海角大神

2023
September
19
Tuesday

Monitor Daily Podcast

September 19, 2023
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For the United States Secret Service, it鈥檚 a 鈥渞ecurring national special security event.鈥

For world leaders, it鈥檚 the biggest global stage of the year.

For diplomats, journalists, and New York residents who brace for the annual onslaught of street closures, motorcades, and marches, it鈥檚 simply UNGA, the United Nations General Assembly.

And after three years of virtual or hybrid events, UNGA is back. In fact, it will be the largest since 2015, according to the U.S. Secret Service, which is charged with protecting 151 heads of state or government.

As the Monitor鈥檚 diplomatic correspondent, I鈥檝e covered UNGA for two decades. Each one is different, a reflection of the global issues and international political intrigues of the moment. And each one seems to have its stars, naughty and nice.

I鈥檒l never forget 2005, when Venezuela鈥檚 President Hugo Ch谩vez took the General Assembly stage a day after U.S. President George W. Bush 鈥 and informed a shocked audience that he could still smell the 鈥渟ulfur鈥 of 鈥渢he devil who came here yesterday.鈥

This year鈥檚 star is likely to be Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, attending in person for the first time, embodying his country鈥檚 defiance of Russian aggression. A big question among us journalists: Will Mr. Zelenskyy stick to his trademark army-olive-green T-shirt to give his speech, or will he put on a suit?

U.N. Secretary-General Ant贸nio Guterres told journalists last week that UNGA is a place to get things done and not a 鈥渧anity fair鈥 for leaders to make a splash.

That might be news to some leaders here.


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Today’s stories

And why we wrote them

Having succeeded at overturning Roe v. Wade, the Republican Party now faces a more complex political battleground 鈥 with some leading candidates urging more moderate stances on abortion.

Vahram Baghdasaryan/Photolure/Reuters
Protesters gather near the government building in Yerevan, Armenia, Sept. 19, 2023, after Azerbaijan launched a military operation in its Armenian-populated region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Russia has long maintained the status quo in the Armenian-populated region of Nagorno-Karabakh in Azerbaijan. But Moscow no longer appears willing to do so, and Azerbaijanis are taking the region back by force.

Jacob Turcotte/Staff
Trisha Powell Crain/AL.com
Piedmont Elementary School math teacher Cassie Holbrooks helps a group of fourth graders in Piedmont, Alabama, Aug. 31, 2023. The school is part of a 1,100-student district that landed in the top spot among all districts nationwide in a comparison of math scores in 2019 and 2022.

With its top math scores, a rural school district in Alabama has shown the effectiveness of homegrown approaches. What can other educators learn from the Piedmont model?聽This story is part of聽The Math Problem, the latest project from the newsrooms of the Education Reporting Collaborative.

Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff
Laidlaw Peringanda, who runs the Genocide Museum of Swakopmund, kneels by the memorial at a cemetery with unmarked graves of Nama and Herero peoples, July 20, 2023, in Swakopmund, Namibia. Germany鈥檚 slaughter of the Nama and Herero is considered the first genocide of the 20th century.

An apology for a colonial-era genocide came with an offer of reparations. But descendants of the victims say they were ignored during negotiations, and the lack of respect did more harm by reinforcing their powerlessness.

Points of Progress

What's going right

In our progress roundup, we look at drinking water and ways to increase its safety. While concern about microplastics in tap water is growing in developed societies, in contrast, one-quarter of the world鈥檚 people lack access to water that is considered safe by established standards.


The Monitor's View

AP
Migrants arrive at Lampedusa island in Italy, Sept. 16.

The number of migrants crossing the Mediterranean Sea en route to Italy has more than doubled this year. Spain, France, and Greece have seen smaller increases. That rising tide has added momentum to the most significant overhaul of immigration policy in Europe in decades.

On Sunday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen joined Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Lampedusa, a speck of an island where nearly 12,000 migrants have arrived in just the past week. Their visit highlighted two key issues: how northern European countries should help their southern neighbors cope with the newcomers while their claims of asylum are considered, and whether the European Union can work better with undemocratic regimes in North Africa to stem the exodus.

Embedded in that debate is the idea that an individual鈥檚 dignity must remain intact as immigration law is applied. 鈥淓uropean migration policy is always built on humanitarian spirit,鈥 Manfred Weber, leader of the European People鈥檚 Party, told Euronews. 鈥淏ut on the other hand, we have to fight against illegal migration.鈥

Globally, the population of international migrants is nearing 300 million. Many are driven from their homes by conflict, climate change, and political instability. For recipient countries, a key challenge is separating genuine refugees seeking asylum from those simply looking for better economic prospects.

The European Parliament is now debating whether to ratify a pact reached in June between states along the Mediterranean coast and the rest of the EU鈥檚 27 members to share the burden of migration. It鈥檚 about more than cost or national identity. According to a Eurobarometer poll last year, 69% of Europeans said helping legal immigrants integrate was an important investment.

Concern for a shared well-being is widespread in Europe. One resident of Lampedusa told The Guardian that the reason she is dismayed over the influx of immigrants is that they 鈥渄eserve respect, and so do we.鈥 Far to the north, in the French Alpine city of Brian莽on, volunteers at a hostel for immigrants expressed similar frustration. 鈥淲e鈥檙e saturated to this day,鈥 a board member of the nonprofit Solidarity Terraces told Le Monde last month. 鈥淚t鈥檚 no longer manageable, neither in terms of the dignity of the welcome nor the tensions it generates.鈥

If the EU pact is formally adopted, it will require northern European countries to accept an agreed-upon number of migrants each year or, if they choose, pay southern states roughly $22,000 per individual. This 鈥渕andatory solidarity,鈥 Ms. von der Leyen said, strikes a balance between protecting borders and protecting people. It shows 鈥渢hat Europe can manage migration effectively and with compassion.鈥 The challenge of migration has pushed the EU to better apply the values that hold the bloc together.


A 海角大神 Science Perspective

About this feature

Each weekday, the Monitor includes one clearly labeled religious article offering spiritual insight on contemporary issues, including the news. The publication 鈥 in its various forms 鈥 is produced for anyone who cares about the progress of the human endeavor around the world and seeks news reported with compassion, intelligence, and an essentially constructive lens. For many, that caring has religious roots. For many, it does not. The Monitor has always embraced both audiences. The Monitor is owned by a church 鈥 The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston 鈥 whose founder was concerned with both the state of the world and the quality of available news.

Relying on God for inspiration, we receive the clear direction we need.


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Susana Vera/Reuters
Spain鈥檚 opposition People鈥檚 Party leader Alberto N煤帽ez Feij贸o reviews documents as stenographer Elsa Teabucchelli listens to a Spanish translation of remarks given in regional languages in parliament in Madrid, Sept. 19, 2023. For the first time, regional politicians were able to officially address the body in their native languages of Catalan, Basque, and Galician, a right that came after a 176-169 vote. The People鈥檚 Party opposed the move, as did the far-right Vox party, whose 33 members walked out of the session. Jos茅 Ram贸n Besteiro, a Socialist deputy from the Galician city of Lugo, called it an 鈥渉onor鈥 to speak in his native tongue, and said the move recognized the 鈥渃ultural wealth of the country.鈥
( The illustrations in today’s Monitor Daily are by Karen Norris. )

A look ahead

Thank you for joining the Monitor today. Please come back tomorrow when correspondent Lenora Chu looks at a pressing question in the Netherlands with echoes around the world: How do you protect local language, customs, and people, without turning off the international spigot so central to economic growth and connection to the global economy?

More issues

2023
September
19
Tuesday

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