By Mahinda Seneviratne* OSAKA, Japan | 8 September 2025 (IDN) — As the sun rose over the picturesque, volcanic mountain region of central Kyushu in Japan, four young women from Myanmar were reporting for work as house maids at a local ryokan (Japanese-style inn). They are part of the growing number of migrant workers evident […]
“Never Again” Has Tragically Lost Its Moral Weight
By Alon Ben-Meir* NEW YORK | 6 September 2025 (IDN) — The genocidal war in Gaza should put the whole world on notice that this is now simply another episode in the moral collapse of our humanity, as “never again” has lost its moral weight Since he rose to power 30 years ago, Netanyahu has […]
How the UN Can Act Decisively to End Genocide in Gaza
By Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J. S. Davies* NEW YORK | 2 September 2025 (IDN) — One year ago, the UN General Assembly demanded that Israel must end its occupation of the Palestinian Territories within twelve months. The General Assembly voted, by 124 votes to 14, with 43 abstentions, for a strong resolution that not only “demanded” an […]
Humanitarian Response Critically Underfunded as Refugee Numbers Surge in Gambella, Ethiopia
By Daniel Tesfa & Mirjam van Reisen AKSUM | 02 September 2025 (IDN) — The refugee situation in Ethiopia remains one of the most complex and pressing humanitarian challenges in the region. Ethiopia hosts 1,080,563 refugees and Gambella hosts the largest refugee population with 395,470 South Sudanese refugees. Approximately, 79% of the South Sudanese (SS) […]
Is the West accepting Azerbaijan to hold political prisoners?
By Benoit Lannoo* ANTWERP (Belgium) | 02 September 2025 (IDN) — For two years, at least twenty-three Artsakhis are jailed in Baku. Their crime: wanting to be what they are, namely Artsakhis. And what does the European Union do? Nothing! Today, it is Independence Day in Artsakh. But there is nothing to celebrate, since the […]
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, […]
From Guernica to Gaza, Mass Killers Have Been Above It All
By Norman Solomon / TomDispatch SAN FRANCISCO | 31 August 2025 (IDN) — Killing from the sky has long offered the sort of detachment that warfare on the ground can’t match. Far from its victims, air power remains the height of modernity. And yet, as the monk Thomas Merton concluded in a poem, using the […]
Crackdown in Quatit: Arrests and Isolation Deepen Tensions in Southern Eritrea
By Daniel Tesfa and Mirjam van Reisen 22 August 2025 (IDN) — A new wave of arrests in Quatit has heightened unease in Eritrea’s southern region, with locals reporting that dozens of residents have been detained in recent weeks. Among those arrested is the father of Shishay Tesfalem, the owner of the YouTube-based media outlet […]
Pashinyan Apologies For Insulting The Armenian Apostolic Church
By Benoit Lannoo* YEREVAN, Armenia | ANTWERP, Belgium | 21 August 2025 (IDN) — There is little chance that the Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan will congratulate the Armenian Apostolic Catholicos on his birthday today. This is a U-turn from five or six years ago, when a praising press release was issued every year by […]
Haiti Situation Report: Three-month state of emergency declared
Situation in Haiti Haiti declared a three-month state of emergency on 9 August in the West, Artibonite, and Center departments to counter escalating gang violence and its impact on food production. Two Haitian National Police (PNH) officers were killed in Kenscoff when their armored vehicle got stuck in a ditch dug by gangs and were […]