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 […]
The Need to Forge a Plan B & Plan C for a Plastic Pollution Treaty
By Simone Galimberti* KATHMANDU, Nepal | 19 August 2025 (IDN) — As of 15 August, those hoping for a strong binding plastic pollution treaty were hugely disappointed by the outcome that emerged from Geneva, where the previous round of intergovernmental negotiations, formally known as INC. 5.2 took place from August 5-14, 2025. Nevertheless, for a […]
US-Russia Talks: The Choice Between Pursuing Peace and Escalation
By Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J. S. Davies* NEW YORK | 17 August 2025 (IDN) — Donald Trump came into office promising to end the war in Ukraine in 24 hours. Now, six months later, his high-stakes meeting with Vladimir Putin in Alaska may have put the United States and Russia on a new path […]
Sudan: Sexual Violence and Economic Collapse Are Devastating the Nation
This article was first published on https://rjaura.substack.com/ BERLIN | 16 August 2025 (IDN) — In Sudan, the war is fought not only with bullets and bombs, but on the bodies of women and in the fragile machinery of the economy. Since April 2023, a brutal conflict between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese […]
Nigeria’s Oil Industry and Its Administrators
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 | 14 August 2025 (IDN) — The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) is an animal that eats its curator for lunch. To survive it, either do not get close […]
Sri Lanka at the Human Rights Council: “Engage to Disengage”
By A.L.A. Azeez* COLOMBO, Sri Lanka | 14 August 2025 (IDN) — Time is ticking off. And it is ticking off on Sri Lanka’s human rights and accountability front, in Geneva. In less than a month from today, the question of promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka will come up for consideration […]
How to Empower Youths? Give Them the Key to Decision Making
By Simone Galimberti* International Youth Day is an awareness day designated by the United Nations on 12 August. The purpose of the day is to draw attention to specific cultural and legal issues surrounding youth. The first IYD was observed on 12 August 2000. KATHMANDU, Nepal | 13 August 2025, (IDN) — This year’s International […]
Seizing the Global Momentum for a Two-State Solution
Palestinians and Israel, with the unwavering support of the US, must seize on the growing international momentum in support of an independent Palestinian state by heeding France’s and Saudi Arabia’s call, initiated in the recent United Nations High-Level Conference. By Alon Ben-Meir* NEW YORK | 9 August 2025 (IDN) —The unfolding horror in Gaza has galvanized […]
From Degradation to Restoration: A Strategic Treaty Emerges as a Leading Global Initiative
By Ramesh Jaura* This article was first published on https://rjaura.substack.com/ BERLIN | 9 August 2025 (IDN) — In a world reeling from climate disruption, collapsing biodiversity, and mounting water and food insecurity, land has emerged as both a battleground and a beacon of hope. The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) marks not only […]