Please, Do Not Get Offended, But:

With the inauguration of Donald Trump on Jan. 20, the new leadership of the most powerful nation has signaled it is breaking away from the rest of the world. Here, a few thoughts...

Were UN Plans to Ban Nukes Pre-empted by Trump?

Right to Information Dead on Arrival at UN

The 193-member UN General Assembly has been dragging its feet on a proposal that has been kicked around the corridors of the United Nations for over 10 years: a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) providing journalists the “right to information” in a sprawling bureaucracy protective of its turf.

Trump Trade Strategy Unclear

US President-elect Donald Trump has announced that he will take the US out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement on the first day of his presidency in January 2017. Now, it is widely expected that Trump’s presidency will increase US trade protectionism, and consequently by others in retaliation, possibly triggering serious trade conflicts with difficult to predict consequences.

Trump’s UN Pick: “UN Could Benefit from a Fresh Set of Eyes”

South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, nominated to be the next U.S. Ambassador to the UN, outlined her vision of a strong U.S. role in the human rights institution at a confirmation hearing today.

Inequality (III): Less Employment… and More ‘Junk’ Jobs

While just eight men are enjoying their huge wealth, equivalent to that of half the world, new forecasts project darker shadows by predicting rising unemployment rates, more precarious jobs and worsening social inequality. To start with, there will be more than 1.4 billion people employed in vulnerable working conditions.

UN Meeting Says No to Anti-Muslim Hatred

The rise in anti-muslim attitudes around the world prompted a special UN meeting Tuesday, just days before the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump whose controversial policies have drawn on anti-Muslim sentiments.

Inequality (II): “It Will Take 170 Years for Women to Be Paid as Men Are”

While just eight individuals, all of them men, own the same wealth as 3.6 billion people -- half of world’s total population -- it will take 170 years for women to be paid the same as men, warns a new major report on inequality.

Inequality (I): Half of World’s Wealth, in the Pockets of Just Eight Men

Just eight men own the same wealth as the 3.6 billion people who make up the poorest half of humanity, according to a major new report by an international confederation of 19 organisations working in more than 90 countries.

Is Cash Aid to the Poor Wasted on Tobacco and Alcohol?

Not at all. Or at least not necessarily. The fact is that cash transfer programmes –regular money payments to poor households—are meant to reduce poverty, promote sustainable livelihoods and increase production in the developing world. One in four countries on Earth are applying them. But are they effective?

Tobacco Industry Misleads Developing Countries Over Regulations

Low and middle-income countries have far fewer tobacco regulations than high-income countries and are paying the price - with bigger health and economic impacts.

Populist Leaders Endanger Human Rights: Advocacy Organisation

Populist leaders pose a dangerous threat to human rights, fuelling and justifying intolerance and abuse across the world, said advocacy group Human Rights Watch during the launch of their annual global report.

Free Trade Agreements Promote Corporate Interests

So-called free-trade agreements (FTAs) are generally presumed to promote trade liberalization, but in fact, they do much more to strengthen the power of the most influential transnational corporations of the dominant partner involved. While FTAs typically reduce some barriers to the international trade in goods and services, some provisions strengthen private monopolies and corporate power.

When Your Healers Become Your Killers

There is a major though silent global threat to human and animal health, with implications for both food safety and food security and the economic well-being of millions of farming households. It is so-called anti-microbial resistance.

Oceans, Tuberculosis and Killer Robots – the UN’s Diverse Agenda in 2017

UN member states hope to reach agreement on a diverse range of global issues in 2017, from managing the world’s oceans to banning killer robots to stopping tuberculosis, one of the world’s deadliest diseases.

Trump, the Banks and the Bomb

When pro-nuclear disarmament organisations last October cheered the United Nations decision to start in 2017 negotiations on a global treaty banning these weapons, they probably did not expect that shortly after the US would elect Republican businessman Donald Trump as their 45th president. Much less that he would rush to advocate for increasing the US nuclear power.

January Brings Changes for UN Security Council

Five of the UN Security Council's 15 seats were filled by new members this week, but a bigger shift in the council is expected later this month under the new US administration.

Lessons from the Demise of the TPP

President-elect Donald Trump has promised that he will take the US out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) on the first day of his presidency. The TPP may now be dead, thanks to Trump and opposition by all major US presidential candidates. With its imminent demise almost certain, it is important to draw on some lessons before it is buried.

Poor Darwin – Robots, Not Nature, Now Make the Selection

When British naturalist Charles Darwin published in 1859 his theory of evolution in his work On the Origin of Species, he most likely did not expect that robots, not nature, would someday be in charge of the selection process.

Ban Ki-moon’s Mixed Legacy as UN Secretary-General

Ban Ki-moon ended his ten years as UN Secretary-General at midnight on New Year’s Eve with his last official duty - dropping the ball at New York’s Times Square.

2017 — A Thunderous Clash of Politics, Economies and Policies

Yet another new year has dawned.   But 2017 will be a year like no other.