In The News

The Atlantic: Trump Issues Scathing Rejection of “Globalism”

Uri Friedman September 26, 2018
The US president’s speech before the UN General Assembly undercut the organization’s mission of global cooperation. Instead, he lashed out at what he called an unelectable bureaucracy, lacking accountability: “We reject the ideology of globalism and accept the doctrine of patriotism.” Uri Friedman writes for the Atlantic: “More than going after a specific leader or country, Trump used this year’s...

Washington Post: 380,000 Deaths in South Sudan’s Civil War

Siobhán O'Grady September 26, 2018
A study funded by the US Institute for Peace and the US State Department finds that more than 380,000 people died from civil war in South Sudan. The United Nations put the number at 50,000 in 2016, and South Sudan officials suggest it is even lower. Calculating casualties in a war zone is challenging, and the lead epidemiologist with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine suggests the...

Wall Street Journal: UN Gathering and Global Problems

Farnaz Fassihi and Valentina Pop September 25, 2018
Numerous challenges from nuclear weapons proliferation to climate change cannot be resolved without global cooperation. Yet some nations reject such global responsibility and even refuse to acknowledge that challenges exist. More than 130 heads of state and government are arriving for the UN General Assembly in New York City – and will continue debate over two competing world views, national...

ReliefWeb: Building Climate Resilience for Food Security

September 12, 2018
One out of every nine of the world’s people is going hungry, one out of every eight adults is obese, and the health of hundreds of millions is at risk. “Hunger has been on the rise over the past three years, returning to levels from a decade ago,” reports the 2018 report on Food Security and Nutrition in the World. “This reversal in progress sends a clear warning that more must be done and...

Al Jazeera: Rohingya Refugees Made Permanent, a Cycle Repeated

Linah Alsaafin September 2, 2018
As the United Nations invests in improved infrastructure and living conditions for refugees, risk emerges that temporary homes become permanent and discourage a return home. Camps housing 1 million Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, are overwhelming, writes Linah Alsaafin, and she compares the experiences with those of Palestinian refugees. The Rohingya camps confront challenges...

Vanguard: Earth Loses a Statesman – Kofi Annan

Charles Kumolo August 21, 2018
The world is mourning the death of Kofi Annan, secretary-general of the United Nations from January 1997 to December 2006. “Annan was not the first person nor the only African to have headed the global body, but his ability to lead and inspire endeared him to the world,” writes Charles Kumolo for Vanguard in Nigeria. “His 10-year leadership of the UN in the post-cold war era, saw him championing...

AP: Children Killed as Airstrikes Hit Bus in Yemen

Ahmed al-Haj August 10, 2018
Rebels in Yemen claim that a Saudi-led airstrike hit a market and schoolbus carrying children on a field trip. More than 50 people were killed and 75 were wounded. Associated Press reports: “U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the coalition air strike and called on all parties to spare civilians and ‘to respect their obligations under international humanitarian law, in particular...