Situation in Sudan (per 4 May) A drone strike on the family home of Sudan Shield Forces leader Abu Aqla Keikel in Al-Kahli village in Al Jazirah state killed nine people, including six children, with sources close to the Sudanese army blaming the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) for the attack. A drone strike attributed to […]
The Shattered Covenant
As Israel celebrates its 78th anniversary By Alon Ben-Meir* Israel! I speak not in anger, but in mourning. What unfolds here is not prophecy— It is a confession. A lament for a nation that lost its way. A reckoning with faith betrayed, with justice undone. The dream of Israel, once radiant, redemptive, now stands fractured— […]
USA: Is the DNC Giving Kamala Harris a Boost for 2028?
By Norman Solomon* SAN FRANCISCO, USA | 2 May 2026 (IDN) — More than four months after Democratic National Committee (DNC) chair Ken Martin announced that he was breaking his promise to release the autopsy report on the 2024 election, the decision remains highly controversial. Arguments swirl around whether it’s wise to proceed without public […]
Kenya: Ruto-Tinubu Banter as Food for Thought
By Azu Ishiekwene The writer is the Editor-In-Chief of LEADERSHIP and the author of the new book Writing for Media and Monetising It. ABUJA, Nigeria | 1 May 2026 (IDN) — Listening to Kenyan President William Ruto diss Nigerians with a smile from faraway Italy, one would think he had taken a page from Amos Tutuola’s […]
Situation report: Ethiopians in Saudi Arabia sentenced to death; Four traffickers sentenced to jail in Libya; Aid truck hit by drone in Sudan
No. 724 – 30 April 2026 Europe External Programme with Africa is a Belgium-based Centre of Expertise with in-depth knowledge, publications, and networks, specialised in issues of peacebuilding, refugee protection, and resilience in the Horn of Africa. EEPA has published extensively on issues related to the movement and/or human trafficking of refugees in the Horn […]
A World Edging Back Toward the Nuclear Brink
By Jonathan Power LUND, Sweden | 29 April 2026 (IDN) — Not long ago, U.S. Strategic Command—the branch responsible for nuclear weapons—issued a stark warning: conflict conditions could “very rapidly drive an adversary to consider nuclear use as their least bad option.” That sober assessment captures a growing unease. President Joe Biden’s decision to send […]
IRAN: Sustainable Peace Takes Time
By David L. Phillips* OXFORD, UK | 29 April 2026 (IDN) — I spent hours with Ambassador Javad Zarif, Iran’s Permanent Representative to the UN and Foreign Minister in 2015. Rather convincingly, he maintained that Iran was not seeking a nuclear weapon but merely insisting on its right to enrichment. He called Iran’s nuclear program a […]
Preparing for War, Lacking Consensus: Tigray’s Divided Political and Social Landscape
By Daniel Tesfa, Shim Masha, Joëlle Stocker and Mirjam van Reisen MEKELLE, Ethiopia | 28 April 2026 (IDN) — Four years after the war in Tigray (Ethiopia) ended with the cessation of hostilities by the Pretoria Agreement, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), who represented the Tigray regional state in the agreement, has moved to […]
Breaking News: Peace Is Happening. Nobody Is Reporting It
By Renu Nauriyal* MUMBAI, India | 28 April 2026 (IDN) – While missile attacks and bombardments fill our feeds, front pages, and screens, cameras are not following the volunteer doctors operating on the injured, often without anesthesia. Journalists are not rushing to capture the teams that have crossed frontlines on foot to rescue marooned families. […]
Trump, Iran, and the Folly of Demanding Surrender
By Alon Ben-Meir* NEW YORK, 27 April 2026 (IDN) — Trump’s threats and maximalist demands ignore Iran’s history, security fears, and distrust of Washington. A durable agreement requires time, restraint, and professional diplomacy—not bombast, coercion, and calls for unconditional surrender that guarantee only resistance. Iran is not a transient power that can be coerced into […]