By Jan Servaes MIAMI | 12 June 2026 (IDN) — It is well known that American democracy is in crisis. American society is more polarised than ever before. “We are being strategically driven apart by disinformation – the deliberate spreading of lies disguised as truth,” argues Barbara McQuade, a professor at the University of Michigan […]
Skyward Haven: A Thoughtful Novel for an Uncertain Age
By Jaya Ramachandran NEW YORK | 7 June 2026 (IDN) — Every generation produces books that capture the anxieties of its time. Some do so through realism, others through satire, and still others through speculative imagination. Skyward Haven belongs firmly in the latter category. Yet unlike many works of speculative fiction that rely on dramatic […]
Has the Democratic Party Lost Its Way Regarding Russia and China?
By Jan Servaes MIAMI | 6 May 2026 (IDN) — Anyone visiting a reputable U.S. bookstore today in search of an analysis of the position the United States occupies on the global stage under President Trump will immediately spot the hefty 534-page tome: Autocrats vs. Democrats: China, Russia, America, and the New Global Disorder by Michael McFaul. […]
The Animal That Therefore I Am: The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Genesis Façade
By Sam Ben-Meir* NEW YORK | 2 June 2026 (IDN) — Approaching the Metropolitan Museum of Art, one encounters not heroes, founders, or allegories of civilizational ascent, but animals—four of them—standing upright against the stone authority of the façade. A squirrel, a coyote, a deer, and a hawk occupy the Genesis Facade, not as emblems, […]
A ‘Wake-Up Call’ for U.S. Democracy
By Jan Servaes MIAMI | 28 May 2026 (IDN) — The weekend preceding Memorial Day (observed on the last Monday of May) is not only the time when Americans host their first barbecue of the summer season, but also when—during religious services, parades, and speeches—they commemorate those who have fallen in all American wars. In local […]
The Shattered Covenant
As Israel celebrates its 78th anniversary By Alon Ben-Meir* Israel! I speak not in anger, but in mourning. What unfolds here is not prophecy— It is a confession. A lament for a nation that lost its way. A reckoning with faith betrayed, with justice undone. The dream of Israel, once radiant, redemptive, now stands fractured— […]
Saudi Arabian Tourism Is On A Learning Curve, But Russian Tourist Could Help To Accelerate It
By Kalinga Seneviratne BANGKOK, Thailand | 4 Dec 2025(IDN)– Saudi Arabia and Russia have signed an agreement on the sidelines of the Saudi-Russian Investment and Business Forum, held in Riyadh on the 1st December, on a mutual visa exemption for citizens of both countries, that could help to accelerate the Islamic kingdom’s fledgling tourist industry. […]
Sri Lanka: The Beautiful, Besieged Island
By Dr. Asoka Bandarage* COLOMBO, Sri Lanka | 31 August 2025 (IDN) — In July 2025, the influential global travel website Big 7 named Sri Lanka the “most beautiful island in the world,” stating that the “teardrop-shaped island off the southern coast of India has it all—golden beaches, terraced tea plantations, timeworn temples, colonial towns, […]
Protecting Human Heritage: Sri Lanka’s Buddhist Culture
By Dr. Asoka Bandarage* COLOMBO, Sri Lanka | 24 July 2025 (IDN) — We live in a time of accelerated militarism, environmental devastation, and deepening social collapse. Amid these crises, the destruction of our shared global heritage — humanity’s historical, spiritual, and artistic legacy — receives an astounding lack of attention. As we enter the […]
Russia’s Real Power Is Not Weapons, It’s Culture
By Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden | 16 July 2025 (IDN) — Observers say that what drives President Vladimir Putin is to make Russia respected. However, perhaps Putin overestimates the extent of Russia’s existing power. He has overlooked which trumpets to blow — it is not his “hang tough” militaristic policies in international affairs, especially vis-à-vis […]