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 […]
A New Study Tells Where Our Food Comes From
By J Nastranis NEW YORK (IDN) — Since the start of agriculture 10,000 years ago, many crops have been domesticated. However, not all are made equal as some play an important role in providing food and nutritional security globally, including wheat, corn, rice, and potatoes. At the same time, the globalization efforts of the past […]
The US Provides a Hefty $8.2 billion to Ukraine Battling a Superpower
By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS (IDN) — The five largest recipients of US weapons have traditionally included Saudi Arabia, Australia, South Korea, Japan and Qatar. Ukraine, which was ranked as the 50th largest importer of US arms, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), is now set to make a giant leap upwards. […]
Climate Change and COVID-19 Playing Havoc in Latin America and the Caribbean
Viewpoint by Mario Cimoli The writer is the Deputy Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). SANTIAGO, Chile (IDN) — The Latin America and the Caribbean region is home to some of the widest biodiversity on the planet. From Caribbean marine and coastal oases to the Amazon rainforest and […]
CARICOM’s Policy “Coordination”: Successes, Failures and Limitations
By Reinhard Jacobsen BRUSSELS (IDN) — The Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) Secretary-General Georges Rebelo Pinto Chikoti has called for unified positions by the 79-member grouping ahead of several international meetings, namely, the 77th United Nations General Assembly in September, the World Health Summit 2022 in Germany in October as well as […]
OACPS-European Union Post-Cotonou Negotiations Process in a Stalemate
By Reinhard Jacobsen BRUSSELS (IDN) — The 79 member-country Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) is asking the European Commission to explain the long lapse that had occurred since April 2021, when chief negotiators of the EU and OACPS concluded their deliberations and initialled an agreed text for the successor Agreement to the […]