Can the world end poverty by 2030, the target set by the United Nations Agenda for Sustainable Development?

It is now common knowledge that many democracies around the world are under pressure. But mounting threats to a particularly important democratic right have not received nearly enough attention.

A friend of mine, a diplomat returning home after less than three years' service in India, was asked at his exit medical examination how many packs a day he smoked.

It is easy to assume that access to the digital economy is ubiquitous, and that online shopping is the natural evolution of commerce. For example, in July, Amazon sold more than 100 million products to consumers worldwide during its annual Prime Day event, a USD 4.2 billion bonanza that included sales of table salt in India, Coke Zero in Singapore, and toothbrushes in China.

All eyes are on the United States as November's Congressional elections approach. The outcome will answer many alarming questions raised two years ago, when Donald Trump won the presidential election.

The alleged killing of the Saudi Arabian dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a permanent resident of the United States, in the Kingdom's consulate in Istanbul has unleashed a tidal wave of criticism.

Judging by the unsavoury exchanges between the Indian and Pakistani foreign ministers at the recent United Nations General Assembly, the already deeply troubled bilateral relationship has reached a new low.

The global financial and economic crisis that began in 2008 was the greatest economic stress-test since the Great Depression, and the greatest challenge to social and political systems since World War II.

At The 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly this month, there was a widespread sense of foreboding among world leaders. The anxiety went beyond standard concerns about what US President Donald Trump would say, do, or tweet.

On December 10, 1948, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, affirming the view that “the will of the people”—democracy—should form the basis of any government.

This isn't a good time to be Donald J Trump. Granted, it's been a while since it was, but this is the grimmest period of his presidency thus far.

After years of ill health, the news industry is finally showing signs of a modest recovery. According to the Digital News Report 2018—the most comprehensive survey of digital media consumption—subscriptions are trending up while consumer confidence has stabilised.

The decision by US President Donald Trump's administration to stop funding the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has politicised humanitarian aid, threatens to add yet more fuel to one of the world's most combustible conflicts, and jeopardises the futures of a half-million Palestinian children and young people.

India's southern state of Kerala has been hit by the worst floods in nearly a century. Now that the floodwaters are receding, a peculiar debate has emerged over whether India should accept foreign aid to support reconstruction.

European security currently rests essentially on the Nato alliance and the principle of mutual defence, and on cooperation between national intelligence services working to prevent violence against people and national assets.

Despite the tensions generated by Brexit, the leaders of France, Germany, and the United Kingdom have stood together in disputes between the European Union and the United States. If their unity can be sustained, Europe's “big three” (E3) will serve the EU very well in a tumultuous future.

In the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, some economists argued that the United States, and perhaps the global economy, was suffering from “secular stagnation,”

After a suspiciously sudden conversion, Russian President Vladimir Putin now claims to be worried about the fate of millions of refugees who have fled the carnage in Syria.

Before the Internet revolution-ised how news was gathered and shared, journalists rarely had to worry about the threat of virtual violence.

US President Donald Trump's erratic unilateralism represents nothing less than abdication of global economic and political leadership.