By Satyarupa Shekhar and Om Prakash Singh* NEW DELHI | 14 December 2024 (IDN) — With the intergovernmental negotiations for a Global Plastics Treaty now over, it is opportune to discuss India’s approach to plastic pollution. The single-use plastic ban (SUP ban) by the Indian government came into effect from 1 July 2022. What the country needed […]
Asia-Pacific: Leaving No one Behind Amid Climate Change
By Selahattin Selsah Pasali* BANGKOK, Thailand | 14 December 2024 (IDN) — Over four in five people in Asia and the Pacific face multi-hazard risks associated with slow or sudden onset climate events. However, the degree of exposure is by no means uniform across individuals and households and diversity prevails in vulnerability to and capacity […]
The First Element of a North Korean Nuclear Proliferation Network
By Robert Kelley* VIENNA | 13 December 2024 (IDN) — On the night of 6 September 2007 Israeli jets bombed a building in Northen Syria. The building was alleged to be a nuclear reactor under construction to support a nuclear weapons program. The reactor was reported to be a copy of the small plutonium production […]
Russia: Experts Emphases the Role of Public Diplomacy in Ensuring Global and Eurasian Security
By Kester Kenn Klomegah MOSCOW | 13 December 2024 (IDN) — The School of Preventive Public Diplomacy held from November 30 to December 13 panel discussions on “Preventive Public Diplomacy in Ensuring Global and Eurasian Security” at the Eurasian Network University. The Scientific and Educational Center organised the “Globus XXI Century” program of the Faculty […]
Why Ghana’s Election Matters Across Africa
By Azu Ishiekwene The writer is Editor-In-Chief of LEADERSHIP and author of the new book Writing for Media and Monetising It. ABUJA, Nigeria | 12 December 2024 (IDN) — The news from Ghana was not how John Dramani Mahama’s opposition party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC), defeated Nana Akufo-Addo’s ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP). The […]
Syria: They Made a Desert, And Called It Peace
By Jeffrey D. Sachs* This article was published in Common Dreams and is being republished with the author’s permission. NEW YORK | 12 December 2024 (IDN) — In the famous lines of Tacitus, Roman historian, “To ravage, to slaughter, to usurp under false titles, they call empire; and where they make a desert, they call […]
Nobel’s Spotlight on Our Perilous Path and How We Change Course
By Rafael Mariano Grossi Following are extensive excerpts from the keynote speech the IAEA Director General delivered at the Nobel Peace Prize Forum 2024 at the University of Oslo Aula on 11 December 2024. The Forum was co-sponsored by the Soka Gakkai International (SGI), Mr Grossi started by congratulating Nihon Hidankyō and the hibakusha for […]
UN Expects 305 million People to Seek Life Saving Help in 2025
By Jaya Ramachandran GENEVA | 11 December 2024 (IDN) — A record number of armed conflicts and increased frequency and severity of climate-induced disasters are set to force a staggering 305 million people seek “urgent humanitarian assistance and protection” in 2025. 190 million of them will be facing “life-threatening” needs. The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) […]
How The Loss of Naval Base in Syria Would Weaken Russia as A Global Power
By Basil Germond The writer is Professor of International Security, Department of Politics, Philosophy and Religion, Lancaster University. The Conversation issued this article. LANCASTER, UK | 11 December 2024 (IDN) — The fall of the Assad regime constitutes a major blow to Russia’s foreign policy and prestige. Not least among the setbacks is the prospect […]
Colombia: Women-Led Fish Farming Is Offering an Alternative to Drug Crops
By Iñigo Alexander* BOGOTÁ, Colombia | 11 December 2024 (IDN) — The Amazon rainforest in southern Colombia stretches lush and green across the horizon, but beneath its dense canopy lies a shifting reality. The southern province of Putumayo—a remote region bordering Ecuador, at the edge of the country’s Amazon—has long been dominated by coca plantations […]