By Jaya Ramachandran ROME | 4 August 2024 (IDN) — “Zero Hunger” is second of the ambitious 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by world leaders at an historic summit in September 2015. These were to be achieved by 2030. But the distressing fact is that global hunger persists at high rates: one in eleven […]
Manila and Tokyo Ally with Washington but Keen to Strengthen Their Own Defences
By Richard Heydarian* This article is republished courtesy of Internatinal Politics and Society. Read original MANILA | 4 August 2024 (IDN) — Following years of intensive negotiations, the Philippines and Japan have consolidated their military cooperation with a new defence pact. Under the recently signed Reciprocal Access Agreement, the two Asian countries will define procedural […]
Seven-Nation Prisoner Swap Shows How Diplomacy, Not Law, Governs Exchanges
By William E. Butler* This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read original. PENNSYLVANIA | 3 August 2024 (IDN) — Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and two other Americans were freed from Russia in a prisoner exchange on Aug. 1, 2024. In total, 24 prisoners, including 12 German nationals […]
UN Forum Stresses Significance of South-South and Triangular Cooperation
By Caroline Mwanga NEW YORK | 3 August 2024 (IDN) — The 2024 High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) on Sustainable Development from 8 to 17 July spotlighted the pivotal role of South-South and triangular cooperation in advancing the global development agenda. The Forum emphasized the need to strengthen and expand South-South and triangular cooperation to enhance […]
IAEA Deepens Bonds with the UN Office for South-South Cooperation
By Melissa Evans* The writer is affiliated to the IAEA Department of Technical Cooperation. VIENNA | 2 August 2024 (IDN) — The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC) will launch a new series of joint activities to enhance collaboration, following an agreement signed during the recent UN […]
NATO Turns Global and Expands Theatres of Escalation
By Anuradha Chenoy* This article was published in Economic&Political Weekly (Vol. 59, Issue No. 30, 27 Jul, 2024) and is being republished with the author‘s permission. NEW DELHI | 2 August 2024 (IDN) — The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) of 32 Western countries has formally declared its security interests to be global, despite its […]
Kazakhstan and UN to Help Bolster Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zones
By Ramesh Jaura BERLIN | 2 August 2024 (IDN) — As the spectre of a Nuclear Armageddon haunts our planet, the Central Asian republic of Kazakhstan is joining hands with the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) to organize a workshop—first in five years—to bolster the five Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone (NWFZ) treaties. States-parties to the five […]
US Strengthens Military Bonds with Asia—with 500 million USD to Philippines
By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS | 1 August 2024 (IDN) — The US is strengthening its economic and military relationships with Asian allies, including Japan and 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), comprising Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand. Brunei Darussalam, Viet Nam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia. As political and military tensions […]
Gaza War: The Smearing of Cori Bush for Being Truthful
By Norman Solomon* SAN FRANCISCO | 1 August 2024 (IDN) — Soon after the Gaza war began 10 months ago, a prominent newspaper columnist denounced Congresswoman Cori Bush under a headline declaring that “anti-Israel comments make her unfit for reelection.” The piece appeared in the newspaper with the second-largest readership in Missouri, the Kansas City […]
Religious Leaders, Academic Experts, and Tech Leaders Discuss AI Ethics for Peace
By Taro Ichikawa HIROSHIMA | 31 July 2024 (IDN) — Nearly one month ahead of the 79th anniversary of the atomic bombings—by the United States—of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, representatives from 11 of the world’s major religions joined academic experts and tech leaders for an AI Ethics for Peace historic conference in […]