By Jaya Ramachandran GENEVA | 12 September 2024 (IDN) — A comprehensive report by UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has urged immediate international intervention to stabilize the economy of Gaza and support peace efforts. The report describes the economic destruction wrought to the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) in the aftermath of the Israeli military operation […]
Land Grabs Target Tamils and Muslims in Sri Lanka
By Rodney Reynolds NEW YORK, 12 September 2024 (IDN) — As the 57th session of the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) addresses the human rights situation in Sri Lanka next week, a new report from the Oakland Institute, Trincomalee Under Siege: Land Grabs Target the Tamil Homeland in Sri Lanka uncovers the rapidly escalating colonization […]
Haiti: Despite Kenyan Presence, Security in the Country Has Not Improved
By Pablo Meriguet* QUITO, Ecuador | 11 September 2024 (IDN | Peoples Dispatch) — On June 25, hundreds of Kenyan police officers landed in Haiti as part of the United Nations’ Multinational Security Support Mission. Thousands of other members of security forces are expected to be deployed to the Caribbean nation from other parts of […]
Undebatable: What Harris and Trump Could Not Say About Israel and Gaza
By Norman Solomon* SAN FRANCISCO | 11 September 2024 (IDN) — Kamala Harris won the debate. People being bombed in Gaza did not. The banner headline across the top of the New York Times home page—“Harris Puts Trump on Defensive in Fierce Debate”— was accurate enough. But despite the good news for people understandably eager for […]
How US Foreign Policy Affected Relations with Russia
By Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden | 10 September 2024 (IDN) — Two mistakes, committed on President Barack Obama’s watch, were the triggers for the end of the long post-Cold War period of good relations with Russia. They were the attack on Libya by the US, France and the UK and the subsequent killing of its […]
OECD Criticises Lack of Equality in Educational Opportunities and Employment
By Jaya Ramachandran PARIS | 10 September 2024 (IDN) — Women out-perform men in education, but this does not translate into corresponding job opportunities. The lack of equality of opportunity is reflected in students from less advantaged socio-economic backgrounds performing worse in standardised assessments. Early childhood education is key for reducing the impact of family […]
Macbeth in Palestine: Murder Most Foul Hath Brok Ope
By James E. Jennings ATLANTA, USA | 9 September 2024 (IDN) — “Horror, horror, horror! Most sacrilegious murder hath broke ope!” That’s how William Shakespeare described the foul act of murder in his classic play Macbeth. The news September 6 of the killing of a 26-year-old Turkish-American woman named Aysenur Ezgi by an Israeli soldier […]
Pursuing Transitional Justice in the Aftermath of Peace in Nepal
By Simone Galimberti* KATHMANDU, Nepal | 9 September 2024 (IDN) — Ending a civil conflict is always an incredibly daunting task but ensuring a permanent peace that would enable the peace dividend to trickle down can often prove to be even more challenging. The unbalanced power dynamics and the inequities at the foundation of the […]
Is the IAEA Board up to the job: Safeguards at Sea?
By Tariq Rauf* VIENNA | 9 September 2024 (IDN) — The Board of Governors (Board) of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is holding its third regular meeting of the year during the week of 9 to 13 September 2024. Increasingly, astute observers are wondering whether the IAEA Board is up to the job mandated […]
Kosovo: The Closure of Parallel Institutions and Its Ramifications
By Dr. Alon Ben-Meir* NEW YORK | 8 September 2024 (IDN) — Kosovo Prime Minister Kurti’s consistent efforts to assert Kosovo’s sovereignty over the predominantly ethnic Serb municipalities do not bolster Kosovo’s independence. Instead, Kurti’s misplaced efforts only strain EU-Kosovo ties while exposing his lack of confidence in Kosovo’s sovereign resiliency Kurti’s decision to close […]