 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Viewpoint by Norman Solomon*
SAN FRANCISCO, USA (IDN) — Russia’s war in Ukraine—like the USA’s wars in Afghanistan and Iraq—should be understood as barbaric mass slaughter. For all their mutual hostility, the Kremlin and the White House are willing to rely on similar precepts: Might makes right. International law is what you extol when you aren’t violating it. And at home, rev up the nationalism to go with the militarism.
Viewpoint by Herbert Wulf
This article was issued by the Toda Peace Institute and is being republished with their permission.
BONN (IDN) — War is back in Europe. What a shock. At the beginning of the year we asked ourselves: Are we back in the Cold War? Now it’s a hot war. It’s not the first war in Europe: Northern Ireland, several Balkan wars, Georgia, Moldova. This time, it seems we are back in the old block confrontation. Western politicians and media call it the third historical turning point after the fall of the Berlin Wall and 9/11.
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power
LUND, Sweden (IDN) — Through the fog of war, it is difficult to see blue sky. So it is with Ukraine. Pessimists and poets who have long argued that we humans are unfit for purpose have more grist for their mill.
But let’s step back from the Ukrainian conflict.
By Thalif Deen
UNITED NATIONS (IDN) — The war in Ukraine may not be a head-on conflict between Russia and the United States but it is certainly a battle between the heavily-stocked military arsenals of two of the world’s major military and nuclear powers.
At a press briefing March 22, UN Secretary-General António Guterres was forcefully explicit when he said the war in Ukraine “is unwinnable”.
By UN News
UNITED NATIONS (IDN) — The magnitude of civilian casualties and destruction of civilian infrastructure in Ukraine cannot be denied, the UN political chief told the Security Council on March 17, demanding a thorough investigation and accountability.
“Civilians are entitled to protection against the dangers arising from military operations,” insisted Rosemary DiCarlo, Under-Secretary General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, as she briefed the Council on the latest events.
By Kester Kenn Klomegah*
MOSCOW | RABAT (IDN) — In an emailed interview with IDN’s Kester Kenn Klomegah, Dr Mohamed Chtatou, a senior professor of Middle Eastern politics at the International University of Rabat (IUR) and Mohammed V University in Rabat, Morocco, discusses Africa’s position on Russia-Ukraine crisis, its effects on Africa as well as the implications for future relations. Here are excerpts from the interview:
By Thalif Deen
UNITED NATIONS (IDN) — UN Secretary-General António Guterres has warned that the current devastating war in Ukraine has an equally destructive impact on the outside world: an assault on the world’s most vulnerable people and countries.
The worst affected are the world’s poor as food, fuel and fertilizer prices are skyrocketing while one of the world’s major bread baskets, Ukraine, is being bombed—a country which alone provided more than half of the World Food Programme’s (WFP) wheat supply.
Viewpoint by M Rafiqul Islam
The writer is Emeritus Professor of Law, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia. This article was issued by The Daily Star of Bangladesh and is being republished with their permission.
SYDNEY (IDN) — The UN General Assembly emergency session adopted a resolution against Russia's aggression in Ukraine on 2 March 2022. It was adopted by 141 votes of total 193 members with 5 negative votes and 35 abstentions of which Bangladesh was one. Given the highly polarised geopolitical orientation of current international relations and UN operational narratives, this write-up argues that the pragmatic decision of Bangladesh was justified.
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power
LUND, Sweden (IDN) — What does ex-president Donald Trump think about NATO? Twice during his campaigning, he rubbished it publicly, saying it was “obsolete”. Three years ago the French president, Emmanuel Macron, said NATO was “brain-dead.
Is it obsolete or brain-dead or both?
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network
NEW YORK (IDN) — In a new “scramble for Africa”, Russia and China are cutting deals, extending loans, making friends and allies across the continent at a time when jihadists in many countries have posed a growing threat to citizens and national security forces.
IDN-InDepthNews offers news analyses, features, reports and viewpoints that impact the world and its peoples. It has been online since 2009. Its network spans countries around the world.