Women & Girls Find their Sexual & Reproductive Health on the Frontlines of a Battle they Didn’t Start

Droughts, cyclones, floods and extreme temperatures – these are the ‘new abnormal’ of a world in which weather-related events are becoming increasingly prolonged, intense and frequent.

The Winds of War

Herman Wouk’s 1971 novel The Winds of War traced the romance, bravery, fear, and faith required for American youths to join the military, deploy to the war zones, and confront the mighty Axis threat in the lead-up to WW II. It later became a dramatic TV series.

A Staggering New Estimate of Over 186,000 Killings in Gaza Revives Charges of War Crimes

An overwhelmingly staggering 186,000 killings in Gaza –- compared with the official figure of over 37,000—has resurrected accusations of genocide and war crimes in the devastating nine-month-old war between Israel and Hamas, with no signs of a cease-fire. The new estimates have come from The Lancet, one of the most prestigious peer-reviewed British medical journals.

A new Treaty for a Sustainable and Just Future?

A High-Level Political Forum – described as one of the most important events of the year for discussing the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)—will take place at the United Nations through July 18.

US Fed- Induced World Stagnation Deepens Debt Distress

For some time, most multilateral financial institutions have urged developing countries to borrow commercially, but not from China. Now, borrowers are stuck in debt traps with little prospect of escape.

The IMF is Failing Countries like Kenya: Why and What can be Done About it?

The recent Kenyan protests are a warning that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is failing. The public does not think it is helping its member countries manage their economic and financial problems, which are being exacerbated by a rapidly changing global political economy.

Women Take the Lead in Baloch Civil Resistance

A 30-year-old woman speaks before tens of thousands gathered in southern Pakistan. Men of all ages listen to her speech in almost reverential silence, many holding up her portrait and chanting her name: Mahrang Baloch.

As Heat Soars in India, so Does Domestic Violence

As the temperature soars to new heights in India, so does domestic violence. It’s a well-established correlation that is largely left out of the climate change discussion, but the gap is glaring and needs to be bridged.

Zionism is Broken

Zionism is broken. It is finished as a political philosophy and cannot long survive. Having earned the visceral opposition of multitudes of people and countries around the world for engaging in vast overkill in Gaza, that historical reality will likely become clear to the Israeli people over time.

US Arms Suppliers in Gaza Killings Should be “Named, Shamed & Boycotted”

The US gun lobby justifies the unfettered American gun ownership in the US on a misguided premise: Guns don’t kill people, it’s bullets that kill people. The accusations of genocide and war crimes in Gaza have been directed firstly, at Israel, for the killings of more than 37,700, mostly civilians, and over 86,000 injured, in retaliation for the 1,200 killed by Hamas last October, according to estimates from Gaza health officials, as cited by Cable News Network (CNN) last week.

Pottery Barn Rules for Gaza

The rule at Pottery Barn is “You break it, you bought it.” It should be for Israel as well. The Netanyahu government’s eight-month long bombing campaign in Gaza, nearly half of the strikes by 2,000 lb. “dumb” or unguided bombs, has destroyed a high percentage of housing units in the territory.

Nuclear Coercion: Dangerous and Illegal

Our three organizations-- Western States Legal Foundation, Peace Depot, and Basel Peace Office-- all dedicated to the elimination of nuclear weapons, have consistently expressed our concern about the risk of nuclear war escalating during armed conflicts and times of high tension, when nuclear-armed states often make veiled or even explicit threats to use nuclear weapons and prepare for such use.

A Tax on the Super-Rich to Fight Hunger Gains Ground

A global agreement could levy a small tax on the world's 3,000 richest people, with fortunes in excess of US$ 1 billion, and use the money to fight world hunger, a study by the Brazilian government and the European Union's Tax Observatory has shown.

Inheriting the Vow to Abolish Nuclear Weapons: Inspiring Action in the Next Generation

The crisis that began with the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 shows no signs of ending, and the threat of nuclear war is no longer in the realm of the unimaginable. With conflicts intensifying in the Middle East, Africa and elsewhere producing appalling humanitarian crises, humanity stands on a dangerous precipice. There has been no time since the end of the Cold War when the risk of nuclear weapons use has been as high and prolonged as it is now. Even as there is renewed focus on the catastrophic consequences of any use of nuclear weapons, the discourse remains divided—whether to further escalate military confrontation or to return to multilateral negotiation and dialogue. Humanity confronts stark choices. JAPANESE

Worse Than Genocide: Killing Truth

There have been many genocides throughout history, but the first to be displayed on TV in all its sickening horror before the entire world is the Israeli genocide against the civilians of Gaza.

The Age of Holy War & Poetics of Solidarity – (Part 2)

In Part 1, I outlined how our shared existence is challenged not only by simultaneous crisis, but also by the notions - and realities - of perceived ‘holy wars’. I point out that ‘holy wars’ are not only perceptions within, or of, monotheistic faith traditions, but actually enacted by members of diverse belief systems.

The Age of Holy War & Poetics of Solidarity – (Part 1)

“Holy War” is how the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church referred to the Russian war on the Ukraine, and indeed, on “the West”¹ . “Holy War”, aka “jihad” is a foundational principle of “the Base” or “al-Qaeda”, which has grown into a non-state hydra with too many names and atrocities to list here (but if you are curious, one of the hydra faces is ISIS).

Violent Deaths by “Small Arms & Light Weapons”: UN Chief’s Warning Dead on Target

Perhaps two of the biggest misnomers in military jargon are “small arms” and “light weapons” which are the primary weapons of death and destruction in ongoing civil wars and military conflicts, mostly in Asia, the Middle East and Africa. In a statement last week, at the opening session of the Fourth Review Conference of the Programme of Action on Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW), UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was dead on target when he said there is nothing “small” or “ight” about the damage these weapons cause.

When U.S. Officials Show You Who They Are, Believe Them

"When someone shows you who they are,” Maya Angelou said, “believe them the first time." That should apply to foreign-policy elites who show you who they are, time after time.

A Move to Out-Maneuver US Veto on Palestine

The United States—which has continued to use its veto power to block Palestine from UN membership —may be out-maneuvered by a growing new campaign by some UN member states planning to establish full political and diplomatic relations with Palestine outside the confines of the United Nations. The latest recognitions of the Palestinian territory as a sovereign State are by Norway, Ireland, Spain and Slovenia, which comes after the General Assembly overwhelmingly voted -- with 143 votes in favour to nine votes against- - to back Palestine’s bid to become a full-fledged member of the United Nations on last month.