EU & Europe

Photo: Rishi Sunak giving his first speech as prime minister in front of 10 Downing Street on October 25. Credit: Rory Arnold. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Will Sunak as Prime Minister Halt Britain's Slide into Chaos?

Viewpoint by Azu Ishiekwene

The writer is the Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of LEADERSHIP newspaper based in Abuja, Nigeria.

ABUJA (IDN) — In a widely shared story earlier this month, The Economist likened the political carnage in Britain to the situation in Italy in the 1940s. Italy was a major theatre of the First World War at the end of which the country was in ruins.

It is so unstable that in spite of the tenuous hold of the Christian Democrats on power for much of the time, the country has produced 69 governments since 1945, an average of one and a half governments every two years. Italy’s instability is the joke of Europe.

: Ramesh Jaura; OPINION; 29 October 2022

Image credit: International Monetary Fund.

German Experts Study the Impact of Economic Sanctions Against Iran and Russia

By Jutta Wolf

BERLIN (IDN) — Researchers at the Institute for World Economy IfW Kiel and DIW Berlin have analysed the economic impact of jointly implementing punitive measures in the context of the 2012 Iran and 2014 Russia sanctions. They find that coalitions serve two crucial purposes—they not only magnify the economic cost imposed on the target but also reduce domestic costs for sanctioning states.

: Jutta Wolf; SUSTAINABILITY; Global Partnerships; 28 October 2022

Ukrainian Organization Does Not Deserve a Nobel Peace Prize

Viewpoint by Ariel Gold and Medea Benjamin*

COUNTERCURRENTS issued this article on October 7, 2022.

NEW YORK (IDN) — In what was described as a harsh rebuke of Russia, the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the Ukrainian human rights organization 'Center for Civil Liberties', along with Belarusian human rights advocate Ales Bialiatski and the Russian human rights organization Memorial. While at first glance, the Ukrainian 'Center for Civil Liberties' might sound like a group that is well deserving of this honor, Ukrainian peace leader Yurii Sheliazhenko wrote a stinging critique.

: UN Bureau; OPINION; 08 October 2022

Photo: A tactical nuclear weapon. Credit: Modern War Institute.

What If Russia Unleashes a Less Deadly Weapon on Ukraine?

By Thalif Deen

UNITED NATIONS (IDN) — Russia's military setbacks in Ukraine have triggered widespread speculation in the US that Russian President Vladimir Putin may unleash his stockpile of "tactical nuclear weapons", which may be less devastating than the deadly US weapons that destroyed the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki back in August 1945.

In the face of battlefield losses in eastern Ukraine, Putin has warned that he "will make use of all the weapon systems available to us" if our territorial integrity is threatened.

: Thalif Deen; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 06 October 2022

Photo: ANC Youth League. Source: Daily Maverick.

ANC Youth League Defends Support for Referendum in Occupied Ukraine

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) — South Africa's ANC Youth League is facing sharp criticism for endorsing Russia’s referenda in occupied parts of Ukraine, which many countries have dismissed as unacceptable, in violation of the United Nations Charter and illegal under international law.

The referenda were designed to pave the way for Moscow to annex the territories.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 04 October 2022

Photo (from left to right): Manish Uprety F.R.A.S. and Jainendra Karn.

Irish Unification, Britain and the Gandhian Path

Viewpoint by Manish Uprety F.R.A.S. and Jainendra Karn

Manish Uprety F.R.A.S. is an ex-diplomat & ALCAP’s Special Adviser for Asia & Africa, and Jainendra Karn is a senior leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Any views or opinions expressed are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of IDN-InDepth News.

NEW DELHI (IDN) — Time changes the boundaries and spheres of influence of a nation. In the case of the United Kingdom, many countries now want out and have their own head of state while the bell tolls for the Commonwealth.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 30 September 2022

Image: Eternal Flame in Belgrade, memorial to the military and civilian victims of the NATO bombing. (Taken on 9 November 2015) CC BY 3.0

The Great Game in Ukraine is Spinning out of Control

Viewpoint by Jeffrey D. Sachs

This article was published in Other News and is being republished with the author's permission.

NEW YORK (IDN) — Former US National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski famously described Ukraine as a “geopolitical pivot” of Eurasia, central to both US and Russian power. Since Russia views its vital security interests to be at stake in the current conflict, the war in Ukraine is rapidly escalating to a nuclear showdown. It’s urgent for both the US and Russia to exercise restraint before disaster hits.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 29 September 2022

Photo: Thousands of demonstrators join Fridays for Future’s global day of action to stand with Ukraine by walking down Willy-Brandt-Strasse, a main thoroughfare in Hamburg, Germany. (Photo: Daniel Reinhardt/dpa/picture alliance via Getty Images)

Ukraine War: Still a Cuban Missile Crisis in Slow Motion

Viewpoint by Joseph Gerson

This article was first published by CommonDreams.org

NEW YORK (IDN) — During the first days of the Ukraine war, former Senator Sam Nunn warned that the Ukraine War was a Cuban Missile Crisis in slow motion. That warning was recently reiterated by senior analysts in Moscow during an off-the-record conversation.

The war is about Ukraine and much more: power, privileges, the security disorder in Europe; the future of Putin’s rule; and Biden/Blinken efforts to reinforce U.S. hegemony in the face of pressures for a bipolar or multi-polar world disorder.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 22 September 2022

Photo: Biological weapons. Source: Australian Institute of International Affairs

US Warns Russia Against Use of Chemical and Biological Weapons in Ukraine

By Thalif Deen

UNITED NATIONS (IDN) — The retreat of Russian troops from occupied territory in Ukraine has led to widespread speculation that Moscow may use non-conventional weapons, primarily biological and chemical weapons, to beat back the Ukrainians.

In a prime-time interview on US television on September 19, US President Joe Biden said the US response to any use of “non-conventional weapons” by Russia “would be significant” but did not provide any details of possible retaliation.

: Thalif Deen; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 21 September 2022

Shanghai Organization Could Unite Region’s Big Powers to Drive the Global Economy

By Kalinga Seneviratne

NUR-SULTAN, Kazakhstan (IDN) — For the first time, the summit meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) attracted international and regional media attention because the Ukraine crisis has made the region’s powerhouses China, Russia and India major players in the global economy.

The 22nd Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the SCO took place in the historical city of Samarkand, in Uzbekistan, on September 15 and 16.