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

Ukraine-Russia War

LEAVE A COMMENT
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…

LEAVE A COMMENT

 
LEAVE A COMMENT
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…

LEAVE A COMMENT

 
LEAVE A COMMENT
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…

LEAVE A COMMENT

 
LEAVE A COMMENT
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…

LEAVE A COMMENT

 
LEAVE A COMMENT
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…

LEAVE A COMMENT

 
LEAVE A COMMENT
Ukraine is dropping its “peace formula summit” that it wanted to hold at the United Nations to mark the yearlong anniversary, on Feb. 24, of Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, a Western source familiar with the decision told PassBlue….

LEAVE A COMMENT

 
LEAVE A COMMENT
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…

LEAVE A COMMENT

 
LEAVE A COMMENT
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…

LEAVE A COMMENT

 
LEAVE A COMMENT
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…

LEAVE A COMMENT

 
LEAVE A COMMENT
In 2022, Russia’s full-fledged war in Ukraine left its mark on the United Nations Security Council, further dividing the most-influential body in the institution. Comparing Council members’ votes in 2021 with 2022, it is clear that discord has increased…

LEAVE A COMMENT

 
LEAVE A COMMENT
KYIV — During its eight years of aggression against Ukraine, Russia has systematically pursued a policy of eradicating Ukrainian identity among children in the occupied territories. Deportation, separation from parents, transfer to Russian families, imposition of citizenship, Russification and…

LEAVE A COMMENT

 
LEAVE A COMMENT
For months, Sergiy Kyslytsya, Ukraine’s ambassador to the United Nations, alongside Christian Wenaweser, Liechtenstein’s envoy, have been leading an effort at the UN to produce a draft resolution to support the notion of establishing an international tribunal to prosecute…

LEAVE A COMMENT

 
LEAVE A COMMENT
Early and often during his 2016 run for the presidency, Donald Trump vowed to pull Washington out of the Iran nuclear agreement the moment he arrived at the White House. The pact, brokered the year before by Barack Obama,…

LEAVE A COMMENT

 
LEAVE A COMMENT
Since the start of the full-fledged war in Ukraine in February, Russian forces have abducted hundreds of Ukrainians and placed them in the Russian incarceration system. Many of the people that have been seized are civilians, including children….

LEAVE A COMMENT

 
LEAVE A COMMENT
Over the last few months, there has been a lot of loose talk from President Joseph Biden and others comparing the Ukrainian crisis with the 1962 Cuban missile crisis. Lately, that talk has died away. There may be many…

LEAVE A COMMENT

 
Seton Hall Graduate Degree in International Affairs

THIS WEEK'S MOST POPULAR

Global Connections Television - The only talk show of its kind in the world

Don't Miss a Story:

Subscribe to PassBlue

Sign up to get the smartest news on the UN by email, joining readers across the globe.​

We respect your privacy and take protecting it seriously​