How black woman judge overcame Republican racist opposition to become first US Supreme Court justice
Ketanji Brown Jackson was confirmed by the Senate on Thursday as the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court in a milestone for the United States and a victory for President Joe Biden, who made good on a campaign promise as he seeks to infuse the federal judiciary...
South Sudan’s president and deputy shake hands to reenergise ‘revitalised peace agreement’
Recent ‘revisit’ of the revitalised peace agreement signed between South Sudan President Salva Kiir and First Deputy President Riek Machar has given a fillip to hopes of free and fair elections, although a cloud of doubt still hangs over the possibility of the polls happening soon within the timeframe provided...
South Africa present wants outdated UN Security Council democratised to strip rich nations of veto power
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa this week told the country’s senior diplomats the current formation of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is “outdated and unrepresentative”. He told high commissioners, ambassadors and others representing South Africa abroad that the Russia-Ukraine conflict “exposed the inability of the UNSC in fulfilling its...
Marriage equality: Republicans are never happier than when bashing something they don’t understand
As the Supreme Court prepares to strike a blow against Roe v. Wade, it’s beginning to look like Republicans will make Obergefell v. Hodges their next target. Republicans are never happier than when they’re bashing something they don’t understand, so the party’s current genitals-obsessed transphobia is totally on-brand. Attacking the...
New report by maritime risk company says piracy in northern Indian Ocean, off Somali coast has reduced significantly
Piracy in the northern Indian Ocean has decreased over the last decade, and now the greatest threat to seafarers in the region is state-backed threats against shipping, particularly in the waters around Yemen, a new report reveals. In Dryad Global’s annual report for 2021/22, the maritime risk company notes that...
Military spending rises to $2 trillion as world records highest number of violent conflicts since World War II
The world is facing highest number of violent conflicts since 1945, from Yemen to Syria, Myanmar and Sudan and now the catastrophic war in Ukraine, United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres has said. Speaking about a report on Peacebuilding and Sustaining Peace, Guterres said peace is the most important task...
Stabilisation: DR Congo leadership lead strategy to co-opt former combatants into government
Ongoing efforts to bring peace and stability to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) now include P-DDRCS, a national strategy for demobilisation, disarmament, community recovery and stabilisation aimed at former combatants in the troubled central African country. The strategy’s official title is the Demobilisation, Disarmament, Community Recovery and Stabilisation Programme....
Trade sanctions: New report says war in Ukraine will speed up Europe’s move away from fossil fuels
A report last month by Leopoldina, the German National Academy of Sciences, found that Germany could survive the next winter without Russian energy, but only with extreme efforts to replace Russian gas with imports while ramping up coal-fired power plants and promoting largescale conservation and energy efficiency. It also depends...
How Russian invasion of Ukraine has reshaped oil geopolitics, transition to clean energy, climate and food
On February 22, Germany scuttled its approval of a newly built gas pipeline from Russia and is now planning to import liquefied natural gas from countries such as Qatar and the United States. Belgium is reconsidering its exit from nuclear power, while Italy, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom are...
Success of workers at global giant Amazon to form union gives flailing US labour movement fresh impetus
Last week, workers at an Amazon warehouse on Staten Island delivered one of the biggest victories for organised labour in a generation when they voted to form a union – the first such organising effort to succeed at any Amazon worksite in the United States and a stunning upset for...
