Feature
His visits to Berlin in 2022 and 2025 left deep impressions on Luis Oliveros. Supported by his images of the once divided city, he wonders why he couldn't quite understand the atmosphere, the character and the idiosyncrasy of the new and reconstructed Berlin. See for yourself....
Ceasefire in Gaza
We all held our breath this week, waiting for the outcome of the negotiations on the 20 point peace plan for Gaza. On Friday noon local time, the ceasefire was in effect. Time will tell whether a lasting peace will follow soon.
Several of our readers sent us articles reflecting their views. Robert Cohen sent us the media remarks of the SG; Robert also agrees that Israel must be held accountable; Anis Salem shared an article on Tony Blair's proposed governing team for Gaza, and the joint statement by the EU and ECHO on the humanitarian Situation in Gaza; Niloufar Pourzand sent us the address by Ben Saul and Chris Sidoti on why the recognition of Palestina is necessary but not sufficient;
Baquer Namazi and Fouad Kronfol forwarded an article by David Hearst about the Great Betrayal: Why Arab and Muslim rulers backed Trump's Gaza plan; Viviane Sakkal sent us the Lancet study on the number of malnourished preschool children in Gaza.
Tom McDermott reminds us that 18,457 children are on Gaza's list of war dead. ED Catherine Russel made two statements on the Hamas attack two years ago and on Gaza's children. Finally, Fouad Kronfol agrees with Ghassan Rubeiz that Gaza's twenty points shrink to one.
Columnists
Fouad Kronfol remembers his retirement day 30 years ago - and who else retired with him at the time.
Ken Gibbs goes back in time, when he was still driving a Model-T Ford. This was, quite obviously, before the UNICEF/XUNICEF era.
Ramesh Shrestha worries about the erosion of the social contract, and finds that the idea of social contract is in collusion with economic liberalism pushed by the globalist agenda of the few.
Future of Aid, Development and the UN
Kul Gautam likes how Germany Redefines Development Cooperation with the Global South, as explained by Ramesh Jaura.
Lou Mendez shares an article on lessons from the 2010 merger of UNIFEM, DAW, INSTRAW and OSAGI, which became UN Women, to guide future mergers envisioned under the UN80 reform drive. To be honest, I never heard about DAW, INSTRAW and OSAGI before.
Niloufar Pourzand has sent us two articles about the Future of AID, one by Annalisa Prizzon and one by Matthew Foley.
Niloufar Pourzand told us that the UNESCO Board Nominates Khaled El-Enany Ezz as its new Director General. What I found interesting is that - other than practiced by UNICEF - the UNESCO Board nominates someone who then is elected as Director General by the member states.
Carl Bildt, former prime minister and foreign minister of Sweden, argues that to survive, the United Nations must leave America.
The US statement at the meeting of the Fifth Committee is interesting. In case you are unaware, the Fifth Committee discusses budgets.
The US administration has unlocked $400 million for UN peacekeeping missions.
The UNICEF Division of People and Culture (DPC - formerly known as Division of Human Resources, DHR) has published its Workforce & Recruitment Report, with latest data on staff and consultants.
At Our Age
It's never too late to future-proof your knees. Click here to read how to go about it.
New Members
After a long while, we have updated the member list of XUNICEF. Click here to see who joined since February 2025.
Other Views
Kaul Gautam is thrilled that the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize Goes to Maria Corina Machado.
Nuzhat Shahzadi shares an article by Yuiry Dzhygyr on Russia's Invasion to Ukraine.
News Links
Don't forget to frequently visit the News Links, put together by Tom McDermott. Newslink summarizes (and links) news items that you otherwise might have missed. It is updated daily.
Comments
As usual, the lists of all comments made by members this week is here.
DP, editor of the week
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