announced as part of security assistance packages," Kirby said.
By Radwan Jakeem with UN News
NEW YORK (IDN) — UN Secretary-General António Guterres was visibly "personally affected" on visiting sites of suspected war crimes in Ukraine on April 28, where he condemned the "evil" acts committed against civilians and urged criminal accountability.
His visit to the Kyiv suburbs of Borodianka, Bucha and Irpin took place nine weeks since the Russian invasion began on February 24. Mr Guterres urged Russia "to accept to cooperate" with the ongoing investigation launched by the International Criminal Court, the ICC.
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