By Pavan Kulkarni* NEW DELHI | 1 March 2025 (IDN) — South Africa’s two largest parties, allied in the Government of National Unity, disagree on how to resolve the budget crisis: The ANC wants to raise taxes on the poor to continue funding social programs, while the DA prefers to slash public expenditure. South Africa’s […]
On the Brink of a New Era Where Great Powers Seize Craved Territories
By John P Ruehl* This article was produced by Economy for All, a project of the Independent Media Institute. It is republished with permission. WASHINGTON, DC | 1 March 2025 (IDN) — Amid ongoing discussions over Donald Trump’s plans for trying to resolve conflicts in Ukraine and Israel, the US president has maintained steady pressure […]
Italy Under Meloni at A Crossroads: Pragmatism or Populism?
By Valerio Alfonso Bruno* MILAN, Italy | 23 February 2025 (IDN) — Global and European political shifts could push Italy, under Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, towards a more radical stance. Since 2022, her government has combined hardline domestic policies on immigration and justice with a pragmatic foreign approach. But rising instability in Europe and the […]
US Threat to Cut Off Military Aid to Egypt & Jordan May Provoke Arms Suppliers
By Thalif Deen* UNITED NATIONS | 23 February 2025 (IDN) — President Donald Trump’s threat to cut off military aid to Egypt and Jordan—if they refuse to provide sanctuary to Palestinians removed from Gaza—is most likely to trigger protests from the US military-industrial complex, one of the most powerful lobbies in the US. Currently, Egypt […]
Sudanese Refugees Imprisoned and Impoverished by Ethiopian Visa Policy
By Augustine Passilly* The writer is a freelance journalist based in Ethiopia, and previously in Sudan. This article is part of The New Humanitarian’s wider body of reporting on abuses against Sudanese refugees in Chad, Egypt, and South Sudan. ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia | 21 February 2025 (IDN) — Sudanese refugees living in Ethiopian cities are […]
US-Russia Meeting in Riyadh Successful, More to Follow
Meeting Atmosphere Professional, Not Ideological By Stephen Bryen* This article was issued by Weapons and Strategy and is being republished with their permission. WASHINGTON, D.C. | 18 February 2025 (IDN) — Both the Russian and the US side say that the high level diplomatic meeting held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on the morning of February […]
The Need for U.S. Action in the Democratic Republic of Congo
By Kate Hixon* WASHINGTON DC | 16 February 2025 (IDN) — On 18 January, the M23, a Congolese Tutsi-led, Rwandan-backed rebel military group, launched a military operation to expand the territory it had gained over the past three years. The operation violated an August 2024 ceasefire agreement between Rwanda and the DRC established through the […]
Realization Of Trump’s Gaza Plan Will be Crime of the Century
By James E. Jennings* ATLANTA, USA | 14 February 2025 (IDN) — The stark alternatives facing people in Gaza are both equally bad: stay in their little strip of Palestine and die or try to leave and die. It’s like choosing between the devil or the deep blue sea. They face death either way. Even […]
Military Infiltrations Undermine Thailand’s Democratization
By Jan Servaes* BANGKOK, Thailand | 14 February 2025 (IDN) — Since the abolition of the absolute monarchy in 1932, Thailand has alternated between periods of relatively democratic rule and military coups. Officially, there have been 13 successful coups, but the attempted coups, which have been extensively gossiped about in the media, are countless. The […]
Opinion: Ukraine War, Impact of Rearmament, Economic Woes Loom Over German National Elections
By Michael von der Schulenburg* BRUSSELS | 13 February 2025 (IDN) — The war in Ukraine and its consequences will have a long-lasting negative impact on the political, security, economic and social future of Germany. It is the biggest war on European soil since the Second World War; a war which has brought us dangerously […]