The widespread use of American weapons by Israel, which has killed thousands of civilians in Gaza, has triggered accusations of war crimes against the United States. But US has always escaped these charges in contemporary military conflicts –particularly in the killing fields of Afghanistan and Iraq –and also in the use
Author: Thalif Deen, IPS
Poverty & hunger eradication targeted to miss UN’s 2030 deadline
When the UN’s 193 member states reviewed the current status of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger by 2030, the verdict was mostly failures—and with little or no successes. The hunger/poverty nexus was best characterized by Alvaro Lario, President of the International Fund
A global survey of democracy finds both sobering and alarming results
The recent epidemic of coups in Africa — including military take-overs in Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Gabon– have triggered the inevitable question: Is multi-party democracy on the retreat? The Open Society Barometer, an annual global survey from Open Society Foundations, launched September 12, reflects the positive and negative aspects of
World leaders offered ‘15 Minutes of Fame’ at UN’s high-level meeting
US legislators strip China of ‘Developing Nation’status
When the UN came under attack from a mis-guided rocket launcher
When 150+ world leaders, including Presidents and Prime Ministers, arrive in New York to address the high-level segment of the General Assembly beginning September 19, the UN neighborhood will be turned into a veritable war zone. The streets will be littered with scores of police officers, US secret service personnel, UN
A plea for a UN summit on the global food crisis
A coalition of civil society organizations, (CSOs), including climate activists, anti-poverty campaigners and celebrity chefs, are among those calling for an emergency meeting of world leaders on the global food crisis during the UN General Assembly (UNGA) sessions in New York next month. With 735 million people going hungry, 122 million
Artificial intelligence faces charges of left-wing political bias
The artificial intelligence (AI) platform ChatGPT, whose negative consequences include misinformation, is facing new charges of political bias. According to a study by the University of East Anglia (UEA), released August 17, AI ChatGPT shows “a significant and systemic left-wing bias”. Published in the journal Public Choice, the findings show that ChatGPT’s
Russia upstages neo-colonialist France in West Africa
Going back to the 16th century and continuing through the late 1960s, France was described as the world’s second largest colonial power—just behind the British Empire. As the old saying goes: The sun would never set over the British Empire because God wouldn’t trust an Englishman in the dark. But would
Should military leaders be barred from addressing the UN?
A rash of military coups in African countries — including Burkina Faso, Sudan, Guinea, Mali, and most recently Niger– has raised a legitimate question: What should be the response of the United Nations, a world body that swears by multi-party democracy, on army take-overs? Condemnation? Yes. Last week, the strong denunciations of