By Jeffrey D. Sachs* This article was published in Common Dreams and is being republished with the author’s permission. NEW YORK, 22 May 2023 (IDN) — In the year 2000, the U.S. government debt was $3.5 trillion, equal to 35% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). By 2022, the debt was $24 trillion, equal to […]
Insufficient Progress Made Towards Disaster Risk Reduction
By Radwan Jakeem NEW YORK, 21 May 2023 (IDN) — A review of progress on implementing the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction has determined that global progress towards disaster risk management has been weak and insufficient, putting at risk the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The Right to Life: A Missing Perspective on Nuclear Arms
By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS, 21 May 2023 (IDN) — The Lawyers Committee on Nuclear Policy (LCNP) has made a new submission to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva in advance of its Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of the Russian Federation. Currently, the tentative schedule of the UPR Working Group, with Russia on its agenda, […]
China-Strategy: Transatlantic and European Cacophony
Viewpoint by Herbert Wulf This article was issued by the Toda Peace Institute and is being republished with their permission. BONN, Germany, 21 May 2023 (IDN) — The G7 summit of foreign ministers in Japan in mid-April sought to emphasise the need for a unified China policy. However, the diplomatic pronouncements can only gloss over […]
Has Hunter Biden Been Linked to Bangladesh Islamists?
Viewpoint by Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury* DHAKA, Bangladesh, 20 May 2023 (IDN) — US President Joe Biden’s scandalous son Hunter Biden, who has earlier met with State Department official on behalf of Gabriel Popoviciu, a corrupt Romanian real estate tycoon in exchange for US$1 million when Joe Biden was vice president in 2016, seems to […]
A19-Year-old Self Publishes a Fantasy Novel
By Maya Schlessinger* NEW JERSEY, USA, 20 May 2023 (IDN) — While most Pascack Valley (PV) students go to the library to check out books, PV senior Treshan Nilaweera, 19, hopes to see his own on the shelves. Last October, Nilaweera self-published a fantasy novel entitled The Many Worlds Theory, now available for purchase on […]
Southern Africa Looks Forward to Productive Landscapes
By Rita Joshi BONN, Germany, 19 May 2023 (IDN) — The largest living structure on earth, spanning 8,000km across Africa, is ushering in a new era of sustainability and economic growth. A game-changing African initiative launched by the African Union in 2007 aims to restore the Sahel’s degraded landscapes and transform millions of lives, according […]
The Occupation Is Destroying Israel’s Democracy
Regardless of What Kind of Spin Is Put On By Alon Ben-Meir* NEW YORK, 19 May 2023 (IDN) — My recent article entitled “An Occupying Power Cannot Be a Beacon of Democracy” engendered both criticism and compliments. Given the severity of the Israeli occupation and the need to end it under conditions of peace, I […]
How Myanmar’s Arms Purchases Circumvent Sanctions
By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS, 18 May 2023 (IDN) — The much-maligned military regime in Myanmar, accused of genocide and human rights abuses, is being sustained by nearly a billion dollars’ worth of arms—plus raw materials to manufacture weapons—originating primarily from China and Russia, two permanent members of the Security Council, along with Singapore, Thailand […]
The Speech That Biden Should Give: ‘I’ve Changed My Mind’
By Norman Solomon* SAN FRANCISCO, 18 May 2023 (IDN) — My fellow Americans: I’ve changed my mind. With a heavy heart, I am announcing that I will not seek or accept the Democratic Party’s nomination for president in 2024. The poll numbers indicate that I would be a burden on the party’s national ticket next […]