From the Editors: 9-15 February 2026

  

Our Feature :  Mary Martin and Jim Mohan's joint contribution, Buddhist Monks March for Peace is our lead article and feature for the week. A group of Buddhist monks reached Washington, D.C., Tuesday, crossing nine states. Mary, who was witness to the group's arrival, took the pictures featured here and they provide a living testimony of faith and hope, in these troubled times. 

To Blog or not to blog, that is the question: We had a thoughtful discussions at the end of January on the issue over the past couple of weeks and some positive thoughts are emerging on how to take this initiative forward after the current editorial team retries at the end of March. In a further discussion Margherita Amodeo and Carina Prakke have further developed their ideas when the larger group meets sometime in the coming week. 

Columnist

Ken Gibbs takes us through Two trips out of Tehran in the Lar valley with his family, reminiscing his days in the late 80s as he explores the intricacies of local expressions derived from their engagement with nature. Read on to to learn more.

Ramesh Shrestha's Democracy is very popular comes with a rider: "whichever way democracy is defined, there are successes and failures everywhere, as Ramesh argues, despite "democracy" being the "most popular word in the world today." Take it as you will, as Ramesh strikes a note of caution: "Democracy has become a defenceless system monopolized and manipulated by opportunists with the market economy as its centre stage with full support of the populists and oligarchs devoid of any emotions." Much to argue, much more to think about.

Bloggers

David Smith's article in The Guardian, Scrutiny over White Supremacy questions Trump's choice of Jeremy Carl for Assistant Secretary of State for International Organizations and how someone with his views could credibly represent the US to the predominantly non-white global community.

Maie Ayoub has shared link to an article in The New Humanitarian arguing why amid aid cuts and repression, it's time to embrace spontaneous volunteerism.

Innocenti's Issue Brief on AI and Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Children continues to make headlines.   Tom McDermott has shared, a further report on the Trial against Meta in New Mexico with a focus on dangers of child sexual exploitation on social media.

Bangladesh has now voted in the world's first GenZ election. It is heartening to note that the elections have been free and fair with no major incidents of violence reported. We look forward to the days ahead.

Measles is raging worldwide: are you at risk? Read this article shared by John Gilmartin to find out who they are and where they belong.

We have also shared with you here Remarks by UNICEF ED Catherine Russell at the first regular session of the UNICEF Executive Board where she states: "To say that we are meeting at a moment of significant transition, for the world, for the multilateral system, and for UNICEF is quite an understatement.

News Links have much to offer this week, ranging from global developments impacting the most vulnerable in Haiti, Sudan, DRC, Gaza, Syria, East Africa and Mozambique to France reaffirming strong support to UNICEF and Italy committing to expansion of the Innocenti Center. Question still lingers on as to how much the US will pay. There are reasons to be optimistic on that score. 

On the Lighter Side

Doreen Lobo 

On the lighter side takes us through how English and Englishmen make fun of one another.

Happy Valentine's Day in conclusion! Let Love prevail!

Comments from Readers

Gautam Banerji

Editor for the week