Kishore Mahbubani* in dialogue
(6 September 2024) Former President of the United Nations Security Council and well-known diplomat and scientist from Singapore, Kishore Mahbubani, explains in simple, honest words the greatest global contest in the history of mankind: between the USA and China. He was invited by the “Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research”** for a dialogue in July 2024.
by Karin Leukefeld,* 31 July 2024
(16 August 2024) Travelling to the south of Lebanon requires some preparation. Lebanon and Israel have been at war for decades and there is no official border. The dividing line between the territory that Israel claims for itself – which Lebanon does not recognise – is marked with blue barrels placed there by the UN. They mark the “Blue Line”, a ceasefire line controlled by UNIFIL, a UN Interim Force for Lebanon.
The report is based on the author’s research in southern Lebanon on 18 July 2024.
by Wolfgang Bittner* Germany
(9 August 2024) According to its power elites, the United States of America is “the land of the free and the home of the brave”, as the national anthem proclaims. And “God’s Own Country” is called to rule the world. To assert this unipolar claim, it has developed a long-term strategy since the 19th century, which includes maintaining an excessively well-equipped army and establishing around 1,000 military bases around the world.
by Alan MacLeod,*
(9 August 2024) Much to the chagrin of the U.S. government, socialist candidate Nicolas Maduro won a third successive term in office on Sunday [28 July], convincingly beating his U.S.-backed opponents, Edmundo Gonzalez and Maria Corina Machado, by seven points.
Commentary by Norman Paech,* Germany
(3 August 2024) This opinion should come as no surprise to anyone. Everyone in government, parliament and the media has known for years that Israel’s occupation, including the settlements, is illegal and must therefore withdraw from the occupied territories. Even in its first judgement in 2004, when the International Court of Justice declared the construction of the wall illegal insofar as it encroached on Palestinian territory, it left no doubt about the illegality of the occupation and the settlements.
by Rudolf Hänsel*
(26 July 2024) “Where I feel well, there is my fatherland,” says a popular saying. For the author, Serbia has been his adopted country for years. Serbia has long been labelled a “rogue state” in the Western press. During the time of Slobodan Milošević, the Balkan state was considered an enemy country par excellence – now President Aleksandar Vučić is not sufficiently resolute in distancing himself from Vladimir Putin, refusing to engage in aggressive enemy rhetoric and instead calling for peace.