Viewpoint by Jonathan Power LUND, Sweden (IDN) — Will historians a hundred years hence look at the end of the twenty-first century much as we now look at the end of the nineteenth and twentieth and say, “unfortunately, the peace and prosperity of that moment was but an interlude before the bloodiest century in mankind’s […]
Congo Oil Auction Plans in ‘Last Refuge of Biodiversity’ Shocks Environmentalists
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) — As massive floods and endless droughts, unleashed by global climate change, take lives and leave homes a twisted pile of sticks, the Democratic Republic of Congo will take a dangerous step backwards—opening up the Congo Basin to fossil fuel development. Sections of a renowned tropical […]
Study Supports Reparations in Climate-Damaged African Nations
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) — The African continent of 1.2 billion people, which represents 17% of the world’s population, contributes less than 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions but suffers from extreme weather events, which scientists have warned will become more frequent due to climate change.
New Film Highlights World’s Only Female Army in the Kingdom of Dahomey
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) — The only documented female army in modern history was that of the Kingdom of Dahomey—now southern Benin—which, by the 1800s, had thousands of female troops. In September, a film version that portrays the lives of these warrior women will be seen in cinemas around the […]
A Nuclear Review Conference Amidst Loud War Drums
By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS (IDN) — The Tenth Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), which runs from August 1-26, takes place amidst a raging battle: a nuclear Russia vs a non-nuclear Ukraine and potential military conflicts on the horizon, including a nuclear China vs a non-nuclear Taiwan, a […]
Nancy Pelosi Could Get Us All Killed
By Norman Solomon SAN FRANCISO (IDN) — The arrogance of power is especially ominous and despicable when a government leader risks huge numbers of lives in order to make a provocative move on the world’s geopolitical chessboard. Nancy Pelosi’s plan to visit Taiwan is in that category. Thanks to her, the chances of a military […]
All Stakeholders Have a Role to Play in Ridding the World of Chemical Weapons
Viewpoint by Fernando Arias This article was published in the UN Chronicle and is being republished with their permission. THE HAGUE (IDN) — On 29 April this year, we marked the twenty-fifth anniversary of the entry into force of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and […]
Nuclear Weapons Policies of Japan and South Korea Challenged
By Jaya Ramachandran GENEVA (IDN) — The Basel Peace Office, in cooperation with other civil society organisations, has challenged the nuclear weapons policies of Japan and South Korea in the UN Human Rights Council, maintaining that these violate the Right to Life, a right enshrined in Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and […]
CIA Whistleblower Reflects on the Persecution of Julian Assange
Viewpoint by Jeffrey Sterling* WASHINGTON, D.C. (IDN) — It is difficult to talk about happenings in the world other than the continued, appalling Russian invasion of Ukraine and the recent mass shootings in Buffalo, Uvalde, Chicagoland, and elsewhere. Then, there is the Supreme Court which continues down a judicial road of eroding personal rights and […]
Time for New Solutions for Sri Lanka
Viewpoint by Charith Gunawardena Fight for Private Creditor Debt Cancellation The writer is a former Local Councillor for London Borough of Enfield in the United Kingdom representing the Green Party and a member of the Sri Lankan diaspora. LONDON (IDN) — With the whole world watching the deteriorating political, economic and humanitarian situation unfolding in […]