By Jan Servaes* BRUSSELS, 23 Feb 2023 (IDN) — Tantawan “Tawan” Tuatulanon and Orawan “Bam” Phupong, aged 21 and 23, respectively, have been on hunger strike since January 18 to push for reforms in Thailand’s judicial system, the release of political prisoners and the abolition or reform of some of the laws against dissidents, including […]
A Blacklisted Syria Makes a Come-Back—on the Ruins of an Earthquake
By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS, 23 Feb 2023 (IDN) — Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, accused of human rights abuses, war crimes and use of chemical weapons—is one of several authoritarian Middle Eastern leaders who never addressed the UN General Assembly or stepped into the United Nations.
Towards Australia-Indonesia Partnership for Global Nuclear Disarmament?
By Neena Bhandari SYDNEY, 23 Feb 2023 (IDN) — Australia and Indonesia have committed to strengthening the global nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament regime and cooperating in building practical nuclear safeguard capabilities in the Asia-Pacific region, even as concerns remain over Australia’s push to acquire the nuclear-powered submarines.
War in Ukraine and ICBMs: The Untold Story of How They Could Blow Up the World
By Norman Solomon* SAN FRANCISCO, 22 Feb 2023 (IDN) — Ever since Russia invaded Ukraine a year ago, media coverage of the war hasn’t included even the slightest mention of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). Yet the war has boosted the chances that ICBMs will set off a global holocaust.
Environment, Peace and Conflict Research: The Need for Constructive Dialogue
By Tobias Ide* This article was issued by the Toda Peace Institute and is being republished with their permission. PERTH, Australia, 22 Feb 2023 (IDN) — Environmental factors play an increasingly important role for the dynamics of peace and conflict. There is widespread agreement that climate change is a risk multiplier for armed violence, even […]
Putin’s Decision to “Suspend” New START Dangerous
By J C Suresh TORONTO | WASHINGTON, 21 Feb 2023 (IDN) — The Arms Control Association, an independent, membership-based organization, has strongly criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to suspend implementation of the last remaining treaty limiting the world’s two largest nuclear arsenals, the 2010 New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START).
US Accuses China & Russia of Shielding North Korea & Endangering the World
By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS, 21 Feb 2023 (IDN) — The United States implicitly accused Russia and China, two permanent members of the UN Security Council (UNSC), of protecting a belligerent Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) for its continued violations of UNSC resolutions while firing three ballistic missiles this month.
About The Morality of Going to War
By Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden, 21 Feb 2023 (IDN) — Do you wonder how the operatives of ISIS sleep at night? No problem, I think. After swallowing the double narcotic of killing unbelievers and promised sensuality they sleep the peace of the just, despite the lack of approval for such beliefs in Islamic theology.
UN Chief Berates Global Financial Systems for Denying Debt Relief to Africa
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK, 21 Feb 2023 (IDN) — At the opening of the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa this weekend, UN Secretary General António Guterres scolded an “unfair financial system” for denying many African countries the debt relief and concessional financing they need. “Systems and structures, from health and […]
Nigerian Central Bank on Hot Seat After Sweeping Banknote Recall
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK | LAGOS, 20 Feb 2023 (IDN) — Chaos! It’s hard to find a better word to describe the confusion, frustration and anger felt by many Nigerians discovering that, in a surprise move by the Central Bank, their naira currency was being pulled from circulation and replaced by […]