Seton Hall Graduate Degree in International Affairs
Seton Hall Graduate Degree in International Affairs

BLUE SMOKE: A new monthly newsletter, from PassBlue and UNA–UK, which shines a spotlight on senior appointments at the UN

Damilola Banjo

Damilola Banjo is a staff reporter for PassBlue. She has a master's of science degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and a B.A. in communications and language arts from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. She has worked as a producer for NPR's WAFE station in Charlotte, N.C.; for the BBC as an investigative journalist; and as a staff investigative reporter for Sahara Reporters Media.

This week, we focus on countries with enduring humanitarian disasters, plus big news from the International Criminal Court on Russia. You are reading This Week @UN, summarizing the most pressing issues before the organization. The information is gathered from…
 
Just because it was International Women’s Day on March 8, we focus on women all week! Why not? You are reading This Week @UN, summarizing the most pressing issues before the organization. The information is culled from UN press…
 
Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari opposes the general perception that Islam represses women while ignoring various negative indices regarding women in his own country. “Islam was the first religion to give rights to women,” he declared in a…
 
This week, we focus on yet another migration disaster off Italy’s coast, resulting in approximately 180 deaths, including children, while attempting what UN and other officials call “irregular migration.” You are reading This Week @UN, summarizing the most pressing…
 
Mozambique, the southern African nation with scenic beaches and islands, will focus on issues around security and terrorism as it leads the United Nations Security Council in March. This is the first time Mozambique has been an elected member…
 
You are reading This Week @UN, summarizing the most pressing issues before the organization. The information is gathered from UN press briefings, PassBlue reporting and other sources. This week, we look at the humanitarian crises in Ukraine and another…
 
LAGOS — A women-focused organization is seeking to increase funding for Nigerian women who want to participate in politics. In a country with only 6.4 percent of women taking active roles in public office, the organization understands the challenges…
 
This week, we focus on the rising humanitarian crises in the world as the situation in Türkiye and Syria deepens. You are reading This Week @UN, summarizing the most pressing issues before the organization. The information is gathered from…
 
This week, we focus on the sad news of the earthquake that struck Türkiye and Syria, leaving approximately 22,000 people dead so far, thousands of others injured and everyone desperate for humanitarian aid. You are reading This Week @UN,…
 
Malta is in charge of the Security Council this month, the first time in 39 years that the tiny Mediterranean nation is back in the chamber as an elected member. As an island, it’s appropriate that Malta is scheduling…
 
This week, we focus on UN reform (no joke!); visits by the UN peacekeeping boss to Lebanon, Syria and Israel; and glimmers of hope for Iraq. You are reading This Week @UN, summarizing the most pressing issues before the…
 
A 20,000-metric ton donation of fertilizer by a Russian company to the government of Malawi is slowly making its way to the landlocked country from the busy port of Beira, Mozambique, in southeast Africa. The World Food Program told…
 
This week, we focus on the worsening violence in Haiti and a major firing of a UN official for corruption. You are reading This Week @UN, summarizing the most pressing issues before the organization. The information is gathered from…
 
Ambassador Kimihiro Ishikane of Japan says his country’s new defense strategy of increasing its military might reflects the need to change the security architecture based on the current environment in East Asia. Yet Ishikane, who spoke to PassBlue on…
 
Beatrice Fihn, a 40-year-old Swede, grew up wanting to make a big difference in humanity, but she did not know how she could do that. First, she thought she would “stitch people up” after they suffered an accident or…
 
The Women's History Month Quiz from PassBlue: A quiz about women and the UN
Seton Hall Graduate Degree in International Affairs

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