By Jan Servaes BANGKOK | 15 January 2025 (IDN) — Almost four years after the February 1, 2021 coup in Myanmar, the military junta’s widespread and systematic abuses against the population—including arbitrary arrests, torture, extrajudicial killings and aerial bombardments of civilians—amount to crimes against humanity and war crimes. For ordinary citizens, the human rights situation […]
Twenty Million Radicalizing Muslims Pose a Challenge
By Jonathan Power LUND, Sweden | 14 January 2025 (IDN) — Besides dealing with Ukraine, Russia stands at a major crossroads as it works out how exactly to deal with the 14.5 million ethnic Muslims that live inside its borders. If, added to this are the migrant workers from Central Asia and Azerbaijan, the total […]
Trump, again… Everything About Him Is Unsettlingly Peculiar
The writer is Editor-In-Chief of LEADERSHIP and author of the new book Writing for Media and Monetising It. ABUJA, Nigeria | 14 January 2025 (IDN) — On the eve of Donald Trump’s inauguration as the 45th President of the U.S., on 19 January 2017, I wrote an article I could easily write now. It was […]
Europe Ignores the Risk of Economic Nightmare as Ukraine Attacks TurkStream Pipeline
By Stephen Bryen* This article was issued by Weapons and Strategy and is being republished with their permission. WASHINGTON, D.C. | 13 January 2025 (IDN) — The Ukrainians sent nine drones to attack a natural gas compressor station in the Krasnodar region of southern Russia. The compressor station was part of the TurkStream pipeline. All […]
Ukraine War: Neutrality Remains the Key to Peace
By Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J. S. Davies NEW YORK | 13 January 2025 (IDN) — President-elect Trump said on January 9 that he is planning a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin about the war in Ukraine. He said “Putin wants to meet,” because “we have to get that war over with.” So what […]
Senegal, Chad and Ivory Coast Have Ordered French Troops to Leave
By Abayomi Azikiwe* DETROIT, USA | 12 January 2025 (IDN) — Senegal during 2024 underwent a mass upheaval and a groundbreaking national election, which brought to power the youngest elected head-of-state on the continent. The country won its freedom in 1960 during the so-called “Year of Africa” where 16 colonies became independent. Just three years […]
Will Putin and Trump Meet in Budapest?
By Fehér Péter* BUDAPEST | 12 January 2025 (IDN) — Vladimir Dzhabarov, the first deputy chairman of the Russian parliament’s upper house committee on international affairs, mentioned in an interview that he considers Hungary an ideal location for a meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin. This was the first specific indication that the Hungarian […]
The New Syrian Government Faces Herculean Task
By Dr Alon Ben-Meir* NEW YORK | 12 January 2025 (IDN) — Recognizing the horror the Syrian people have endured over the past 14 years, the question is, will Hayat Tahrir al-Sham leader Ahmed al-Sharaa follow through on his public promises to transform Syria into a democracy where freedom and equality reign, regardless of how […]
The UN Can End the Middle East Conflict by Greeting Palestine as 194th Member
The June 2025 UN Conference on Palestine can be the long-awaited turning point for the region. By Jeffrey D. Sachs and Sybil Fares* This article was published in Al Jazeera and is being republished with the authors‘ permission. NEW YORK | 11 January 2025 (IDN) — The UN, on its 80th birthday in 2025, can […]
Water Is a Key Factor in Syria’s Protracted Conflict
By Paolo Maggiolini* MILAN, Italy | 10 January 2025 (IDN) — Water security will be a key test of the new Syrian government’s credibility. Since 2011, water scarcity has been a central factor in the country’s prolonged conflict, manipulated for political and economic gain. In a region already vulnerable to climate change, prolonged drought and […]