ExxonMobil Wants to Start a War in South America
On December 3, 2023, a large number of registered voters in Venezuela voted in a referendum over the Essequibo region that is disputed with neighboring Guyana. Nearly all those who…
Vijay Prashad
Are There Any Paranoids in the Stadium Tonight? Two Nights in Santiago With Roger Waters
No one does a stadium show like Roger Waters. The music, of course, is resplendent, but so too are the soundscape, the images, the giant sheep and pig, the lasers,…
The Israeli Attack on Palestinian Health Workers in Gaza and the Failure of the American Medical Association
by Rupa Marya and Vijay Prashad On November 11, 2023, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) stated that Israeli tanks were within twenty meters of the al-Quds hospital, the second-largest…
Provocations by the U.S. State Department Can Chill Press Freedom in Latin America
The headline is provocative: “The Kremlin’s Efforts to Covertly Spread Disinformation in Latin America.” This was a statement on the U.S. State Department website, posted on November 7, 2023. The…
How the War on Gaza Has Stalled the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC)
On September 9, 2023, during the G20 meeting in New Delhi, the governments of seven countries and the European Union signed a memorandum of understanding to create an India-Middle East-Europe…
Israel Wants Either an Apartheid State or an Ethnic Cleansing Process, Both Crimes Under International Law
On October 30, 2023, Israeli authorities said that they had killed “dozens” of Hamas fighters in the first days of their ground invasion. Meanwhile, Gaza’s Ministry of Health has struggled…
The Suffocating Occupation of Palestine Is Now a Series of War Crimes
On October 24, it became clear to the United Nations (UN) that the sustained bombardment of Gaza—which had already killed 6,500 people (including at least 35 UN employees)—had made this…
The Everyday Violence of Life in Occupied Palestine
Driving along the Jordan River Valley in the Occupied Palestine Territory (OPT) of the West Bank is a stunning experience. The road is officially called Highway 90. The arable and…
The Savagery of the War Against the Palestinian People
Who knows how many Palestinian civilians will be killed by the time this report is published? Among the bodies that cannot be taken to a hospital or a morgue, because…
What’s Happening in Niger Is Far From a Typical Coup
On July 26, 2023, Niger’s presidential guard moved against the sitting president—Mohamed Bazoum—and conducted a coup d’état. A brief contest among the various armed forces in the country ended with all the…
Niger Is the Fourth Country in the Sahel to Experience an Anti-Western Coup
by Vijay Prashad and Kambale Musavuli At 3 a.m. on July 26, 2023, the presidential guard detained President Mohamed Bazoum in Niamey, the capital of Niger. Troops, led by Brigadier General Abdourahmane…
World Hunger and the War in Ukraine
On Monday, June 17, Dmitry Peskov, the spokesperson for Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, announced, “The Black Sea agreements are no longer in effect.” This was a blunt statement to suspend the…
A Brutal Colonial Legacy Is Tinder for the Fires That Are Sweeping Across France
On Saturday, July 1, 2023, a large crowd gathered inside and around the Ibn Badis Mosque in Nanterre, France, where a seventeen-year-old boy, Nahel M, was mourned and then later buried. Nahel…
Why Turkey and Hungary Are Currently Blocking Sweden From Joining NATO
On July 11-12, 2023, the 31 members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) will hold their annual summit in Vilnius, Lithuania. To prepare for the summit, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg…
Can China and the United States Establish Mutual Respect to Lessen Tensions?
On June 3, 2023, naval vessels from the United States and Canada conducted a joint military exercise in the South China Sea. A Chinese warship (LY 132) overtook the U.S. guided-missile destroyer…
How The U.S. War on Taiwanese Semiconductors Might Benefit Japan
On May 15, 2023, Berkshire Hathaway reported in a Form 13F filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that it had completed the sale of its $4 billion stake in Taiwan…
Japan Signals an Attitude Shift to the Growing Power of the Global South
In mid-April, the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs released its Diplomatic Bluebook 2023, its most important guidebook on international affairs. Japan’s foreign minister, Yoshimasa Hayashi, wrote the foreword, which begins: “The…
The Long Arm of Washington Extends Into Africa’s Sahel
On March 16, 2023, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced—during his visit to Niger—that the United States government will provide $150 million in aid to the Sahel region of Africa.…
Frankfurt City Council Undermines Human Rights by Canceling a Concert by Roger Waters
by Vijay Prashad and Katie Halper After a highly acclaimed run in North America, Roger Waters will take his “This Is Not a Drill” tour across Europe. The long journey includes shows in…
The Global South Refuses Pressure to Side With the West on Russia
At the G20 meeting in Bengaluru, India, the United States arrived with a simple brief. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said at the February 2023 summit that the G20 countries must condemn…
The French Are Going, But the War in the Sahel Continues
On February 9, 2023, around 100 armed men drove to Dembo, Burkina Faso, on motorcycles and in pickup trucks. They opened fire on a militia group called Volunteers for the Defense of…
Burkina Faso Ejects French Troops
On January 18, 2023, the government of Burkina Faso made a decision to ask the French military forces to depart from the country within a month. This decision was made…
The Brazilian Hard Right Are Already a Political Cliché
On January 8, 2023, large crowds of people—dressed in colors of the Brazilian flag—descended on the country’s capital, Brasília. They invaded the federal building and Supreme Court and vandalized public property. This attack…
Which Government Does the United States Recognize in Venezuela?
On January 3, 2023, Shaun Tandon of Agence France-Presse asked U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price about Venezuela. In late December, the Venezuelan opposition after a fractious debate decided to dissolve the “interim government” led by…
South Africans Are Fighting for Crumbs: A Conversation With Trade Union Leader Irvin Jim
by Vijay Prashad and Zoe Alexandra In mid-December, the African National Congress (ANC) held its national conference where South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa was reelected as leader of his party, which means that…
The U.S. Egged on the Coup in Peru
by Vijay Prashad and José Carlos Llerena Robles On December 7, 2022, Pedro Castillo sat in his office on what would be the last day of his presidency of Peru.…
Is Russia Really the Reason Why Mali Continues to Push France Away?
On November 21, 2022, Mali’s interim Prime Minister Colonel Abdoulaye Maïga posted a statement on social media to say that Mali has decided “to ban, with immediate effect, all activities…
Lula Must Save Brazil From Savage Capitalism, Says Federal Deputy Juliana Cardoso
by Vijay Prashad and Zoe Alexandra Juliana Cardoso is sitting in her office in front of a lavender, orange, and yellow mandala that was made for her. She has been…
Japan’s Discomfort in the New Cold War
In early December 2021, Japan’s Self-Defense Force joined the U.S. armed forces for Resolute Dragon 2021, which the U.S. Marines called the “largest bilateral training exercise of the year.” Major General…
Guinea’s Plight Lays Bare the Greed of Foreign Mining Companies in the Sahel
On October 20, 2022, in Guinea, a protest organized by the National Front for the Defense of the Constitution (FNDC) took place. The protesters demanded the ruling military government (the National Committee…
The West Must Stop Blocking Negotiations Between Ukraine and Russia
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022. This war has been horrendous, though it does not compare with the terrible destruction wrought by the U.S. bombardment of Iraq (“shock and awe”) in…
Charting the Rise of Anti-French Sentiment Across Northern Africa
In November 2021, a French military convoy was making its way to Mali while passing through Burkina Faso and Niger. It did not get very far. It was stopped in Téra, Niger,…
How Cuba Is Dealing With the Devastation of Hurricane Ian
by Vijay Prashad and Manolo De Los Santos On September 27, 2022, a tropical cyclone—Hurricane Ian—struck Cuba’s western province of Pinar del Río. Sustained winds of around 125 miles per hour lingered over…
Four Straight Years of Nonstop Street Protest in Haiti
A cycle of protests began in Haiti in July 2018, and—despite the pandemic—has carried on since then. The core reason for the protest in 2018 was that in March of that year…
Will the Samarkand Spirit Revive the Word ‘Mutual’ in World Affairs?
In mid-September 2022, the nine-member Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) met in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, for its 22nd Meeting of the Council of Heads of State. Because China, India, and Pakistan are members of…
The Roar of a U.S. Warplane Over a Civilian Irish Airport
“This is not a regular airport,” Margaretta D’Arcy said to me as we heard a C-130T Hercules prepare to take off from Shannon Airport in Ireland after 3 p.m. on…
The Most Important Election in the Americas Is in Brazil
Former Brazilian President Luíz Inácio Lula da Silva (known as Lula) runs about on stage at the Latin America Memorial in São Paulo. He was there on August 22, 2022,…
Why Lithium Power Politics Are Playing Out Very Differently in Chile and Bolivia
by Vijay Prashad and Taroa Zúñiga Silva In late July, a large sinkhole appeared near the town of Tierra Amarilla in Chile’s Copiapó province in the Atacama salt flat. The crater, which…
Sanctions Fuel the Fire at Cuba’s Matanzas Oil Storage
by Vijay Prashad and Manolo De Los Santos On August 5, a major oil storage facility in Matanzas, Cuba, 65 miles east of Havana, was hit by lightning. A tank…
Chile’s Lithium Provides Profit to the Billionaires But Exhausts the Land and the People
by Vijay Prashad and Taroa Zúñiga Silva The Atacama salt flat in northern Chile, which stretches 1,200 square miles, is the largest source of lithium in the world. We are…
How Cuba Is Eradicating Child Mortality and Banishing the Diseases of the Poor
by Vijay Prashad & Manolo De Los Santos To move from 59 infant deaths out of every 1,000 live births to no infant deaths in the matter of a few…
The United States Contests the Chinese Belt and Road with a Private Corporation
At the G7 Summit in Germany, on June 26, 2022, U.S. President Joe Biden made a pledge to raise $200 billion within the United States for global infrastructure spending. It was made…
The United States Extends Its Military Reach Into Zambia
On April 26, 2022, the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) announced that they had set up an office in the U.S. Embassy in Lusaka, Zambia. According to AFRICOM Brigadier General Peter Bailey,…
Why Does the United States Have a Military Base in Ghana?
An interview with Kwesi Pratt Jr., a journalist and leader of the Socialist Movement of Ghana. In April 2018, the president of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, said that Ghana has “not…
Colombia Needs Democracy, Plain and Simple: An Interview With María José Pizarro
by Vijay Prashad & Taroa Zúñiga Silva On May 29, 2022, a political earthquake struck Colombia: the left-leaning Historical Pact’s presidential candidate, Gustavo Petro, and vice-presidential candidate, Francia Márquez, won…
The Rise of NATO in Africa
Anxiety about the expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) toward the Russian border is one of the causes of the current war in Ukraine. But this is not…
Is This the End of the French Project in Africa’s Sahel?
On May 15, 2022, the military junta in Mali announced that it would no longer be part of the G5 Sahel platform. The G5 Sahel was created in Nouakchott, Mauritania, in 2014,…
Mali’s Military Ejects France but Faces Serious Challenges
On May 2, 2022, a statement was made by Mali’s military spokesperson Colonel Abdoulaye Maïga on the country’s national television, where he said that Mali was ending the defense accords it had…
Will Japan and Russia Tensions Over Contested Pacific Islands Spill Over Into War?
Each year, Japan’s Foreign Ministry releases a Diplomatic Bluebook, a guide to the government’s views on the world. Kyodo News, a reputed Japanese wire service, reports that the 2022 Bluebook will have strong language…
Hunger Stalks Central Asia as the Ukraine War Unfolds
On March 16, 2022, Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev delivered his State of the Nation address in Nur-Sultan. Most of Tokayev’s speech was about the political reforms in Kazakhstan he had either accomplished or planned…
Central Asia Struggles With the Consequences of Russia’s War
During the Antalya Diplomacy Forum in Antalya, Turkey, which took place from March 11 to March 13, 2022, the Kyrgyz Republic’s Foreign Minister Ruslan Kazakbaev told Helga Maria Schmid, the secretary-general of the Organization…
Understanding the War in Ukraine
The war between Russia and Ukraine began much before February 24, 2022—the date provided by the Ukrainian government, NATO and the United States for the beginning of the Russian invasion…
Ukraine: A Conflict Soaked in Contradictions and New Patterns in War and Media
Surprise and horror have defined the reaction to the Russian military intervention in Ukraine. That’s likely because although the intervention has followed the contours of a modern land war, it…
France Withdraws From Mali, But Continues to Devastate Africa’s Sahel
On February 17, 2022, French President Emmanuel Macron held a press conference in Paris just ahead of the sixth European Union-African Union summit in Brussels along with Senegal’s President Macky Sall and…
The Western Allied Nations Bully the World While Warning of Threats From China and Russia
On January 21, 2022, Vice Admiral Kay-Achim Schönbach attended a talk in New Delhi, India, organized by the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defense Studies and Analyses. Schönbach was speaking as the chief of Germany’s navy…
The Terrible Fate Facing the Afghan People
On February 8, 2022, UNICEF (the United Nations Children’s Fund) Afghanistan sent out a bleak set of tweets. One of the tweets, which included a photograph of a child lying in a…
Can Israel Stop the World from Saying ‘Apartheid’? Concealing the Suffering in Palestine
On January 27, 2022, the Hebrew-language news site Walla published part of the text from a telegram sent by Amir Weissbrod—who is part of the Israeli Foreign Ministry—to Israeli embassies around the…
Morocco Drives a War in Western Sahara for Its Phosphates
In November 2020, the Moroccan government sent its military to the Guerguerat area, a buffer zone between the territory claimed by the Kingdom of Morocco and the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR).…
Are Western Wealthy Countries Determined to Starve the People of Afghanistan?
On January 11, 2022, the United Nations (UN) Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths appealed to the international community to help raise $4.4 billion for Afghanistan in humanitarian aid, calling this effort, “the…
Right-Wing Hate Speech Runs Rampant in India’s Elections
A bizarre event took place in northern India between December 17 and December 19, 2021. It was a “religious parliament” (Dharma Sansad) with the theme, “The Future of the Sanatan Dharma in…
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