Global Geopolitics & Political Economy / IPS By Gareth Porter* KABUL, Jul 28, 2011 (IPS) – The Taliban leadership is ready to negotiate peace with the United States right now if Washington indicates its willingness to provide a timetable for complete withdrawal, according to a former Afghan prime minister who set up a secret meeting [...]
Fragile Peace Greets Independent South Sudan
July 12, 2011 By
Global Geopolitics & Political Economy / IDN By Jerome Mwanda IDN-InDepth NewsReport NAIROBI (IDN) – South Sudan declaring its independence, forming the world’s newest state, and initiating a new era for North Sudan on July 9, 2011, is a historic moment for Sudan and the surrounding region, and a vital opportunity to promote peace [...]
Once, There Was Yugoslavia
June 26, 2011 By
Global Geopolitics & Political Economy / IPS By Vesna Peric Zimonjic BELGRADE, Jun 24, 2011 (IPS) – For decades, the former Yugoslavia was a communist country with a human face, whose nations enjoyed high standards of living compared to other Eastern Europeans, visa-free travel abroad, and participatory government. Twenty years ago, on Jun. 25, all [...]
North and South Sudan Sign Pact over Abyei
June 21, 2011 By
Global Political Economy Net / IPS By Correspondents* DOHA, Qatar, Jun 20, 2011 (IPS/Al Jazeera) – North and south Sudan have signed an agreement to demilitarise the disputed Abyei region and allow in Ethiopian peacekeeping forces, former South African president Thabo Mbeki said on Monday. South Sudan is due to break off into an independent [...]
UN Faces Tough Challenges in Libya and Eastern Africa
June 19, 2011 By
Global Geopolitics & Political Economy / IDN By Richard Johnson IDN-InDepth NewsReport GENEVA (IDN) – Conflict in Libya and drought in Eastern Africa are posing grave challenges to humanitarian aid agencies of the United Nations, which are being called upon to muster all their resources in coping with rather critical situations. The World Food [...]
SRI LANKA: Peace Dividend Skips Remote Villages
May 29, 2011 By
Global Geopolitics & Political Economy / IPS By Amantha Perera UNNICHCHAI, Sri Lanka, May 28, 2011 (IPS) – The road to Unnichchai in eastern Sri Lanka makes for a nerve-wracking journey trying to avoid large crater-like potholes, squeezing across narrow bridges, and passing by a patchwork landscape of paddy fields – both abandoned and cultivated [...]
Peacemakers Swim Against the Tide
May 29, 2011 By
Global Geopolitics & Political Economy / IPS By Frank Mulder UTRECHT, The Netherlands, May 29, 2011 (IPS) – Although politicians seem to have put the peace process on ice, there are many different groups in Israel and the Palestinian territories that still believe in reconciliation. They call on the world not to believe in stereotypes. [...]
MIDEAST: Obama Peace Vision Sparks New Disputes
May 23, 2011 By
Global Geopolitics & Political Economy / IPS By Pierre Klochendler JERUSALEM, May 23, 2011 (IPS) – "The borders of Israel and Palestine should be based on the 1967 lines with mutually agreed swaps, so that secure and recognised borders are established for both states." The seemingly neutral and quasi-consensual principle laid out by U.S. President [...]
Recalling Hiroshima Encounters in Times of Fukushima Crisis
May 2, 2011 By
Global Geopolitics & Political Economy / IDN By Ramesh Jaura IDN-InDepth NewsReport BERLIN/HIROSHIMA (IDN) – Images of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, following an unprecedented nine magnitude earthquake and resultant tsunami, inevitably evoke memories of my two encounters with Hiroshima. A gentle monument in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park is festooned with thousands of paper cranes [...]
Name Blame Game As Israeli-Palestinian Deadlock Persists
April 26, 2011 By
Global Geopolitics & Political Economy / IDN By Bernard Schell IDN-InDepth NewsReport CAIRO (IDN) – While the United Nations is urging Israel and the Palestinian Authority to end the deadlock in peace talks, representatives of the two conflict parties continue to cross swords blaming each other for the unending cycle of violence and ‘retaliation’. [...]
