Governments in Thailand and Cambodia Play a Poker Game for Power

Democracy is declining in Southeast Asia. The Cambodian prime minister will hand over his office to his son later this month, after rigged elections. Meanwhile, Thailand's largest political party is kept from power.

Fragility & Poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa: Two Sides of the Same Coin

In 1990, about half of the population in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia and two-thirds in East Asia and the Pacific were living in extreme poverty (defined as living on less than what today amounts to around $2.15 per person per day).

Artificial Intelligence Faces Charges of Left-Wing Political Bias

The artificial intelligence (AI) platform ChatGPT, whose negative consequences include misinformation, is facing new charges of political bias. According to a study by the University of East Anglia (UEA), released August 17, AI ChatGPT shows “a significant and systemic left-wing bias”.

World Leaders Need to Prioritize the More Than 1 Billion People Living in Informal Settlements

When representatives from dozens of countries gathered recently at the UN High Level Political Forum in New York to share progress on their efforts to achieve the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), this disturbing reality was clear: the world is not even close to meeting the goals by 2030 as intended.

Pre-Colonial Delicacy Could Help Food Security and Climate Change

Kenya’s fight for food security may have just gone ‘Old School’ as Egerton University dons win a grant to help bring back a pre-colonial delicacy that was gradually sliding its way off consumers’ plates. Their project, dubbed ‘Exploring Potential of Togotia (Erucastrum arabicum), a forgotten African leafy vegetable for nutritional security and climate adaptation in Kenya,’ won the grant in October last year in a bid to help farmers and consumers realise the importance of the crop that many, today, term as a weed.

Reintegration Assistance for Migrants Going Home

Reintegration assistance for migrants returning to their countries of origin is becoming increasingly salient. Germany and the EU cooperate closely with countries of origin to support local reintegration.

World Bank Climate Finance Plan Little Help, Unfair

Rich nations have contributed most to the current climate crisis. They are primarily responsible for the historical emissions and greenhouse gas (GHG) accumulation of the last two centuries.

Mexico’s Interoceanic Corridor Lacks Water

Due to insufficient pressure water does not make it up to Elliot Escobar's house in the Mexican municipality of Matías Romero, where he lives on the second floor, so he pipes it up with a hose from his sister's home, located on the first floor of the house shared by the two families.

Himalayan Monsoon Disaster: Climate Change Colludes with Bad Development

As torrential rains, cloudbursts, floods, and landslides continue to wreak colossal damage and claim lives in Himachal Pradesh, India’s Himalayan foothill provinces. The question everyone is asking is: why is this happening?

Kenya: Cost of Living Protests Met with Police Repression

Protests against the high cost of living in Kenya have been met with police violence. Talks are currently underway between government and opposition – but whatever results will fall short unless it brings accountability for the catalogue of human rights violations committed in response to protests.

A Common African Approach to Environmental Challenges, Now & for the Future

There has never been a time in human history when collaboration between nations was more sorely needed than now, and there is no place that would benefit more from it than in Africa.

#AfghanGirlsVoices Campaign to Elevate Voices of Young Afghan Girls on Global Stage

Two years ago, the then 19-year-old Somaya Faruqi and the Afghan Robotic Team travelled from Herat City to Kabul, the heart of Afghanistan—the Taliban had taken over Herat city, cutting off electricity and internet. The all-girls team’s great passion for science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) had driven them to Kabul to rehearse for a competition.

Political Will and Investment Will Score the Goal for Zero Hunger

A world free from hunger is possible, but it demands political will, investment, and effective policies to transform agriculture and rural development, says Alvaro Lario, President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).

Nigeria to Expand Education Access Through a Student Loan Scheme

Wisdom Ajah, an 18-year-old senior secondary school graduate living in Karshi, a satellite town in Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory, dreams of a university education that will secure him a good job after graduation and help support his family. But it is a distant dream considering how many obstacles he has faced trying to acquire a secondary school certificate.

Social Activists Demand Real Equality for Chilean Women

Women social activists recognize that gender equality is gaining ground in Chile, but maintain that there is still a long way to go to turn into reality the promises to "level the playing field" between women and men, while they highlight the importance of addressing the issue of care work.

POWER TO THE YOUTH: With Quality Education, Youth are Empowered with the Green Skills to Save Our Planet

To save our people and our planet from the life-threatening risks of the climate crisis, we must invest in the education of today’s youth. They will be the climate activists, climate scientists, climate innovators, game-changers and leaders of the 21st century green economy.

Time to Ensure Equity in Global Research Vocabulary

A recent publication in the journal PLOS Medicine reviewed the relationship between COVID-19 and mental health in eight low- and middle-income countries, collectively referred to as LMICs. As important as this publication is, we are appalled by the widespread use of the term “low- and middle-income countries” utilized in this article, and indeed in the majority of the global health literature and discourse.

Let’s Shape Tech to be Transformative & Meet Every Child’s Learning Needs

Did you know that the power of computers has been doubling roughly every two years since the 1960s? Every day it seems there’s a new app or piece of tech that unlocks new and efficient ways to do things; to better engage with the world, or with learning.

Russia Upstages Neo-Colonialist France in West Africa

Going back to the 16th century and continuing through the late 1960s, France was described as the world’s second largest colonial power—just behind the British Empire. As the old saying goes: The sun would never set over the British Empire because God wouldn’t trust an Englishman in the dark. But would that also apply to the French colonial empire?

Disappearing Fish Spell Hard Times for Women in Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe's ballooning informal sector has, in recent years, spawned the over-exploitation of the country's natural resources, with the fisheries taking some of the most felt battering.

Requiem for the UN Security Council: Towards a UN Charter Review Conference

The world’s institutions are ill-prepared and poorly designed to effectively address global challenges such as major power conflicts, pandemics, the climate catastrophe, refugee crises, violent extremism, illicit profiteering from natural resources, and the regulation of artificial intelligence systems.