Global Issues

SYDNEY, April 7 (IPS) - Bangladesh is scheduled to graduate from the least developed country (LDC) status in November this year after more than half a century. Bangladesh joined the UN club of LDCs in 1975 and consistently met all three graduation criteria – per capita Gross National Income (GNI), human asset and economic vulnerability – since 2018. Read the full story, “The Political Economy of Bangladesh’s LDC Graduation”, on globalissues.org →

BANGKOK, Thailand, April 7 (IPS) - Rising seas, intensifying storms, saltwater intrusion and shifting coastlines are the lived realities of Pacific communities today. Families are making difficult decisions about whether to stay, adapt or move. Some communities have already relocated. Others are preparing for that possibility. Many are determined to stay for as long as possible on lands that hold ancestral meaning and identity. Read the full story, “From Dialogue to Delivery: The Pacific’s Climate Mobility Moment”, on globalissues.org →

Thirty-two years ago, a genocidal campaign was unleashed against Rwanda’s Tutsi people, resulting in more than million deaths. On Tuesday, the UN is holding commemorations to ensure that the genocide is never forgotten and never repeated.Read the full story, “‘Entire families brutally erased’: Remembering the victims of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda”, on globalissues.org →

Donald Trump ran on a platform of ending wars. After his success in Venezuela, he is intoxicated by his military achievements and is banking on regime change in several countries. Read the full story, “Regime Change – Sometimes It Works, Often It Doesn’t”, on globalissues.org →

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay, April 6 (IPS) - Bangladesh’s first credible election in nearly two decades delivered a landslide win for the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its leader Tarique Rahman, son of a former prime minister, just back from 17 years of self-imposed exile. Read the full story, “Post-Protest Bangladesh: Restoration More than Renewal”, on globalissues.org →

BRIGHTON, UK, April 6 (IPS) - Urgent steps need to be taken to rebuild the relationship between citizens and state to stem the decline of democracy globally. Experts point to inequality and political exclusion as two of the biggest drivers for democratic backsliding, with the exclusion of citizens from a role in policy and decision-making spaces leading to ‘hollow citizenship’. Read the full story, “Tackling Political Exclusion is Central to Saving Democracy”, on globalissues.org →

UNITED NATIONS, April 6 (IPS) - The US has spelled out in detail its own concept of what a restructured United Nations should look like: after drastic reductions in staff, cutting down its budget, avoiding duplication in mandates, slashing peacekeeping operations worldwide and deploying artificial intelligence (AI) for translations and interpretations in six languages. Read the full story, “US Aims at Heavy Staff & Budgetary Cuts, Seeks to Launch Cost-Saving Artificial Intelligence at UN meetings”, on globalissues.org →

Top officials updated Member States Monday on selected proposals under the UN80 reform initiative, including an initial assessment of a possible merger between gender equality agency, UN Women, and the UN reproductive health agency, UNFPA, as well as updates on the technology and data tracks.Read the full story, “UN80 Initiative enters ‘delivery phase’, as Member States review progress on key work areas”, on globalissues.org →

The UN has issued an urgent call for international support as Cuba grapples with a ‘worsening’ humanitarian crisis fuelled by a prolonged energy blockade and the lingering devastation caused by Hurricane Melissa last year.Read the full story, “Cuba energy crisis: Humanitarian needs remain despite fuel supplies”, on globalissues.org →

The UN is significantly scaling up its presence in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, to expand life-saving operations as the conflict between rival militaries approaches its third year.Read the full story, “World News in Brief: ‘Skyrocketing’ needs outpace Sudan funding, Ukraine strikes update, global water security”, on globalissues.org →