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“Food is a human right that should be supported by everybody, no children should go to bed hungry, even less in a conflict." Caitriona Perry speaks to José Andrés world-renowned chef and humanitarian. Andrés was born in Spain and trained as a chef before moving to the United States, where he helped popularise Spanish cuisine and built a global restaurant empire. He later founded World Central Kitchen, an organisation that has transformed the way humanitarian aid responds to crisis, delivering meals in war zones, after natural disasters, and in communities where hunger is a daily reality. José Andrés reflects on food, power, and why feeding people is inseparable from dignity and justice. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Hind Kabawat Syria's only woman minister, Antonio Guterres the UN Secretary General and the director Chloe Zhao.. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Caitriona Perry Producers: Chloe Ross, Farhana Haider Editor: Damon Rose Get in touch with us on email TheInterview@bbc.co.uk and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.(Image: José Andrés Credit: Pief Weyman/NBC via Getty Images)
In this in-depth Nepal politics podcast, we sit down with Bhojraj Pokharel, former Chief Election Commissioner of Nepal, member of the UN Secretary-General's panel (2010–2011), and part of the Kofi Annan Foundation Electoral Integrity Core Team. He shares powerful insights into Nepal election systems, election transparency in Nepal, election security in Nepal, and lessons from the Nepal election 2008. We discuss election preparation process, election budget Nepal, duplicate voter prevention strategies, ballot counting process, repolling circumstances, and election legitimacy. Mr. Pokharel explains how Nepal ensures fair elections, protects ballots, handles election reforms in Nepal, and addresses current election security concerns. The conversation also explores E-voting in Nepal, NRN voting Nepal, foreign voting Nepal, and whether digital voting is possible. Drawing from his UN election panel experience and work in democracy in Nepal, he provides a practical view of how election transparency and credibility are maintained. If you're interested in Nepal politics, election reforms, and how democratic systems function behind the scenes, this episode is essential viewing. GET CONNECTED WITH Bhojraj Pokharel: Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/bhojraj.pokharel.395 Twitter - https://x.com/PokharelBhojraj LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/bhojrajpokharel/
Dr. Jean Krasno is in the faculty of the Department of Political Science at the City College of New York and is also a lecturer at Columbia University. The “United Nations: Policy and Practice” is her most recent book. Dr. Krasno was authorized by former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to organize his papers for publication. She is now leading a campaign to elect a woman UN Secretary-General. The UN was created in 1945 to eliminate the scourge of war, promote economic and social development, and enhance human rights worldwide. The UN has had nine secretaries-general to lead the organization. Emphasis is on selecting a woman when SG Guterres's term ends. The next UN SG must be an effective communicator with the 193-member states in the UN General Assembly and the various publics around the world. Most Americans are mostly unaware of how important UN services impact their lives every day.
Purchase the Strength & Shield tumbler: https://israelguys.link/tumbler-86ewc1znj Join The Israel Guys member program: https://israelguys.link/member-86ewc1y9m In today's episode, we break down explosive developments that are rocking the Middle East. Hamas has quietly admitted it will pay stipends to 50,000 widows of fighters killed in Gaza — a stunning revelation that reveals the majority of those killed in Gaza were terrorists…. not civilians. Meanwhile, the UN Secretary-General congratulated Iran on the anniversary of their Islamic Revolution, even as the regime kills its own people and continues funding terror across the entire Middle East. At the same time, Prime Minister Netanyahu met with President Trump at the White House this week for a three-hour discussion focused on Iran's military buildup, ballistic missiles, and ongoing negotiations that could spell disaster for Israel. We also examined growing concerns over a potential U.S.–Iran deal, reports that Hamas may not be forced to disarm, Indonesia preparing to send thousands of troops to Gaza, and escalating security incidents along the Israel-Egypt border. Join The Land of Israel Fellowship: https://thelandofisrael.com/membership-tiers/ Join an Israel Guys trip to Israel: https://serveisrael.com/volunteer/ Follow us on Telegram: https://t.me/theisraelguys Follow Us On X: https://x.com/theisraelguys Follow Us On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theisraelguys Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theisraelguys
For the first time in history, multiple countries have jointly nominated a candidate for UN Secretary General. Earlier this week, Brazil, Chile, and Mexico endorsed Michelle Bachelet—a former president of Chile, former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and a survivor of brutal repression under the Pinochet regime. The move is unprecedented—and potentially transformative. What does it signal about the race to replace António Guterres, and how soon might more rival candidates emerge? Anjali and Mark unpack what this coordinated nomination reveals about shifting power dynamics inside the UN. They then turn to the latest Epstein document dump, which has ensnared several prominent diplomats and sent shockwaves through the diplomatic world. Finally, they confront a looming institutional crisis: the UN's cash reserves are so depleted that even the viability of this year's UNGA is now being called into question.
Witness to Yesterday (The Champlain Society Podcast on Canadian History)
James Stewart (J.D.M.) speaks with Catherine McKenna about her book, Run Like A Girl. From Olympic dreams to the frontlines of politics and climate action, Run Like A Girl charts McKenna's personal and political journey – from leading Canada's climate plan to withstanding sexist attacks as “Climate Barbie.” Through a unique scrapbook-style format, McKenna blends candid personal stories, political insights, and reflections on motherhood, ambition, and activism. McKenna recounts her fight for climate policy, the ups and downs of public service, the tough decision to leave politics, and her mission to empower women in leadership. For readers of Becoming by Michelle Obama and No Logo by Naomi Klein, Run Like A Girl is a timely and deeply personal call to action – about finding your own path, breaking the rules, fighting for the future – on your own terms. Catherine McKenna is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Climate and Nature Solutions. She is Canada's former minister of environment and climate change (2015-19) as well as minister of infrastructure (2019-21). The chair of the UN Secretary General's Expert Group Net Zero, she is a frequent speaker on climate action and women empowerment. If you like our work, please consider supporting it: bit.ly/support_WTY. Your support contributes to the Champlain Society's mission of opening new windows to directly explore and experience Canada's past. Image Credit: Sutherland House
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.globaldispatches.orgFor the first time in history, multiple countries have jointly nominated a candidate for UN Secretary General. Earlier this week, Brazil, Chile, and Mexico endorsed Michelle Bachelet—a former president of Chile, former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and a survivor of brutal repression under the Pinochet regime. The move is unprecedented—and pote…
Send us a textThis week's Agenda comes from the World Economic Forum in Davos, where global leaders, business titans and big thinkers have gathered under the theme “A sprit of dialogue”. But conversations were in danger of being overshadowed by Donald Trump's military and tariff threats over Greenland, remarks the US President later rowed back on after touching down in the Swiss Alps. Attention has since turned to other geopolitical flashpoints, from the conflict between Russia and Ukraine to rising tensions with Iran.We sat down with Rafael Grossi, Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency and candidate to become the next UN Secretary-General, and Joe Ngai, Senior Partner & Chairman, McKinsey Greater China, McKinsey & Company.
Marking the 80th anniversary of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), the UN Secretary-General urged Member States to take immediate steps to implement the reforms they committed to in the Pact for the Future. Speaking at the commemoration of ECOSOC at 80 named “a turning point for multilateralism” today , Guterres said, “let us renew our commitment to safeguarding rights and speeding up development through multilateral cooperation. ECOSOC is an indispensable platform for global dialogue and action.” ECOSOC President Lok Bahadur Thapa said the Council's legacy at 80 is simple and more urgent. He said, “Multilateralism must deliver. Development must be inclusive. And progress must reach everyone. This is the vision and commitment we set forth in the Charter - one that should continue to guide our collective action.” For her part, President General Assembly Annalena Baerbock reiterated, “Peace, development and human dignity and human rights are inseparable,” adding that delivering on these social and economic goals is therefore “not only a moral imperative for those they are designed to serve. It is also a matter of enlightened self-interest.” “It is an investment in stability, resilient and security in a world that is too often defined by crisis,” she added. Established in 1945 by the Charter of the United Nations, ECOSOC held its first meeting on 23 January 1946. Its mandate – to coordinate the economic, social, and cultural activities of the United Nations and promote international cooperation and development – has placed it at the heart of advancing the principles of the UN Charter. Multilateralism, inclusivity, and global solidarity have been central to ECOSOC's mission from the outset. Marking the 80th anniversary of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), the UN Secretary-General urged Member States to take immediate steps to implement the reforms they committed to in the Pact for the Future. Speaking at the commemoration of ECOSOC at 80 named “a turning point for multilateralism” today , Guterres said, “let us renew our commitment to safeguarding rights and speeding up development through multilateral cooperation. ECOSOC is an indispensable platform for global dialogue and action.” ECOSOC President Lok Bahadur Thapa said the Council's legacy at 80 is simple and more urgent. He said, “Multilateralism must deliver. Development must be inclusive. And progress must reach everyone. This is the vision and commitment we set forth in the Charter - one that should continue to guide our collective action.” For her part, President General Assembly Annalena Baerbock reiterated, “Peace, development and human dignity and human rights are inseparable,” adding that delivering on these social and economic goals is therefore “not only a moral imperative for those they are designed to serve. It is also a matter of enlightened self-interest.” “It is an investment in stability, resilient and security in a world that is too often defined by crisis,” she added. Established in 1945 by the Charter of the United Nations, ECOSOC held its first meeting on 23 January 1946. Its mandate – to coordinate the economic, social, and cultural activities of the United Nations and promote international cooperation and development – has placed it at the heart of advancing the principles of the UN Charter. Multilateralism, inclusivity, and global solidarity have been central to ECOSOC's mission from the outset. Briefing the Security Council today on the situation in Syria, Assistant Secretary-General for Middle East Khaled Khiari said, “It is vital that ISIL is not allowed to capitalize on the fluid situation in the northeast.” Khiari also said, “As I speak, the situation on the ground remains very tense, with exchanges of fire and clashes between Government forces and the SDF in parts of Hasekeh governorate and also on the outskirts of Ayn al Arab, also known as Kobane - an SDF-controlled enclave where access is challenging, given ongoing clashes.” He appealed for both sides to “immediately adhere to a ceasefire in line with the 18 January agreement and engage in fleshing out and implementing the details of this latest understanding of 20 January swiftly and in a spirit of compromise, in order to ensure a peaceful integration of north-east Syria in support of Syria's broader transition.” He highlighted, “It is important also to note the recent Decree no. 13 announced by President al-Sharaa concerning the linguistic, cultural, and citizenship rights of Syrian Kurds within the Syrian state. This is a crucial issue for the future, and the decree is an encouraging initiative on which to build further through a genuinely inclusive process.” He stressed, “We share concerns about the presence of foreign terrorist fighters in Syria. During the fighting in northeast Syria, control of some of the detention centers for ISIL fighters switched from the SDF to Government forces, as did al-Hol camp in Hasakeh. There are indications that some detainees escaped.” He added, “Separately, the US announced on 21 January its mission to transfer ISIL detainees from Syria to Iraq, with 150 ISIL members held in Hasakeh already transported to a secure facility in Iraq. ” He also noted, “Israeli incursions in southern Syria continue to undermine Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity. We welcome this Council's extension of UNDOF's mandate for another six months.” Edem Wosornu, Director of the Crisis Response Division of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said, “In spite of these challenges, Syrians across the country continue to work to build a brighter future. More than 3 million refugees and internally displaced people have returned to their homes since December of 2024. And we have started to see some encouraging, if still limited, improvements in humanitarian indicators. Food security has improved slightly, but only one in five families are consistently meeting their nutritional needs.” Ibrahim Olabi, Syrian Permanent Representative to the United Nations, said, “We are fully aware of the suffering endured by our Syrian Kurdish compatriots for decades due to marginalization and denial of rights. We are pleased today to see them as part of the new Syrian State institutions, like all other Syrian communities.” He reported, “The Ministry of Interior successfully apprehended the majority of escaped members and continues its efforts to follow to pursue the remaining ones, stressing that extended State sovereignty and the rule of law is the only permanent guarantee of security, stability, and effective counterterrorism. In this regard, the Syrian Government welcomes the American operation to transfer ISIS detainees out of Syrian territories and affirms its readiness to provide the necessary logistical and security support to ensure its success.” Lukman Al-Faily, Iraqi Permanent Representative to the United Nations, stated that his government reaffirms “its reception of foreign terrorists whose states refused to repatriate them is a measure aimed at protecting regional and international security from an imminent threat. Nevertheless, we stress that this issue should not be left to become a long-term strategic burden on Iraq alone. The insistence of some States on considering their terrorist nationals a threat to their national security and refusing to repatriate them is unacceptable.”Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/policy-and-rights--3339563/support.
Saudi Arabia, Turkiye, Egypt, Jordan, Indonesia, Pakistan and Qatar have accepted US President Donald Trump's invitation to join the so-called 'Board of Peace.' Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also publicly confirmed Israel's participation, while Vladimir Putin says he's considering Trump's invitation to join. Amid concerns the board of peace will pose a threat to the United Nations, the UN Secretary General has urged continued commitment to international law.
“There are those that believe the power of law should be replaced by the law of power”Anna Foster speaks to Antonio Guterres, Secretary General of the United Nations, about the threat to international law from states acting through power and influence instead, in particular America. Defending the rule of law is necessary, he says, if we are to have a better world.He also sets out the case for reform of the UN Security Council to allow it to remain effective and relevant in the face of increasingly complex global conflicts. Antonio Guterres has been at the head of the United Nations since 2017, and is now entering his final year in office. Thank you to the Today team for its help in making this programme. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Colombia's President Gustavo Petro, former Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern and Mustafa Suleyman, boss of Microsoft AI. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Anna Foster Producer: Lucy Sheppard Editor: Justine LangGet in touch with us on email TheInterview@bbc.co.uk and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.(Image: Antonio Guterres. Credit: Per-Anders Pettersson/Getty Images)
The year has barely begun, and already the fault lines of global power are on full display.Christiana Figueres, Tom Rivett-Carnac and Paul Dickinson take stock of a moment that feels both shocking and revealing. The US abduction of Venezuela's president raises urgent questions about sovereignty, international law, and the enduring grip of fossil fuels on geopolitics - even as the energy transition accelerates. But what's really driving events in Venezuela? And how can we tease apart the political theatre from the realities of oil markets, military power, and domestic US politics.Later, we ask: what are the big themes, underlying trends and climate stories already shaping the new year? From the possible rise of left-wing populism, to the intensifying battle over who will become the next UN Secretary-General.As 2026 begins, the question is not just what kind of year lies ahead for climate action, but what kind of global order will shape it.Learn more:
In the last month of 2025, Nicosia Uncut producers Andromachi Sophocleous and Kemal Baykalli produced two consecutive and special episodes. Recorded a few days after the first part, the second part focuses on the outcome of the first meeting of leaders with the UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy Maria Angela Holguin Cuellar. What are the […] The post Nicosia Uncut – Episode 65: Will negotiations resume in 2026? (Part 2) (23/12/2025) first appeared on Island Talks.
The UN Secretary-General says about 1.6 million people in the Gaza Strip are projected to face extreme levels of acute food insecurity and critical malnutrition risks.
Your very own To Save Us From Hell co-host Anjali Dayal briefed the United Nations Security Council on Monday! She was paired with former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for a special meeting of the Council dedicated to examining the role of the Secretary-General and the process for selecting Antonio Guterres's successor. Anjali gives co-host Mark Leon Goldberg a behind-the-scenes account of what it's like to sit in the briefers' chair at the famous horseshoe table and shares highlights from the meeting. After the paywall, Mark and Anjali discuss a glowing New Yorker profile of International Atomic Energy Agency chief—and UN Secretary-General candidate—Rafael Grossi. It's certainly a PR coup for the Argentine, but does PR really matter when it comes to running for UN Secretary-General? We discuss! And one more thing: this is the 50th episode of To Save Us From Hell. Fifty episodes of deep dives into power, politics, and the UN's place in the world. Huge thanks to everyone who listens—and especially to our paid subscribers, who make this show possible. If you've been on the fence, now's the moment: grab a paid subscription using the discount link below, get access to our full episodes and support the show with a cult following around the UN! https://www.globaldispatches.org/40percentoff
UN Secretary-General condemns deadly attack on Hannukah celebration in SydneyAmid “unending atrocities” around world, @Refugees chief Filippo Grandi reaffirms solidarity with asylum seekersUkraine: Aid teams provide relief after another weekend of Russian strikes on vital infrastructure - OCHA
Welcome to Cities 1.5 Hot Takes: Dispatches from the Frontlines of the Climate Crisis. Hot Takes brings you fast, focused coverage on breaking news and underserved stories at the intersection of climate, economics and public health - all through an urban lens. This first-ever edition of Hot Takes is about a major move in Canada's energy future…and what it means for climate, cities, and the promises made to hold fossil fuel giants accountable. As Canadian cities race toward net zero, their efforts are being fundamentally threatened by a high stakes federal agreement known as "The Grand Bargain": a political compromise on behalf of the Mark Carney government to build a new pipeline that would transport diluted bitumen from the Alberta oil sands westward across the rocky mountains to the British Columbia coast.Touted as a bridge to a clean energy future, we go behind the spin to explore the real facts behind this project - and lay bare the reasons many are opposed to this doubling down on promises made by the fossil fuel industry…promises that historically haven't been worth the paper they're written on.Featured guests:Hon. Catherine McKenna, Chair of the UN Secretary General's High-Level Expert Group on Net-Zero Commitments of Non-State Entities, and former Canadian Minister of Environment and Climate ChangeLinks:World Mayors Summit two-part special - Cities 1.5 podcast83 Countries Join Call to End Fossil Fuels at COP30 - Earth.org Why Mark Carney's pipeline deal with Alberta puts the Canadian federation in jeopardy - The ConversationA Not-so-Grand Bargain - Pembina InstituteCanada may approve a new oil pipeline. First Nations fear another ‘worst-case scenario' - The GuardianWatch David's full CPAC interviewCanada OKs ‘Massive' $20 Billion Loan for Trans-Mountain Pipeline - DeSmogIf you want to learn more about the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, please visit our website at https://jccpe.utpjournals.press/ Listen to the Cities 1.5 five-part miniseries “Going Steady with Herman Daly: How to Unbreak the Economy (and the Planet)" here: https://lnk.to/HDMiniSeries Cities 1.5 is produced by the University of Toronto Press and the C40 Centre, and is supported by C40 Cities. Sign up to the Centre newsletter: https://thecentre.substack.com/ Writing and executive production by Peggy Whitfield. Comms support by Chiara Morfeo. Produced by Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/ Edited by Morgane Chambrin: https://www.morganechambrin.com/ Music by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/
Sandy Pentland discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. Alex Pentland is a Stanford HAI Fellow and MIT Toshiba Professor. Named one of the “100 People to Watch This Century” by Newsweek and “one of the seven most powerful data scientists in the world” by Forbes, he is a member of the US National Academy of Engineering, an advisor to Abu Dhabi Investment Authority Lab, and an advisor to the UN Secretary General's office. His work has helped manage privacy and security for the world's digital networks by establishing authentication standards, protect personal privacy by contributing to the pioneering EU privacy law, and provide healthcare support for hundreds of millions of people worldwide through both for-profit and not-for-profit companies. His new book is Shared Wisdom, which is available at https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262050999/shared-wisdom/. Casual conversation is typically what leads to wisdom and culture Polarization comes from influencers and other loud voices AI-aided search can really help weaken echo chambers Given a conversation platform that is safe space and given participants with shared interests people naturally generate good decisions Hierarchical organizations are inflexible and poor performing by design Uniform rules are bad for the majority of people This podcast is powered by ZenCast.fm
Series Five This episode of 'The New Abnormal' podcast features Cynthia Scharf, a Senior Fellow at the Centre for Future Generations, a European think tank, leading their work on Climate Interventions. Issue of trust, global equity, behavioural psychology, archetypes and narrative are key to their work.She served as the senior strategy director for the Carnegie Climate Governance Initiative prior to the CFG, which focused on kickstarting international governance for solar geoengineering and large-scale carbon removals. Cynthia previously served as head of strategic comms and chief speechwriter on climate change for UN Secretary-General before, during and after the Paris Agreement. Previously to her work on climate change, Cynthia worked for the UN and international NGOs on global humanitarian emergencies. She began her career as a journalist in Moscow in the early 1990s covering the collapse of the communist system in the former USSR and Eastern Europe. Her articles on climate change and geopolitics have been published in major newspapers across the globe. She's a deeply interesting individual, so we discuss all of the above and more, in what I hope you'll find to be a fascinating conversation.
Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly's plenary meeting on Security Council reform on Tuesday, China's permanent representative to the UN Fu Cong said that Japan is "totally unqualified" to seek a permanent seat on the UN Security Council.在联合国大会周二举行的安理会改革全体会议上,中国常驻联合国代表傅聪指出,日本“完全不具备”谋求联合国安理会常任理事国席位的资格。This is a justified position. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's provocative remarks on Taiwan in the Diet on Nov 7 were not only gross interference in China's internal affairs, they were also an affront to international justice.这一立场完全正当。日本首相高市早苗11月7日在国会发表的涉台挑衅言论,不仅是对中国内政的粗暴干涉,也是对国际公义的严重冒犯。As Fu correctly pointed out, her remarks were "extremely erroneous and dangerous", as they deny the postwar international order, trample on the basic norms of international relations and represent a blatant departure from Japan's commitment to peaceful development.正如傅聪所指出,高市的言论“极其错误且危险”,因为它否定了二战后国际秩序,践踏国际关系基本准则,并公然背离了日本对和平发展的承诺。Her remarks, which run counter to Japan's commitments enshrined in the four political documents between China and Japan, have done grave damage to bilateral relations and sparked concern both within and outside Japan.她的言论违背了中日四个政治文件中日本所作的承诺,严重损害双边关系,并在日本国内外引发广泛担忧。Should Takaichi continue to challenge the one-China principle as a cornerstone of the postwar order, Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, has left her no room to plead ignorance. When answering a question concerning Takaichi's recent remarks on Taiwan, Dujarric said that the official position of the UN on Taiwan is based on the relevant General Assembly Resolution 2758. And in addressing a follow-up question for confirmation that the official language in documents is still Taiwan, a province of China, he said "I'm not aware of any change in General Assembly texts", adding that every member state should support and respect the UN Charter.如果高市继续挑战作为战后秩序基石的一个中国原则,联合国秘书长发言人斯特凡纳·迪雅里克的表态已让她无可推诿。在回答有关高市涉台言论的问题时,迪雅里克表示,联合国对台湾问题的官方立场基于联大第2758号决议。面对记者追问联合国文件中仍将台湾表述为“中国的一个省”是否仍然适用,他回应称:“我没有听说联大文本有任何变化。”并强调所有会员国都应支持和尊重《联合国宪章》。As Fu pointed out, given Takaichi's egregious remarks, how can Japan's professed commitment to peaceful development be trusted? How can it be trusted to uphold fairness and justice? How can it be trusted to shoulder the responsibility of maintaining international peace and security?正如傅聪指出,在高市发表如此恶劣言论的情况下,日本所谓“坚持和平发展”如何令人信任?它又如何能被信任去维护公平与正义?如何能承担维护国际和平与安全的责任?On Sunday, citing the growing number of crimes against Chinese citizens in Japan, the Ministry of Education released an overseas study alert, advising Chinese students to plan their studies prudently. On the same day, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism also issued a cautionary travel notice for Chinese tourists.上周日,鉴于在日中国公民遭遇侵害案件增多,中国教育部发布海外留学预警,提醒中国学生谨慎规划赴日留学。同日,文化和旅游部也向中国游客发布赴日旅行风险提示。Needless to say, these warnings are making Chinese people think twice about studying in Japan or visiting the country. Already, tens of thousands of Chinese tourists have reportedly canceled trips to Japan.不言而喻,这些警示正让中国民众重新考虑赴日留学或旅行。据报道,目前已有数以万计的中国游客取消赴日行程。And Japan's self-made troubles do not end there. On Wednesday, Mao Ning, a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, said that under the current circumstances, even if Japanese seafood were exported to China, there would be no market for it. She also stressed that if Japan continues on its erroneous course, China will have no choice but to take severe and resolute countermeasures.日本自造的麻烦还不止这些。周三,中国外交部发言人毛宁表示,在当前情况下,即便日本水产品出口至中国,也不会有市场。她强调,如果日方继续在错误道路上滑行,中方将不得不采取严厉而坚决的反制措施。Japan should bear all the consequences of Takaichi's irresponsible remarks. Her attempts to distort, deny and glorify Japan's history of aggression and colonial rule and the ascendancy of ultrarightist sentiment in Japan have produced an international wave of concern at the possible consequences of militarism raising its ugly head in Japan again.日本应承担高市不负责任言论造成的全部后果。她试图歪曲、否认并美化日本侵略与殖民统治历史,加之日本国内极右势力抬头,引发了国际社会对日本军国主义可能再次抬头的强烈担忧。Japan's history of aggression has left lasting scars on neighboring countries, and its stubborn unwillingness to reflect on its wrongdoings has led to them festering. Takaichi's whitewashing of Japan's historical aggression and her accelerated remilitarization agenda have only served to rub more salt in the wounds.日本的侵略历史给周边国家留下深重伤痕,而其长期拒绝反省的态度让这些伤痕不断恶化。高市对白洗日本侵略历史的行为,以及她推动的加速军事化议程,无异于在伤口上撒盐。Takaichi's rhetoric in the Japanese parliament that the Dokdo islands, or Takeshima islets as the Japanese call them, are Japan's "inherent territory" has sparked anger in the Republic of Korea. The ROK's Foreign Ministry responded quickly by summoning the Japanese ambassador to Seoul to lodge a protest, strongly urging Japan to correct its erroneous stance.高市在日本国会声称独岛(日本称竹岛)是日本“固有领土”的言论,引发韩国强烈不满。韩国外交部迅速召见日本驻韩大使提出严正抗议,强烈敦促日方纠正错误立场。Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova also said that Japanese militarism brought profound disasters to Asia and the world, and caused Japan to pay a heavy price. She urged Takaichi and her like-minded Japanese politicians to deeply reflect on history and be wary of the serious consequences that their erroneous words and actions may cause.俄罗斯外交部发言人扎哈罗娃也表示,日本军国主义曾给亚洲和世界带来深重灾难,并让日本付出惨重代价。她敦促高市及其同类政客深刻反省历史,警惕其错误言行可能造成的严重后果。Despite the regional alarm, it seems Takaichi is determined to continue down the wrong path: According to Japanese media reports, under growing pressure from nationalist conservatives, she is considering paying homage at Yasukuni Shrine, which honors convicted war criminals among others, next month. Something most previous Japanese leaders have refrained from doing in their official capacity as prime minister.尽管区域国家已纷纷示警,但高市似乎仍执意走在错误道路上:据日本媒体报道,在民族主义保守派的压力下,她正考虑下月以首相身份参拜供奉有甲级战犯的靖国神社——这是大多数历任日本首相都避免在任内进行的行为。The Japanese leader should know that such a visit will drag Japan into an abyss of mistrust. "Normalization" will be an even more elusive aspiration for Japan if Takaichi continues on her current trajectory.日本领导人应当明白,此类行为将把日本拖入不信任的深渊。如果高市继续沿着当前路线前行,日本所谓“正常化”的愿望将更加遥不可及。an affront to 冒犯...run counter to 与……背道而驰;违反……rub salt in the wounds在伤口上撒盐drag ... into an abyss of mistrust将……拖入不信任的深渊(常用于评论类文章形容外交或关系迅速恶化)
In this first instalment of our two-part special from the C40 World Mayors Summit, Cities 1.5 takes you inside the flagship gathering of the world's most ambitious urban climate leaders. We hear directly from mayors as they unveil this year's Offer of Action – a unified commitment that raises the stakes for urban climate leadership and pointedly challenges national governments to match their ambition with action of their own, all on the eve of COP30. We also speak with leading climate experts and C40 partners to explore why cities remain the most effective engines for rapid, equitable decarbonization, and what they must do next to keep the goal of limiting global heating to 1.5°C alive. And crucially, funders share why they've chosen to invest in C40's global network, highlighting the proven impact of coordinated city action and the urgency of scaling it.Photo credit: ©Bernardo Jardim PhotographyFeatured:Sir Sadiq Khan, C40 Co-Chair and Mayor of LondonNick Reece, Lord Mayor of MelbourneGiuseppe “Beppe” Sala, Mayor of MilanYousef Al-Shawarbeh, Mayor of AmmanKeith Wilson, Mayor of PortlandDr. Nkosindiphile Xhakaza, Executive Mayor of EkurhuleniEduardo Pimentel, Mayor of CuritibaCaterina Sarfatti, Managing Director of Inclusion and Global Leadership at C40Haris Doukas, Mayor of AthensEirik Lae Solberg, Governing Mayor of OsloSøren Staugaard Nielsen, Managing Director of the Ramboll FoundationJo Jewell, Director of Social Responsibility Partnerships at Novo NordiskHon. Catherine McKenna, Chair of the UN Secretary General's High-Level Expert Group on Net-Zero Commitments of Non-State EntitiesChristiana Figueres, Founding Partner of Global Optimism and Co-presenter of Outrage + OptimismLinks:C40 World Mayors Summit: Cities Delivering Global Leadership for Climate Action - Bloomberg Philanthropies, YouTubeC40 World Mayors SummitFrom negotiation to delivery:The Yearly Offer of ActionRamboll FoundationNovo NordiskCities for Better HealthGreen and Thriving Neighbourhoods ProgrammeIntegrity Matters: Winning the Future reportOutrage + Optimism - Inside COP podcastIf you want to learn more about the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, please visit our website: https://jccpe.utpjournals.press/ Cities 1.5 is produced by the University of Toronto Press and the C40 Centre, and is supported by C40 Cities. You can sign up to the Centre newsletter here. https://thecentre.substack.com/ Cities 1.5 is hosted by David Miller. It's written and produced by Peggy Whitfield and Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/ Our executive producer is Chiara Morfeo. Edited by Morgane Chambrin: https://www.morganechambrin.com/ Cities 1.5 music is by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/
U Thant was a Burmese diplomat and the third Secretary-General of the United Nations. He assumed the role following the death of Dag Hammarskjöld in a plane crash in the Congo in 1961, and soon became one of the most consequential players in international affairs for over a decade. Thant's contributions to some of the key global challenges of the era were widely celebrated at the time but have since been overlooked—until now. A brilliant new biography, Peacemaker: U Thant and the Forgotten Quest for a Just World, places the former Secretary-General at the heart of several crucial moments of the 1960s, including the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Vietnam War, post-colonial struggles in the Congo, and much more. The book is written by Thant Myint-U, a historian who has worked at the United Nations—and who also happens to be U Thant's grandson. In our conversation, Thant describes how his grandfather went from being a schoolteacher in rural Burma to, just 15 years later, playing a key role in mediating the Cuban Missile Crisis as UN Secretary-General. We also discuss Thant's efforts to end the Vietnam War before it escalated, and his work confronting a fascist regime in a breakaway region of the Congo. More broadly, we explore the lessons that the current UN system and its Secretary-General can draw from U Thant's remarkable tenure. Thant Myint-U is the author of Peacemaker: U Thant and the Forgotten Quest for a Just World.
As artificial intelligence (AI) begins to shape decisions about who is detained in armed conflict and how detention facilities are managed, questions once reserved for science fiction are now urgent matters of law and ethics. The drive to harness data and optimize efficiency risks displacing human judgment from one of the most sensitive areas of warfare: deprivation of liberty. In doing so, AI could strip detainees of what remains of their humanity, reducing them to data points and undermining the core humanitarian guarantees that the Geneva Conventions were designed to protect. In this post, Terry Hackett, ICRC's Head of the Persons Deprived of Liberty Unit, and Alexis Comninos, ICRC's Thematic Legal Adviser, explore how the use of AI in detention operations intersects with international humanitarian law (IHL), and why humane treatment must remain a human-centered endeavor. Drawing on the ICRC's recent recommendations to the UN Secretary-General, they argue that while IHL does not oppose innovation, it sets the moral and legal boundaries that ensure technological progress does not come at the cost of human dignity.
As COP30 opens in Belém, world leaders have gathered for the first major moment of this Amazon-based summit in the shadow of growing doubts about global cooperation. With some major countries absent and others already signalling caution, the urgency of credible action is louder than ever.Brazil has launched it's flagship Tropical Forests Forever Facility to fund the protection of the world's tropical forests. But with some major donors holding back, including the UK, Christiana Figueres, Tom Rivett-Carnac and Fiona McRaith discuss who's really stepping up to deliver - and who isn't.Jacinda Ardern, former New Zealand Prime Minister, joins Christiana and Tom to share what it's like to be on the inside of a leaders' summit and asks: if this is to be an implementation COP, the question needs to be, “of what?”And we are also joined by Selwin Hart, the UN Secretary-General's Special Advisor on Climate, for a wide-ranging conversation on shifting geopolitics and diplomatic tactics, and how the ‘The siloed Ministry of Environment' is a thing of the past.As we move toward the start of the crucial COP30 talks, this episode brings you into the room where debates are shaped, questions are asked, and agreements are negotiated. Learn more:
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.globaldispatches.orgNew York isn't just the cultural and media capital of the United States — it's also the host city to the United Nations. Since 1962, City Hall has maintained a special office dedicated to liaising with the UN. Anjali and Mark discuss the history of this office and how municipal elections in New York are actually quite consequential for the United Nations.Also discussed this week: a new development in the race to replace António Guterres as UN Secretary-General; how the UN is responding to the unfolding disaster in Sudan; and whether the Security Council will approve a U.S.-drafted resolution to deploy an international security force to Gaza.https://www.globaldispatches.org/40percentoff
The UN climate summit, COP30, is getting under way in Brazil, with global temperatures rising – and global cooperation under deep strain. Ten years on from the Paris Agreement, the UN Secretary-General warns that the world has missed its targets to limit global temperature rise. The stakes are high. But do COP discussions match the urgency? The New Humanitarian journalists unpack what happens behind the scenes at COP, and what humanitarians and everyday citizens can do while negotiators wrestle over targets and funding. Guests: Will Worley, staff reporter and editor for policy at The New Humanitarian Namukabo Werungah, staff editor and reporter for breaking news and social at The New Humanitarian Got a question or feedback? Email podcast@thenewhumanitarian.org or post on social media using the hashtag #RethinkingHumanitarianism.
Subscribe to LMSU's Patreon for a sector plan BoCo bonanza! All aboard folks! Team LMSU is continuing our BoCo odyssey, adventuring through each of the six sector decarbonisation plans. AND we're bringing friends! That's right, we're calling in even nerdier reinforcements and experts to join us as we venture on. This week, we'll be joined by sometime co-host Alison Reeve from the Grattan Institute to unpack the Industry sector plan. And if somehow that isn't temptation enough for you crazy climate cats, the only way you'll see evidence of Luke, Tennant and Frankie's cosplay efforts at our recent Chaos Trivia event is by subscribing, so hop to it!—With COP30 in Belem, Brazil only days away, your intrepid hosts dive into recent remarks from UN Secretary General, António Guterres, widely reported as ‘the world has missed 1.5C', the reality being much more nuanced commentary from this climate champion as he enters his final year as Secretary General. Undoubtedly, it feels like a threshold moment as he acknowledges the world has breached 1.5C. We are now in the realm of overshoot, but the longer term of objective of stabilising temperature increases to 1.5C is still possible - keeping 1.5 alive - but only if we redouble efforts to focus on decarbonisation here and now, and flags the need to ramp up efforts on negative emissions. Significant remarks and food for thought on the real and difficult choices ahead!Our main courseIs it 1965 or is what's old new once again folks? Your intrepid hosts wade into the technical, controversial, futuristic yet bafflingly bootstrapped proposition that is geoengineering - shooting stuff into the sky and blocking out some sunlight, cooling the earth's surface. What could possibly go wrong?! Well, this paper, ‘Engineering and logistical concerns add practical limitations to stratospheric aerosol injection strategies' published in Nature and authored by Miranda Hack, V. Faye McNeill, Dan Steingart and Gernot Wagner, has some thoughts! Engineering challenges? Yes! Cost? What better use of diamond dust could there be! Governance issues? A few! What is incredibly clear from reading this paper is that there are no easy decisions when it comes to the need to consider negative emissions technologies or other novel ways of moderating temperature increases. Could it be that on closer inquiry, we should just focus on getting on with decarbonising, or is more research required?One more thingsTennant's One More Thing is: more ranting about data centres! Tennant has questions about the ultimate viability of the eyewatering numbers of speculative capacity in new data centre growth, as well as the equally worrying implications for viability coal closures if much of this does come to pass. Bubble or not, we'll find out soon enough!Frankie's One More Thing is: a massive shout out and thanks to 150 fabulous folk that fronted up to Chaos Trivia last week in Melbourne, including ultimate winners, No One Likes A Gentailer. Props to our co-hosts Currently Speaking, our MC extraordinaire Mark Spencer and The NEMChat Singers who added colour, movement and grooves to the chaos! With all proceeds going to the brilliant First Nations Clean Energy Network there was much to love. Luke's One More Thing is: a definitely-not-resentful readout of the paper he really wanted us to read this episode, IRENA's ‘Delivering on the UAE Consensus: Tracking progress toward tripling renewable energy capacity and doubling energy efficiency by 2030.' TL;DR is we're going gangbusters on solar but woeful progress on energy efficiency. More to do!And that's it for now, Summerupperers. There is now a one-stop-shop for all your LMSU needs: head toletmesumup.netto support us on Patreon, procure merch, find back episodes, and leave us a voicemail!
Today's West Coast Cookbook & Speakeasy Podcast for our especially special Daily Special, Smothered Benedict Wednesday is now available on the Spreaker Player!Starting off in the Bistro Cafe, Trump's approval is crashing to new lows while he literally bulldozes the White House to the ground.Then, on the rest of the menu, DeSantis officials have been scrubbing evidence that US citizens have been nabbed in Trump's deportation blitz; more than four-hundred-twenty conspiracy-theory anti-science bills attacking public health protections built up over a century, have hit statehouses this year; and, the Wyoming Capitol, including the governor's office, was evacuated after an explosive device in front of the building was brought inside.After the break, we move to the Chef's Table where the UN Secretary-General defended science and weather forecasting as Trump threatens both; and, Putin has directed drills of Russian nuclear forces as his “Yo Mama” summit with Trump is put on hold.All that and more, on West Coast Cookbook & Speakeasy with Chef de Cuisine Justice Putnam.Bon Appétit!The Netroots Radio Live PlayerKeep Your Resistance Radio Beaming 24/7/365!“It may be safely averred that good cookery is the best and truest economy, turning to full account every wholesome article of food, and converting into palatable meals what the ignorant either render uneatable or throw away in disdain.” - Eliza Acton ‘Modern Cookery for Private Families' (1845)Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/west-coast-cookbook-speakeasy--2802999/support.
In the same week President Donald Trump brings a ceasefire and plans for a permanent peace in the Middle East, could he also be preparing for war in his own backyard? He ended this week authorizing CIA action in Venezuela to target the drug trade and the flow of illegal migrants, as the U.S. continues to blow up boats off the coast there. And while Trump stopped short of saying the U.S. is pushing for regime change in Venezuela, Maria Corina Machado, the country's opposition leader and winner of this year's Nobel Peace Prize, is calling for just that. Christiane spoke to her from an undisclosed location about why she supports Trump's military intervention against Maduro and why she has dedicated her Nobel award to Trump. Then, as Trump's ceasefire plan between Israel and Hamas in Gaza moves to phase two, Christiane speaks to Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty. who helped broker the deal about his hopes amid the many roadblocks ahead. Plus, a special CNN investigation by Stefano Pozzebon uncovers the abuses and harassment faced by female workers in Guatemala's garment factories. Also on the show, Christiane speaks with renowned historian Thant Myint-U about his new book "Peacemaker," and his grandfather U Thant, the former UN Secretary General, who played a crucial role in resolving massive events like the Cuban Missile crisis. From her archives this week, Christiane emphasizes the need for courageous leadership in the Middle East by spotlighting the legacy of a true warrior for peace : former Israeli Foreign Minister, Prime Minister and President, Shimon Peres, who despite facing backlash at home never stopped believing in peace. And finally, from peace warrior to Sumo warriors. Far from home, more than 40 of Japan's top heavyweights have taken the British capital by storm for the first Sumo championship in the UK in more than thirty years. Air date: October 18th, 2025 Guests: Maria Corina Machado Badr Abdelatty Thant Myint-U Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Damilola Ogunbiyi is CEO and Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All. In this episode, she joins Jenn to discuss the critical connection between energy access and poverty, why 666 million people still lack electricity, and how the Global South can leapfrog to clean energy from the start rather than transition later.Useful Links:Follow Damilola on LinkedIn hereLearn more about her work hereClick here for the episode web page. This episode is also available on YouTube.For more insights straight to your inbox subscribe to the Future in Sight newsletter, and follow us on LinkedIn and Instagram This podcast is brought to you by Re:Co, a tech-powered advisory company helping private market investors pursue sustainability objectives and value creation in tandem. Produced by Chris AttawayArtwork by Harriet RichardsonMusic by Cody Martin
This week on Newsroom Robots, host Nikita Roy sits down with Vilas Dhar, President of the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation, one of the world's foremost philanthropies advancing AI for public good. Dhar leads a $1.5 billion endowment that has committed over $500 million to projects spanning climate action, public health, education, and democratic governance. He has served on the UN Secretary-General's High-Level Advisory Body on AI, is the U.S. government's nominated expert to the Global Partnership on AI, and was named a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader in 2022.Across philanthropy, policy, and technology, Dhar carries one central conviction: technology may accelerate, but the future of journalism and society must remain human-centered. Dhar introduces a three-part framework for ethical AI deployment (responsible data, clear boundaries, and transparency) and explains how to translate abstract principles into concrete newsroom decisions. He unpacks his LISA framework (Listen, Involve, Share, Assess) for audience-centered AI design, and tackles the hardest questions facing newsroom leaders: Should we buy or build AI tools? How do we balance innovation with environmental sustainability? What happens to human creativity when machines can create?But perhaps most powerfully, Dhar challenges a deeply held belief in journalism: that media organizations can remain ‘just' media companies in an AI-driven world. There is no way to be a media organization today without also being a technology organization, he argues, and that shift requires not just new tools, but a fundamental reckoning with organizational identity and purpose. This epiosde covers:00:31 – Introducing Vilas Dhar and his human-centered AI vision: Why technology should serve dignity, equity, and democracy—not just profit02:17 – The three-part framework for ethical AI: Responsible data, clear boundaries, and transparency as actionable principles07:08 – Questions leaders must ask before deploying AI: Who's involved? Who's accountable? Who has editorial control over AI use?10:16 – The LISA framework: Listen, Involve, Share, Assess to turn AI experimentation into behind-the-scenes reporting that builds public trust13:30 – Navigating ethical dilemmas around AI-generated content13:51 – The three phases of newsroom AI adoption18:54 – Why "we're not a tech company" no longer works23:12 – Organizational reckoning in an 18-month transformation cycle25:23 – Why smaller, targeted models and collective action matter more than massive systems29:14 – Fighting misinformation with AI34:13 – What journalism is missing compared to other industries37:01 – The evolving role of human creativity and agency39:33 – The McGovern Foundation's North Star44:23 – How Vilas uses AI personallySign up for the Newsroom Robots newsletter for episode summaries and insights from host Nikita Roy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
To join our Mega Orderers Club, and get ad free listening, early episode releases, bonus content and exclusive access to live events, visit https://disorder.supportingcast.fm?sc_promo=DISORDER10 When Trump stormed into UNGA last week, complained about escalators and tele prompters, and swung back out… the UN was faced with some questions. How do we navigate a world through Trump's America? And what does it mean for the very future of the UN? To find out, and reflect on UNGA as a whole, Jane is joined by Richard Gowan, the International Crisis Group's UN expert. They discuss Trump's speech, Netanyahu's appearance, and who will be the next UN Secretary General when elections take place? Producer: George McDonagh Subscribe to our Substack - https://natoandtheged.substack.com/ Disorder on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@DisorderShow Show Notes Links: Join the Mega Orderers Club via this link: https://disorder.supportingcast.fm?sc_promo=DISORDER10 Read Richard's piece ‘Ten Challenges for the UN in 2025-2026' https://www.crisisgroup.org/global/sb13-ten-challenges-un-2025-2026 Read Richard in Foreign Policy on America's Infuriating and Irreplaceable Role at the U.N. https://foreignpolicy.com/2025/09/19/trump-washington-united-nations-unga-reform/ Read Calls grow for first female UN chief in 80 years https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/calls-grow-first-female-un-chief-80-years-2025-09-26/ Burmese academic Thant Myint-U on the legacy of his grandfather, former SG U Thant, and the need for the UN to reclaim its role in peace and security - https://www.chathamhouse.org/publications/the-world-today/2025-09/u-thant-helped-save-world-nuclear-war-1962-who-could-do-now Martin Griffiths, former UN humanitarian chief, on the UN at 80, including his thought on the Black Sea grain deal that Richard referenced - https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/aug/26/un-recover-courage-palestine-ukraine-sudan Listen to To Save Us From Hell, Mark Goldberg's podcast about the UN, focusing here on Trump's speech - https://www.globaldispatches.org/p/your-countries-are-going-to-hell-9f5 Watch Jane's thoughts from New York https://www.youtube.com/shorts/iBppHmWp8Cc Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Vilas Dhar, president of the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation and member of the UN Secretary-General's Advisory Body on AI, talks about the two new institutions created by the United Nations to study and discuss the risks and opportunities of artificial intelligence, and his goals for governing this emerging technology so that it serves the public good.
As Artificial Intelligence technology develops, and as nations vie for technical dominance, the UN has been considering its role. On Today's Show:Vilas Dhar, president of the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation and member of the UN Secretary-General's Advisory Body on AI, talks about the two new institutions created by the United Nations to study and discuss the risks and opportunities of artificial intelligence, and his goals for governing this emerging technology so that it serves the public good.
Author Virginia Haussegger joins Democracy Sausage to discuss her new book tracing fifty years of Australian feminism and ask why the revolution that began in 1975 remains unfinished.What role did a Canberra house party have in selecting the world's first women's advisor to a Prime Minister? Why did ASIO surveil women's liberation meetings and photograph their knitting bags? And what does the UN Secretary-General mean when he warns we're witnessing "the mainstreaming of misogyny"?Virginia Haussegger AM is an award-winning journalist, author and gender equality advocate. Her new book is The Unfinished Revolution: The Untold Story of the Feminist Fightback.Marija Taflaga is the Director of the ANU Centre for the Study of Australian Politics and a Lecturer at the ANU School of Politics and International Relations.Mark Kenny is the Director of the ANU Australian Studies Institute. He came to the University after a high-profile journalistic career including six years as chief political correspondent and national affairs editor for The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and The Canberra Times.Democracy Sausage with Mark Kenny is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts, Google Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. We'd love to hear your feedback on this series, so send in your questions, comments or suggestions for future episodes to democracysausage@anu.edu.au.This podcast is produced by The Australian National University. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
BEST OF - President Trump delivers a forceful address at the United Nations, meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the UN Secretary-General, and cancels a scheduled shutdown meeting with Democrats. White House Correspondent Jon Decker recaps Trump's UN speech, while Fox News Radio Congressional Correspondent Ryan Schmelz explains the reasoning behind the canceled talks.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
BEST OF - President Trump delivers a forceful address at the United Nations, meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the UN Secretary-General, and cancels a scheduled shutdown meeting with Democrats. White House Correspondent Jon Decker recaps Trump's UN speech, while Fox News Radio Congressional Correspondent Ryan Schmelz explains the reasoning behind the canceled talks.
The UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, has opened the eightieth General Assembly in New York with a warning that some countries are flouting international law. Donald Trump used his address to dismiss the UN as an organisation that had lost its purpose. We also break down the US President and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr's unsubstantiated claims linking the use of paracetamol during pregnancy to an increased risk of autism in children. Denmark's prime minister says she's not ruling out Russian involvement after Copenhagen and Oslo airports were closed by drones flying nearby. Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger to withdraw from the International Criminal Court, at the same time as increasing ties with Russia. Hong Kong and southern China are bracing for 'super typhoon Ragasa', with schools and businesses closed and shelves reportedly stripped of goods. NASA has announced 10 new astronaut candidates - selected from a pool of eight thousand, and the curious case of a man in South Korea who was prosecuted for taking a snack from an office fridge without permission.The Global News Podcast brings you the breaking news you need to hear, as it happens. Listen for the latest headlines and current affairs from around the world. Politics, economics, climate, business, technology, health – we cover it all with expert analysis and insight. Get the news that matters, delivered twice a day on weekdays and daily at weekends, plus special bonus episodes reacting to urgent breaking stories. Follow or subscribe now and never miss a moment. Get in touch: globalpodcast@bbc.co.uk
Today on the show, Fareed speaks with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in her first TV interview since the reelection of President Donald Trump and gets her take on Trump's second term so far. She joins the show alongside Keren Yarhi-Milo, dean of Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs, to discuss their new book "Inside the Situation Room: The Theory and Practice of Crisis Decision-Making.”Then, UN Secretary-General António Guterres sits down with Fareed to discuss the Trump administration's efforts to cut hundreds of millions of dollars to the UN, along with the ongoing wars in Gaza and Ukraine. Finally, Fareed asks former Mossad director Yossi Cohen about what Israel's latest offensive in Gaza City means for an end to the war, the future of the Iranian regime, and his new book “The Sword of Freedom: Israel, Mossad, and the Secret War.” Guests: Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton), Keren Yarhi-Milo (@YarhiMilo), António Guterres (@antonioguterres), Yossi Cohen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
UN Secretary-General Antonio says the UN is preparing emergency measures to slash global peacekeeping operations if funding doesn’t come through, weeks after the US announced it was clawing back tens of millions of dollars in payments. Guterres sits down with Bloomberg's David Gura See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
As world leaders gather for the 80th UN General Assembly, we're digging into the past to illuminate the present. What UN reforms are needed? Historian Thant Myint-U talks about how the UN became sidetracked from genuine multilateralism, where it should focus, and why the selection of the next secretary-general in 2026 is crucial. Guest: Thant Myint-U, historian and author of “Peacemaker: U Thant and the Forgotten Quest for a Just World.” ____ Got a question or feedback? Email podcast@thenewhumanitarian.org or post on social media using the hashtag #RethinkingHumanitarianism. ____ SHOW NOTES Peacemaker: U Thant and the Forgotten Quest for a Just World. Good Muslim, Bad Muslim: America, the Cold War, and the Roots of Terror UN 80 UN General Assembly High-level Week 2025
From community-led forest conservation in Odisha to negotiating at the United Nations, Archana Soreng embodies how lived experience can reshape global climate policy. An Indigenous climate leader from India's Kharia tribe, Archana served on the UN Secretary-General's Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change (2020–2023), is a Skoll World Forum Fellow (2024), and sits on The Rockefeller Foundation's Climate Advisory Council. She works at the intersection of Indigenous knowledge, youth leadership, and climate governance, advocating for policies that honour land rights, protect biodiversity, and include those most affected in decision-making. In this episode, Archana shares how her community's traditions of forest conservation and sustainable living shaped her vision for climate justice. She explains why free, prior and informed consent and genuine participation are essential, and how poorly designed mitigation like ill-planned plantations or large solar projects can harm adaptation and livelihoods. Drawing on her experience from village gatherings to UN climate negotiations, she reflects on overcoming tokenistic representation, breaking barriers to climate finance for youth and Indigenous groups, and the importance of mental well-being in long struggles for environmental justice. From safeguarding culture and language to influencing national climate commitments, Archana offers a grounded, hopeful blueprint for policymakers, funders, and young leaders working toward an inclusive and sustainable climate future.
How to bring peace to Gaza and Ukraine? Maybe the United Nations can help. Or, sadly, maybe not. But there really was a time, in the second half of the 20th century, when the United Nations could help bring peace to supposedly insoluble wars. The U.N.'s glory days were in the Sixties when it was run by a former Burmese school teacher called U Thant. His incredible story is told by his grandson, the Cambridge University historian Thant Myint-U, in a new book appropriately called Peacemaker. Thant Myint-U reminds us of a halcyon time when the UN Secretary-General could summon presidents at will, mediate between nuclear superpowers, and command respect from Castro to Kennedy. Today's forgotten history reveals how U Thant's intervention during the Cuban Missile Crisis helped prevent nuclear war—a role not-so-surprisingly airbrushed from most American and Soviet accounts. Yes, even in the glory years of the Sixties, the bureaucratized U.N. was far from perfect. But under a dedicated peacemaker like U-Thant it could help bring ceasefires to seemingly endless wars. Like in Ukraine and Gaza. 1. U Thant's crucial role in preventing nuclear war has been erased from history During the Cuban Missile Crisis, U Thant provided the face-saving framework that allowed both Khrushchev and Kennedy to step back from the brink. He articulated the missiles-for-no-invasion deal, gave Khrushchev a neutral party to respond to instead of American ultimatums, and bought Kennedy time against his hawkish advisors. Yet this intervention barely appears in American or Soviet accounts.2. The UN's decline stems from lost enthusiasm on both sides The UN's marginalization wasn't inevitable. It resulted from America's disillusionment after Vietnam-era challenges to its power, combined with a new generation of Third World leaders less interested in the global stage than their predecessors like Nehru, Nasser, and Nkrumah. Both superpowers and smaller nations stopped investing in the institution.3. Decolonization needed the UN's framework to succeed Without the UN providing a structure where newly independent nations had equal status and a voice, decolonization might have resulted in continued informal empire or Commonwealth arrangements. The UN gave these countries both legitimacy and a platform to resist neo-colonial pressures.4. The next Secretary-General selection could determine the UN's survival With the current term ending in 2025, the choice of the next leader—requiring agreement between Trump, Putin, and Xi Jinping—may be the UN's last chance for relevance. Without strong leadership focused on the UN's core peacemaking function, the institution may not survive.5. The UN worked best when it rejected Cold War binary thinking The non-aligned movement wasn't passive neutrality but active rejection of a world divided into camps. Leaders like U Thant succeeded by creating space for all parties to negotiate without choosing sides, offering an alternative to the superpower confrontation that risked nuclear war.Keen On America is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit keenon.substack.com/subscribe
The UN Security Council is to meet on Sunday to discuss the Israeli government's decision to expand its war against Hamas by taking control of Gaza City. The announcement follows widespread condemnation of the Israeli plan. The UN Secretary General's chief spokesman described it as a "dangerous escalation". Saudi Arabia has said it "categorically condemns" Israel's announcement while Turkey has called for global pressure to prevent the plan from going ahead. Also: President Trump and the Russian leader Vladimir Putin to meet in Alaska next Friday for Ukraine war talks; and the Nasa astronaut Jim Lovell, who guided Apollo 13 safely back to Earth, dies aged 97.The Global News Podcast brings you the breaking news you need to hear, as it happens. Listen for the latest headlines and current affairs from around the world. Politics, economics, climate, business, technology, health – we cover it all with expert analysis and insight. Get the news that matters, delivered twice a day on weekdays and daily at weekends, plus special bonus episodes reacting to urgent breaking stories. Follow or subscribe now and never miss a moment. Get in touch: globalpodcast@bbc.co.uk
“In so many cases, as is the case of October 7, there are no direct victims who are able to speak – for the very grim reason that Hamas made sure to kill almost each and every one of them. The very few that did survive are too traumatized to speak . . . “ Shortly after the October 7 Hamas terror attacks on Israel, witness accounts emerged of women brutally raped and mutilated before they were murdered and silenced forever. For Ruth Halperin-Kaddari, Professor of Law at Bar-Ilan University, that silence was deafening. And the silence of the international community unwilling to hold Hamas accountable, disturbing. ”Does that mean that [Hamas] can walk away without being prosecuted, without being charged, and without being pointed to as those who perpetrate sexual violence and use it as a weapon of war?” she asks. In this episode, Halperin-Kaddari explains how she and her colleagues have erased any doubt to make sure Hamas is held accountable. Their initiative The Dinah Project, named for one of Jacob's daughters, a victim of rape, just published A Quest for Justice, the most comprehensive assessment to date of the widespread and systematic sexual violence that occurred during and after the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel by Hamas terrorists and their allies. The report demonstrates that sexual violence was widespread and systematic during the October 7 attack, that there are clear patterns in the methods of sexual violence across geographic locations, and that sexual violence continued against hostages in captivity. It concludes that Hamas used sexual violence as a tactical weapon of war during and after the October 7 attack. Resources: Read: The Dinah Project's groundbreaking new report, A Quest for Justice Read: Hamas' Most Horrific Weapon of War: 5 Takeaways from UN Report on Sexual Violence Against Israelis Listen – AJC Podcasts: The Forgotten Exodus: Untold stories of Jews who left or were driven from Arab nations and Iran People of the Pod: Latest Episodes: Journalist Matti Friedman Exposes Media Bias Against Israel John Spencer's Key Takeaways After the 12-Day War: Air Supremacy, Intelligence, and Deterrence Iran's Secret Nuclear Program and What Comes Next in the Iranian Regime vs. Israel War Follow People of the Pod on your favorite podcast app, and learn more at AJC.org/PeopleofthePod You can reach us at: peopleofthepod@ajc.org If you've appreciated this episode, please be sure to tell your friends, and rate and review us on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Transcript of the Interview: Manya Brachear Pashman: Shortly after the October 7 Hamas terror attacks on Israel, witness accounts emerged of women brutally raped and mutilated before they were murdered and silenced forever. For Ruth Halperin-Kaddari, Professor of Law at Bar Ilan University, that silence was deafening. And the silence of the international community unwilling to hold Hamas accountable, disturbing. In response, Ruth and colleagues, former military prosecutor Sharon Zagagi-Pinhas and retired judge Nava Ben-Or founded The Dinah Project, an effort to seek justice for the victims of sexual violence during conflicts, particularly in Israel, on October 7, 2023. This week, together with visual editor Nurit Jacobs-Yinon and linguistics editor Eetta Prince-Gibson, they released A Quest for Justice, the most comprehensive report yet on the sexual violence committed on October 7 and against hostages afterward. Ruth is with us now. Ruth, welcome to People of the Pod. Ruth Halperin-Kaddari: Thank you very much for having me on your podcast. Manya Brachear Pashman: Well, it's really an honor to have you. I should note for our listeners that you are also the founding Academic Director of the Rackman Center for the Advancement of the Status of Women, and you've served on the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women. So you're no newcomer to this subject matter. You know, we've talked a lot about how Hamas sexually assaulted women and men during the October 7 terror attacks on Israel. Without getting too graphic, or at least getting graphic enough to make your point clear and not sanitize these crimes, what new information and evidence does this report offer? Ruth Halperin-Kaddari: The specific new finding in the report is to actually take all the already published and existing information and put it together and come down with the numbers that prove that sexual violence on October 7 was not sporadic. Was not isolated. It was systematic. It happened in at least six different locations, at the same time, with the same manner, the same patterns. And the, I think, most significant finding is that there are at least 17 survivors who witnessed the sexual violence, and they reported on at least 15 different cases. So there were 17 people who either saw or heard, in real time, the rapes and the gang rapes, some of them involving mutilation, some ending, and the witnesses saw, the execution at the end of the assaults. And this is the first time that anybody came with the actual aggregation and the classification and the naming of all the various sexual assaults and all the various cases that occurred on October 7, and then also later on in captivity. What we did is to, as I said, take all the testimonies and the evidence and the reports that people had already given, and they published it, either on social media or regular media, in addition to some information that was available to us from from other sources, and grouped it into specific categories according to their evidentiary value. So the first group is, of course, those who were victims or survivors of sexual violence themselves, mostly returned hostages, but also one survivor of an attempted rape victim, attempted rape, on October 7, who had actually not spoken before. So that's the first time that her testimony is being recorded or reported. But then the returned hostages, who also report on repeated and similar patterns of sexual abuse and sexual assaults that they had been subjected to in captivity. Manya Brachear Pashman: So the United Nations has acknowledged that women were raped, mutilated, murdered, executed, as you said, but did it attribute responsibility to Hamas? Ruth Halperin-Kaddari: We have to differentiate between the first report of the Assistant Secretary General, Special Representative on sexual violence in conflict, Ms. Pramila Patten, who refrained from specifically attributing these atrocities to Hamas, saying that there needs to be more or follow up examination or investigation into the question of attribution. But then in June of 2024, the Commission of Inquiry on Palestinian Authority, Gaza, Israel, and East Jerusalem, did attribute in their report, they did attribute the sexual violence to Hamas in at least two different places in their report. So in our view, this is already a settled issue. And the information that we gathered comes on top of these two reports. We have to bear in mind the issue of time that passes, first of all, with respect to those survivors, mostly of the Nova music festival, who themselves were victims of the terror attack. And as can be expected, took time before they could recount and speak in public about what they had seen, what they had witnessed, suffering also from trauma, being exposed to such unbelievable acts of human cruelty. And then the other group of the returned hostages, who, some of them, were freed only after 400 or 500 days. So obviously we could not hear their reports before they were finally freed. So all these pieces of information could not have been available to these two investigative exercises by the United Nations. Manya Brachear Pashman: And when the UN Secretary General's annual report on the conflict related sexual violence, when it comes out in August, right, it's expected out next month, there is going to be more information. So do you have high hopes that they will hold Hamas accountable for using sexual violence as a tactical weapon of war, and that this will be included in that report? Ruth Halperin-Kaddari: So this is, in fact, our first recommendation request, ask, if you want to put it that way. We call upon the Secretary General to blacklist Hamas, to include Hamas in the list of those notorious organizations, entities, states that condone or that actually make use of sexual violence as a weapon of war, side by side with ISIS, with Boko Haram, with other terrorist organizations and terrorist groups around the world. And expose them, finally, for what they are, not freedom fighters and not resistance fighters, but rapists and terrorists that use the worst form of violence of human cruelty, of atrocities to inflict such terror and harm on the enemy. Manya Brachear Pashman: You know, we talk about the dangers of nuclear warfare, especially lately, in the context of Iran, we talk about cyber attacks. What are the broader implications of sexual violence when it's used as a weapon of war? Ruth Halperin-Kaddari: Perhaps this is where we should clarify the sense in which sexual violence as a weapon of war is different from the regular term of sexual violence, and from the phenomena of, for lack of a better word, everyday sexual violence. It's really very important to bear this in mind when thinking about those broader implications and when seeking justice for victims of sexual violence when used as a weapon of war. It is directed not against the individual. It is directed against the community as a whole. Against the group of the enemy, the nation of the enemy. So the bodies of women, and sometimes also of men, are used as vessels, as symbols, symbolizing the body of the whole nation, and when the specific body is targeted and when the specific woman is invaded, conquered, violated, it is as if the whole body of the of the nation, of the enemy's nation, is being invaded and conquered. So the target is the total dehumanization and destroying of the whole community, of the whole group of the enemy. And these are the ramifications of using sexual violence as a weapon of war. It inflicts such a degree of terror, and then also of shame and of stigma, so as to paralyze the whole community. And it goes on and on. And we know from sadly, from other cases of the usage of sexual violence as a tool of war that it is transmitted to generation after generation, this collective trauma. And it's important, not just in understanding and perhaps being prepared for treatment, for healing, etc. But it is also important in the sense of seeking justice. Of attempting to prosecute for these crimes of sexual violence in conflict or in war. We know that it is always a very difficult challenge for the legal system, for institutions, legal institutions, institutions of justice, to prosecute perpetrators of CRSV, of conflict related sexual violence, because of the of the unique aspects and the unique nature of this kind of crime, which are different from everyday sexual violence. In so many cases, as is the case of October 7, there are no direct victims who are able to speak for the very grim reason that Hamas made sure to kill almost each and every one of them so as to leave no traces, to silence them forever. And the very few that did survive, are too traumatized to speak, are unable to come up and say what they had been through. But this is very often the case in CRSV. And then the next challenge is that it is almost always impossible to identify or to point to a specific perpetrator and it's almost impossible to know who did what, or to connect a specific perpetrator to a specific victim. In the case of October 7, the victims were buried with the evidence. The bodies were the evidence and they were buried immediately, or as soon as it was possible, according to Jewish tradition. So does that mean that they can walk away without being prosecuted, without being charged, and without being pointed to as those who perpetrate sexual violence and use it as a weapon of war? That is why we, in our work at The Dinah Project and in the book that we had just published this week, on top of the evidentiary platform that I already described before, we also develop a legal thesis calling for the prosecution of all those who participated in that horrific attack, all those who entered Israel with the genocidal intent of total dehumanization and total destruction. And we argue that they all share responsibility. This is a concept of joint responsibility, or joint criminal enterprise, that we must make use of, and it is a known concept in jurisprudence, in criminal law, and it has to be employed in these cases. In addition to understanding that some of the usual evidence that is sought for prosecution of sexual violence, namely the evidence, the testimony, of the victim herself or himself is not available. But then those eyewitnesses and ear witnesses in real time, 17 of them reporting 15 different cases, these are no less credible evidence and acceptable evidence in evidentiary, in evidence law. And these should be resorted to. So there has to be a paradigm shift in the understanding of the prosecutorial authorities and the law in general. Justice systems, judicial systems in general. Because otherwise, perpetrators of these crimes have full impunity and there will never be accountability for these crimes. And any terrorist organization gets this message that you can do this and get away with it, as long as you don't leave the victims behind. This is a terrible message. It's unacceptable, and we must fight against it. Manya Brachear Pashman: Ruth, can you explain to our audience the origins of The Dinah Project? How old is it? When did you found it, and why? Ruth Halperin-Kaddari: The Dinah Project is really a very interesting case. Can be seen as a case study of the operation of civil society in Israel, from the bottom up, forming organically, without any plan, at first, without any structure. Each of us found ourselves working in parallel channels immediately after October 7. I was very much involved and invested in the international human rights arena. My colleagues were more invested on the national front in seeking to, first of all, to raise awareness within the Israeli authorities themselves about what had took place, and then collecting the information and putting all the pieces of the puzzle together. And then we realized, as we realized that we are all working towards the same goal, we first of all formed a WhatsApp group. This is how things are being done in Israel, and we called it: Sexual Atrocities War Room. And then we understood that we have to have some kind of a structure. And it was only natural that the Rackman Center that I established, and I'm still heading more than 25 years ago, would be the natural organization to host The Dinah Project. As an organization that has always been leading justice for Israeli women, for women in Israel, gender justice, we realize that we are now facing a new front of where justice needs to be done for women in Israel. And we also can utilize the human power that we have in the academia, in the university, of course the organizational structure. So we expanded The Rackman Center, and for the past almost year and a half, The Dinah Project is part of the Rackman Center. And the book that we published now is really the culmination of a very, very careful and meticulous work, thousands of hours, as I said. I would like to add that we are, I'm trying to think of the proper words. It's actually a subject matter where you so often find yourself looking for the proper words. So I want to say we're pleased, but it's really not the right expression. But we see, we acknowledge that there is a huge amount of interest in our work since we launched the book this week and handed it over to the First Lady of Israel, Michal Herzog, at the presidential residence. And I hesitate to say that perhaps this demonstrates that maybe there is more willingness in the international media and in the world at large to hear, maybe to accept, that the situation is more nuanced than previously they prefer to believe. And maybe also because more time passed on. Of course, new information was gathered, but also when this is a work by an academic institution, coming from independent experts and a very solid piece of work, maybe this is also what was needed. I'm really, really hopeful that it will indeed generate the change that we're seeking. Manya Brachear Pashman: In other words, that denial that we encountered in the very beginning, where people were not believing the Israeli women who said that they were sexually assaulted, you find that that is shifting, that is changing. Ruth Halperin-Kaddari: I hope so. I hope that this media interest that we are experiencing now is a signal for some kind of change. It is our aim to refute the denialism. Manya Brachear Pashman: There are some that point to Israeli Forces as well and say that they are also using sexual violence as a weapon of war. Does The Dinah Project address that, has it worked with the IDF to try to figure out . . . in other words, is it a broad application, this report? Ruth Halperin-Kaddari: This is not our mission. Our mission is concerned with the victims of Hamas. We are aware of the allegations against Israeli soldiers, against IDF. We are aware, and we made some inquiries to know the facts that investigations are ongoing against those who are being accused of perpetrating sexual violence against Palestinian detainees. But we must point out a major difference, at least in our understanding. Hamas entered Israel on October 7 under a genocidal indoctrination. Just reading the Hamas charter, going through those writings that were found in the vessels of Hamas terrorists here in Israel, or later on in Gaza, the indoctrination there is clear. And they all entered civilian places. They attacked civilians purposefully, with the intent of total dehumanization and destruction. Whatever happened or not happened with respect to Palestinian detainees, and I do trust the Israeli authorities to conduct a thorough investigation and to hold those accountable, cannot be compared to a structured and planned and ordered attack against the civilian population. Manya Brachear Pashman: And total lack of accountability as well. Ruth Halperin-Kaddari: Obviously there is absolutely no accountability on the part of the Palestinian people, of Hamas leadership, or Palestinian Authority, if that's relevant. Obviously there are no investigations there and no accountability, no acceptance of responsibility on their part. Manya Brachear Pashman: Well, Ruth, thank you so much for producing this report, for continuing to investigate, and keeping the fire lit under the feet of the United Nations and authorities who can hold people accountable for the crimes that were committed. Thank you so much. Ruth Halperin-Kaddari: Thank you. Thank you very much. Manya Brachear Pashman: If you missed last week's episode, be sure to tune in for a replay of a conversation with award-winning journalist Matti Friedman at AJC Global Forum 2025. He breaks down the media bias, misinformation and double standards shaping global coverage of Israel.
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The UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, has called for an independent investigation into the reported killing on Sunday of at least thirty-one Palestinians near a US-backed aid distribution centre in Gaza. Israel denied that their forces fired at people near the site. UN human rights chief, Volker Turk, tells us the incident shows Israel's disregard for Palestinian civilians. Also in the programme: Russia stands by its hard line demands at ceasefire talks in Istanbul, and the French parliament votes to posthumously promote Alfred Dreyfus, in an attempt to right one of histories most infamous anti-Semitic scandals(Picture: Palestinians who were killed in the Israeli army attacks near the American aid center in Rafah and the Muin area and Salahaddin Street in the east of Khan Yunis are being sent to their last journeys by their relatives at Nasser Medical Center in Khan Yunis city, Gaza on June 2, 2025. Photo by Abed Rahim Khatib/Anadolu via Getty Images)