By Kester Kenn Klomegah MOSCOW, 11 May 2025 (IDN) — Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Burkina Faso counterpart, Captain Ibrahim Traoré, have agreed to step up efforts to combat growing extremism and terrorism, which is widespread across the Sahel region, an elongated landlocked territory located between North Africa (Maghreb) and West Africa. The cooperation […]
India vs Pakistan, Two Nuclear Powers, in a Potentially Explosive Confrontation
By Thalif Deen* NEW YORK | 9 May 2025 (IDN) — Will the rising military tension between two of the world’s heavily-armed nuclear powers –India and Pakistan—lead to a full-scale war? The guessing game is on. The two South Asian countries have long remained locked in a bitter confrontation, mostly over the disputed territory of […]
Situation report Horn of Africa: Sudan cuts diplomatic relations with UAE
Situation in Sudan (per 9 May) A series of drone strikes continued to hit Port Sudan throughout this week, some of which caused damage to key infrastructure points of the city, such as fuel depots and an electricity substation. Thursday marked the fifth consecutive day of assaults. Drone strikes also continued to hit Kassala. With […]
Russia’s Victory Day A Profound Symbol of National Resilience
By Somar Wijayadasa* NEW YORK | 7 May 2025 (IDN) — Russia celebrates the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany and holds its annual Victory Day parade on Red Square on May 9. Praising Russia as a nation of winners, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin said that “the victory was a profound […]
Humanitarian Corridors: A Trojan Horse Threatening Bangladesh’s Sovereignty
By Tajul Islam* DHAKA, Bangladesh | 6 May 2025 (IDN) — In the ever-shifting terrain of global politics, ‘humanitarian corridors’ are increasingly wielded not as genuine lifelines for suffering populations but as instruments of foreign influence and domination. The recent decision to establish a United Nations-backed humanitarian corridor along the Chittagong–Rakhine route in Bangladesh is […]
Situation Report Horn of Africa: Hospital in Old Fangak, South Sudan, deliberately targeted
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 […]
Whither India’s Global Peace Making?
A New Cold War Weaponizes Religious Diasporas in South Asia and the Indian Ocean Region By Darini Rajasingham Senanayake* COLOMBO, Sri Lanka | 2 May 2025 (IDN) — Several geopolitical developments have occurred in South Asia and the Indian Ocean region. These include United States Vice President J.D Vance’s visit with his Indian-origin wife, Usha […]
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 […]
Military Conflicts and Civil Wars Trigger Rise in Arms Spending Worldwide
By Thalif Deen STOCKHOLM | 30 April 2025 (IDN) — As the long-drawn-out conflicts in Ukraine, beginning February 2014 and Gaza, since October 2023, continue with no signs of a resolution, there is one significant fall-out: the rise in military spending worldwide. The ongoing conflicts also include civil wars in Syria, Sudan, Myanmar and the […]