Viewpoint by Somar Wijayadasa NEW YORK (IDN) — Once again, destruction, bloodshed, migration of millions of people, shattered economies, and hardship for average people all over the world. Russia attacked Ukraine though Russia’s President Vladimir Putin reiterated that Moscow had no plans to occupy Ukraine, and that the “special military operation” is directed at “demilitarization” […]
World’s Largest Arms Importers Include Nuclear Powers
By Thalif Deen NEW YORK (IDN) — A significant spike in arms imports by Europe, East Asia and Oceania during the last five years has reaffirmed the continuously sharp increase in global arms sales—a rising trend undaunted by a faltering world economy or the two-year-long pandemic lockdown. According to a new study by the Stockholm […]
Three UN Agencies Call for Stopping Attacks on Health Care in Ukraine
By Jaya Ramachandran GENEVA | NEW YORK (IDN) — Three UN agencies have called for an immediate ceasefire in the Ukraine-Russia conflict, enabling unhindered access so that people in need can avail of humanitarian assistance. “A peaceful resolution to end the war in Ukraine is possible,” says a joint statement issued by UNICEF Executive Director, […]
Australia: Acquittal of White Police Officer of Murder Upsets Aborigines
By Kalinga Seneviratne SYDNEY (IDN) — The acquittal of a White Police Officer of murdering an Aboriginal teenager over two years ago, has deeply upset the Aboriginal community with many weeping outside the courts in the northern city of Darwin, after the verdict was announced on March 11. Some could not contain their anger with […]
Russia’s Exit from Western Dominated Organizations—Consequences Far from Certain
By Kester Kenn Klomegah* MOSCOW (IDN) — After the historic fall of the Soviet era, all the 16 former Soviet republics including Russia and Ukraine dreamed of raising their status by joining international organizations. Over the past three decades, Russia became a member of many global bodies, participating actively at the United Nations. It joined […]
Striving for a Global Treaty to Combat Plastic Pollution, ‘One of the Greatest Human-Made Threats our Planet Faces’
By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS (IDN) — In the 1967 Hollywood box office hit “The Graduate”—a romantic comedy directed by Mike Nichols and based on a novel by Charles Webb—the newly-graduated Dustin Hoffman gets an unsolicited piece of advice: “The future is plastics”. The widely disseminated one-liner was hailed as a boost for the world’s […]
Ukraine-Russia Conflict: India Re-Asserts Strategic Autonomy
Viewpoint by Shastri Ramachandaran * NEW DELHI (IDN) — Washington has failed to push India into taking a stand against Moscow in the ongoing US-Russia confrontation, where Ukraine is a victim of both the superpowers. The Russian invasion of Ukraine is indefensible, as war or the use of military force is unacceptable as a means […]
The Ukraine Crisis Amid Fractured International Legal Order — Hypocrisy of the Powerful
Viewpoint by M Rafiqul Islam The writer is Emeritus Professor of Law, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia. This article was issued by The Daily Star of Bangladesh and is being republished with their permission. SYDNEY (IDN) — The ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine once again has solicited world attention to the international legal order that has […]
What Can be Done to Reduce Land Forgery in Sri Lanka?
By Maheswary Sivapragasam The writer is a lawyer specializing in housing and property laws. COLOMBO (IDN) — As land forgery continues unabated in Sri Lanka, something has to be done to prevent the prevalent rate of land fraud, with legal owners and innocent buyers unknowingly falling into these traps. According to news sources, the Registrar […]
How the U.S. Has Empowered and Armed ‘Neo-Nazis’ in Ukraine
Viewpoint by Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J.S. Davies* NEW YORK (IDN) — Russian President Putin has claimed that he ordered the invasion of Ukraine to “denazify” its government, while Western officials, such as former U.S. Ambassador to Moscow Michael McFaul, have called this pure propaganda, insisting, “There are no Nazis in Ukraine.”