Viewpoint by Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – What do we in the West know about Islam? Perhaps more than we did before 9/11 but not much. When Tony Blair was prime minister of the United Kingdom he was photographed walking along holding the Koran. President George W. Bush said repeatedly that Islam was a […]
New South Africa President Endorses Land Transfers to Blacks
By Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) – Barely a month into his presidency, Cyril Ramaphosa has taken sides on a hot button issue whose resolution had eluded previous leaders. He vowed to speed up the seizure of land from white owners and turn the properties over to blacks. “This original sin that was committed […]
‘Unequal Realities’ Hold Back Rural Women, Says UN On Eve of Women’s Confab
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) – In the run up to International Women’s Day on March 8, the United Nations is renewing its call for concrete actions to address the plight of rural women who make up over a quarter of the world population yet are being left behind in every […]
Nuclear Deterrence Policy Gathering Steam in India
By Sudha Ramachandran BANGALORE (IDN) – “Though India is a reluctant nuclear power, nuclear deterrence will continue to play a crucial role in India’s national security strategy over the next few decades,” says Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal, Distinguished Fellow at India’s Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA). In his recent book ‘Sharpening the Arsenal: India’s […]
US Foreign Policy and Trump’s Contradictions – Part 1
Viewpoint by Michele Nobile* This is the first of a five-part article looking at US foreign policy in historical context and its global implications under President Donald Trump. BERGAMO, Italy (IDN) – During a speech on foreign policy in April 2016, US President Donald Trump thundered: “We are totally predictable. We tell everything. We’re sending […]
Kazakhstan Signs Ban Treaty After Security Council Debut
By J Nastranis UNITED NATIONS (IDN) – Kazakhstan, known as an active and staunch supporter of a world free of nuclear weapons, became 57th country to sign the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons on March 2. The Treaty, which opened for signature on September 20, 2017, will remain open indefinitely. It will enter […]
UN at Pains to Weed Out Sexual Exploitation and Abuse
By Santo D. Banerjee NEW YORK (IDN) – At a critical moment when allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse from within the United Nations are mounting, and a leaked UN staff survey shows fears over whistleblowing and ethical accountability, Secretary-General António Guterres has in his message for International Women’s Day on March 8, called for […]
Africa’s Mounting Thirst for Foreign Direct Investment
By Jeffrey Moyo HARARE | ADDIS ABABA (IDN) – He was just 17 when his country Zimbabwe gained independence. Now, 38 years later, Trynos Hove is over half a century old and what he remembers is persistent underdevelopment and repeated calls for foreign investment. Without meaningful foreign direct investment in this Southern African nation, says Hove, […]
A Compelling Book on ‘Humanity’s Success in Ruining Nature’
NEW YORK (IDN) – Across the globe, geologists, climate scientists, biologists, chemists and physicists are alarmed, and if there are uncertainties these are whether danger is in the offing very soon or in a few years; about whether our prospects are calamitous or only troublesome. The lack of dread among the general public about the […]
Staff Unions Threaten UN-Wide Work Stoppages Over Pay Cuts
By Shanta Roy GENEVA (IDN) – A proposed salary cut – resulting from an “austerity agenda” – has triggered temporary work stoppages in UN offices in Geneva, Bangkok and Addis Ababa and is threatening to spread system-wide, including field operations. The protest is led by three staff unions – the Coordinating Committee of International Staff […]