Viewpoint by Somar Wijayadasa* NEW YORK (IDN) – Lately, we have seen a barrage of international conflicts that have severely undermined the United Nations efforts to maintain peace and security. The British Prime Minister Theresa May – in total disregard for the noble British norm “innocent until proven guilty” – rushed to accuse Russia of trying to poison […]
Gambia Ex-President Tied to 2005 Murders of Refugees
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK | ACCRA (IDN) – Strong evidence has been gathered linking the former president of The Gambia, Yahya Jammeh, to the murder of 44 West African migrants mostly from Ghana by operatives of the ex-president. The sole survivor of the mass killing, also from Ghana, promised himself not […]
Me Too Movement Challenges African Halls Of Power
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK | JOHANNESBURG (IDN) – A promised investigation into gender discrimination at the African Union appears to be idling on the back burner, according to the South African Mail & Guardian. Some 37 women employees at the African Union Commission (AUC) have complained of “ill-treatment and humiliation”, investigators […]
Why Tony Blair Should Be Prosecuted Over Iraq
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – President Barack Obama was not a war criminal despite US involvement in wars in Iraq, Somalia, Afghanistan and against ISIS. His predecessor George W. Bush was. Apart from anything else his administration tortured captives. Was the former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, the closest ally of Bush […]
Asia’s Buddhists Should Step Forward to Pave the Way to Sustainable Development
Viewpoint by Kalinga Seneviratne* SINGAPORE (IDN) – Buddhists across Asia are going to temples, bathing the baby Buddha, giving food to monks, lighting lamps and offering incense sticks accompanied by chanting paying homage to the Buddha on Vesak day, May 29 this year. While keeping with these traditions is important, Asia’s Buddhists are letting go […]
ICAN Expects Nuclear Ban Treaty to Enter into Force in 2019
By Neena Bhandari SYDNEY (IDN) – As the world witnesses an increase in nuclear sabre-rattling in 2018, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) is supporting global public movement to put pressure on governments to sign and ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. ICAN’s Treaty Coordinator Tim Wright (TW) spoke to […]
Asian Sympathy Swinging Towards North Korea
By Kalinga Seneviratne SINGAPORE (IDN) – The frenzied moves over the weekend of May 26-27 by leaders of South Korea and North Korea to revive the on-again, off-again North Korea-US summit, and pictures flashed across the region of the two Korean leaders warmly hugging each other for the second time within a month, are rapidly […]
Global Citizenship Education Vital For Intercultural Literacy
By Santo D. Banerjee UNITED NATIONS (IDN) – Educating younger generations on global citizenship through intercultural literacy is a serious civic educational and moral issue, said Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, High Representative of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) in his opening remarks at an event co-organized with the United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI) member […]
Palestine Seeking Statehood Through UN System Organizations
By Ramesh Jaura BERLIN | NEW YORK (IDN) – While the two-state solution envisaging an independent State of Palestine appears to be increasingly consigned to oblivion, the Palestinian Authority is resolutely pursuing its strategy of seeking statehood through intergovernmental organizations that are a part of the UN system. The latest in a series of such […]
Uncertainty Abounds As Trump Cancels Summit With Kim
By Ramesh Jaura BERLIN | GENEVA (IDN) – May 24, 2018 smacks of a ‘historic day’ marked by a smokescreen of uncertainty and speculations in the aftermath of U.S. President Donald Trump calling off his summit meeting with Kim Jong-un, the leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), commonly known as North Korea. […]