Israeli President Calls For Stronger U.N. Action On Genocide

Israeli president Reuven Rivlin has questioned the United Nations’ commitment to eradicating genocide, slamming the UN’s genocide convention as nothing more than a “symbolic document.”

Renowned Heritage Award Winner From Ghana Joins The Elders

(GIN) -– Yacub Addy, drummer, composer and choreographer from the Addy family of drummers, singers and dancers in Avenor, Accra, Ghana, has joined the elders. He was 83.

African Leaders Clamp Down With Impending Elections in 10 Countries

(GIN) – It’s election time in nearly a dozen African countries and the wish of some leaders to fiddle with the constitution and have a forbidden third term in office is sending tremors through the fragile states involved.

Five Journalists Killed As Gunmen Ambush Convoy in South Sudan

Reporting in war zones continued to prove hazardous once again as five journalists were killed on Sunday when unidentified gunmen ambushed an official convoy in South Sudan's Western Bahr al Ghazal state, according to news reports.

U.S. Green Berets to Assist Africa in Counter-Terror Operations

(GIN) - U.S. Army Special Forces, America’s highly-trained operatives in unconventional warfare, direct action, reconnaissance and counter-terrorism, are preparing for one of their biggest exercises of the year in Africa.

Global Food Security Counteracts Crises

Global food security is an antidote to conflict, the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Director-General José Graziano da Silva said in a special meeting of the U.N. Peacebuilding Commission in New York.

When Oil Prices Drop, Some Lose & Some Win

The question of how the oil market is going to rebalance itself in 2015 is going to be one of the most challenging ones for the oil industry.

UNDP Sees Seeds of Opportunity in 2015

The future of sustainable development has promise -- and that promise is now, according to the head of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

‘Honour Roll’ For Payment of U.N. Dues

Only 15 of the United Nations’ 193 member states have fully paid their regular membership dues for 2015, but this is far from the first instance of the U.N. dealing with unfulfilled debts.

Think Tanks Discuss Role In Global Issues

A panel discussion last week focused on the connection between inter-governmental organisations and think tanks, especially how think tanks help to shape transnational policy issues at institutions like the United Nations and governments around the world.

U.N. Emergency Fund Doles Out $100 Million for Aid Operations

The U.N. Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) has earmarked about $100 million to boost life-saving relief work in Syria and 11 other countries where humanitarian needs are high but financial support is low.

2014 Worst on Record for Rhino Poaching in South Africa

Last year was the worst on record for rhino poaching in South Africa, with a total of 1,215 rhinos poached in 2014, an average of more than three animals per day or 100 per month.

General Assembly Holds Informal Meeting on Anti-Semitism

Responding to an increase in violence against members of the Jewish faith, the General Assembly Thursday held an informal meeting to discuss concerns about the rise in anti-Semitism worldwide.

African Energy Leaders Group Launched at Davos

The African Energy Leaders Group (AELG), launched last week, is aimed at bringing together political and economic leaders at the highest level to drive the reforms and investment needed to end energy poverty and sustainably fuel the continent’s economic future.

Global Civil Society Launches Internet Social Forum

A group of civil society organisations from around the world has announced the Internet Social Forum (ISF), to bring together and articulate bottom-up perspectives on the 'Internet we want'. Taking inspiration from the World Social Forum, and its clarion call, 'Another World is possible', the group seeks to draw urgent attention to the increasing centralization of the Internet for extraction of monopoly rents and for socio-political control, asserting that 'Another Internet is possible'!

Asylum Seekers at Australian Offshore Detention Facility on Hunger Strike

A candlelight vigil was held Wednesday outside the Australian Mission to the United Nations in support of more than 900 asylum seekers who have been on hunger strike at Australia’s offshore detention centre in Manus Island, Papua New Guinea for at least nine days.

National Census Could Delay Elections in DRC Triggering Protests

(GIN) – Plans by President Joseph Kabila of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to hold a national census of the population are inciting critics who say this could delay elections for years. A green light to the census plan by local lawmakers prompted a rock-throwing melee this week in the capital city. National elections are due in 2016.

Ebola Impact on Guinea, Liberia & Sierra Leone Remains Crippling, Says World Bank

The Ebola epidemic is continuing to cripple the economies of the three worst affected countries in Africa, Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, even as transmission rates in the three countries show significant signs of slowing, according to an analysis by the World Bank Group.

UNODC, Government of Japan Review Joint Action Plan

(UNIS) – The U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) is reviewing a joint plan of action aimed at strengthening cooperation with Japan.

Rising Anger Amongst African Muslims Over Offending Cartoons

(GIN) – While the President of Niger, Mahamadou Issoufou, marched in a Paris rally to support the French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo, anger was rising at home among the country’s majority Muslim population over cartoons ridiculing the Prophet Muhammad.

UNIDO, International Finance Institutions Promote Entrepreneurship at Bahrain Investment Forum

The U.N. Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) and the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) have agreed to foster entrepreneurship in Africa and the Middle East and North Africa region.