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 […]
BRICS Proves Increasingly Attractive for Middle Powers in The Region
By Marlies Linke* ALMATY, Kazakhstan | 17 February 2025 (IDN) — The sixteenth BRICS summit, held in Kazan, Russia from 22 to 24 October 2024, bore the slogan “Strengthening Multilateralism for Fair Global Development and Security”. According to its concluding statement, the summit was intended to demonstrate that the participating Global South countries are expanding […]
Was the AI Summit in Paris a Missed Opportunity?
By Simone Galimberti* KATHMANDU, Nepal | 16 February 2025 (IDN) — Since the start of the Paris AI Action Summit, held on the 10th and 11th of February, the expectations were minimal. Yet there was a trickle of hope that the gathering would succeed at maintaining a modicum focus on safety and security of artificial […]
Indonesia: The Waste Emergency in Yogyakarta
By Mirna Layli Dewi* YOGYAKARTA, Indonesia | 11 February 2025 (IDN) — Indonesia’s Yogyakarta Piyungan landfill, officially closed due to overcapacity, continues to receive waste, exacerbating environmental and health crises for local communities. Yogyakarta’s Piyungan landfill, officially closed since May 2024, continues to receive waste via motorbikes, worsening pollution and health risks for nearby residents. […]
Importance of the Indian Navy Frigate’s Visit to South Africa
By Guy Martin* The premier online African defence and security news publication defenceWeb issued this article. It is being republished with their permission. JOHANNESBURG, South Africa | 10 February 2025 (IDN) — The Indian Navy’s latest guided missile stealth frigate, INS Tushil, recenrly called in South Africa while on her maiden voyage home from Russia. […]
European Companies Feed the Dangerous Global Shadow Fleet
By Nathaniel Peutherer* LONDON | 9 February 2025 (IDN) — On 19 July 2024, the oil tanker Hafnia Nile was nearing its top speed when it collided with the supertanker Ceres I, off the east coast of Malaysia. Within minutes, flames engulfed both vessels, sending thick plumes of toxic smoke into the air. Several crew […]
Trump’s Campaign to Cut USAID May Have a Silver Lining
By Kalinga Seneviratne* Bangkok, Thailand | 7 February 2025 (IDN) — Since President Donald Trump made the shock announcement last week of freezing United States’ (US) foreign aid budget for three months while threatening to close down its main delivery agency, United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the multi-million dollar aid industry has been […]
Money Wins Wars
By Ramesh Jaura BERLIN | 24 January 2025 (IDN) — A new study reveals that financial resources play a significant role in determining the outcome of military conflicts. The comprehensive analysis of over 700 armed conflicts between 1977 and 2013 shows a clear causal effect of increased military spending on war outcomes, raising important questions […]
Human Rights Watch Takes Stock of 2024: A Year of Reckoning
By Jan Servaes* BANGKOK, Thailand | 18 January 2025 (IDN) — The Human Rights Watch Report 2025 was recently launched in Bangkok under the title “2024: A Year of Reckoning”. The press conference, which can also be followed via YouTube, started with a video message from Tirana Hassan, HRW Director General, who tried to put […]
Do Carbon Markets Foster New Scramble for African Land?
By Ramesh Jaura BERLIN | 15 January 2025 (IDN) — A new study has slammed the growth of carbon offset markets for fuelling a fresh scramble for African land and “perpetuating colonial-era exploitation”. This instrument of emissions trading was introduced by the Kyoto Protocol in 2005 to confront the unrelenting challenge to limit global warming […]