Tag: United Nations
Happy last weekend of July, people! Can you believe it is almost August already? I sure can’t. It is still these two sad stories that set the agenda of world news. There were quite a few great blog posts about them this week. Hamas and Israel: why a paradigm shift is needed It indeed seems like the same script is being played out again and again. Something really does need to change if we want a different ending for once. This is Not the First Time an UNWRA School Has Been Attacked UNWRA is the number one NGO on the…
Happy Sunday, everybody! Many unfortunate, even sad events are going on in the world these days. Check out what my favorite bloggers had to say about them. Security Council Meets on MH13 Disaster. What’s Next? What’s next, indeed? Russia tries to blame it on Ukraine, while all the other members blame it on Russia. And we know there is no real decision making in the SC without consensus. This Iran Nuke Deal Might. Just. Work. This post is from the first half of the week, we now know that the talks are extended by four months. The post sums up…
United Nations along with European Film Gateway published this great three minute video with scenes from World War I. The fact itself that we are watching 100-year-old footage makes it special, while the tragedy and sadness of the first global war vividly comes through.
Happy Sunday and happy World Cup Final everybody! Hope you all had a great weekend. My past week was exhausting once again, and the weekend was no exception. All I really need now is a proper amount of sleep. Fortunately I have a whole week to recharge with five days off of work, so hopefully by this time next week my old self will be back. This one must be the most rough-and-ready Sunday Smack ever, seriously, I am writing this half asleep. I really hope you’ll enjoy, though. A UN View of the Gaza Conflict The UN Secretary General…
Italian-Swedish diplomat Staffan de Mistura was named UN mediator for Syria on Thursday, taking on the Herculean task of finding a political solution to the dragging civil war. He replaces the hugely respected Lakhdar Brahimi, who resigned in May after two rounds of peace talks collapsed and as the conflict escalated into a fourth year, killing more than 162,000 people. UN chief Ban Ki-moon confirmed the appointment of the special representative and his Egyptian deputy, urging the much-divided Security Council and Syrian parties to work closely with him. Ban has frequently criticized animosity on the Council between Western powers and…
How is it going for everybody? Crazy working hours continued this week for me, even had to bring stuff home for the weekend, and I am in such a need of a holiday right now, I can’t even tell. I’m dreaming of doing absolutely nothing for a day. Or even half a day would be fine. Just one more week of work until then. Hope you’ll like what I found especially interesting this week. Forced Migration as a Weapon of War in Iraq and Beyond The numbers are disturbing as to how many people are forced to leave their homes…
What Drives the Man with the World’s “Most Impossible Job”? Check out this great interview with Secretary General Ban Ki-moon via LinkedIn: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Leadership, Climate Change, and Having the World’s Toughest Job from LinkedIn
Happy weekend everybody! There could not possibly be anyone who needed this weekend more than me. I have worked 10-12 hours/day all week, substituting for two of my colleagues away on vacation. It left me really worn out and anxiously looking forward to my own vacation two weeks from now. Catching up on world news was kind of a relaxation after all that. How about you all? How is your summer going so far? A Call for Article 51 Letters There are rules in the UN Charter for the instances of using force. And then there is reality. Perhaps this…
Hello Everybody! I hope you all have spent the longest Saturday of the decade well! I keep being busy with important deadlines approaching both in my work and my studies, that’s the reason this blog seems to be neglected these days. Here’s what I recommend from my weekly reading anyway: UN Chief Warns Military Strikes in Iraq May Backfire The Secretary General actually suggests that keeping things unresolved once again and arming one side against the other would probably even worsen things in the region. World Refugee Day Draws Attention to Shortcomings of International Law World Refugee Day was Friday…
Happy Sunday, people! I hope you are all having a great weekend! Has anybody else been hampered by Feedly’s down periods this week? I hope it’s all solved by now, because in the end I had to scroll through 250+ posts this weekend. Here’s what I thought was worth sharing with you out of all of it. Jihadi takeover in Mosul and Iraq’s looming breakdown This week’s events in Iraq adumbrates very difficult times to come while there already are plenty of problems to solve in the region. Why the UN General Assembly Just Selected Uganda’s Anti-Gay Foreign Minister as…
