By Norman Solomon* SAN FRANCISCO | 7 February 2026 (IDN) — California Governor Gavin Newsom has made headlines this winter by vowing to defeat a proposal for a one-time 5 percent tax on billionaires in the state. Many national polls now rank him as the frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2028, but aligning with the […]
Can We Quench the Fire That Might Start in Mali?
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 | 6 February 2026 (IDN) — Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger—three rogue states that have formed an Alliance of Sahelian States (AES) to resist external pressure from ECOWAS on military rule— […]
Human Rights Watch in Disarray Over Palestine
By Jan Servaes The Guardian and Jewish Currents reported on February 3, 2026, that two Human Rights Watch (HRW) staff members had been dismissed, leaving the organisation’s entire Israel and Palestine team. They resigned after HRW leadership blocked a section of a 33-page report that called Israel’s denial of the right of return to Palestinian […]
The Netanyahu Government’s Insatiable Thirst for Blood
By Dr Alon Ben-Meir* NEW YORK | 5 February 2026 (IDN) — It was hoped that the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, agreed upon on 10 October 2025, after months of gruelling negotiations, would bring an end to the horrific death and destruction that had been inflicted on Gaza by Israel for two years. But […]
Will Human Rights Survive a Trumpian World?
By Jan Servaes * Bangkok, Thailand| 5 February 2026 (IDN) As is tradition, for the 36th time, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has examined the human rights situation in more than 100 countries in a 529-page World Report 2026. In his introductory essay, titled “Will Human Rights Survive a Trumpian World? Authoritarian Advances Threaten Rules-Based Order,” […]
A Shaky International System gets Shakier
By James E. Jennings* ATLANTA, USA | 4 February 2026 (IDN) — While UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ recent speech brilliantly described the world as it is in 2026—growing in population, war, starvation, and conflict, there are no solutions as yet that anybody can see. No easy fix exists for the widespread unrest that may eventually […]
One More Step Towards Nuclear Obliteration?
By Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden | 3 February 2026 (IDN) — Nuclear arms control is close to collapse. On Wednesday, February 4, the so-called New START Treaty, signed in 2011 by the United States and Russia, expires. It capped long-range strategic nuclear warheads at roughly 1,500 each—a dramatic reduction from Cold War levels. Even so, today’s […]
Tribute to Dr. William Foege: A Giant of Global Public Health
By Kul Chandra Gautam The writer is a former UN Assistant Secretary-General and Deputy Executive Director of UNICEF. KATHMANDU, Nepal | 30 January 2026 (IDN) — This weekend, the world lost a true giant of global public health. Tributes are pouring in from public health scholars and leaders around the world, mourning the passing of […]
Sudan’s Civil War Is the Normalisation of Atrocity
By Alon Ben-Meir* NEW YORK | 29 January 2026 (IDN) — The horror of the Sudanese civil war is not exhausted by the enumeration of its atrocities. However, those alone are staggering: mass killings, ethnic cleansing, systematic rape, the razing of villages, famine used as a weapon, and the deliberate destruction of the conditions of […]
FROM BETHLEHEM – A View of Misthought Israeli History
By Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden | 26 January 2026 (IDN) — Perhaps the biggest single misthink in Western history is best understood by standing in the town square of Bethlehem, allowing one’s gaze to pass over the rooftop of the Church that covers the stable where Jesus was supposedly born, and letting one’s eye drift […]