By Alice Slater* This article was originally published in The Nation on January 24 with the caption: ‘The US Has Military Bases in 80 Countries. All of Them Must Close.’ It is being reprinted with their permission. NEW YORK (IDN-INPS) – On the weekend of Martin Luther King Day (January 15), Baltimore University fittingly hosted […]
Women and Water Inseparable for Sustainable Development
By Krista Price* This is the third in a series of reports on the Vienna UN Conference from January 10-12, 2018, which discussed actions and challenges linked to the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly 5 (SDG 5) and in the spirit of SDG 17. The Vienna Liaison Office of the Academic Council on the United Nations […]
Bodies as Battlefields – Dangers Women Face During Conflicts
By Julia Zimmerman* This is the second in a series of reports on the Vienna UN Conference from January 10-12, 2018, which discussed actions and challenges linked to the Sustainable Development Goal 5 (SDG 5) and in the spirit of SDG 17. The Vienna Liaison Office of the Academic Council on the United Nations System […]
Paving the Way to Empowering Female Leaders
By Ourania Roditi * This is the first in a series of reports on the Vienna UN Conference from January 10-12, 2018, which discussed actions and challenges linked to the Sustainable Development Goal 5 (SDG 5) and in the spirit of SDG 17. The Vienna Liaison Office of the Academic Council on the United Nations […]
Two Minutes to Midnight on Doomsday Clock
By the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists WASHINGTON, D.C. (IDN-INPS) – Citing growing nuclear risks and unchecked climate dangers, the iconic Doomsday Clock is now 30 seconds closer to midnight, the closest to the symbolic point of annihilation that the Clock has been since 1953 at the height of the Cold War. The decision announced […]
Scientists Seek Trudeau’s Backing for Canada as a Global Leader in Climate Research
By J C Suresh TORONTO (IDN) – In the face of U.S. President Donald Trump claiming that “the concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive,” international scientists have lauded Canada’s achievements in the field, and called for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to re-invest in […]
Faith-based Organizations Asked to Support Refugees, Migrants
By Amina J. Mohammed Amina J. Mohammed is the United Nations Deputy Secretary-General. Following are extensive excerpts from her remarks to the Fourth Annual Symposium on the Role of Religion and Faith-based Organizations in International Affairs with the focus: “Perspectives on Migration: Displacement and Marginalization, Inclusion and Justice” in New York on 22 January 2018.* […]
Trump’s Kurdish Militia in Syria
By Pier Francesco Zarcone* ROME (IDN) – The U.S. decision to train about 30,000 men of a Kurdish militia on the Turkish-Syrian border was considered a reckless initiative with catastrophic consequences – and that immediately turned out to be the case – but, paradoxically, it is also understandable in the global Syrian situation. Let us […]
Mattis-Trump Duo Uncovers China and Russia as US Adversaries
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – The American secretary of defence, Jim Mattis, has declared a new era: “There has been a return of great power competition ……great power competition – not terrorism – is now the primary focus of U.S. security.” In the new national defence strategy document*, unveiled on January 19, […]
In the Shadow of Lumumba, Congolese Defy Protest Ban
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) – Amid reports that pro-democracy activism in the Democratic Republic of Congo is feeling the lash from the unpopular government of Joseph Kabila who is under pressure to hand over power as the Constitution requires, UN Secretary-General António Guterres has urged Congolese security forces “to exercise […]