By Benoit Lannoo Yerevan | 8 August 2026 (IDN) Do you remember the Investiture Controversy, when medieval emperors tried to take over the pope’s episcopal appointments? Or the difficult issue of the appointment of bishops in the People’s Republic of China? Well, although Armenia is considered a democratic state in Western chancelleries, respectful of the […]
Governments Must Act Now to Stop the Tobacco Industry Recruiting the Next Generation of Customers
By Gene Gesite Jr., Juan Herrera, Sama Ghozlan, Sarah Rauzana and Winnie Olwal BANGKOK | 8 August 2026 (IDN) — On International Youth Day (12 August), youth advocates around the world are calling on governments to take stronger action to protect young people from nicotine addiction. In Asia, proposals in the Philippines to raise the […]
The Ugliness of the West: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and the Ideological Closure of Capitalism
By Sam Ben-Meir NEW YORK | 6 August 2026 (IDN) — John le Carré’s Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy endures not simply as the anti–James Bond film but as something rarer: a diagnosis of Western civilization at the moment it began losing faith in itself. Where the James Bond franchise offered a fantasy of Western vitality—technological mastery, […]
EEPA reports on Traders protest in White Nile
BRUSSELS | 6 August 2026 (IDN | EEPA) — The following are the situation reports on Sudan, Ethiopia, EU agrees to set up maritime center in Benghazi, 3 opposition members arrested in Ethiopia, Traders protest in White Nile. Migration and refugee situation (per 6 August) A Kenyan High Court in Bungoma, Kenya, has reaffirmed that […]
Forestalling Future Viruses Must Be Done — And It Can Be Done Inexpensively
By Jonathan Power LUND, Sweden | 5 August 2026 (IDN) — Almost forgotten in the story about the Coronavirus is the story of AIDS. The drive to deal with it, the search to find medicine to cure it, and the self-discipline by homosexuals only began in 1981, when the disease was discovered and its causes understood. […]
Rebuilding Before Peace
How Ukraine Is Reshaping Europe and the International Order By Ramesh Jaura This article was first published on https://rjaura.substack.com BERLIN | 4 August 2026 (IDN) — The invasion of Ukraine by Russia has now gone well beyond being just a conflict in a particular region; it has changed Europe’s strategic position, brought deterrence back to […]
EEPA reports on Confrontations between ENDF and TPLF in Tigray
BRUSSELS | 3 August 2026 (IDN | EEPA) — The following are the situation reports on Sudan, Ethiopia, Confrontations between ENDF and TPLF in Tigray, 37 killed in drone attack in North Darfur and RSF mobilises across Darfur. Situation in Ethiopia (per 3 August) New armed confrontations between the Ethiopian National Defence Forces (ENFD) and […]
The Challenges Facing African Candidates for the Top Job at the United Nations
By Rev. Gabriel Odima The writer is President & Director of Political Affairs, Africa Centre for Peace & Democracy. MINNESOTA, USA | 31 July 2026 (IDN) — President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda’s decision to nominate Ambassador Olara Otunnu for the top job at the United Nations is, in my view, a mockery of the international […]
EEPA reports on Over 117,350 migrants deported from Libya
BRUSSELS | 30 July 2026 (IDN | EEPA) — The following are the situation reports on Sudan, Ethiopia, RSF troops raid towns in North Kordofan, Renewed clashes along Oromia-Sidama border and Over 117,350 migrants deported from Libya. Situation in Sudan (per 30 July) Rapid Support Forces (RSF) soldiers raided the towns of Um Badr, Sodari, […]
The Oppenheimer and Odyssey Films, the Nuclear Bombing of Japan and the Lies Told
By Jonathan Power Editor’s Note: This commentary was first published three years ago. It is being republished because British-American filmmaker Christopher Nolan has recently released The Odyssey to widespread acclaim, while also attracting criticism over its historical inaccuracies. In this essay, Jonathan Power revisits what he believes Nolan missed—or chose to avoid—in his Oscar-winning film Oppenheimer, which chronicles […]