Viewpoint by Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden (IDN) — The newly appointed prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, makes little pretence of his hatred of Muslim Palestinians. Neither does an overwhelming majority of those who elected him. Yet they never answer the conundrum, how can they expect to live indefinitely cheek-by-jowl with the Palestinians with animus […]
Ghana Seeks IMF Bailout As Inflation Soars
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK | KAMPALA (IDN) — For years, few expected a financial crisis in Ghana, much less to see Ghana become a debtor nation like some of its more troubled neighbors in West Africa. “Ghana is a major cocoa and gold exporter, so why is the West African nation […]
New Year’s Tragedy at Uganda Mall Takes Nine Lives
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK | KAMPALA (IDN) — A poorly designed shopping mall in Kampala, Uganda, according to visitors, was a disaster waiting to happen. On New Year’s Eve, that disaster became every parent’s nightmare. After fireworks were exploded outside the Freedom City Mall, families moved towards narrow corridors to exit—and […]
Dutch Court Upholds $15 Million Payout to Nigerian Communities
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK | AMSTERDAM (IDN) — A Dutch court has upheld a payout to residents of the Niger Delta of US$15.9 million for oil spills that contaminated land and waterways in three communities. In the case brought by Friends of the Earth, Shell’s Nigerian subsidiary was found to be […]
Sri Lanka: A Year of Turmoil and Suffering—And No End in Sight
By Neville de Silva* This article was issued by Asian Affairs (London). LONDON (IDN) — Not since the British left in 1948, handing over power to its former colony then known as Ceylon, has Sri Lanka suffered such economic calamity and political turmoil as in the year just ended. Struggling to survive under ever weightier […]
No Nuclear Weapon Can Save Iran from its Internal Strife
Viewpoint by Dr Alon Ben-Meir Dr Alon Ben-Meir, a retired professor of international relations at the Center for Global Affairs at New York University (NYU), taught courses on international negotiation and Middle Eastern studies for over 20 years. NEW YORK (IDN) — Words from various officials in the know suggest that, although President Biden stated […]
Ageing Dalai Lama Attracts Huge Crowds to Buddhist Sacred Site
By Kalinga Seneviratne This article is the 51st in a series of joint productions of Lotus News Features and IDN-InDepthNews, the flagship agency of the Non-profit International Press Syndicate. Click here for previous reports. BODHGAYA, India (IDN) — The Dalai Lama, Tibet’s spiritual leader, has just concluded a three-day speaking engagement here at Bodhgaya, known as […]
“In 2023, We Need Peace, Now More Than Ever”
By António Guterres, UN Secretary-General NEW YORK (IDN) — Every New Year is a moment of rebirth. We sweep out the ashes of the old year and prepare for a brighter day. In 2022, millions of people around the world literally swept out ashes. From Ukraine to Afghanistan to the Democratic Republic of the Congo […]
UN Concerned About 10 Million People Detained Worldwide
They are Threatened with Torture & ill-Treatment By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS (IDN) — According to a joke that was circulating in Washington political circles in a bygone era, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein’s notorious torture chamber in the Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad—once held up as a symbol of barbarity—was never shut down. After the […]
Russia Mediates Turkish-Syrian Reconciliation Process
Erdogan Avenges the American Betrayal Viewpoint by M.K. Bhadrakumar* This article was produced in partnership with Indian Punchline and Globetrotter. NEW DELHI (IDN) — The curtain is coming down on the brutal 11-year-old Syrian conflict, which former US President and Nobel Laureate Barack Obama initiated as the Arab Spring swept through West Asia two decades […]