Situation in South Sudan (per 5 May) A hospital in Old Fangak, South Sudan, was deliberately bombed on 3 May. Two helicopter gunships first dropped a bomb on the pharmacy, completely destroying it, and then bombed the town of Old Fangak for 30 minutes. At least seven people died and 20 were injured in the […]
Japan’s Largest Bank’s Role in Financing Indonesia’s Fire and Haze Crisis
By Alex Helan The writer is a Senior Researcher at Rainforest Action Network. LONDON | 4 May 2025 (IDN) — Trade shocks and geopolitical restructuring likely mean economic instability is the new norm and will be compounded by climate and natural shocks like the fires in Indonesia, Brazil and the United States. Banks’ role in […]
Europe the Superpower
By Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden | 30 April 2025 (IDN) — The European Union is not going to face a break-up; however, the Ukraine/Russian conflict goes. Big crises come, but they also go. The Euro currency crisis was not dealt with as well as it should have been — austerity was the policy of the […]
It Is Time For Asia’s MAGA – A Non-Military Quad Alliance
By Kalinga Seneviratne* BANGKOK | 29 April 2025 (IDN) — The current international tariff saga based on a notion of “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) ideology promoted by President Donald Trump and supported by millions of Americans should, one would hope, trigger Asia’s own MAGA (Make Asia Great Again). The latter is shaping up more the […]
Situation Report Horn of Africa: Drone strike hits displacement camp in River Nile state
Situation in Sudan (per 28 April) A drone strike by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on a displacement camp in River Nile state killed at least 11 people on Friday morning, according to the state governor. The regional power station was also taken out. According to a witness, the strike hit the tents of two […]
Waiting for an African Pope
By Azu Ishiekwene The writer is Editor-In-Chief of LEADERSHIP and author of the new book Writing for Media and Monetising It. ABUJA, Nigeria | 27 April 2025 (IDN) — It’s nothing to laugh off, however tempting. If the movies imitate life, we may not be as far away from an African pope. It happened in The Conclave, […]
Peace Corps: The Third Rail of US Global Development Assistance
By Dr. Yossef Ben-Meir* MARRAKECH, Morocco | 27 April 2025 (IDN) ― Whereas there has been broad consensus that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is in need of reform, there is also an even wider and more deeply held belief that the value of Peace Corps ― begun in 1961 ― is […]
Stickergate: A Bell that Tolls for All
By Tisaranee Gunasekara* “This isn’t just about Palestine, it’s about everyone’s right to dissent…” Clare Hinchcliffe (Middle East Eye, 20.3.2025). COLOMBO, Sri Lanka | 26 April 2025 (IDN) — Zoë Rogers is 21, English, a dog-lover. In August 2024, she, together with five others, crashed a modified prison van into Elbit Systems, an Israeli weapons […]
AUKUS and the Strategic Reconfiguration of the South China Sea: The Emerging Role of HMAS Stirling
By Leonam dos Santos Guimarães* RIO DE JANEIRO | 25 April 2025 (IDN) — The establishment of the AUKUS trilateral security partnership between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States in 2021 constitutes a profound reconfiguration of the strategic landscape in the South China Sea and the broader Indo-Pacific region. Aimed at enhancing Australia’s […]
Close the US Military Bases in Asia
The best strategy for the superpowers is to stay out of each other’s lanes. By Jeffrey D. Sachs* This article was published in Other News and is being republished with the author’s permission. NEW YORK | 22 April 2025 (IDN) — President Donald Trump is again loudly complaining that the US military bases in Asia […]