By Jonathan Power LUND, Sweden | 26 March 2025 (IDN) — If it bleeds it leads! The mantra of many a newsroom. In their book, “Pax Ethnica” two great journalists, Karl Meyer and Shareen Brysac, argue that day-in and day-out ethnic conflict and tension along religious and cultural lines make for reliable, if dispiriting, headlines. […]
Rasool Is Africa’s Missed Opportunity to Tackle the Bully
By Azu Ishiekwene The writer is Editor-In-Chief of LEADERSHIP and author of the new book Writing for Media and Monetising It. ABUJA, Nigeria | 26 Mach 2025 (IDN) — The question is not where US President Donald Trump has not touched in less than 100 days in office. It is how the world is coping […]
An Ocean of Gold but No Water to Drink
By Sefa Ikpa* LAGOS, Nigeria | 25 March 2025 (IDN) — Privatisation was once heralded as the key to Africa’s economic revitalisation, a promise that essential services would become more efficient, widely available and cost-effective under private ownership. Several decades later, the reality looks very different. Across the continent, the privatisation of electricity and water […]
Trump Catapults the Global Order into ‘Unknown Unknowns’
By Partha Chatterjee* NEW DELHI | 25 March 2025 (IDN) — The world used to be a familiar place, but then along came Donald Trump. Since the end of World War II, people around the world have come to expect certain things, and certain ways of doing things. It’s not that the world has not […]
Serbia’s Massive Protest — Challenges and Opportunities for Vučić
By Alon Ben-Meir* NEW YORK 22 March 2025 (IDN) — For the first time in his long political career, President Aleksandar Vučić faces a serious public challenge to his leadership. However, his staying power remains strong. The EU has an opportunity to play a significant role in mitigating the unrest while luring Serbia out of […]
Our Divided World: Insights of a Former Diplomat
Jayantha Kottage* Reviews Somar Wijayadasa’s Memoirs CANBERRA, Australia | 22 March 2025 (IDN) — “History repeats itself, but in such a cunning disguise that we never detect the resemblance until the damage is done”, Sydney J Harris Somar Wijayadasa’s memoirs, “Our Divided World: My View from The United Nations” provide a reflective account of global […]
France Can’t Deploy New Air-Launched Nuclear-Tipped Missiles Before 2035
By Drago Bosnic The writer is an independent geopolitical and military analyst. This article was first published in InfoBRICS. LJUBLJANA, Slovenia | 21 March 2025 (IDN) — Earlier this month, French President Emmanuel Macron proposed his country take over America’s role as the “nuclear protector” of the “old continent”. The French nuclear umbrella would encompass the […]
Urgent Need to Avert Sinking into a Debt-Driven Development Crisis
By Rebeca Grynspan The writer is the Secretary-General of UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD). The following are extensive excerpts from her Statement to 14th session of the three-day International Debt Management Conference on 17 March 2025. GENEVA, Switzerland | 21 March 2025 (IDN) — The Romans had a god named Janus—the deity of thresholds, beginnings, […]
Call for Debt Reforms to Prevent ‘Defaults on Development’
By J Nastranis NEW YORK | 19 March 2025 (IDN) — UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Secretary-General Rebeca Grynspan has urged reforms to prevent the current debt crisis from derailing progress. “Behind us lies a system that needs reform; before us, the chance to build one that serves people and stability, long-term development, not recurring […]
Trump’s Betrayal of America’s Social Contract and Global Standing
By Alon Ben-Meir* NEW YORK | 19 March 2025 (IDN) — Trump’s betrayal of the ideals and values that America has embraced and which made it an unrivaled nation is tragic. Every Republican with a conscience should rise and put America first, above a felon and a party, before it is too late From its […]