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Monday, June 1, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
U.N.’s Energy Funding Falls Short of Target by Billions
When the United Nations inaugurated the first-ever global forum on renewable energy last week, it provided a laundry list of financial pledges aimed at achieving one of the world body's most ambitious goals: sustainable energy for all (SE4ALL) by 2030.
Israel in Political Isolation Over New Palestinian Government
The United States' decision to "work with" the new Palestinian government has virtually isolated Israel: the only country so far to have publicly rejected the political alliance between Fatah and Hamas.
Let There Be Light, Implores U.N. Chief
When night falls, there are over 1.3 billion people, mostly in the developing world, who live in virtual darkness because they have no access to electricity.Bill De Blasio, Paris Mayor Share Goals, Progressive Mindsets
When New York city Mayor Bill de Blasio met the first female Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo on Friday, they realized they share a common political streak: a progressive mindset.
U.N. Development Programme Plans Lay-Offs, Salary Cuts and Demotions
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), one of the largest U.N. agencies with an estimated average annual budget of more than five billion dollars, is undergoing major structural changes - triggering large-scale staff layoffs, demotions, salary reductions and downgrading and abolition of existing senior-level jobs.
U.N. Vows to Eliminate Open Defecation by 2025
At the height of his election campaign last October, Narendra Modi, India's Hindu nationalist leader, briefly set aside his spiritual aspirations when he told a surprised audience that economic development should take precedence over religion.
U.N. Reaches Dead End in Resolving Syrian Crisis
The United Nations has reached a virtual dead end trying to resolve the civil war in Syria - primarily as a result of the stalemate in peace talks and the continued deadlock in the Security Council.
U.N. Decries Water as Weapon of War in Military Conflicts
The United Nations, which is trying to help resolve the widespread shortage of water in the developing world, is faced with a growing new problem: the use of water as a weapon of war in ongoing conflicts.
Eyewitness to Nuke Explosion Challenges World Powers
When the Foreign Minister of Marshall Islands Tony de Brum addressed a nuclear review Preparatory Committee (PrepCom) meeting at the United Nations last month, he asked whether anyone in the room had witnessed a nuclear explosion.
Gaps Remain in U.N. WMD Resolution
The United Nations claims that a key Security Council resolution adopted unanimously back in 2004 has been instrumental in keeping weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) from the hands of terrorists and insurgent groups worldwide.
U.N.’s Post-2015 Agenda Skips the Right to Water and Sanitation
A U.N. working group mandated to formulate a set of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for the post-2015 development agenda is being accused of bypassing water and sanitation as a basic human right: a right long affirmed in a General Assembly resolution adopted back in July 2010.
The Long Journey Toward Recognition of a Third Gender
The world is slowly, but painfully, moving towards the formal recognition of the existence of a third gender besides male and female.
U.S.-Dependent Pacific Island Defies Nuke Powers
The tiny Pacific nation state of Marshall Islands - which depends heavily on the United States for its economic survival, uses the U.S. dollar as its currency and predictably votes with Washington on all controversial political issues at the United Nations - is challenging the world's nuclear powers before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague.
U.S.-Russia Sabre Rattling May Undermine Nuke Meeting
The growing tension between the United States and Russia over Ukraine has threatened to unravel one of the primary peace initiatives of the United Nations: nuclear disarmament.
U.N. Denies Dragging Its Feet on U.S.-Iran Visa Dispute
After two long weeks of raging controversy over Washington's refusal to grant a U.S. visa to the Iranian envoy to the United Nations, the U.N.'s office of legal affairs is being accused of moving at the pace of a paralytic snail - only to seek more time while remaining non-committal on the dispute.
U.N. Visa Denials Appendage of U.S. Foreign Policy
The United States has rarely, if ever, denied a visa to a head of state seeking to visit the United Nations to address the 193-member General Assembly, the highest policy making body in the organisation.
Emerging Nations Opt for Arms Spending Over Development
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who has relentlessly advocated drastic cuts in global military spending in favour of sustainable development, will be sorely disappointed by the latest findings in a report released Monday by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
Developing Nations Seek U.N. Retaliation on Bank Cancellations
The 132-member Group of 77, the largest single coalition of developing nations, has urged Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to provide, "as soon as possible...alternative options for banking services" in New York City following the mass cancellation of bank accounts of U.N. missions and foreign diplomats.
U.N. Non-Committal over U.S. Visa Refusal to Iranian Envoy
When New York City was picked as the location for the United Nations many moons ago, the politically-important decision was followed by the 1947 U.S.-U.N. Headquarters Agreement which obligated Washington to facilitate - not hinder - the smooth functioning of the world body.
Criminal Court a U.S.-Israeli “Red Line” for Palestinians
When Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas decided to defy the United States and Israel over stalled peace negotiations, he formally indicated to the United Nations last week that Palestine will join 15 international conventions relating mostly to the protection of human rights and treaties governing conflicts and prisoners of war.
U.N. Aims at Treaty to Protect Marine Biodiversity
At a political level, when the United Nations speaks of a "high seas alliance", it is probably a coalition of countries battling modern piracy in the Indian Ocean.« Previous Page — Next Page »
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