By Jonathan Power LUND, Sweden | 1 July 2026 (IDN) — David Attenborough said in his wondrous documentary film, Ocean, that it had taken him a long time in his 99 years of life to understand that for the survival of our planet the oceans are more important than the land. This past four months, as […]
The Ceasefire in Gaza: A Deadly Illusion
By Somar Wijayadasa* NEW YORK | 30 June 2026 (IDN) — The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has described the ongoing ceasefire in Gaza as a “cruel and deadly illusion” as Israel continues to attack the besieged enclave. “During a period supposedly defined by restraint and protection, a child has been killed, on average, every […]
The Price of Miscalculation
By Alon Ben-Meier* A war launched to reshape the Middle East has instead exposed the limits of force—and the cost of misunderstanding a nation that has spent millennia learning how to endure. NEW YORK | 22 June 2026 (IDN) — The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that was finally unveiled a few days ago only reaffirmed […]
Gulf Security: The Case for Regional Ownership
By Tariq Rauf The writer is a former Head of Verification and Security Policy Coordination, Coordinator IAEA Forum on a Middle East Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Below are his personal comments. VIENNA| 23 June 2026 (IDN) — The Gulf’s security order is broken. Four decades of foreign military guarantees, more than one […]
Palestinian Workers Find Strong Support at Chicago Gathering
By Kim Scipes* Editor’s Note: This article deliberately follows US English spelling conventions. WESTVILLE, Indiana, USA | 17 June 2026 (IDN) — Strong support for Palestine and Palestinian workers was obvious at the recently concluded Labor Notes conference in Chicago. This bi-annual conference of labor activists took place on June 12-14 at the Hyatt Regency […]
Netanyahu’s Betrayal Of Israel’s Promise
By Alon Ben-Meir* NEW YORK | 13 June 2026 (IDN) — For nearly three decades, Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu has treated the state as an instrument of personal power rather than a public trust. No external enemy—not Iran, not Hezbollah, not Hamas—has done more to hollow out Israel from within than a leader who repeatedly sacrificed the […]
Ex British Prime Minister Tony Blair Should be Prosecuted Over Iraq
By Jonathan Power LUND, Sweden | 3 June 2026 (IDN) — President Barack Obama was not a war criminal despite US involvement in wars in Iraq, Somalia, Afghanistan and against ISIS. They were legitimate if wrong-headed interventions. His predecessor George W. Bush was a war criminal. Apart from anything else his administration tortured captives, and […]
Civilization Unmasked: The Persistence of Human Brutality
By Alon Ben-Meir* We are not merely witnessing human suffering—we are learning to endure it without outrage. When atrocity no longer shocks the conscience, it is not only humanity that is under assault—it is our very capacity to remain human. NEW YORK | 3 June 2026 (IDN) — To my utter chagrin, the scale, frequency, […]
Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: HIistory Will Not Yield to Power
By Alon Ben-Meir* NEW YORK | 30 May 2026 (IDN) — Israeli-Palestinian conflict, examining it from historical, religious, psychological, and geostrategic perspectives, as well as through the hard realities on the ground. After all this, one conclusion has remained inescapable: there will be no peace—none—unless it is anchored in a viable two-state solution. Nearly six […]
Turkey’s Egregious Human Rights Violations Are Beyond The Pale
By Alon Ben-Meir* NEW YORK | 26 May 2026 (IDN) — Turkey’s human rights record has crossed from troubling to indefensible. Behind the language of counterterrorism and national security lies a systematic campaign that has dismantled the rule of law, criminalised dissent, and stripped hundreds of thousands of their most basic rights. In the aftermath […]