By A.L.A. Azeez* MELBOURNE | 27 January 2024 (IDN) — Concerning the Order delivered by the International Court of Justice indicating Provisional Measures against Israel in the case brought by South Africa under the provisions of the UN Genocide Convention, questions galore on different aspects were addressed. A question pertains to why the ICJ has […]
The Commercialization of Thai Buddhism into a Modern Prosperity Cult
By Jan Servaes BANGKOK | 26 January 2024 (IDN) — General and former Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha opened his royalist shirt during a press conference on May 16, 2016 to reveal the dozen amulets on his chest. He explained that these would give him moral support in negotiations with Russian President Putin. Thus, Thailand’s then […]
There Is a Way Out of the North Korean Nuclear Crisis
By Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden | 26 January 2024 (IDN) — Last November the dangerous arms race between North Korea and South Korea in what is in effect a civil war was wound up a few more notches. South Korea said it was going to scrap a security pact made with North Korea in 2018. […]
New Cybercrime Treaty Facilitates Crackdown on Human Rights — with UN Blessings
By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS | 25 January 2024 (IDN) — A new international treaty against cybercrimes, which is expected to be finalized next month, has come under heavy fire. A group of over 100 civil society (CSOs) and human rights organizations has warned that cybercrime regimes around the world have been misused to target […]
New Hampshire Results Leave Progressives in the US Up Against the Wall
By Norman Solomon* SAN FRANCISCO | 24 January 2024 (IDN) — The New Hampshire primary has confirmed that the United States is on the way to a disastrous fall election. Unless a health crisis forces withdrawal from the presidential race, either Donald Trump or Joe Biden is headed for a second term. The electoral outlook […]
Grand Temple Consecration May Pave the Path to a Hindu Republic
Analysis by Kalinga Seneviratne SYDNEY | 24 Jan 2023 (IDN) — The grand consecration of the idol of Lord Ram at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya in northern India on January 22, which was broadcast live across India and attended by over 8000 dignitaries, may well be the first step towards declaring India a “Hindu […]
The New Cold War Masks the Risk of Nuclear Annihilation
By Charles Derber and Suren Moodliar* This excerpt is adapted from Dying for Capitalism: How Big Money Fuels Extinction and What We Can Do About It, by Charles Derber and Suren Moodliar (Routledge, 2023), and produced for the web by Earth | Food | Life, a project of the Independent Media Institute. Source: Globetrotter. BOSTON, […]
Serbian Leader Speaks Loudly but Carries A Small Stick
By Dr. Alon Ben-Meir* NEW YORK | 23 January 2024 (IDN) — Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti, who needs to maintain public calm, should not casually talk about a potential war against Serbia. This only heightens internal tension in Kosovo when there is no reason to assume that war will break out A couple of […]
Is the USA Heading Towards the Dictatorship of a Minority?
By Jan Servaes MIAMI | 23 January 2024 (IDN) — It increasingly looks like Donald Trump will win while American democracy is faltering. This is what Harvard political scientists Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt contend in their new book “Tyranny of the Minority: Why American Democracy Reached the Breaking Point”. In “Tyranny of the Minority,” […]
Behind the Dangerous Resurgence of ‘Al Qaeda’ in Bangladesh
Analysis by Jennifer Hicks* HONGKONG | 22 January 2024 (IDN) — During the Spring of March 2002, Osama bin Laden’s second man, Ayman al-Zawahiri, set foot in Bangladesh at the invitation of leaders of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) that had been attempting to turn the country into a global jihadist launchpad. Giving a detailed […]