UN migration chief warns about populist electioneering

UN migration chief warns about populist electioneering

With 2024 set to see more elections worldwide than any previous year, Amy Pope, who last year became the first woman to head the UN's International Organization for Migration, says increasing anti-migrant rhetoric from politicians seeking to score points is harming societies. Pointing out that the fear-mongering is rarely rooted in what is happening on the ground, Pope told the AFP news agency that some countries where anti-migrant rhetoric is […]

March 22, 2024 5

World

What Article 23 means for the future of Hong Kong and its once vibrant pro-democracy movement

By Michael C. Davis, O.P. Jindal Global University Lawmakers in Hong Kong passed new security legislation on March 19, 2024, handing authorities in the semi-autonomous city-state further power to clamp down on dissent. The law, under Article 23, has been decades in the making but was resisted for a long time by protesters who feared the legislation’s effect on civil liberties in Hong Kong, a special administrative […]

March 22, 2024 18

World

America’s pint-sized bank robbers nabbed

Three boys aged 11, 12 and 16 – dubbed the "Little Rascals" by the FBI – have been arrested for allegedly robbing a Texas bank. The AFP news agency reports that, while the boys have not been identified because they are juveniles, the FBI had released a photo of the pint-sized suspects following their 14 March bank robbery, and two of the boys – who don't appear to have tried […]

March 22, 2024 26

Science & Technology

UN adopts first global AI resolution

The United Nations General Assembly has adopted the first global resolution on artificial intelligence which aims to encourage the protection of personal data, monitoring AI for risks, and safeguarding human rights. While it is a nonbinding resolution, according to Linda Thomas Greenfield, the US' Ambassador to the UN, it is just the first step in ensuring AI technology is used and developed responsibly.

March 22, 2024 28

World

The United States has tabled a revised Gaza ceasefire resolution

The United States yesterday tabled a revised ceasefire resolution to be voted on by the UN Security Council. Jody Jacobs reports that with the document calling for an "immediate ceasefire" tied to the release of all hostages, and Washington having blocked previous attempts to pass such a ceasefire resolution, this could mark a significant change in its approach to the conflict, though a date for the vote has yet to […]

March 22, 2024 13

World

Portugal to establish coalition government

In Portugal, the leader of the centre-right Democratic Alliance party, Luis Montenegro, has been invited to try to form a government after inconclusive elections earlier this month. Giles Gibson reports though that he has already ruled out a coalition with the far-right Chega party, which now holds 50 seats in parliament.

March 22, 2024 17

Africa

Can the UN Security Council Finally Wrap Its Mind Around Haiti? It’s Trying

More than 362,000 Haitians are displaced in their country as violence by armed gangs convulses the Caribbean island nation amid a government collapse, lack of a strong police force and an intervention force being long delayed to the country. A new transitional council, proposed by the Caribbean intergovernmental bloc, could stem the chaos. UNOCHA/HAITI By Damilola Banjo The United Nations Security Council endorsed an international police mission last fall to try […]

March 20, 2024 25

World

The West can’t ‘solve’ its Russia problem. Here’s how it should handle 6 more years of Vladimir Putin

By Peter Tesch, Australian National University In perhaps the least surprising news of the year, Vladimir Putin has triumphed at the Russian ballot box and been enthroned for the fifth time as president. He will serve for six more years. He will be 77 years old in 2030. According to the constitution, which he re-wrote to his benefit in 2020, he then could stand again for a further […]

March 20, 2024 20

World

India rejects China claim on Arunachal Pradesh as ‘absurd’………

India's Foreign Ministry has accused China of making 'absurd claims' on Indian territories. The comments come a week after Beijing protested Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to a frontier region that borders China. Neha Poonia has more.

March 20, 2024 17