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Saturday, November 7, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
MEDIA: Is Al-Jazeera the New Symbol of Arab Nationalism?
When the League of Arab States was created in 1945, it was perceived as the ultimate symbol of Arab nationalism in a politically and militarily de-moralised Middle East.DEVELOPMENT: China, India Boost Poor Commodities Producers
China and India, the world's two most populous nations, will soon be potentially big markets for a wide range of commodities, like cotton, rice, coffee, cocoa, palm oil and rubber, which should translate into a rare boon for the developing countries that produce them, says a new U.N. report.POLITICS: U.N. Unions Want Workers Out of Iraq
Nation-wide elections in Iraq, scheduled to take place before the end of January 2005, are now jeopardised by two powerful U.N. staff unions demanding that no U.N. employees be sent to the violence-ridden country.DISARMAMENT: Mideast Arms Buyers Shun U.N. Register
The U.N.'s annual arms register, created about 12 years ago to ensure military transparency among member states, continues to be shunned by some of the world's biggest arms buyers in the Middle East and by key arms exporters such as China.POLITICS: U.N. Chief Urges World Leaders to Protect Civilians
Former U.N. Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali once remarked that the tragedy of civil wars is that they are no longer civil.POLITICS: Japan to Re-ignite Bid for Seat on Security Council
Having been cold-shouldered by the international community for more than a decade over its claims for a permanent seat on the 15-member U.N. Security Council, Japan is expected to launch an aggressive campaign to re-ignite its longstanding demand for an expansion of the Organisation's most powerful political body.POLITICS: Sanctions Against Sudan a Non-Starter
The United Nations is reluctant to impose punitive economic sanctions on Sudan - accused of genocide in the politically troubled province of Darfur - because embargoes have a relatively poor track record, according to senior U.N. officials and diplomats.POLITICS: Sanctions Against Sudan a Non-Starter
The United Nations is reluctant to impose punitive economic sanctions on Sudan - accused of genocide in the politically troubled province of Darfur - because embargoes have a relatively poor track record, according to senior U.N. officials and diplomats.POPULATION: Rising Growth Still an Issue, Says UNFPA
The U.N. Population Fund is dispelling a widespread notion - prevalent mostly in Western countries - that population growth has ceased to be a serious socio-economic problem primarily because of declining numbers.POPULATION: Rising Growth Still an Issue, Says UNFPA
The U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA) is dispelling a widespread notion - prevalent mostly in Western countries - that population growth has ceased to be a serious socio-economic problem primarily because of declining numbers.POLITICS: Rising Violence Deters U.N. Presence in Iraq
The escalating violence in Iraq - with over 50 civilians killed in Tuesday's terrorist attacks in Baghdad - is dissuading the United Nations from going back to the war-ravaged country, according to a senior U.N. official.POLITICS: Under Attack in Afghanistan, U.N. Weighs Options
The United Nations, which was forced to withdraw its international staff from Iraq last year because of growing violence, is weighing the possibility of downsizing its humanitarian operations in Afghanistan following the weekend destruction of four of its offices in the war-ravaged country.DEVELOPMENT: Battling Poverty or Fighting Wars?
World Bank President James Wolfensohn, a longstanding critic of excessive global military spending, says he cannot comprehend why the world spends only 50 billion dollars on development aid annually while it squanders a whopping 950 billion dollars on its armed forces.DEVELOPMENT: U.N. Seeks Rapid Action to Cut Poverty and Hunger
The world's developing nations have made "significant progress" in reducing extreme poverty and alleviating hunger and disease, says U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, in an year-end review of the U.N.'s much-publicised Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).POLITICS: U.N. Chief Seeks 30,000 More Troops for Peacekeeping
As the United Nations gets ready for the opening of the 59th session of the General Assembly next week, Secretary-General Kofi Annan has asked the 191 member states to provide more than 30,000 troops for an anticipated surge in demand for peacekeeping operations in the world's battle zones.POLITICS: Darfur-Bound African Force Lacks Arms, Funds
As the 53-member African Union (AU) prepares to bolster its peacekeeping force in Sudan tenfold, U.N. chief Kofi Annan is appealing for funds, equipment and other support to sustain the body mandated to stem the rising number of atrocities and killings in violence-prone Darfur Province.POLITICS: U.S.-Backed Armies Firing Blanks
Fear of being linked to U.S.-backed regimes that lack authority has inhibited potential recruits in violence-prone Iraq and Afghanistan from heeding calls to join nascent or rebuilding national armies, say U.S. academics and political and military analysts.POLITICS: U.N. Rejects Private Peacekeepers
As the United Nations continues to face a shortage of well-equipped, professionally trained soldiers for its growing peacekeeping operations overseas, a proposal to hire private security forces to rectify the shortfall has been greeted with scepticism.POLITICS: U.N. Rejects Private Peacekeepers
As the United Nations continues to face a shortage of well-equipped, professionally trained soldiers for its growing peacekeeping operations overseas, a proposal to hire private security forces to rectify the shortfall has been greeted with scepticism.POLITICS: More Peacekeepers Needed for Congo Democracy – UN
The United Nations is trying to transform one of the most politically unstable countries in Africa, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), into a multi-party democracy, with legislative and presidential elections scheduled for 2005.POLITICS: U.N. Chief Backs Body to Compensate War Victims
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who has criticised the growing number of civilian killings in ongoing conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza, is backing a permanent U.N. body that would provide reparations for victims of wars.« Previous Page — Next Page »
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