By Nik Martin* BERLIN | 19 May 2024 (IDN) — Governments face increased borrowing, taxes and public sector cuts to finance their soaring military budgets. European NATO members are set to spend a record $380 billion on defence this year—a tough sell to voters. If you want a reminder of the security threats faced by […]
Massachusetts University Arrests: What Would Daniel Ellsberg Do?
By Christian Appy* AMHERST, Massachusetts, USA | 18 May 2024 (IDN) — I have been a history professor at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst for twenty years. On 7 May, I was one of a handful of faculty members arrested for standing in support of hundreds of students who were engaged in non-violent protest of […]
Fifty Years On: The Decision of India to Conduct Its First Nuclear Tests
By Ashish Kumar Singh* NEW DELHI | 18 May 2024 (IDN) — On this day in 1974, India conducted its landmark first nuclear tests in Pokhran, Rajasthan, as part of the ‘Smiling Buddha’ operation. Until it actually happened, secrecy surrounded the event, as many major world powers at the time attempted to restrict the proliferation […]
Whom Does America Listen To?
By Azu Ishiekwene The writer is the Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of LEADERSHIP newspaper based in Abuja, Nigeria. ABUJA | 17 May 2024 (IDN) — I was chatting with a friend last week, who, mid-speech, redirected our conversation to the situation in the Middle East. She wanted to know what the mood in the US was. Over […]
Swiss Court Convicts a Former Gambian Minister for Crimes Against Humanity
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK | 17 May 2024 (IDN) — A former minister of the West African nation of The Gambia has been found guilty of multiple crimes against humanity during the brutal regime of President Yahya Jammeh. The verdict came from the top court of Switzerland whose law recognizes universal […]
African Women Battling Legal Bias in Families
By Kizito Makoye DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania | 16 May 2024 (IDN) —Thandi* was barely 14 when she was forced into marriage—crushing her dreams to become a nurse. Her cash-strapped granny who lives in Malawi’s impoverished Nano district, married her off at a meagre pride of 15,000 Malawian Kwacha, barely $8. The money, intended to […]
UN Report Cautiously Optimistic About Global Economic Outlook
By Rodney Reynolds NEW YORK | 16 May 2024 (IDN) — A United Nations report expects a sustained rebound in tourism to improve the economic prospects for small island developing States (SIDS), leading to GDP growth from 2.4 per cent in 2023 to 3.3 per cent in 2024. However, SIDS remain vulnerable to spikes in […]
US Halts 2,000-Pound Bombs to Israel, But Compensates with New Weapons
By Thalif Deen NEW YORK | 15 May 2024 (IDN) — US President Joe Biden’s much-ballyhooed decision to halt the delivery of about 3,500 bombs to Israel seems only a token political gesture to keep his critics silent. The 2,000-pound bombs, used by the US during the Vietnam War, have caused the deaths of thousands […]
Latin America and the Caribbean: Initiative to Empower Young People in Arms Control, Peacebuilding
By Rodney Reynolds NEW YORK | 15 May 24 (IDN) — The United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC) has launched the first edition of GenerAcción Paz: building dreams, disarming violence (GenerAcción Paz: armando sueños, desarmando la violencia), which aspires to empower young people to create […]
US Declassified Documents Reveal How Concocted Lies Trigger Wars
By Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden | 15 May 2024 (IDN) — President Barack Obama once observed, “ISIS [Islamic State] is a direct outgrowth of Al Qaeda in Iraq that grew out of our invasion—which is an example of unintended consequences—which is why we should generally aim before we shoot”. Many of us, looking back at […]