By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS, 29 September 2023 (IDN) — Be warned: If you are a human rights activist or an individual cooperating with the UN in revealing abuses, you may be under surveillance or in danger of facing physical threats. A new report from Secretary-General António Guterres says that from 1 May last year […]
The ‘Bumpy Road’ between Cuba and America
By Jan Servaes* MIAMI, USA. 29 September 2023 (IDN) — “As many people who know Cuba and Miami well have observed, each is a peculiar mirror of the other. … It is impossible to understand the Cuban Revolution without understanding Miami, and it is impossible to understand Miami without understanding the Cuban Revolution,” writes Ada […]
Review: Special issue of ‘Africa Development’ by Post-Colonialisms Today**
By Ray Bush* LEEDS, UK. 29 September 2023 (IDN) — A new calendar year ushers in the usual array of tropes on Africa. They include why the continent is failing, what it should be doing better and why it has so much resilience in dealing with its own frailty. Overwhelmingly, Western institutions (NGOs, credit rating […]
Caribbean Moving Against “Killer Robots”
By Peter Richards* DIEGO MARTIN, Trinidad & Tobago. 28 September 2023 (IDN) — Caribbean countries have signalled their intention of moving against autonomous weapons systems (AWS) or “killer robots” developing a common position on the issue that will find favour with the 15-member Caribbean Community (CARICOM) grouping. AWS are weapons systems that use artificial intelligence […]
Embarrassing Facts, Truth and Reality for Peace in Ukraine
Viewpoint by Somar Wijayadasa* NEW YORK. 28 September 2023 (IDN) — Addressing the current United Nations General Assembly (missed by leaders of China. Russia, France and Britain), Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said, “Today, the rhetoric of our opponents is filled with slogans: ‘invasion’, ‘aggression’, ‘annexation’ and not a single word about the root causes […]
But for NATO, Flood Havoc Could Have Been Averted in Libya
Viewpoint by Kalinga Seneviratne SINGAPORE. 27 September 2023 (IDN) — Catastrophic floods in Libya this month have killed over 10,000 people, according to estimates, due to a burst of a dam, weak infrastructure, and a lack of governance created by NATO’s bombing campaign over a decade ago to overthrow the long-serving Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi […]
Ukraine Conflict: Global Leaders Plead for Peace at UN
By Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J. S. Davies* NEW YORK. 27 September 2023 (IDN) — As it did last year, the 2023 United Nations General Assembly has been debating what role the United Nations and its members should play in the crisis in Ukraine. The United States and its allies still insist that the UN […]
Nuclear Annihilation: A Haunting Reality of the Future
By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS. 26 September 2023 (IDN) — When the United Nations commemorated the 10th anniversary of International Day for the Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, the President of the General Assembly, Dennis Francis, was dead on target when he warned that the risk of nuclear annihilation “is not a chapter from our past; […]
Washington Supports International Law When It Serves US National Interests
By Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden. 26 September 2023 (IDN) — There is little doubt that Russia broke international law with its attempted take-over of Ukraine and, earlier, of Crimea. It is not only observers in the West who say this but a good number of Russians. Nevertheless, the Kremlin is right to say the West […]
Ukraine Conflict: A Peace Proposal to Avert an All-Out War
By Michael von der Schulenburg* VIENNA. 25 September 2023 (IDN) — At the end of August this year, four highly respected German personalities presented a peace proposal for ending the war in Ukraine through a ceasefire and subsequent peace negotiations: It is arguably the most comprehensive and groundbreaking peace proposal made by any government, international […]