EU & Europe

Photo: The Aukus submarine pact caused a falling-out with France Source: Deutsche Welle.

AUKUS Threatens to Damage NATO

Viewpoint by James W. Carden

This article was produced by Globetrotter in partnership with the American Committee for U.S.-Russia Accord. James W. Carden is a writing fellow at Globetrotter and a former adviser to the U.S. State Department. Previously, he was a contributing writer on foreign affairs at the Nation, and his work has also appeared in the Quincy Institute’s Responsible Statecraft, the American Conservative, Asia Times, and more. Source: Globetrotter

: Opinion Editor; THE WORLD; USA and Canada; 22 September 2021

Photo: Herero prisoners of war, around 1900. CC BY-SA 3.0 de

Germany’s Forgotten Genocide in Namibia

Viewpoint by Adekeye Adebajo

Professor Adekeye Adebajo is Director of the University of Johannesburg’s Institute for Pan-African Thought and Conversation in South Africa.

JOHANNESBURG (IDN) — As some world leaders gather in New York for their annual United Nations General Assembly rituals, the September 22 debate on “Reparations, Racial Justice, and Equality for People of African Descent” to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the 2001 Durban Racism Conference, will be particularly significant. While at the Durban conference itself, the issue of reparations was not allowed to be debated by former Western slaver and imperial powers, this issue is now firmly on the agenda.

: Opinion Editor; SUSTAINABILITY; Peace & Justice; 17 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: 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.

: Opinion Editor; SUSTAINABILITY; Peace & Justice; 08 September 2021

Photo: Ebrahim Raisi. Source: Deutsche Welle.

The Future of Iran Nuclear Deal Remains Uncertain

By Kelsey Davenport, Julia Masterson, and Sang-Min Kim

While Kelsey Davenport is director for nonproliferation policy, Julia Masterson is research associate, and Sang-Min Kim is Scoville Fellow at the Arms Control Association. This article first appeared in Arms Control Now of the Association on August 11, 2021.

WAHINGTON, DC (IDN) — Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi pledged to pursue “smart engagement” in order to lift sanctions on Iran during his Aug. 5 inauguration speech.

: Arms Control Association; THE WORLD; Middle East; 14 August 2021

Photo: The first trial worldwide on state torture in Syria started in Germany in April 2020. Credit: ECCHR.

Germany’s Public Prosecutor Files Charges Against A Syrian Doctor

Torture in Syrian military hospital

By Rita Joshi

BERLIN/KARLSRUHE (IDN) — The German Federal Prosecutor's Office announced on July 28 that it has filed charges under the principle of universal jurisdiction against Alaa M, a Syrian doctor who fled to Germany. M is accused in 18 cases of torturing people and subsequently killing one of them, according to ECCHR – European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights.

: Rita Joshi; THE WORLD; Middle East; 28 July 2021

Image source: National Committee on U.S.-China Relations (NCUSCR).

The Study of History Can Avert a New Cold War

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power*

LUND, Sweden (IDN) — Does America know what a dangerous game its leaders have been playing? Does it know its history? And do the leaders of Europe, who should be a brake on American determination, go along with Washington because they are almost equally ignorant? The fact is none of the present crop of European and American leaders have had time to study much history.

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 27 July 2021

Photo: The German learning platform openHPI makes it possible to absorb up-to-date, comprehensibly conveyed university knowledge on information technology and innovation topics from any location at any time - in several languages. Credit: HPI

Free Online Learning Courses from A German Platform in Demand Worldwide

By Hans-Joachim Allgaier

POTSDAM, Germany (IDN) — A German learning portal that provides free basic digitization knowledge in several languages to Internet users around the world is heading for its one-millionth enrolment. German science patron, Prof. Hasso Plattner, co-founder of the software company SAP and founder of the Hasso Plattner Institute (HPI) in Potsdam, is behind the international project and fully finances the Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC).

: Europe Editor; SUSTAINABILITY; Quality Education; 17 July 2021

More Than 220,000 Germans Leave Catholic Church in 2020

By Catholic News Agency (CNA)*

ROME (IDN) — More than 220,000 people left Catholic Church in Germany in 2020, according to official figures. The statistics issued by the German bishops’ conference on July 14 showed that 221,390 people exited the Catholic Church last year.

The figure was almost 19% lower than that of 2019 when a record 272,771 people departed. But it was higher than the 2018 figure of 216,078, reported CNA Deutsch, CNA’s German-language news partner.

: Europe Editor; HUMAN RIGHTS; Religion; 15 July 2021

Photo: For a half century, the French nuclear bomb tests and their consequences have cast a shadow over Tahiti. Image: Bruno Barrilo/Heinui Le Caill

France Denies Covering-Up Deadly Nuclear Tests in French Polynesia

By Asia Pacific Report newsdesk

SUVA (IDN) — The French government has denied any cover-up over radiation levels in the Pacific following its nuclear testing in the region, as state-backed discussions took place in Paris about the legacy of the explosions, reports France 24.

A two-day meeting called by French President Emmanuel Macron was held following fresh allegations that the testing from 1966 to 1996 caused hidden atmospheric and ground radiation.