Tag: Nigeria

What UN week was like

So, as the busiest week in international diplomacy is over now, here is what I thought of the general debate this year. The 72nd session of the UN General Assembly is well underway and of course keeps going on until next fall. Its most prominent week though with high level officials representing their countries on the GA floor is over now, with the closing of the general debate on Monday. The general debate must seem boring for many. I don’t think there is any one person who sits down and listens to almost 200 speeches in a row for days….

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Sunday Smack

Happy Sunday, Everybody! Since these stories I collect here are mostly about difficulties and hardships, I decided to try to lead with three things I liked over the week. First on my favorite things of this week list is learning the method of right brain drawing. That was mostly last week, but we finished off on Monday. Ever since then I am trying to experiment with right brain writing and right brain learning, you may read about these later. Another favorite moment of this week was Jimmy Kimmel’s heartfelt monologue about his son’s condition, and of course the positive ending…

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united-nations: It’s been 3 years since the world was shocked by what happened to the Chibok girls. It provoked global outrage at Boko Haram’s practice of abducting children. The reality is that thousands of boys and girls have been abducted in the crisis in the Lake Chad basin. They’ve been subjected to violence and loss that no child should ever know. – There is a 300% increase in suicide attacks using children in NE Nigeria compared to this time last year.– Girls who’ve been abducted by Boko Haram have endured unimaginable sexual violence.– Boko Haram have used 117 children in…

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Sunday Smack

Happy Spring, Everybody! This week was yet another sad reminder of the times we live in now. I am leaving for London just this coming week for a short trip (more on this later), and what happened on Westminster Bridge made me think about a lot of things. It is easy to say that we are not going to be frightened (we are not!), but harder not to think I could have been there on the bridge at that very moment. Or not to think whether it is just statistics, like there are so many people in a city like…

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Sunday Smack

Happy Sunday, Everybody! I hope your spring is going well so far! I was on a short holiday for the second half of the week, so I missed Saint Patrick’s Day as well. Hope you all had a good one! I always wear green for work that day, but no-one ever notices (LOL), so this time I celebrated quietly at home. This week the victory of the People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy in the Netherlands is another hopeful sign that democrats are still in majority, and now alarmed by last year’s events, they don’t take risks by letting others…

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Sunday Smack

Happy weekend, everybody! It was a busy week in world affairs, the general debate of the 70th session of the UNGA ended yesterday, and I know I still owe you a review of UN week, it is in the making. Until it’s done, let’s do some Sunday reading. At the UN, Obama Takes the Long View on ISIS World leaders are still optimistic about winning the war against ISIS and extremism. Nigeria Has Deteriorated into a Major Humanitarian Crisis Another African crisis that doesn’t show no end. Xi On the Global Stage: The Costs of Leadership Indeed, all signs show…

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Sunday Smack

Happy Sunday everybody! The heatwave has just left Hungary for everybody’s relief except for me who loves the hot weather and I am spending this weekend extended by Monday with much needed rest in the countryside. Finally I was able to catch up with my reading, even had time to read for pleasure (yay, Go Set a Watchman!). Out of my weekly reading, here’s some interesting stuff. A Comprehensive Timeline of the Iran Deal It’s all in the title. A very detailed timeline of what happens next. Another Bad Election in Burundi The long anticipated vote went down this week…

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Sunday Smack

Happy Sunday Everybody! Here is some reading I prepared for you all… Little England: Why the British election matters to the United States The US, and the whole world for that matter was quite interested in this year’s parliamentary elections in the UK. And many seem to be troubled by the results. How (and How Not) to Investigate an Armed Conflict: Reflections on Three Recently Released Gaza Reports This post offers not just reflections and criticism, but also a quite useful guide for laymen on how to read these reports. Is the Tide Actually Turning Against Boko Haram? Some reports…

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Sunday Smack

/photo via/ Happy Easter for those who celebrate it, and happy ordinary spring weekend for everybody else! I hope you are having a great weekend either way! There were plenty of news concerning world affairs this week, it was hard to pick but a few posts again. Check them out. 5 Keys To Decoding the Nigerian Elections For Nigeria this is undoubtedly positive. But whether it is huge enough to impact the whole region, time will tell. Kenya Attack: Are schools the Newest Terrorist Targets? Sadly enough. Yet again, this proves how extremists consider education and knowledge their biggest enemy….

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Sunday Smack

Happy Sunday Everybody! Forgive me if this s just a short, quick and light post, but for the first time in a long time I am putting together this Sunday post in its entirety on Sunday, as I was away for most of the week. I just got back from London, where I have spent the most wonderful birthday weekend. For a couple of pictures check out my Instagram. Let’s get down to what I seem to have missed all week. The State of the Union on Counterterrorism: Does the Rethoric Match the Policies? On Wednesday I was actually still…

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