SUSTAINABILITY

Photo (top) Credit: Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

US Arms in Afghanistan Mostly Inoperable, but Others Maybe Battle-Ready

By Thalif Deen

NEW YORK (IDN) — When the last of the US troops pulled out of Kabul on August 31—after a prolonged 20-year military occupation of Afghanistan—they left behind a treasure trove of weapons but most of them abandoned by retreating Afghan forces who were American allies.

These weapons, including combat helicopters, armoured vehicles, battle tanks and transport aircraft, were apparently de-activated by the departing Americans, but some reportedly remain functional and battle-ready.

: Thalif Deen; ARMAMENTS; Conventional & Autonomous Weapons; 12 September 2021

Photo: Migrants prepare to depart from Aden on a Voluntary Humanitarian Return (VHR) flight last week. Credit: Majed Mohammed/IOM Yemen

23,000 Refugees Returned to Libya, Mass Surveillance of Migrants in Europe, Tigray Facing Famine

By Reinhard Jacobsen

BRUSSELS (IDN) — The Elders address the UN Security Council (UNSC) on Tigray; refugees in Ethiopia approved for resettlement reportedly refused departure; UN urges opening of Tigray for aid; 29 Tigrayan bodies found between Sudan and Ethiopia; 5,000 Ethiopian migrants blocked in Yemen; Ethiopia is facing competing alliances; over 23,000 refugees returned to Libya this year, reports the Belgium-based Europe External Programme with Africa in its latest report on the Horn of Africa situation.

: Reinhard Jacobsen; THE WORLD; Horn of Africa; 12 September 2021

Photo: Participants in a rally sponsored by The World Can't Wait are dressed as hooded detainees and holding WCW signs in Upper Senate Park on January 4, 2007. Photo by Ben Schumin. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

It's Time to Question the Validity of the "War on Terror"

Viewpoint by John Scales Avery*

COPENHAGEN (IDN) — Twenty years after the events of 9/11, 2001, and in the midst of the messy withdrawal of the United States from Afghanistan, it seems appropriate to question the validity of the so-called “War on Terror”. The Costs of War project estimates that America's 20-years of wars, initiated with the supposed intention of fighting terrorism, have killed almost a million people, displaced 37 million, and have cost the US government 8 trillion dollars.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 12 September 2021

Photo: Dr. Sima Sami Bahous. Source: International Peace Institute

Former Ambassador of Jordan Appointed as 'UN Women' Chief

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN)— Dr. Sima Sami Bahous, 65, a former Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, with links to the Royal family, has been appointed the Executive Director of UN Women. IDN reported on September 6 that she was the front runner for the post. UN Secretary-General António Guterres announced her appointment on September 10.

: J Nastranis; UN INSIDER; 11 September 2021

Photo: Young fruit trees growing in the Atlas Mountains are monitored by HAF. Credit: HAF

Former Pastoral Nomads Considering In-Place Farming

By Jacqueline Skalski-Fouts

The writer is an undergraduate student at the University of Virginia.

VIRGINIA, USA (IDN) — North African pastoralism, an agricultural method used for centuries by nomadic people in the steppe highlands, is on the decline. Facing limited grazing land due to overuse and drought, pastoral nomads are favouring more sedentary farming methods like growing fruit or nut trees and crops.

: Africa & ME Editor; SUSTAINABILITY; Food security, nutrition & sustainable agriculture; 10 September 2021

Amid Widespread Military Conflicts & Civil Wars, UN Promotes the Virtues of Culture of Peace

By Thalif Deen

NEW YORK (IDN)— Since its creation 76 years ago, the United Nations has been preoccupied with one of its primary mandates, namely, maintaining international peace and security.

But over the years, that mandate has been extended to include peacekeeping, peace-building, nuclear disarmament, preventive diplomacy, and more recently, a culture of peace.

: Thalif Deen; SUSTAINABILITY; Peace & Justice; 10 September 2021

Photo: Scene of popular support in Conakry after the coup. CC BY-SA 4.0

Condé Took Guinea for A Ride, But the Coup Makes No Sense

Viewpoint by Azu Ishiekwene

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

ABUJA (IDN) — Zambia’s peaceful and orderly election in August offered a glimmer of hope that Africa’s story might be changing. For the third time in three decades, an opposition leader defeated the sitting president sending a message to the world that the continent may not be the incumbent’s lair after all.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 09 September 2021

Photo: Activists protest policies of the World Bank in Washington, DC. CC BY 2.5.

9/11 Killed It, But Twenty Years on Global Justice Movement Is Poised to Reincarnate

Analysis by Kalinga Seneviratne

SYDNEY (IDN) — Since the attacks on the United States by 15 Saudi Arabian Islamic fanatics on September 11, 2001 (now known as 9/11) the world has been divided by a ‘war on terror’ with any protest group defined as “terrorists”. New anti-terror laws have been introduced both in the West and elsewhere in the past 20 years and used extensively to suppress such movements in the name of “national security”.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; SUSTAINABILITY; Peace & Justice; 09 September 2021

Suicides, Not Accidents, Are the Biggest Killer in The Construction Industry

By Kalinga Seneviratne

SYDNEY (IDN) — It is news, when a worker falls off a construction site and dies, but not necessarily when a construction worker commits suicide. It may be a slow and quiet death, which the employers and the workers’ family may not like to talk about.

In the USA, the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that in 2018 there were 1,008 construction fatalities, but there were also 48,344 suicides by construction workers that year, which went largely unnoticed.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; SUSTAINABILITY; Decent Work & Economic Growth; 08 September 2021

Photo: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (left) with U.S. President Joe Biden (right). Screenshot of France24 video.

Ukraine's President Is Using the 'Kremlin Excuse' to Ban Media That Doesn't Always Agree with Him

Viewpoint by David C. Speedie

This article was produced by Globetrotter in partnership with the American Committee for U.S.-Russia Accord. David C. Speedie, a Board Member of ACURA, was formerly Senior Fellow and Director of the Program on U.S. Global Engagement at the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs. Prior to this, he chaired the Program on International Peace and Security at Carnegie Corporation. Source: Globetrotter.