By Dr. Alon Ben-Meir* NEW YORK | 10 July 2026 (IDN) — How is it possible that the Republican Party, at the peak of American power and at the new dawn of the country’s 250th anniversary, became a cult of personality around a leader they know to be a felon, a liar, and a danger […]
EEPA reports on Special Rapporteur mandate on Eritrea extended
BRUSSELS | 9 July 2026 (IDN | EEPA) — The following are the situation reports on Sudan, Ethiopia, the Special Rapporteur mandate on Eritrea extended and Attack on Tigray orthodox church archbishops. International and regional situation (per 9 July) The mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Eritrea has […]
South Pacific – Samoa: When the Ocean Moves Closer
By Thomas George Tofaeono APIA, Samoa. 8 July 2026 (IDN/Wansolwara) — Waves no longer appear in the usual areas they used to in many Samoan Villages, and the lands that connect our homes to the sea are becoming smaller. This raises concerns about how we should fight this threat. After heavy rainfall, it is saddening […]
Russia’s Power Is Not Weapons, It’s Culture
By Jonathan Power LUND, Sweden | 8 July 2026 (IDN) — Observers say that what drives President Vladimir Putin is to make Russia respected. But perhaps Putin underestimates how much power Russia already has. He has overlooked which trumpets to blow. It is not his “hang tough” policies in military affairs. It is Russia’s culture. […]
In Search of More ‘Participatory’, ‘Deliberative’, and ‘Egalitarian’ Forms of Democracy
By Jan Servaes BRUSSELS | 8 July 2026 (IDN) — For the average global citizen, the level of democracy today has regressed to that of 1978. This means that all the democratic gains of the so-called ‘third wave of democratization’—which began with Portugal’s Carnation Revolution in 1974—have either vanished or been significantly eroded. This is […]
Can the World Still Work Together?
Hamburg and the Future of International Cooperation “The United Nations was not created to take mankind to heaven, but to save humanity from hell.” – — Dag Hammarskjöld By Ramesh Jaura This article was first published on https://rjaura.substack.com BERLIN | 7 July 2026 (IDN) — Eighty years after the founding of the United Nations, the […]
My Conversation With Karl Marx About Donald Trump
By Norman Solomon* SAN FRANCISCO | 7 July 2026 (IDN) — The following has been edited for clarity and length. Norman Solomon: You’ve downplayed the importance of the individual in history. But the United States now has as president an individual who transformed power relations and the political landscape. Karl Marx: I can assure you that […]
1776 Against 1787: Constituent Power and the Forgotten Meaning of American Democracy
By Sam Ben-Meir* NEW YORK | 6 July 2026 (IDN) — On Saturday, July 4, Americans celebrated the nation’s 250th anniversary with the familiar fanfare: fireworks, flags, patriotic speeches, and ritual invocations of liberty. Yet at this extraordinary milestone, when the country is more deeply divided than at any time in recent memory over the […]
Statement at the 62nd Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council
Statement at the 62nd Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council By Hussen Hubadin Zamzame GENEVA | Switzerland| 6 July 2026 (IDN) Good afternoon Excellencies distinguished delegates colleagues and friends My name is Hussen and I am a human rights journalist. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak today on the […]
Eritrean Human Rights Mandate Renewed as UN Council Defies Opposition
By Daniel Tesfa and Filmon Gebremikael ANTWERPEN | Belgium | 6 July 2026 (IDN) — The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) has voted to renew the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Eritrea for another year, following strong advocacy from the European Union and Eritrean civil society […]