USA and Canada

Photo: Marines fire an M777 howitzer at Twentynine Palms, Calif. Credit: DOD

U.S. Troops Train Ukrainians in Germany as M777 Howitzers Are on the Way

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.

: J C Suresh; THE WORLD; Russia; 01 May 2022

Photo: Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III hosts Anita Anand, Canada's Minister of National Defense, for a bilateral meeting at the Pentagon, Washington, D.C., April 28, 2022. Credit: Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Zachary Wheeler.

Canada and U.S. Jointly Backing Up Ukraine, NATO

By Jim Garamone, DOD News

This report was issued by the U.S. Department of Defense.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (IDN) — Canada and the United States are in lockstep in their support for Ukraine in its fight against Russia, defense leaders said following Pentagon meetings on April 28.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III hosted Canadian Minister of National Defense Anita Anand for the meeting that also covered the wide range of issues facing both neighbors.

: J C Suresh; THE WORLD; EU & Europe; 29 April 2022

Photo: Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III poses for his official portrait (cropped). Credit: Pentagon, Jan 23, 2021.

US Strategic Goal Of "Weakening Russia" Is Playing with Fire

Viewpoint by John Burroughs

This article was issued by Common Dreams and is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0. The author is a Senior Analyst for the New York City-based Lawyers Committee on Nuclear Policy.

NEW YORK (IDN) — Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin provided a revealing and disturbing glimpse into a darker element of US policy at a press conference held on April 25 at the Poland/Ukraine border. The press event followed a trip to Kyiv by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Austin.

: UN Bureau; OPINION; 27 April 2022

Image: President Biden speaks with the media at the conclusion of the U.S-Russia Summit in Geneva, June 2021. Credit: U.S. Embassy Bern Switzerland / Flickr, Creative Commons

Russian and US Parallel Pathways to a Nuclear Conflict

This article was issued by the Toda Peace Institute and is being republished with their permission.

Viewpoint by Ramesh Thakur

CANBERRA, Australia (IDN) — In the 2020 election, President Donald Trump’s supporters looked beyond manifest character flaws to domestic and foreign policy results but opponents couldn’t overlook his character to assess any policy achievements. Joe Biden became president as much because Americans voted against Trump as for Biden. The buyers’ remorse evident in opinion polls suggests that perhaps voters should have been careful what they wished for.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 26 April 2022

Photo: Jacob G. Zuma, former President of South Africa. Wikimedia Commons.

Whistle Blower Reveals U.S. Role in Zuma’s Corruption Inquiry

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) — Business consultant Athol Williams said he witnessed high-level corruption under the presidency of Jacob Zuma—but a good portion of it emanated from a U.S. company with connections to U.S. presidential hopeful Mitt Romney, according to a new report.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 26 April 2022

Photo: Protest for Patrcik Lyoya. Source: World Nation News

A Congolese Immigrant Family in the US Confronts Police Shooting Like the Executions Back Home

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) — When Patrick Lyoya, a Congolese immigrant, died at the hands of a police officer in Grand Rapids, Michigan, his life was cut down by violence much like the home-grown executions Congolese have been facing in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for years. Close to a thousand summary executions take place in the DRC each year.

: Global Information Network; SUSTAINABILITY; Peace & Justice; 23 April 2022

Image: The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, a backwater event founded in 1997, has become a meeting place for Asian and European business and political leaders who see this meeting as much more significant than the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting held in Davos, Switzerland.

Would the New Globalization Have an Eastern Face, If Western-Led Globalization Ends?

Viewpoint by E. Ahmet Tonak and Vijay Prashad *

This article was produced by Globetrotter.

NEW YORK | NORTHAMPTON (IDN) — An article written by authors John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge for Bloomberg on March 24 sounded the alarm to announce the end of “the second great age of globalization.” The Western trade war and sanctions against China that predated the pandemic have now been joined by the stiff Western sanctions imposed against Russia after it invaded Ukraine.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 18 April 2022

Photo: NATO Allies agreed to further strengthen and sustain support for Ukraine on April 6-7, 2022. Credit: NATO

Russia Concerned About Finland, Sweden and Moldova Joining NATO

By Kester Kenn Klomegah*

MOSCOW | HELSINKI (IDN) — Further expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) toward Russia's territorial backyard is nothing new. As a prestigious security alliance, it consistently seeks consolidated development in terms of tasks and membership strength. The collapse of the Soviet Union marked the end of Mikhail Gorbachev and ushering in of Boris Yeltsin as the first President of the Russian Federation. There were negotiations aimed at preparing Russia to ascend unto NATO and even join the European Union (EU).

: Kester Kenn Klomegah; THE WORLD; Russia; 16 April 2022

US Hypocrisy over Ukraine and ‘Spheres of Influence’

Viewpoint by Katrina vanden Heuvel

NEW YORK (IDN) — The Russian invasion of Ukraine “is in many ways bigger than Russia, it’s bigger than Ukraine,” State Department spokesman Ned Price recently declared. “There are principles that are at stake here … Each and every country has a sovereign right to determine its own foreign policy, has a sovereign right to determine for itself with whom it will choose to associate in terms of its alliances, its partnerships and what orientation it wishes to direct its gaze.”

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 16 April 2022

Photo: Senior Airman Cameron Manson inspects cargo netting on palletized ammunition, weapons and other equipment bound for Ukraine during a Foreign Military Sales mission at Dover Air Force Base, Del., on Jan. 24, 2022. (Roland Balik/U.S. Air Force)

A Staggering Array of US Arms to Ukraine Pales in Comparison with Russia's Nuclear Weapons

By Thalif Deen

NEW YORK (IDN) — As the devastating war in Ukraine continues—with thousands of civilian killings and entire cities reduced to rubble—the United States has accelerated an unprecedented flow of weapons to the besieged nation.

If Ukraine loses the ongoing war, battling one of the world’s major military and nuclear powers, it is certainly not for want of weapons.