By Viliame Tawanakoro* WUHAN, China | 27 July 2024. (IDN | Wansolwara) — An innovative summer school program by China’s Wuhan University focusing on reporting Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) concluded on 26 July with its coordinator Professor Ji Li declaring “this will be the first of many more to come”. The Luojlia Global Summer School […]
U.S. Defense Secretary Embarks on His Eleventh Trip to Indo-Pacific
By Joseph Clark, DOD News U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III embarked on his 11th trip to the Indo-Pacific on 26 July amid what officials said is a landmark period for U.S. ties throughout the region. WASHINGTON D C | 27 July 2024 (IDN) — The 10-day series of engagements will include stops […]
Bangladesh Student Protests: More Than an Anti-Discrimination Movement
By Tajul Islam DHAKA, Bangladesh | 27 July 2024 (IDN) — The student protests in Bangladesh began as a legitimate and peaceful movement aimed at addressing inequalities within the educational system and government job reservations. Students were particularly concerned with the country’s quota system in government jobs, which reserved a significant portion of these positions […]
Sudan Descends into Hell: Betrayed and Ignored by the International Community
By Daniel Haile* KILLEEN, Texas, USA | 26 July 2024 (IDN) — The global indifference to one of the deadliest civil and proxy wars is fueling the conflict in Sudan—and the shameful abandonment should ignite condemnation and anger within the international community. The departure of Omar Al-Bashir, the strongman of Nubia, has plunged Sudan into […]
Does The Value of The Olympics Still Justify the Cost?
By Tim Harcourt* SYDNEY | 26 July 2024 (IDN) — A country doesn’t host the Olympic Games to make a profit. So why do they bother? South Korea held the Seoul Olympics in 1988 to show off its economic miracle. Beijing used 2008 to show the world its enormous economic advancement. At Sochi in 2014, […]
Government Crackdown Sparks Bloodshed and Fury Across Bangladesh
By Shahidul Alam* This article was originally published in The Wire and is being republished with the author’s permission. DHAKA, Bangladesh | 25 July 2024 (IDN) — The televised murder of Abu Sayeed, an unarmed student of Begum Rokeya University, is an indictment of a rogue government that has long lost its right to rule. […]
The Democratic Party Has a Culture of Loyalty
By Norman Solomon* This article was issued by TomDispatch and is being republished with the author’s permission. SAN FRANCISCO | 25 July 2024 (IDN) —The Biden campaign drove the Democratic Party into a ditch and speculation is rampant about grim prospects for the election. But little scrutiny has gone into examining how such a dire situation […]
Europe Should not Be Pushed by US Influence to Confront Russia
By Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden | 25 July 2024 (IDN) — Once the Warsaw Pact closed shop there was no good or honest reason for keeping NATO going. The threat that NATO was created to deter disappeared when the Soviet Union collapsed. The European Union’s influence on the new post-Cold War order has been by […]
Ten Principles for Perpetual Peace in the 21st Century
The United Nations-based structures are fragile and in need of an urgent upgrade; we should consider this one at the U.N. Summit of the Future in September. By Jeffrey D. Sachs* This article was published in Common Dreams and is being republished with the author’s permission. NEW YORK | 24 July 2024 (IDN) — Next […]
If it Bleeds, it Leads
By Thalif Deen* UNITED NATIONS | 24 July 2024 (IDN) — Tarzie Vittachi, a renowned Sri Lankan newspaper editor and one-time deputy executive director of the UN children’s agency UNICEF, once recounted the story of an African diplomat who sought his help to get coverage in the US media for his prime minister’s address to […]