By Aurora Weiss VIENNA (IDN) —Ukraine and Moldova have moved closer to membership of the European Union (EU) much faster than the six countries of the Western Balkans. There has been general agreement that requirements for EU accession candidature are not easy to meet, but Ukraine and Moldova seem to have got that status overnight.
Australian PM Slated for Secret Ukraine Visit Amid Floods Back Home
By Kalinga Seneviratne SYDNEY (IDN) — Australia’s new Labour Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, has been criticised on Twitter and some media for secretly making a trip to Ukraine to meet Volodymyr Zelensky and pledge $100 million of military aid. At the same time, thousands of families across Australia were being evacuated from rising flood waters, […]
It’s High Time for Turkey’s Accession to the EU
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power LUND, Sweden (IDN) — Once again in the European Union, thanks to the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, the discussion about admitting new members is coming to the boil and, once again Turkey, promised membership of the Union over 30 years ago, is not on the list.
Mugabe Supporter to Head Pan-African Parliament
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) — As members of the Pan-African Parliament hotly disputed the election of senator and chief Fortune Charumbira as their next president, a familiar figure could have turned the exercise upside down. The familiar figure was ex-President Robert Mugabe. Charumbira, an unapologetic Mugabe supporter, once faced […]
Ghanaians Take to The Streets Over Intolerable Living Costs
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) — “Mr President, where is our money? The high cost of living will kill us.” Those were the cries that filled the streets of Accra as the usually peaceful people of Ghana could no longer stop their anger and frustration over intolerable living costs, record inflation, […]
Ghana Cracks Down on LGBTQIA+ Community Despite Opposition
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) — Legislators in Ghana with unapologetic support from President Nana Akufo-Addo have come up with a new law making life even harder for LGBTQIA+ persons in the West African country, a bill which essentially strips the community of all human rights. Dubbed the “most homophobic document […]
Germany Will Return Two Historic Bronzes to Nigeria
By Jutta Wolf BERLIN (IDN) — Germany has taken a historic step toward addressing colonial injustice. It has agreed to return valuable bronzes to Nigeria. More than 1100 fascinating bronzes pillaged from the former Kingdom of Benin (today’s Nigeria) are stored for some 125 years in the stockrooms and collections of 20 German museums. These […]
A New Coalition Issues a Statement on the Crisis in Sri Lanka
Southern Voices to be Heeded: A Call for Debt Justice, Debt Jubilee and Debt Cancellation COLOMBO (IDN) — The Coalition for Economic Democracy in Sri Lanka (CEDSL) is a group of concerned academics, activists, agricultural, fisheries and industrial workers, students, businesspersons, trade unionists, and professionals based ‘in country’ and overseas, including the diaspora, who uphold […]
Conflict Zones as Magnets for Synthetic Drug Production
Growing Capacity to Manufacture Amphetamine in Ukraine By Aurora Weiss VIENNA (IDN) — Nearly 284 million people aged 15-64 used drugs worldwide in 2020, a 26 per cent increase over the previous decade. Young people are using more drugs, with use levels today in many countries higher than those of the previous generation, notes the […]
Two Infamous Rulings by the US Supreme Court Put America to Shame
Viewpoint by Alon Ben-Meir Dr Alon Ben-Meir is a retired professor of international relations at the ‘Center for Global Affairs’ at New York University (NYU). He taught courses on international negotiation and Middle Eastern studies for over 20 years. NEW YORK (IDN) — Recently the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, which granted women […]