Tag: Syria
Happy first Sunday of Advent! How can it be Advent already, when I feel like I have just returned from summer vacation, is beyond me. But it is. There is only one month left for our 2015 goals, and time to think about new ones for the new year! The year in world affairs is far from being over yet, though. One of the most important diplomatic events of 2015 kicks off tomorrow in Paris. UN member states will gather in Paris in the next two weeks for the UN conference on climate change. Long negotiations are to be expected,…
I hope everyone’s having a peaceful weekend wherever you may be. We have an incredibly depressing weather this weekend in Budapest, the kind that just makes you want to stay in bed and binge watch your favorite shows all day. Too bad I don’t have time for that… How are you all doing? And how about some Sunday reading now? The Constructive Ambiguity of the Security Council’s ISIS Resolution A closer look at the Security Council resolution legitimizing the use of force against ISIL. Can the UN Help Broker a Syria Ceasefire? Well, if anyone can, it is the UN….
Iran joins talks in Vienna about the Syrian civil war IT COULD have been worse. That was more or less the read-out after talks on Syria in Vienna on October 30th between allies and foes of President Bashar al-Assad including America, Saudi Arabia, Russia and, for the first time, Iran. No one walked out, even though Iran backs Mr Assad and Saudi Arabia is one of the main backers of anti-Assad rebel groups, as well as Iran’s chief rival in the region. Click the title to read more.
Happy Sunday, all! In Hungary we are past a nice long weekend that I have spent in the countryside. I am typing these words on a train back to Budapest, that was delayed 70 (!) minutes (Edit: departure time was delayed 70 minutes, and another 60 minutes was added during the train ride, so I got home more than two hours later than planned, I’m not one to complain, but I wish I could say this is not typical in Hungary…). That means I had more than enough time to catch up with my reading for this post. Hope you’ll…
Happy Sunday, people! I have had a crazy week at work, and an even crazier (but pleasant!) weekend spent with friends, hence this late Sunday Smack. I hope you all had a great weekend too! Meanwhile, there were a lot of great readings in the blogosphere this week, it was hard to pick a few. Check out my selection. The Kunduz Hospital Attack: The Existence of a Fact-Finding Commission and Will the ‘Sleeping Beauty’ Awaken? The Kunduz Hospital Attack and the International Humanitarian Fact-Finding Commission There need to be a way to investigate the circumstances of this attack, and this might…
Again, better late, than never, right? This time, I am moving forward with the spearkers of the second half of the general debate. I was pleasantly surprised by the speech of President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic of Croatia, it almost consoled me for the absence of the British Prime Minister, she is such a good speaker. I wanted to follow her speech of course for the Croatia’s involvement in the European refugee situation. In solving this crisis, she emphasized that we will have to find balance between national, regional and global interests. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas elaborated on the Palestinian issue in…
Happy Sunday, people, I hope everybody is having a great weekend! It is unbelievably gloomy here in Hungary these days, I am so in need of a dose of sunshine now. Perhaps a doze of my favorite TV shows will do until then. This is going to happen tonight, and I can’t wait. I mean I literally have zero time to watch these things anymore, but this one is a must. Even without my idol, Madeleine Albright in it, but with her, even more so! Anyway, Part II. of my UNGA general debate recap is halfway done, I plan to…
Happy weekend, everybody! Summer is just about to return for a few days in Hungary, which I am really happy about – as if there were not enough overly warm days during the past months… Well, what can I say, I love summer! Meanwhile I am working on a few things to shake up my professional profile, online and real time – is there a difference anymore, anyway? While I will have to use my time management skills really hard, there will be some exciting new posts on this platform, too. Here’s this week’s round-up, for a start… Why Does…
Syria is the world’s largest humanitarian crisis. At least a quarter-million Syrians have been killed. Almost half the country’s people – 12 million men, women and children – have been forced to flee their homes. In a massive cross-border exodus, Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq are hosting an ever growing number of refugees, and increasing numbers of Syrians making desperate flights across the Mediterranean in so-called ‘death boats.’ UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon addressing the Security Council meeting on the situation in Syria /29.07.2015./
Happy Sunday! This was an eventful week world affairs-wise with a lot of great posts all around the blogosphere. These are just a few of them. Are Human Rights Hurting Migrants at Sea? This issue rapidly became ever urgent and pressing in the past few weeks, one that needs to be effectively dealt with in the European Union as a whole, but also on individual member state levels. The Economic Roots of Xenophobic Attacks in South Africa Another migration related issue from this week. Xenophobic violence sparks once again in one of the few economically stable African states. Yemen is…
