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 […]
China Turns Focus to Europe in a Diplomatic Game
By Nickolay Kapitonenko* KYIV | 14 May 2024 (IDN) — The ongoing Russian-Ukrainian war has gradually changed the international political landscape, which is being closely monitored even by states far removed from its realities. The war is unleashing complex mechanisms of international interaction, testing the strength of alliances and changing power relations. In addition to […]
U.S. Weapons to Israel are an Arsenal of Genocide
By Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J. S. Davies* NEW YORK | 14 May 2024 (IDN) — On May 8, 2024, as Israel escalated its brutal assault on Rafah, President Biden announced that he had “paused” a delivery of 1,700 500-pound and 1,800 2,000-pound bombs, and threatened to withhold more shipments if Israel went ahead with its full-scale […]