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 | 7 November 2026 (IDN) — Those who voted for President Donald Trump and handed the Republicans a majority in the US Congress two years ago cannot claim it was a […]
OPINION: A UN for All? Asia’s Inclusion Must Be a Priority for the Next Secretary-General
By Shihana Mohamed* NEW YORK | 6 November 2026 (IDN) — “Outside these walls, people are not asking whether the United Nations still exists. They are asking whether it works.” Khalilur Rahman of Bangladesh, President of the United Nations General Assembly, warned the international community in his opening remarks at the 81st Session of the United Nations General […]
ESSAY: While the World Burns …
By Franz Baumann* This essay was originally published online on 2 November 2026 in Environment: Science and Policy for Sustainable Development, Taylor & Francis, under the title “While the World Burns …” DOI: 10.1080/00139157.2026.2725625. VIENNA | 6 November 2026 (IDN) — “Our house is on fire while we avert our eyes. Nature, mutilated and plundered, can no […]
OPINION: Iran: Compromise or Catastrophe
By Alon Ben-Meir* NEW YORK | 5 November 2026 (IDN) — There is no durable military solution to the American-Israeli conflict with Iran. Bombs can destroy installations, but they cannot erase scientific knowledge, extinguish national pride, or create a sustainable political settlement. The choice is not between demonstrating strength and accepting weakness; it is between […]
OPINION: Our Insignificance
By Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden | 4 November 2026 (IDN) — “Suppose aliens existed, and that some had been watching our planet for its entire forty-five million centuries, what would they have seen? Over most of that vast time-span, Earth’s appearance altered very gradually. Continents drifted; ice-cover waxed and waned; successive species emerged, evolved and […]
OPINION: In a Country That Needs Heroes, Here Are a Few Standouts This Election Season
By Jeff Cohen and Norman Solomon* SAN FRANCISCO | 2 November 2026 (IDN) — In a play by Bertolt Brecht, the persecuted astronomer Galileo says: “Unhappy the land that needs heroes.” Right now, the United States is unhappy enough to need a lot of heroes – and during this election year, many have emerged. Here […]
OPINION: How to Stop the US-Israel War on Iran
Arab states must reject Israeli hegemony and build a regional security framework independent of Washington. By Jeffrey D. Sachs and Sybil Fares NEW YORK | 31 October 2026 (IDN) — The war that Israel and the United States launched against Iran on 28 February is in a lull, not at an end. Major combat has paused, […]
OPINION: Country Before Party: Israel’s Opposition Must Not Fail This Moment
The election has opened a path away from Netanyahu’s disastrous rule. Israel’s opposition must now choose: build a Jewish-Arab governing partnership or risk surrendering the country’s future to the forces tearing it apart. By Alon Ben-Meir*| NEW YORK | 30 October 2026 (IDN) — Israel stands at a historic crossroads. The government that emerges from […]
OPINION: Ending Nuclear Weapons
By Jonathan Power LUND, Sweden | 28 October 2026 (IDN) — Moscow and Washington urgently need to resume talks on a new framework for controlling nuclear weapons, said Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin’s spokesman, on 20 October. “The absence of a treaty-based framework is creating a very dangerous situation”, he said. Indeed, there has been no […]
OPINION: Protecting the Sacred City of Anuradhapura
By Dr. Asoka Bandarage* COLOMBO. Sri Lanka | 27 October 2026 (IDN) — Buddhism was first introduced to Sri Lanka in Anuradhapura in the 3rd century BCE by Arahant Mahinda, the son of the Indian Emperor Asoka. For nearly 1500 years, Anuradhapura remained Sri Lanka’s capital and the intellectual and spiritual centre of Theravada Buddhism […]