Global Dispatches -- World News That Matters

The UN Peacekeeping Mission in Cyprus is one of the world's oldest peacekeeping missions. Yet to this day, it is still serving a valuable role in preventing conflict between Greece and Turkey -- two NATO allies. On the line to explain why this peacekeeping force is still needed after all these years is Peter Yeo, President of the Better World Campaign and Senior Vice President of the United Nations Foundation. We kick off discussing the history of the mission before having a broader conversation of its still relevant work after all these years.

In Madagascar thousands of people in the southern part of the country are experiencing famine-like conditions. Over a million more are considered to be on the brink of famine. The crisis in Southern Madagascar is a direct consequence of climate change. This region has experienced successive droughts -- the rainy season is shorter, the lean season is longer and farmers are unable to plant their crops. This is widely considered to be the world's first climate-change induced famine. On the line with me to explain the link between climate change and the famine like conditions in Southern Madagascar is Mandipa Manchacha, human rights researcher at Amnesty international's souther Africa regional office. We kick off with a discussion about Madagascar more broadly and the impact of climate change on the island before having a broader conversation about the brutal intersection of climate change and famine in Southern Madagascar.

COP 26 is the most important international climate conference since the Paris Agreement of 2015. On the line with me to offer a preview of what to expect from this major UN climate meeting is Pete Odgen, Vice President for Energy, Climate, and the Environment at the United Nations Foundation. He is a veteran of many previous COPs and in our conversation he discusses the key issues up for negotiation in Glasgow and the broader geopolitics of climate change diplomacy. This includes a deep dive into how both China and the United States are approaching COP26 and thorny questions around climate finance.

Today's episode was recorded live in partnership with the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) ahead of COP26 in Glasgow. I moderate a panel discussion that takes a deep dive into the Nationally Determined Contributions as they relate to food and agriculture. The Nationally Determined Contributions, or NDCs, are the backbone of the Paris Climate Agreement. They are what each country brings to the table in terms of their own contribution to climate action. Collectively, it was the goal of the Paris Agreement that the NDCs would add up to put the world on track to limit global warming to under 2 degrees celsius. We are not there -- yet. But in today's panel discussion a diverse group of experts helps to explain what more can be done in agriculture, land use and food systems to drive ambition in climate change and give a needed boost to the NDCs so they can achieve the Paris goals.

Since the overthrow of the genocidal dictator Omar al Bashir in 2019, Sudan has been lead by a transitional governing council made up of civilians and the military. On Monday October 25th 2021 the Sudanese military purged the civilians from their leadership positions, including arresting the prime minister. On the line with me to discuss this coup and what comes next is Cameron Hudson. He is a non-resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and former chief of staff in the office of the special advisor to Sudan at the US State Department. We taped our conversation live using Twitter Spaces. This is a new platform that Twitter has rolled out allowing audio conversations to take place on its platform. Follow me on Twitter to join the next live taping

In early October, a group lead by the investment arm of the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia purchased Newcastle United, the English Premier League soccer team. The purchase caused a great deal of speculation that it was motivated by a desire to burnish the image of the Saudi ruler. What is not speculation is that overnight Newcastle United became the richest soccer team in the world. On the line with me to explain the significance of Saudi Arabia's purchase of Newscastle United is Alex Ward, national security reporter at Politico and anchor of the National Security Daily newsletter.

Today's episode was recorded live in front of a virtual audience and produced in partnership with CGIAR, the world's largest agricultural innovation network. It is part of a series of episodes that examine the relationship between climate and security. I moderate a panel discussion in which experts discuss and explain the need for a coherent approach to climate security across multiple policy sectors. Introductory remarks are given by Rob Vos Director of Markets, Trade and Institutions Division, CGIAR who frames the conversation before I moderate the panel. To view other episodes in this series and to participate in a future live taping of the podcast please visit climatesecurity.cgiar.org.

On October 6, the World Health Organization endorsed a malaria vaccine for the first time ever. After years of testing, the vaccine was shown to be safe and effective at preventing the deaths of thousands of children in Sub-Saharan Africa. The WHO's backing of this Malaria vaccine is both a breakthrough in scientific research and an important moment in human history. Margaret McDonnell, executive director of Nothing But Nets at the UN Foundation, explains why this new malaria vaccine is so promising

The government of Ethiopia has expelled seven top UN officials from the country. This move comes as the federal government launches a new military offensive against the TPLF -- the Tigray People's Liberation Front. William Davison of the International Crisis Group explains how the civil war in Ethiopia has evolved in recent weeks and describes the ongoing calamitous humanitarian impact of the conflict in Ethiopia.

The process by which China makes its foreign policy is often considered to be something of a black box, or at least very difficult for outsiders to discern. Suiseng Zhao is a professor of International Studies and director of the Center for China-US Cooperation at the University of Denver. He has written extensively about the tapestry of Chinese institutions that inform foreign policy decision making, and in this conversation explains the key players that shape how Chinese foreign policy is made.