IDN-InDepthNews

Africa2013-04-012023-07-10

Guerrilla War Threatens Northern Mali

By Zachary Fillingham* | IDN-InDepth NewsAnalysis

TORONTO (IDN | Geopoliticalmonitor.com) – The apparent interventionist success story of a joint French-Malian military force driving Islamists out of northern Mali was suddenly interrupted by a suicide bombing in Timbuktu on March 30.

The bombing was the first volley in what turned out to be an all-out attack on the city by Islamists, and after several hours of intense street fighting, Malian forces had to call in French troops and air support to help them drive the rebels back into the surrounding desert. The day-long battle left three rebels and one Malian soldier dead, but perhaps more importantly, it afforded the Islamists another valuable opportunity to infiltrate into the heart of Timbuktu.

GLOBAL ISSUES2013-04-012023-07-10

2014 Nuclear Security Summit Needs An Agenda

By Debak Das* | IDN-InDepth NewsAnalysis

NEW DELHI (IDN) – A year has passed since the last Nuclear Security Summit took place in Seoul in March 2012 and it has been announced that the next summit shall be held in the Netherlands in 2014. What should be the important concerns for the 2014 summit in the Netherlands? What are the important issues that must be taken note of by the Sherpas for the next summit?

ARMAMENTS2013-04-012023-07-10

US Nukes Back in South Korea May Reduce Risks

By Bennett Ramberg* | IDN-InDepth NewsAnalysis

LOS ANGELES (IDN | Yale Global) – Following North Korea’s February 12 nuclear weapons test, the UN Security Council adopted tough penalties on Pyongyang. Along with a new round of financial sanctions, the council beefed up inspections of suspect cargo to and from the country and took steps to halt illegal activities by Pyongyang diplomats – all intended to squeeze North’s nuclear and missile programs.

But the sanctions do not address the more serious questions raised by North Korea’s doubling down challenge threatening pre-emptive nuclear strikes on the United States as well as threats against South Korea and Japan:

HUMAN DEVELOPMENT2013-03-282023-07-10

Experts Urge Overhaul of Global Aid Policies

By Ramesh Jaura* | IDN-InDepth NewsAnalysis

BERLIN (IDN) – Two former German policy-makers and practitioners of international development cooperation have decided to break taboos and call in a joint paper for an overhaul of national, European and international aid policies as a befitting response to rapid globalization that “has changed the world more than many in the field of development policy cooperation would like to believe”. They also cast a rather critical look at the 0.7 percent aid target, generally considered as development community’s ‘holy cow’.

“The (present) global development structures and programs are lagging behind the new realities of economic and political needs. There is no longer a ‘North/South’ or ‘donor/recipient’ structure. Developmental paternalism that ‘donors’ continue to practice must therefore give way to genuine partnership and ownership by partners,” say authors of the paper, Eckhard Deutscher and Erich Stather, made available to IDN.

GLOBAL ISSUES2013-03-282023-07-10

The Worlds Beyond Darwin’s and Hawking’s

By Antonio Carlos Silva Rosa* | IDN-InDepth NewsViewpoint

PORTO (IDN | Transcend Media Service) – In regards to the way things are and how they could/should/ought to be, we are cutting ourselves short by concentrating almost exclusively on our intellect, knowledge and intelligence.

I am fascinated with the insights the evolution of science provides, particularly astronomy, cosmology, quantum physics and medicine. Medical research and technology opened the doors to the insides of our brains, considered by ourselves superior and in many ways as complex, dynamic, fascinating as the universe itself. And scientists keep sending those ‘intelligent’ messages to outer space in hopes that other ‘intelligent’ beings will pick them up and beam back their replies to them thus completing the human life-changing experience of a close encounter of whatever kind. They assume that beings ‘out there’ possess minds and intellects like our own.

Middle East2013-03-272023-07-10

Sudan Among Africa’s Key Energy Players

By: Patrick Johnson* | IDN-InDepth NewsReport

TORONTO (IDN | Geopoliticalmonitor.com) – South Sudan may have taken most of Sudan’s known energy reserves with it when it voted for independence in 2011, but that doesn’t mean Khartoum has given up on keeping Sudan in the mix of Africa’s key energy players. Eyeing a bounce back, Sudan has been courting energy companies worldwide with the promise of untapped resources in Sudan. And given the relatively raw nature of these unexplored blocks, the strategy could conceivably bear fruit over the medium term.

ARMAMENTS2013-03-252023-07-10

Fighting Nukes In Israel Is An Uphill Battle

By Sharon Dolev* | IDN-InDepth NewsViewpoint

BINYAMINA-GIV’AT ADA (IDN) – Around the world, when it comes to nuclear weapons, it is a well know “secret” that Israel is a Nuclear Armed State. Just like India and Pakistan, Israel has developed a nuclear arsenal, but unlike the two, Israel’s arsenal remains a secret. Israel doesn’t talk about its arsenal and usually, doesn’t take part in any international or regional discourse about it.

USA and Canada2013-03-232023-07-12

USA: Republicans Labour To Revive An Old Brand

By Nimal Fernando* | IDN-InDepth NewsAnalysis

MINNESOTA (IDN) – Rebranding is a daunting prospect in any commercial setting. When the process involves not a product or service, but a political party, daunting does not even begin to make a dent in expressing the exacting task at hand.

Republican Party faithfuls must be painfully aware of this as they take stock and move towards cementing a strategy to rebrand and revitalise the Grand Old Party (GOP) of the United States.

A cartoonist might depict the status quo in the form of a smallish tent sheltering two separate groups, one larger than the other. The smaller group will also be identified as a kind of party within the party, going by the name of Tea Party, but offering neither tea nor sympathy to any but its own.

Middle East2013-03-212023-07-10

Ten Years On: Murder and Mayhem Prevail in Iraq

By Ernest Corea* | IDN-InDepth News Analysis

WASHINGTON DC (IDN) – Anniversaries are usually treated as occasions for celebration. They are given special names as in “golden” for a fiftieth anniversary and “tin” for a tenth. Goodwill is in the air, food and drinks are brought out, and “don’t worry, be happy” is the overarching theme for all concerned. Not so in contemporary Iraq, where the tenth anniversary of the US invasion of that country fell on March 19, 2013. The event was not commemorated with joyous activity. Instead, murder and mayhem prevailed.

International news agencies reported that Baghdad was wracked by death and destruction on the tenth anniversary of the invasion. Over 50 people were reported dead in a wave of bombings that ripped through the capital and its environs.

GLOBAL ISSUES2013-03-212023-07-10

Ten Years On: Murder and Mayhem Prevail in Iraq

By Ernest Corea* | IDN-InDepth News Analysis