Announcement
Skwawkbox is back. After just over a year as part of the Canary and a hiatus of a few weeks caused by the indefinite pause of that site, new articles will now revert to appearing here on the original skwawkbox.org. For…
Cogs of War
External
As the United States seeks to rebuild its defense industrial base, Washington is scrambling to understand an industrial ecosystem that it no longer controls, nor largely understands. China has been able to achieve…
Americas
External
With the US midterm elections approaching on November 3, a strengthening dollar is exposing a major contradiction in President Donald Trump’s economic agenda. While the administration wants to weaken the currency to…
Active Citizens
By CIVICUS Oct 19 2026 (IPS) CIVICUS discusses the persecution of Uyghurs and activism in exile with Rushan Abbas, an Uyghur American activist, founder and executive director of Campaign for Uyghurs and chair of the…
Active Citizens
Top: Annual Meetings of the IMF and the World Bank inside the Queen Sirikit Convention Center in Bangkok Credit: (IMF photo/N.Karlin). Bottom: Opening of the People’s Assembly. By Isabel Ortiz BANGKOK, Thailand, Oct 19…
Middle East & Africa
External
Chinese think tanks and strategic and security circles (particularly those affiliated with the People’s Liberation Army and intelligence institutes linked to the Chinese Ministry of State Security) are paying close…
Politics
External
Marco Rubio’s Athens speech presented American global dominance as the noble defence of Western civilization, but behind the historical scenery lies a cruder political order — restore Western supremacy and make Europe…
Opinion
External
Western governments are rebuilding ties with India even as they accuse it of foreign interference and of running intelligence operations against people on their soil. The contradiction was on display October 13, when…
Pacific
Protests against widespread state corruption have flooded the Philippines in recent weeks, putting pressure on the leadership of a country that for years has been one of the United States’ closest military and commercial…
Israel
When the Senate returns to session after the midterm elections , it will face sharp debate over a highly contested Fiscal Year 2027 (FY2027) National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The House version passed with a slim…
Enewsletter
In 2024, President Donald Trump won his second term and Republicans took control of the Senate by campaigning on “America First.” Two years later, some Democrats are trying to steal that thunder. “Everywhere I go, I get…
Business
External
The Gulf Cooperation Council, a bloc of oil-rich states long known for its appetite for imported cars, is becoming a growing market for Chinese electric vehicles (EVs) that are largely being blocked out of the West…
External
By: Tita C. Valderama The impeachment trial of Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte has entered a critical phase after prosecutors withdrew three of four articles of impeachment, narrowing their case to allegations of…
Geopolitics
Towards the October 25 elections and beyond Branko Milanović is an economist specialised in development and inequality. His latest book, The Great Global Transformation: National Market Liberalism in a Multipolar World…
Nigeria
External
Style of emceeing based on high-octane, ad-libbed vocals has flourished thanks to its unique way of captivating crowds For the 2015 freshmen cohort of the history degree programme at the University of Lagos, their…
Geopolitics
Andy Burnham’s government is rolling out a new “Centre for Information Defence”. But the outside actors most aggressively undermining what little remains of British democracy are nowhere in its sights Jonathan Cook is…
External
BETHLEHEM, West Bank (PNN) — Israeli settlers uprooted around 120 olive trees in the village of Kisan, east of Bethlehem, early on Sunday, in the latest reported attack on Palestinian residents and their agricultural…
Middle East & Africa
External
China categorically rejects Israel’s settlement policy, deeming it illegal and an obstacle to peace. This stance is part of Beijing’s broader strategic vision for the Middle East, through which China seeks to present…
Colonialism
External
A girl called Àìná was captured by an African king and later taken to England to become Sarah Forbes Bonetta, protege of the imperial monarch When she was seven years old, Bayo Randle’s great-great-grandmother Sarah…
Opinion
External
Indonesia, Brazil and the Democratic Republic of Congo together hold more than half of the world’s tropical rainforests. In 2022, when Indonesia hosted the G20 summit in Bali, the three countries pledged to cooperate on…
Middle East
External
In 2026, Turkey’s policy in Yemen shifted from exclusive neutrality and mediation efforts to “the brink” of military intervention against the government in Sanaa and the Ansar Allah movement, yet a range of geopolitical…
Larry C. Johnson
For most of the Saudi war in Yemen, Ansar Allah’s ballistic missiles were more political than military. They were noisy and frightening, but rarely decisive. In 2017 the press could fairly report that the group’s…
Americas
External
Facing an unforgiving midterm campaign shadowed by high fuel costs, Donald Trump turned to an unlikely partner for price relief: Moscow. The October 9 announcement caught Washington off guard and sparked an immediate…
Austerity
What is neoliberalism, and why has it had such a devastating impact on Britain’s economy, public services and democracy? Richard Murphy is an economic justice campaigner. Professor of Accounting at Sheffield University…
Eurasia
External
With the current rapidly changing geopolitical situation, Russia has been redefining and reassessing its policy parameters while debating strategic approaches within the principle of finding common solutions to Africa’s…
External
RAMALLAH, Palestine /PNN / Israeli settlers attacked diplomatic vehicles belonging to European missions on Saturday afternoon as diplomats were leaving the Palestinian village of Taybeh, east of Ramallah, according to…
Performative vs. Prescriptive Governance: The Disconnect of the American Empire and the Rise of China’s Civilizational Model The Western approach to governance, as exemplified by the United States, is based internally on…
Behind The Headlines
Iran releases the shocking claim that it killed 200 US Soldiers in its strikes on bases in Jordan alone, provoking a denial from CENTCOM and threats to use the Mother Of All Bomb (MOAB)’s against the Islamic Republic. In…
Middle East & Africa
External
Former Democratic Republic of Congo President Joseph Kabila has taken charge of rebel forces in the eastern regions, marking a significant shift in the rebellion. His leadership provides a recognizable figurehead, which…
Europe
External
This week has seen a deterioration in the relationship between Ukraine and the United States, primarily due to US threats to reduce intelligence support for Ukraine and a diesel deal that could financially aid Russia’s…
Middle East & Africa
External
Under King Mohammed VI, Morocco has pursued a foreign policy consistently guided by the imperative of preserving its sovereign freedom of action in an international order marked by profound inequalities of power. From…
Larry C. Johnson
Riyadh / KING ABDULLAH FINANCIAL DISTRICT Karl Miller’s new report says the Gulf paid for protection it never got, and that it is time to walk away For years the Gulf monarchies have been told that the path to security…
Activism
External
Maria Pappas shares stories of hardship, faith, and Hope behind new memoir at Pakistani-American Community gathering Author Maria Pappas discusses her new memoir “Maria the Pappas,” telling an audience at Sabeel Center…
Opinion
External
Western media continue to discuss the possibility of a military operation against Iran beginning before the congressional elections. CNN, citing sources familiar with the matter, reports that Trump has instructed the…
Northeast Asia
External
Jeffrey Miller’s newest novel, The Tree at Panmunjom, begins in the summer of 1976, as a soldier fresh out of basic training named Bill Davis arrives in South Korea and finds himself assigned to Camp Kitty Hawk just…
Technology
External
South Korean memory chipmakers must secure new United States licenses by year-end to keep shipping top-end American tools to their Chinese factories, after the Trump administration scrapped blanket permits last year. To…
Middle East
External
TEL AVIV — There is one country on earth where Donald Trump could plausibly win a national election, and he knows it. “I could run for Prime Minister,” he joked in May, claiming 99% approval here. No poll has ever shown…
US-China
External
Just as Vladimir and Estragon waited for Godot in Beckett’s famous play, the world may now be waiting for Xi Jinping in the present political drama. America is stuck in two wars. In Ukraine, it would like to reach a…
Foreign Affairs
Through its myriad of agencies, the United States government has recruited and groomed rappers from around the world to further its political interests. Washington has spent tens of millions of dollars funding, training…
EU politics
The growing disaffection among young Europeans toward “Never Again” narratives stems less from forgetting the lessons of history and more from the European Union’s selective application of moral principles on the…
Analysis
I’ve spent most of my adult life toiling away in many different political and journalism jobs, but focused on one single mission the whole time: a mission to show that corruption isn’t an inevitability or an abstraction…
Economics
Why are convicted criminals at the heart of the financing and roll-out of AI? Because the global economy is based on practices which in any other realm would be a complex criminal conspiracy. Robin McAlpine is head of…
Front Page: Foreign Affairs
The page that is still up Westminster Synagogue sits in the exclusive Knightsbridge district of London. In the financial year 2024, it brought in a total income of £1.31 million (U.S.$1.75 million). Its “Ways to Support”…
Column
Gadi Eisenkot , a leading Israeli politician hoping to unseat Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in elections later this month, pledged Thursday that he would “destroy Hamas’ military wing” within 18 months of taking…
EU politics
Reflecting its glaringly ideological intent, our media coverage of Vladimir Putin is shockingly disrespectful and dishonest. Comparisons to the insane murderous Adolf Hitler are better read as proof of our own bad faith…
Activism
The World Bank has high hopes for the positive impact of AI . Its flagship World Development Report this year is even titled “ The Promise of Artificial Intelligence .” From its annual meetings in Bangkok through Oct. 18…
Activism
In 2021, New York-based Russian American filmmaker Julia Loktev went back to Russia to begin what turned out to be a truly epic documentary production. She was in Moscow to make a documentary about journalists who had…
Arts & Culture
Truthdig lost a beloved contributor and friend last week when Jim Knipfel died at his home in Wisconsin following a yearlong illness. He was 61. Jim was a celebrated memoirist, novelist and critic who published a column…