By Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden | 4 November 2025 (IDN) —The story of Israel’s nuclear bomb is rarely told. Yet we hear a lot about the possible Iranian bomb and the dangerous bombs of Pakistan that militant Islamists might seize—although that is unlikely, given that the U.S. has supplied state-of-the-art locks to Pakistan. And then […]
Situation Report Special: Dutch court allows full trial of alleged Eritrean trafficker “Walid”
Announcement: This month, we will bring you special Situation Reports on the substantive hearings in the ‘Walid case’ concerning Human Trafficking for Ransom from Eritrea through Ethiopia, Sudan and Libya, held in The Netherlands Walid hearing background (per 3 November 2025) Substantive hearings have started today, 3 November 2025, in the case against the alleged […]
East Timor Joins ASEAN — and Now Comes the Hard Part
Challenges and hopes for prosperity and stability. By Ramesh Jaura This article first appeared on https://rjaura.substack.com BERLIN | 3 November 2025 (IDN) — It took half a century, two foreign occupations, a UN peacekeeping mission, and one of the most extraordinary independence struggles of the modern era. But on 26 October 2025, East Timor — […]
Every Breath Counts
By Praise Nutakor The writer is a Partnerships and Communications Specialist at UNDP. NEW YORK | 2 November 2025 (IDN) — Every breath matters. For a newborn struggling for air, an expectant mother requiring surgery, or a patient battling respiratory illness, access to medical oxygen can mean the difference between life and death. Yet in […]
Sri Lanka Is the Crucial Hub of the Ancient Maritime Silk Road
By Ambassador Dr Palitha Kohona The writer is Sri Lanka’s Former Ambassador to China, a former Permanent Representative to the UN, a former Foreign Secretary, and a former Head of the UN Treaty Section. The following is extracted from a presentation De Kohona made to the Colombo Port City Rotary Club. COLOMBO | 1 November […]
From A Beacon of Democracy to Authoritarian Rule
There is a growing consensus among many notable political scientists and historians that America is at a perilous crossroads; Trump has chosen the road that leads to disastrous authoritarianism. The question is what it would take to stop Trump from destroying our democracy and replacing it with a dictatorship. By Alon Ben-Meir* NEW YORK | […]
Situation Report Horn of Africa: Mass killings by RSF in El Fasher
Situation in Sudan (per 30 October) About 2,000 civilians are estimated to have been killed by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in El Fasher, North Darfur, since it captured the city over the weekend. The mass killings were reportedly ethnically motivated, with reports of horrific atrocities including burning and burying people alive, stated the Preliminary […]
Trial against alleged Eritrean trafficker ‘Walid’ will start in The Netherlands on 3 November
Substantive hearings are about to begin in Zwolle, the Netherlands, in the important case against Eritrean national Tewelde Goitom (also known as “Walid” / “Welid”). The hearings are set to run across the month of November. Walid is accused of leading an international criminal network that detained, tortured, raped and extorted Eritrean refugees in Libya. […]
The Changing Monsoon in The Himalayas: Lessons from Bhutan’s Floods
By Madhurima Sarkar-Swaisgood, Prangya Paramita Gupta, Shashwat Avi, and Sanjay Srivastava, ESCAP* BANGKOK | 29 October 2025 (IDN) — The Himalayan arc from Bhutan through Nepal and India into Pakistan has always followed the rhythm of the monsoon. In 2025, that rhythm became deadly. Rain that sustains agriculture and rivers turned destructive, testing the capacity […]
The Route To Happiness
By Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden | 28 October 2025 (IDN) —Want to be happy? Read on! Sigmund Freud, the great psychiatrist, said that people can never be fully happy. But most people are reasonably happy, according to numerous surveys. Even in the slums of Calcutta, a majority are. Read “The City of Joy” by Dominique […]