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The Negroni Diaries
EU-Turkey earthquake relief conference: Time to get serious
The European Union is hosting a reconstruction conference in Brussels on March 20 to focus on the aftermath of Turkey’s devastating February 6 earthquakes,...
Turkey
Turkey-Syria earthquake relief efforts spawn new diplomatic initiatives
With rescue efforts continuing after a devastating 7.8 Richter earthquake that took place on the Turkey-Syria border on February 6, survivors are miraculously still...
Armenia
Turkey’s seismic shift
This breakthrough in normalization between Armenia and Turkey comes amid a much wider context, well beyond the simple validation of earthquake diplomacy to elevate crisis response over conflict retention.
Energy
In Davos, philanthropists back $3 tln initiative for climate & nature
A new global initiative will fund and grow new and existing public, private and philanthropic partnerships to help unlock $3 trillion in financing to reach net zero, reverse nature loss and restore biodiversity by 2050.
Energy
UN says ozone layer recovery is on track
UN experts said the ozone layer is on track to recover within four decades, with the global phaseout of ozone-depleting chemicals already benefitting efforts to mitigate climate change.
Energy
UN meeting searches for water & sustainability solutions
Ahead of the UN 2023 Water Conference scheduled for March 2023, scientists, representatives of the private sector and civil society discussed on October 22...
Disinformation & Propaganda
Democracy in the Republic of the Internet is backsliding
The internet has become a powerful enemy of any authoritarian regime; one that these regimes have increasingly fought to weaken.
Medicine
Research, tech advancements in tobacco and nicotine products provide harm reduction options to smokers, but who’s listening?
If a large majority of tobacco smokers, who are unable or unwilling to quit, would switch without delay to using an alternative source of nicotine with lower health risks, and eventually stop using it, this would represent a significant contemporary public health achievement.
International Organizations
SCO heads gather in Uzbekistan’s cultural capital for key conference
On September 15-16, Central Asia's most populated nation, Uzbekistan, took a further step towards solidifying its place as a central regional player when it...
Invasion of Ukraine
Emergency now: Urgent UN action is required for Ukraine
Many struggle to understand world powers’ refusal to enforce a No-Fly-Zone (NFZ), at least on the western rest of Ukraine not (yet) occupied by...
Op-Eds & Guest Contributors
A sustainable feminist recovery
As the world marked International Women’s Day on March 8th, the clock on women’s rights is moving backwards. All of us are paying the...
Environment
UN launches negotiations on global agreement to combat plastic pollution
With the help of EU diplomacy which has helped secure the support of the global community, the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA), meeting in...
Op-Eds & Guest Contributors
The global problem-solving paradox
As Secretary-General of the United Nations, I spend much of my time speaking with world leaders and taking the pulse of global trends. It’s...
Op-Eds & Guest Contributors
Russia called out at the UN Security Council
The calling for a special meeting of the Security Council at the UN this past week was a long-overdue diplomatic initiative or even diplomatic...
Africa
As the UN Security Council meets, Ghana is pushing back against the scourge of urban warfare
Cast an eye around the globe and you will see that we are at a crossroads in the containment of urban warfare. From the rubbled...
Analysis
Why China cannot invade Taiwan
China’s recent aerial incursion in Taiwan air defense zone and President Xi Jinping’s confrontational remarks re-prompted a debate on whether or not Beijing is...
Archive
Tales of mystery and imagination in Skopje – Part 2
North Macedonia’s conservative opposition failed in its November 11 bid to topple Prime Minister Zoran Zaev’s government. This happened only because ruling coalition lawmakers...
Archive
Support for frontline staff and volunteers is key to overcoming Europe’s fresh COVID onslaught
In many ways, Europe is far better placed to withstand its second pandemic winter. Though cases are surging across the continent and the new...
Archive
Why Biden shouldn’t use the ‘Summit for Democracy’ to start more Cold Wars
On December 9 and 10, President Biden will host a virtual “Summit for Democracy.” The gathering will bring together leaders from 110 countries who...
Economy & Business
Ireland’s climate action plan must look beyond de-growth led by the state
The Republic of Ireland has committed to reaching carbon neutrality by 2050, after the coalition government of Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and the Greens...
Archive
Greek-led panel wants cultural, natural monument protection to be part of global climate strategy
On November 2, the Greek Government - through its Coordination Unit at the UN -organized a high-level event chaired by George Kremlis, a principal...
Archive
Uzbekistan re-elects President Mirziyoyev to second term
Uzbekistan held presidential elections on October 24, in a peaceful and secure atmosphere, with incumbent President Shavkat Mirziyoyev handily taking first place with 80.1%...
Analysis
New political patterns in the South Caucasus
Developments in the South Caucasus continue to race ahead of Europe’s understanding of them. By the time an event has been noticed, recognized, digested,...
Afghanistan
In US foreign policy, realists are finally on the rise
During the autumn of 2020, the United States lost one of its most brilliant, incisive, yet unheralded thinkers in Sherle R. Schwenninger.One of Schwenninger’s...
Analysis
The need for trilateral cooperation in the Indo-Pacific
A coercive China and a nuclear North Korea are peripherally affecting the U.S.’ security interests in the Indo-Pacific. With increasingly well-developed power derived from...
Analysis
Defense pacts and energy in the Eastern Mediterranean
The Greeks have finally come to the realization that despite a period of relative calmness Turkey is not about to abandon its assertive behavior...
Analysis
The West needs to unite to fight for human rights
Human rights seem nonexistent in today’s world. That’s because the world’s democracies are not fighting for it.
While the world’s dictatorships always seem to have...
Afghanistan
Why the Taliban’s promise to stop the opium trade rings hollow
One of the first announcements the Taliban made after seizing power in Afghanistan in August was that they were going to “ban the production and sale...
Analysis
The road to conflict resolution in Karabakh
Events are moving quite quickly in the South Caucasus, although they have not yet reached a breakthrough. Nevertheless, the first anniversary of the outbreak...
Albania
Kosovo-Serbia tensions fading after deal reached
The slow-motion crisis between Kosovo and Serbia over automobile license plates that began with little notice on September 20 escalated into a tense show...
Afghanistan
Why the fall of Afghanistan sllows Iran to expand its influence
Since 2020, the United States has been working to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan. The Americans' announcement emboldened the Taliban, who recently took control...
Archive
At UN, EU Commission announces three Energy Compacts
At the UN High-Level Dialogue on Energy this week in New York, EU Commission Executive Vice-President for the European Green Deal Frans Timmermans and...
Afghanistan
President Biden’s short UN General Assembly visit raises questions
President Joe Biden’s first address to the 76th UN General Assembly (UNGA) on September 21 provided the world with an almost infinite supply of...
Analysis
Germany and its neo-imperial quest in Bosnia
When rumors first began to swirl in January about the possible appointment of Christian Schmidt as Europe's High Representative to Bosnia and Herzegovina, I...
Afghanistan
With the AUKUS pact, the US has opted to snub some of its European partners
In the nearly nine months since he took office, it has become apparent that the US and European Union will not immediately experience a...
Afghanistan
Will Central Asia serve as Europe’s bridge to Afghanistan?
Just over one month on from the fall of Kabul, Europe is still grasping for answers to the question of how to engage in...
Africa
Conflict is spreading across the African continent
Many African countries are run by dictatorships, but their grasp on power is increasingly unstable. Mali has seen at least 2 changes of power...
Afghanistan
On 9/11, it’s time for a reckoning and reflection of decades of failed US national security policy
A reckoning with America’s failed national security policy is long overdue.Our calamitous misadventures in the Middle East and the global financial collapse of 2008...
Afghanistan
What next after 20 years of war in Afghanistan? Anatol Lieven on the U.S.’ legacy and the Taliban’s rise
On August 30, 2021, a C-17 transport plane took off from Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, signaling the end of America’s longest war....
Afghanistan
Enough of the Durban depravity
This month marks the 20th anniversary of the so-called “World Conference Against Racism”, otherwise known as Durban I. The 2001 conference was to be...
Analysis
Zero tolerance for hate teaching is not negotiable
The June 2021 publication of an overdue review of Palestinian textbooks by Germany’s Georg Eckert Institute (GEI) was meant to bring peace of mind...
Afghanistan
Afghanistan 2021: An extremist ‘stammtisch’
Everybody has a favorite bar or coffee house. A place you can go to seek solace or connect with old friends. In some cases,...
Archive
Greek Foreign Minister Dendias chasing shadows in Skopje?
Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias traveled to North Macedonia August 31, for a hastily scheduled official visit to the country while his own capital...
Analysis
Are Turkish investors falling for Hamas’ games?
Recent reports have revealed the extent of investments and assets controlled by Hamas, the Palestinian terror group, within Turkey.
Hamas has long maintained a strong...
Afghanistan
Economic progress and political reforms give post-Soviet space reason to celebrate
On August 30th, Kazakhstan celebrated one of the country’s most important holidays—Constitution Day, which commemorates the adoption of the 1995 constitution which confirmed the...
Analysis
An EU diplomatic ‘bâdgir’ in Vienna: The Iran nuclear deal 2.0
When things get hot, you look to cool them down. Persian culture is too familiar with heat with scorching Middle East temperatures. One of...
Afghanistan
Russia and China poised to gain influence in Afghanistan
Amidst the chaotic scenes that ushered in the Taliban’s take over of the Afghan capital Kabul, coupled with the West's harried exodus from the...
Afghanistan
A viable – and perhaps the only – path to lasting peace in Afghanistan
As each day goes by, the Taliban’s forces edge closer to controlling all of Afghanistan. In the first week of August, the Taliban swept...
Afghanistan
Afghanistan and the Great Powers
Can Afghanistan's never-ending internal conflict be resolved by the efforts of great and regional powers that have numerous conflicting strategic and global goals? Is...
Analysis
Erdogan’s visit to the Turkish-occupied northern district of Cyprus
Whatever Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expected to come out of his visit to the occupied part of Cyprus – on the day that...
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