Online Program Enrolling Now - Seton Hall - United Nations Institute for Training and Research
Online Program Enrolling Now - Seton Hall - United Nations Institute for Training and Research

BLUE SMOKE: A monthly column, from PassBlue and UNA–UK, spotlighting 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.

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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 peacekeeping …

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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 are …

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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 UN …

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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, summarizing …

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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 a …

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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 organization. …

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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 PassBlue …

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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 UN …

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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 Jan. …

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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 make …

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This week, we focus on the crises in Yemen and the Democratic Republic of the Congo as the United Nations intensifies peacekeeping and humanitarian remediation in the first weeks of 2023. You are reading This Week @UN, summarizing the most …

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First, happy new year to all our readers! This is the first summary for 2023, and we are excited to bring you all the bits and intrigues from inside the United Nations. You are reading This Week @UN, summarizing the …

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Kimihiro Ishikane, Japan’s permanent representative to the United Nations, expressed frustration with the Security Council’s lack of consensus on North Korea’s unabating missile tests. Ishikane is the monthly rotating president of the Council in January, and he conveyed his country’s …

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LAGOS — The International Crisis Group has listed the jihadist violence in the Sahel region in West Africa as one of the 10 violent flash points to watch in 2023. The conflict area covers Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali but …

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Margot Wallstrom, who chairs the Women’s Forum on Afghanistan, is asking the United Nations Security Council to pay an urgent visit to the Taliban-controlled country. Wallstrom, who was Sweden’s foreign minister from 2014 to 2019, addressed her request to …

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UNGA78: A quiz from PassBlue
Online Program Enrolling Now - Seton Hall - United Nations Institute for Training and Research

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