The long 19-year war in Afghanistan has been costly, both in human and financial terms. Since the United Nations began tracking Afghan casualties in 2009, more than 100,000 Afghans have been killed. U.S. military casualties stand at 2,448 with 20,722 wounded in action. In the first half of 2020, the UN has recorded 3,500 conflict-related civilian casualties, including 1,300 deaths. The United States has spent over $2 trillion in Afghanistan since 2001.
Hong Kong residents are scrambling to pick up the pieces after the implementation of the draconian national security law of 30 June 2020. As China’s new Iron Curtain descended around Hong Kong, pro-democracy activists either fled or were arrested, including media tycoon Jimmy Lai and Demosisto co-founder Agnes Chow.
More than 100,000 people demonstrated on the open field at Sanam Luang, in front of Wat Phra Kaew and the Grand Palace in Bangkok over the weekend, defying the military-backed government of Prayuth Chan-o-cha and calling for unprecedented monarchical reforms.
Africa’s relationship with the United Nations began in 1960, when 15 African countries gained independence and 17 became UN member states. In an effort to remove the stain of Western colonialism, the UN embarked on an effort to assist newly independent African states in their right to sovereignty and self-determination.
On September 21, the United Nations will celebrate its 75th birthday. Founded in 1945 after 50 countries met in San Francisco to draw up the UN Charter, it was conceived as an international institution that would “save succeeding generations from the scourge of war”. Since then, it has evolved into an organisation of great size and complexity that confronts a wide array of challenges. However, legitimate criticism and lingering questions remain about its future. Is it still relevant? Is it still fit for purpose? Is it still necessary?
A string of recent arrests of activists by Cambodian authorities has human rights groups and the United Nations calling for restraint and the right to free expression. The conviction of a former official in the now-banned Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) was the latest in a long series of convictions or detentions.
The sudden resignation of Shinzo Abe, the longest-serving Prime Minister of Japan, due to health reasons could impact Japan’s relations with some countries unpredictably. Abe had not only nurtured Japan’s new-age policy with nuanced revisionism but also established personal connections […]
After a long silence, Thailand’s pro-democracy opposition has returned. Although not clad in red nor do they share allegiances to ousted former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, they have taken aim at Thailand’s ruling power structures.
Angry student protesters marching in the streets of Bangkok and whispers of discontent among Thailand’s ruling elite, have rattled Prayuth Chan-o-cha, Thai Prime Minister and leader of the May 2014 putsch that elevated him into power.
A series of events have unsettled both Thailand’s youth and its ruling class. First, Thai Prime Minister and 2014 coup d’état leader Prayuth Chan-o-cha employed an array of authoritarian interventions to ensure his 2019 re-election. Later, the Constitutional Court dissolved the Future Forward Party and banned its young, charismatic leader, Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit. As the COVID-19 pandemic engulfed the globe, Prayuth has been accused of using the pandemic to boost his political image, but came under fire for his protracted lockdown, questionable alcohol ban and failure to revive Thailand’s flagging economy.