*By Kalinga Seneviratne BANGKOK. | 23 January 2026 (IDN) —With Myanmar’s three-stage elections hitting the home stretch later this week on Sunday, ending the country’s civil war may need to take center stage in the post-election period. It is fueling a global scam industry that is destabilizing not only the Southeast Asian region, but also […]
Situation Report Horn of Africa: Intensified fighting across South Sudan
Situation in South Sudan (per 22 January) Intensified fighting attacking military posts has been reported across South Sudan in the largest offensives by various coalitions of opposition forces since 2017. The heaviest fighting is occurring in Jonglei state, and Equatoria region, with battles raging in reportedly in all but two states, especially in old hotspots […]
How the EU’s Initiated Crackdown on Human Smuggling Will Impact Migration Systems for the Better or the Worse.
BRUSSELS. Belgium | 21 January 2026 (IDN) — “We Europeans, decide who comes to Europe and crosses our borders, and under what circumstances, and not the smugglers and traffickers” was the message in European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen’s speech, kicking off the Global Alliance to Counter Migrant Smuggling conference on 10 December in […]
Preparing for Nonviolent Resistance in Greenland
By Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden | 20 January 2026 (IDN) — Danish soldiers arrived in Greenland. Sweden sent fighter jets to nearby Iceland. France was waving a stick, promising worse to come. It appeared that some European countries were preparing for the possibility of armed clashes in the event of a United States invasion. But […]
Situation Report Horn of Africa: Ammunition seized in Amhara
Situation in Sudan (per 19 January) At least 103 civilians were killed, 88 injured and 18,000 families displaced between 22 December – 16 January by Rapid Support Forces (RSF) attacks in the Um Baru, Tina and Kornoy areas, North Darfur, as fighting near the Chad border intensified over the past days, reports the Tina local […]
Human–Elephant Conflict: What Sri Lanka Can Learn from Africa
By Sydney Marcus Silva* NEW JERSEY, USA | 16 January 2026 (IDN) — Human–Elephant Conflict (HEC) has emerged as one of the most serious environmental and social challenges of our time. Across Asia and Africa, rapidly expanding human populations, shrinking forests, and intensifying climate stress are forcing people and elephants into dangerous confrontations. The results […]
Situation Report Horn of Africa: Ammunition seized in Amhara – Ethiopia accuses Eritrea
Situation in Sudan (per 15 January) Jarjira area, North Darfur, has been recaptured by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and allied Joint Force of Armed Struggle Movements (JSAMF) and Popular Resistance in a military operation on Tuesday, informed the spokesperson of the JSAMF. 19 civilians were killed in a ground attack in Jarjira with JSAMF […]
Mr. Trump: Greenland Is Not for Sale
By Alon Ben-Meir* NEW YORK | 14 January 2026 (IDN) — Donald Trump’s absurdity seems to have no limits. Feeling emboldened after invading Venezuela, he now believes he can swallow another country at will. His eyes are fixed on Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, under the pretext that its annexation is necessary for American […]
Britain’s Inane Attempt to Leave Europe Nears Its End
By Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden | 13 January 2026 (IDN) — Writing in 1751, Voltaire described Europe as “a kind of great republic, divided into several states, some monarchical, the others mixed but all corresponding with one another. They all share the same religious foundation, even though they are divided into several confessions. They all […]
From Divine Rule to Popular Revolt
By Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden | 5 January 2026 (IDN) —What drives people to extremes? Why do the people behind Al-Qaeda or the Islamic State (IS) get so charged up and angry? To understand this dynamic, it is helpful to return to 16th-century Europe and the furious debates over the divine right of kings. Monarchs […]