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Photo: South African President (right) in a phone conversation with Putin. Credit: CGTN

South Africa on The Right Side of History or Captured by Cold War Allies?

Viewpoint by Professor Gerrit Olivier and Michèle Olivier

Gerrit Olivier is an emeritus professor at Pretoria University and former South African Ambassador in Russia and Kazakhstan. Michèle Olivier is a consultant in international law.

PRETORIA, South Africa | HULL, England (IDN) — A seemingly non-negotiable principle of South Africa’s foreign policy, is to be on the side of autocrats and dictators and habitually anti-West, irrespective of the issues. Cosy relations with the likes of Ethiopia’s Mengistu Haile Mariam, Sudan‘s Omar al Bashir Cuba’s Fidel Castro and Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe, characterised our foreign policy under all presidents since Nelson Mandela. With the present government being enamoured with a rabid war criminal like Vladimir Putin, we see a continuation of this policy.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 22 May 2022

Image: Cover of Electoral Integrity Report

US Falters, Europe Leads in Electoral Integrity

By Thalif Deen

NEW YORK (IDN) — When Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared a state of emergency during a political crisis in June 1975, she arrested hundreds of citizens, suspended civil liberties and imposed strict censorship of the press—temporarily downgrading “the world’s largest democracy” to a near-authoritarian state.

: Thalif Deen; SUSTAINABILITY; Peace & Justice; 21 May 2022

Global Call to Act on Land Degradation and Drought

By Devendra Kamarajan

ABIDJAN, Côte d’Ivoire (IDN) — The 15th Conference of Parties (COP15) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), concluded in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, has concluded with a united global pledge to boost drought resilience and invest in land restoration for future prosperity.

: Devendra Kamarajan; SUSTAINABILITY; Forests, desertification, land degradation & biodiversity; 21 May 2022

Image source: UK Ministry of DefenceImage source: UK Ministry of Defence

Nuclear Policies Violate Right to Life, Warn Civil Society Organisations

By Jaya Ramachandran

GENEVA (IDN) — While arms control and disarmament efforts have come to a halt, civil society organisations are insisting that nuclear policies contravene the right to life. “Every human being has the inherent right to life. This right shall be protected by law. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his life,” declares Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

: Jaya Ramachandran; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 21 May 2022

Photo: Africa braces for food price inflation as Russia-Ukraine war continues. Anatolii STEPANOV / FAO/AFP

Southern Africa Feels the Pinch of Russia-Ukraine War

By Jeffrey Moyo

HARARE, Zimbabwe (IDN) — Life is no longer the same for Zimbabwe’s shop owner, 34-year-old Richwell Mhasi in the capital Harare who has had to park his car at home, switching to his bicycle, cycling to and from work amid the rising prices of fuel since the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine war this year.

: Jeffrey Moyo; SUSTAINABILITY; Food security, nutrition & sustainable agriculture; 20 May 2022

Photo: ICAN Nobel Peace Prize Concert 2017. Credit: Ralf Schlesener

ICAN Successfully Promoting the Nuclear-Weapons Ban in Africa

By Jaya Ramachandran

GENEVA (IDN) — 2017 Nobel Peace laureate, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), and its partner organisations are carrying out activities across Africa to promote adherence to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) and to raise awareness of the grave threat that nuclear weapons pose to all humanity.

: Jaya Ramachandran; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 19 May 2022

Looks Like Another “Bad Blue” Just Bit the Dust

By Jeff Cohen and Norman Solomon*

SAN FRANCISCO, USA (IDN) — Three years ago, we helped write a report for RootsAction.org targeting 15 corporate Democrats in Congress who deserved to be “primaried.” We called the report “Bad Blues.” A common reaction back then was that those establishment pols were too strong and entrenched to be defeated.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 19 May 2022

Photo: Thousands of US troops were deployed to Eastern Europe amid Russia's military build-up. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Meleesa Gutierrez)

Endless War in Ukraine Hurts National and Global Security

Viewpoint by Katrina van den Heuvel*

This article is distributed by Globetrotter in partnership with The Nation.

NEW YORK (IDN) — What are the United States’ goals in the Ukraine war? Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin recently announced that the United States wants “Russia weakened to the degree that it can’t do the kinds of things that it has done in invading Ukraine.” The U.S. commitment toward that end has been substantial.

: Opinion Editor; THE WORLD; Russia; 18 May 2022

Ukraine War Constraints UN To Revise Global Growth Estimates

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) — The latest United Nations forecast warns that growth prospects have weakened significantly amid the war in Ukraine, upending the fragile economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, triggering a devastating humanitarian crisis in Europe, increasing food and commodity prices and exacerbating inflationary pressures worldwide.

: J Nastranis; UN INSIDER; 18 May 2022

Image: Representational Image. Courtesy: Tribune India

Behind India’s Wheat Fiasco

By V Sridhar

This article was issued by NewsClick, and is being republished courtesy of that independent media organization in India.

NEW DELHI (IDN) — The month of May seems to be the Narendra Modi Government’s favourite month for conjuring a crisis out of thin air. Exactly a year ago, it was the vaccine fiasco; this year, it is the wheat crisis. About a month ago, (Prime Minister) Modi, accustomed to the bombast of a Vishwaguru (world guru), told US president Joe Biden that India, a non-existent player in the global wheat trade, could play a role in feeding the world.