Geopolitics, Disinformation and the Weaponisation of Religion at the centre of the Indian Ocean By Darini Rajasingham-Senanayake COLOMBO, Sri Lanka | 11 April 2026 (IDN) — The United States torpedo of the Iranian ship, IRIS Dena, in the Seas of Sri Lanka last month revealed geopolitical economic continuities with a crime committed seven years ago: […]
Imposing Tariffs Declared a Sham
By Goh Chien Yen The writer is a trade and investment lawyer at Third World Network. KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia | 11 April 2026 (IDN) — Richard Woldenberg, CEO of Learning Resources, Inc., the educational toy company whose Supreme Court victory struck down President Trump’s IEEPA tariffs six weeks earlier, has filed a four-page submission to […]
Situation Report: Alleged human trafficker arrested in Ethiopia
Situation in Ethiopia (per 9 April) Ethiopian police arrested Yetbarek Dawit in Shire, Tigray region, accused of running a multi-million-dollar human trafficking network since 2018, along with nine alleged accomplices, following a cross-border investigation. The network allegedly operated five detention warehouses in Libya where victims were tortured and forced to call their relatives to pay […]
While Distancing from AIPAC, Most 2028 Democratic Hopefuls Are Still Embracing Israel
By Norman Solomon* SAN FRANCISCO, USA | 9 April 2026 (IDN) — After decades of bipartisan deference to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the likely contenders for the next Democratic presidential nomination have been distancing themselves from the powerful organization. The shift is significant. But disavowing AIPAC has become a box-checking exercise, useful […]
The Need for Peace in Israel
By Jonathan Power LUND, Sweden | 8 April 2026 (IDN) — Over the last five years, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has regularly walked into the courtroom where he is being tried for corruption. In November last year, he unsuccessfully sought a presidential pardon. He is difficult to read—his public mask only deepens the ambiguity. […]
Bluster Without Strategy: Trump’s Ill-Fated Iran War
By Alon Ben-Meir* Trump’s address to the nation on the Iran war was intended to project control and resolve. Instead, it revealed indecision and disarray, marked by contradictions, self-praise, and shifting objectives. What was billed as a declaration of strength became a striking exposé of confusion and faltering leadership—both at home and abroad. NEW YORK […]
Remembering Stephen Lewis — A Tireless Advocate for Africa, Women, and Children
By Kul Chandra Gautam* KATHMANDU, Nepal | 5 April 2026 (IDN) — I join many former UNICEF staff members in expressing profound sorrow at the passing of Stephen Lewis, a friend, colleague, mentor, and fellow Deputy Executive Director of UNICEF. I first learned about Stephen Lewis in the 1980s when he was the Canadian Ambassador […]
A Lament for the Rules-Based International Order
By Reihshan Deen* COLOMBO, Sri Lanka | 4 April 2026 (IDN) — In 1648, the Thirty Years’ War came to an end. Beginning as a religious and political conflict between Catholics and Protestants regarding freedom of worship and the power of secular authorities to impose their beliefs on their subjects, the war fed upon itself, […]
After Recognition: The UN’s Next Reckoning on Slavery
Will global powers act—or stall—on reparative justice? By Ramesh Jaura This article first appeared on https://rjaura.substack.com BERLIN | 2 April 2026 (IDN) — The United Nations’ declaration of the transatlantic slave trade as the “gravest crime against humanity” marked a moment of moral clarity on March 25, 2026. Yet, almost immediately, geopolitical tensions and diverging […]
Situation Report: Sexual violence used as “weapon of war” in Sudan
Situation in Sudan (per 01 April) At least 3,396 survivors of sexual violence, out of which 97% are women and girls, have been registered at the health facilities run by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in North and South Darfur between January 2024 and November 2025. MSF warned the figure represents only a fraction of actual […]