By Alon Ben-Meir* When a president confuses personal loyalty with public duty and self-glorification with leadership, democracy pays the price. Trump’s conduct reveals a disgusting and disturbing pattern: he put the presidency in service of his ego rather than the nation. NEW YORK | 17 October 2026 (IDN) — The damage Trump has inflicted on this […]
Will a Nobel Solve the World’s Trump Problem? The President Thinks So
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 | 16 October 2026 (IDN) — US President Donald Trump doesn’t just think a Nobel will solve the world’s Trump-inflicted problems. He believes it. He has said, quite clearly, that he […]
30 Months After Uproar Over Jonathan Glazer’s Oscar Speech, What Do His Pro-Israel Denouncers Say Now?
By Norman Solomon* SAN FRANCISCO, 15 October 2026 (IDN) — If you understand that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza, why read an article focusing on the viewpoints of people who vehemently deny it? I wasn’t sure how to explain why, until I remembered something that screenwriter Frédéric Krivine said when I interviewed him in Paris eight […]
EEPA reports on ENDF controls key towns in northwestern and central Tigray
BRUSSELS | 15 October 2026 (IDN | EEPA) — The following are the situation reports on the situation in Ethiopia, the migration and refugee situation, the situation in Sudan, the regional and international situation, ENDF controls key towns in northwestern and central Tigray, shipwreck off of Djibouti coast, gold refinery launched in Ethiopia Situation in […]
A Cultural Turning Point for American Democracy
What artists and religious leaders reveal about the health and future of democracy By Azza Karam NEW YORK, 12 OCTOBER 2026 (IDN) — A concert can tell us more about a country than an election poll can. It can reveal whose suffering people are prepared to acknowledge, what powerful institutions will permit them to say, […]
Brazil’s Fateful Election
By Jonathan Power LUND, Sweden | 7 October 2026 (IDN) — Since its birth as a nation-state, “Brazil has been a paradise for some, an endless hell for others, and for the rest, a kind of purgatory on earth.” So write two Brazilian historians, Lilla Schwarcz and Heloisa Starling, in their massive volume on Brazil. […]
Russia Challenges South Africa’s Exclusion From G20 Summit
By Kester Kenn Klomegah* MOSCOW | NEW YORK | 30 September 2026 (IDN) — At the 81st UN General Assembly in New York, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov reiterated Russia’s objection to South Africa’s exclusion from the forthcoming G20 summit in the United States, while emphasising the importance of multilateral institutions and the place of […]
South Pacific: As Small Islands Battle Climate Change, Debts Should Not Be Weaponized
By ANTONIA BHAGWAN* SUVA, Fiji | 28 September 2026 (IDN|Wansolwara) — The South Pacific region with its many vulnerable island nations may have moved beyond the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, but its economic consequences continue to weigh on governments across the region. Once again, countries are facing rising debt levels. In its 2026 Pacific […]
Guterres Bids Farewell to a United Nations Under Strain
The outgoing Secretary-General leaves behind unresolved questions of war, representation, finance and climate justice. By Ramesh Jaura BERLIN | NEW YORK | 25 September 2026 (IDN) — The Security Council offers the clearest example. It becomes paralysed whenever a conflict touches the interests of a permanent member or a close ally. Russia can block action […]
Ukraine and the Security Council’s Unresolved Contradiction
The body charged with maintaining international peace remains constrained when a permanent member is involved in the war. By J. Nastranis NEW YORK | 24 September 2026 (IDN) – The warning that the war in Ukraine has entered a dangerous new phase may sound familiar after more than five years of fighting. Repetition, however, should […]