Worldwide

VICTORIA, Seychelles, November 4 (IPS) – I have stood on the corniche of Abu Dhabi at many moments over more than thirty years. Each time, I reflect on the distance this city has travelled: from a shoreline shaped by modest commercial buildings and dwellings to a capital whose architecture, institutions and ambitions look far beyond the horizon. Glass towers catch the Gulf light. The dome of the Louvre Abu Dhabi scatters sunlight across the water. Yet the transformation that interests me most is not the skyline itself. It is the thinking behind it.

Read the full story, “The UAE’s Great Leap: Building the City of the Future”, on globalissues.org →

UNITED NATIONS, November 4 (IPS) – On November 2, the United States launched a series of limited, defensive strikes on Iranian targets on Qeshm Island and strategic areas along the Strait of Hormuz. Fired in response to earlier strikes from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on U.S. aircraft and drones over the Strait, U.S. President Trump noted that the operation does not signal a broader escalation of hostilities and that a diplomatic solution could still be reached.

Read the full story, “U.S. Strikes Iranian Targets Along Strait of Hormuz Ahead of Midterm Elections as Diplomatic Talks Stall”, on globalissues.org →

Article 109 of the UN Charter provides a mechanism for reviewing the Charter itself. It allows a General Conference of all UN members to be convened by a two-thirds vote of the General Assembly and a vote of any nine members of the Security Council. As the Article provides, “Each Member of the United Nations shall have one vote in the conference.”

Read the full story, “Reviewing the UN Charter: Diplomatic Groundwork Should Begin”, on globalissues.org →

MEXICO CITY, November 3 (IPS) – At first glance, a data centre in Mexico draws little attention, as it is usually housed in an industrial park, out of public view. But, in addition to emitting greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrogen oxides, its cooling and fire suppression systems contain substances with strong environmental and health impacts: the so-called “forever chemicals”.

Read the full story, “Data Centres Store Hazardous Chemicals in Mexico”, on globalissues.org →

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay, November 3 (IPS) – In the run-up to the US midterms, armed federal agents have been knocking on the doors of voters suspected of being non-citizens. Republican-led states have redrawn electoral districts in their party’s favour, removing power from Black voters. Federal agencies have invaded people’s privacy, combing voter rolls for non-citizens while finding hardly any.

Read the full story, “Midterms on a Tilted Field”, on globalissues.org →

GENEVA, November 2 (IPS) – Émile Zola, the well-known French journalist, novelist, playwright, and key figure in theatrical naturalism, who played a significant role in France’s “political liberalization,” inspired me to speak out.

Read the full story, “I Accuse”, on globalissues.org →

YEREVAN & GEGHARKUNIK PROVINCE, Armenia, November 2 (IPS) – The midday sun shines brightly over Lake Sevan. In the still waters, a flock of cormorants drifts silently, their black feathers glistening in the autumn light.

Read the full story, “New Biodiversity Funding Brings Hope for Armenia’s Lake Sevan”, on globalissues.org →

LONDON, November 2 (IPS) – Ours is not a new realisation. The Commonwealth is responding to what world leaders have acknowledged for many years: ‘business as usual’ cannot reverse the unsustainable course the world finds itself, from economic to climate crises and the growing lack of trust in governance institutions, both national and multilateral.

Read the full story, “The Commonwealth Has 2.7 Billion Reasons to Act”, on globalissues.org →

In Mexico’s armed forces, an order from a superior is meant to be obeyed without question. For many women in uniform, investigative journalist Zorayda Gallegos found, that can include an order to step into an officer’s bedroom.

Read the full story, “Breaking the silence in Mexico’s barracks”, on globalissues.org →

At the halfway mark to 2030, countries meeting in Armenia have agreed a roadmap to accelerate action for nature, after a global review found the world off track to meet its biodiversity targets.

Read the full story, “COP17: Nations chart ‘Yerevan Pathway’ to speed up action for nature”, on globalissues.org →