USA and Canada

Photo: Outstanding achievements of Sri Lankan Americans are recognized at the Sri Lanka Foundation Award Ceremony held at the Baltimore Hotel in Los Angeles. Credit: Sri Lanka Foundation.

Sri Lankan Americans’ IMPACT ON Life in America

By Nandasiri Jasentuliyana

The writer is former Deputy Director-General of the United Nations.

LOS ANGELES (IDN) — The earliest Sri Lankans to enter the United States were classified as "other Asians." Immigration records show that between 1881 and 1890, 1,910 "other Asians" were admitted to the United States. It is unlikely that many of these were from Sri Lanka. In 1975, immigration records classified Sri Lankans as a separate category for the first time. That year, 432 Sri Lankans immigrated to the United States.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 25 January 2023

Is China Really a Threat?

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power*

LUND, Sweden (IDN) — Exactly five years ago, the American secretary of defence, Jim Mattis, declared a new era: “There has been a return of great power competition……great power competition—not terrorism—is now the primary focus of US security”. In the new national defence strategy document, China and Russia were singled out as “adversaries”.

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 24 January 2023

Photo: Scott Ritter, a former US Marine Corps intelligence officer. Source: Wikipedia Commons.

US Intelligence Officer Warns of 'A Slaughter, A Massacre'

Viewpoint by Ahmed Adel

This article was published in Blitz, a weekly newspaper with a distinctive difference, established in 2003 and published in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

CAIRO (IDN) — A former US Marine Corps intelligence officer has not only warned that Russia is escalating its special military operation in Ukraine but that this will result in "a slaughter, a massacre" for Ukraine. His statement comes as a lot of speculation is circulating following the appointment of Valery Gerasimov as commander of the overall Ukraine campaign, with the pre-eminent idea being that there was a "reshuffle".

: Asia Editor; OPINION; 22 January 2023

Image: South Korean and U.S. missiles are displayed at Korea War Memorial Museum in Seoul, South Korea on 31 Aug. 2022. Credit: AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon

South Korea Vows to Go Nuclear Amid Growing Threats from North

By Thalif Deen

UNITED NATIONS (IDN) — As nuclear tensions continue to spread across the Korean Peninsula, South Korea has for the first time declared “nuclear weapons as a policy option”,—triggering the threat of a potentially new nuclear power looming in the horizon.

South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol is quoted as saying that if North Korea's nuclear threat grows, South Korea would consider building its own nuclear weapons or request the US to redeploy them in the Korean Peninsula.

Is this for real?

: Thalif Deen; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 19 January 2023

The Idea Biden Is the One to Beat the GOP in 2024

Viewpoint by Norman Solomon*

SAN FRANCISCO (IDN) — For many months, conventional media wisdom has told us that Joe Biden would be the strongest candidate to defeat Donald Trump in 2024 because he did it before.

The claim was always on shaky ground—after all, Trump was the ultimate symbol of the status quo when he lost in 2020, as Biden would be in next year’s election.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 18 January 2023

Photo: President Yoon Suk Yeol shown on Jan. 9 receiving this year's business briefings from government ministries at Yeongbingwan, the guesthouse at the former presidential compound of Cheong Wa Dae. (Office of the 20th President)

South Korea Warned Against Talk of Pursuing Nuclear Weapons

By J C Suresh

TORONTO | WASHINGTON (IDN) — A former U.S. official has cautioned South Korea against talk of pursuing nuclear weapons. Mr Thomas Countryman, who served as the acting Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security until January 2017, was responding to remarks by South Korea's president Yoon Suk Yeol.

: Ramesh Jaura; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 12 January 2023

Photo: Soldiers conduct Patriot missile live-fire training at McGregor Range Complex at Fort Bliss, Texas, Nov. 5, 2022. Ukrainian soldiers will train to use the system at Fort Sill, Okla. Credit: Army Staff Sgt. Ian Vega-Cerezo.

Ukrainian Troops Headed to U.S. for Patriot Missile Training

By C. Todd Lopez, DOD News

This article was issued by U.S. Department of Defense.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (IDN) — Weeks after announcing that the U.S. would send one Patriot air defense battery and associated munitions to Ukraine, a Pentagon official said Ukrainian soldiers will come to the U.S. to train on the Patriot system so they'll be ready to use it when it's delivered.

: J C Suresh; THE WORLD; EU & Europe; 10 January 2023

Photo: Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia, Ukraine & Eurasia Laura Cooper speaks to the media during a briefing at the Pentagon, Jan. 6, 2023. Credit: Air Force Tech. Sgt. Jack Sanders, DOD

US $3 Billion US Military Package Looks to Change Battlefield Dynamics

By Jim Garamone, DOD News

This article was issued by U.S. Department of Defense.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (IDN) — DOD officials unveiled the more than $3 billion package of military capabilities to help Ukraine drive the Russian invaders from their soil.

"The war in Ukraine is at a critical point right now, and we have to do everything we can to help the Ukrainians continue to resist Russian aggression," Laura Cooper, deputy assistant secretary of defense for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia, said.

: J C Suresh; THE WORLD; USA and Canada; 06 January 2023

Photo: Natanz Nuclear Facility. CC BY 2.0

No Nuclear Weapon Can Save Iran from its Internal Strife

Viewpoint by Dr Alon Ben-Meir

Dr Alon Ben-Meir, a retired professor of international relations at the Center for Global Affairs at New York University (NYU), taught courses on international negotiation and Middle Eastern studies for over 20 years.

NEW YORK (IDN) — Words from various officials in the know suggest that, although President Biden stated that the Iran Nuclear deal is “dead,” the President would still like the 2015 deal to be revived. However, several obstacles must first be resolved.

: Europe Editor; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 01 January 2023

Photo: President Recep Tayyip Erdogan with Syria's Bashar Assad in Aleppo in February 2011. Source: DAILY SABAH

Russia Mediates Turkish-Syrian Reconciliation Process

Erdogan Avenges the American Betrayal

Viewpoint by M.K. Bhadrakumar*

This article was produced in partnership with Indian Punchline and Globetrotter.

NEW DELHI (IDN) — The curtain is coming down on the brutal 11-year-old Syrian conflict, which former US President and Nobel Laureate Barack Obama initiated as the Arab Spring swept through West Asia two decades ago. The United States has suffered yet another big setback in West Asia as the year 2022 draws to a close. The unfolding Turkish-Syrian reconciliation process under Russian mediation is to be seen as a saga of betrayal and vengeance.