By Samata Biswas* KOLKATA. India | 24 February 2025 (IDN) — In January 2022, four members of a family, from the western Indian state of Gujarat, froze to death at the US-Canada border. The couple and their two children had paid a hefty amount to traffickers to be smuggled into the US for what they […]
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 […]
Migrant Deaths Off Spain’s Coast Are Worse Than Ever
By Eoghan Gilmartin MADRID, Spain | 22 February 2025 (IDN) — At least 10,457 migrants died trying to reach Spain’s territory in 2024. The European Union’s crackdown on Mediterranean crossings has diverted African migrants toward the even more perilous Atlantic route, turning the ocean into a mass grave. 2024 is over, but not before hitting […]
Afghan Activists Honoured with 2025 International Women’s Rights Award
By Jaya Ramachandran GENEVA | 22 February 2025 (IDN) — A cross-regional coalition of more than 30 human rights organizations announced today that Dr. Massouda Jalal and her daughter Husna Jalal will receive the 2025 Geneva Summit International Women’s Rights Award, on behalf of all Afghan women’s rights activists. Dr. Massouda Jalal, Afghanistan’s former Minister […]
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 […]
Ukraine War Leads to Decline in Migrant Smuggling and Human Trafficking
By Jaya Ramachandran VIENNA | KYIV | 20 February 2025 (IDN) — The war in Ukraine has resulted in millions of people being displaced internally and outside the country since February 2022. The latest study, launched in Kyiv, by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), finds that visa-free entry, temporary protection and […]
Life Punishes Those Who Come Too Late
By Marc Saxer* This article was issued by IPS-Journal. BERLIN | 20 February 2025 (IDN) — At the Munich Security Conference, two starkly opposing visions of order collided. Future historians may mark this moment as the definitive end of the US-led liberal world order and the point when the erosion of liberal hegemony within Western […]
Sharp Divides as Parliamentarians Debate the Future of SDGs
By J Nastranis NEW YORK | 19 February 225 (IDN) — Parliamentarians gathered at UN Headquarters in New York haveunderscored the pressing need to reboot the 2030 Agenda. Some called for renewed commitment; others questioned whether the goals should be replaced entirely. But there was little consensus on solutions. “We are far behind from where […]
Ukraine War Calls for A Scale-Up in Support to Women and Girls
By Caroline Mwanga NEW YORK | 19 February 2025 (IDN) — Ahead of 24 February marking the third anniversary of Russia’s all-out assault on Ukraine, the United Nations has warned that the war is having a devastating effect on women and girls, with 1,869,000 internally displaced, almost 6.7 million women in need of humanitarian assistance, […]