By Daniel Tesfa and Mirjam van Reisen 22 August 2025 (IDN) — A new wave of arrests in Quatit has heightened unease in Eritrea’s southern region, with locals reporting that dozens of residents have been detained in recent weeks. Among those arrested is the father of Shishay Tesfalem, the owner of the YouTube-based media outlet […]
Putin Is Trump’s Medicine
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 | 22 August 2025 (IDN) — European leaders often portray Russian President Vladimir Putin as a tyrant, a land grabber, and a modern-day Russian bear. And following the outbreak of […]
UN80 Early Separation Agreements – Legal Objections & Breach of Principles
By Nadine Kaddoura* An Open Letter to Mr. Guy Ryder, Under-Secretary-General (USG) for Policy and Head of the UN80 Taskforce. LEUSDEN, Netherlands | 21 August 2025 (IDN) — I write to register a formal objection to the UN80 Task Force’s deployment of “early separation” agreements containing waiver clauses of sweeping breadth. Such provisions are inconsistent with […]
Sérgio Vieira de Mello: Achievements in Post-Conflict State-Building and Lessons for UN at 80
By Chimdi Chukwukere* ABUJA, Nigeria | 21 August 2025 (IDN) — August 19 marked both World Humanitarian Day and the 22nd anniversary of the death of Sérgio Vieira de Mello, UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General, who was killed in a bomb blast while on duty in Baghdad, Iraq. This piece honors his transformative achievements, […]
The Need to Forge a Plan B & Plan C for a Plastic Pollution Treaty
By Simone Galimberti* KATHMANDU, Nepal | 19 August 2025 (IDN) — As of 15 August, those hoping for a strong binding plastic pollution treaty were hugely disappointed by the outcome that emerged from Geneva, where the previous round of intergovernmental negotiations, formally known as INC. 5.2 took place from August 5-14, 2025. Nevertheless, for a […]
US-Russia Talks: The Choice Between Pursuing Peace and Escalation
By Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J. S. Davies* NEW YORK | 17 August 2025 (IDN) — Donald Trump came into office promising to end the war in Ukraine in 24 hours. Now, six months later, his high-stakes meeting with Vladimir Putin in Alaska may have put the United States and Russia on a new path […]
Sudan: Sexual Violence and Economic Collapse Are Devastating the Nation
This article was first published on https://rjaura.substack.com/ BERLIN | 16 August 2025 (IDN) — In Sudan, the war is fought not only with bullets and bombs, but on the bodies of women and in the fragile machinery of the economy. Since April 2023, a brutal conflict between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese […]
Nigeria’s Oil Industry and Its Administrators
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 | 14 August 2025 (IDN) — The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) is an animal that eats its curator for lunch. To survive it, either do not get close […]
Sri Lanka at the Human Rights Council: “Engage to Disengage”
By A.L.A. Azeez* COLOMBO, Sri Lanka | 14 August 2025 (IDN) — Time is ticking off. And it is ticking off on Sri Lanka’s human rights and accountability front, in Geneva. In less than a month from today, the question of promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka will come up for consideration […]
How to Empower Youths? Give Them the Key to Decision Making
By Simone Galimberti* International Youth Day is an awareness day designated by the United Nations on 12 August. The purpose of the day is to draw attention to specific cultural and legal issues surrounding youth. The first IYD was observed on 12 August 2000. KATHMANDU, Nepal | 13 August 2025, (IDN) — This year’s International […]