Amid the chaos, havoc and war caused by a capricious and amoral US president, countries are waking up to the dangers of being excluded and abused by America

Never has there been a time when the world has been more interconnected than now. What happens in the secretive inner councils in Tehran, the mountains of south-west Yemen, the steppe of the Donbas, the still bloody wasteland that is Gaza and even the elegant boulevards of Paris and Milan have a common thread.

One cannot understand one set of conflicts without weaving them into another, and it is this very interdependence that is making each problem so contagious, layered and difficult to resolve, leaving the world to live as if trapped inside a pressure cooker on the brink of an explosion.

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© Composite: Guardian Design/Getty Images

© Composite: Guardian Design/Getty Images

© Composite: Guardian Design/Getty Images

We need neither ‘peace in our time’ nor ‘perpetual peace’ – but enough peace to keep civilization

To save the United Nations from the irrelevance in which it now wallows, the next secretary general will require the concerted backing of the few powers that govern the security council.

The paradox is that the great powers who created the institution in the 1940s and recently treat it with a cavalier cynicism are now the ones who need it most, as does the rest of the world.

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© Photograph: Olga Fedorova/EPA

© Photograph: Olga Fedorova/EPA

© Photograph: Olga Fedorova/EPA

In Armenia, a three-legged Caucasian leopard’s astonishing hike signals that conservation efforts for the endangered animal may be working.

Critics cite Lana Nusseibeh’s denial of accusations the UAE is fuelling Sudan war by supporting paramilitary RSF

Members of the Sudanese diaspora and international human rights monitors have denounced the candidature of an Emirati diplomat for the top job at the UN, citing her denial of accusations that the United Arab Emirates is fuelling the war in Sudan by supporting the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

The UAE nominated Lana Nusseibeh last week to replace the UN secretary general, António Guterres, as he finishes his second five-year term ⁠this year, upending a race that had become gridlocked.

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© Photograph: David Dee Delgado/Reuters

© Photograph: David Dee Delgado/Reuters

© Photograph: David Dee Delgado/Reuters

Critics cite Lana Nusseibeh’s denial of accusations the UAE is fuelling Sudan war by supporting paramilitary RSF

Members of the Sudanese diaspora and international human rights monitors have denounced the candidature of an Emirati diplomat for the top job at the UN, citing her denial of accusations that the United Arab Emirates is fuelling the war in Sudan by supporting the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

The UAE nominated Lana Nusseibeh last week to replace the UN secretary general, António Guterres, as he finishes his second five-year term ⁠this year, upending a race that had become gridlocked.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: David Dee Delgado/Reuters

© Photograph: David Dee Delgado/Reuters

© Photograph: David Dee Delgado/Reuters

The Trump administration is carrying out the most intense pressure campaign on Cuba in decades. The Cuban government says its plan is simply to endure.

© Graham Dickie for The New York Times

Tensions have risen between the United States and Cuba as the Trump administration tries to force the island’s Communist government to make drastic changes.

© Doug Mills/The New York Times

The U.N. General Assembly condemned the U.S. economic embargo of Cuba for the 34th year on Wednesday, even as Washington's campaign to influence the outcome led to a number of countries voting against the resolution or sitting out the decision for the first time.

The assaults on infrastructure, which cut off heat and power on bitterly cold winter days, amounted to a crime against humanity, investigators said.

© Lynsey Addario for The New York Times

The panel also accuses Israel of committing crimes against humanity in the West Bank. Israel condemned the report.

© Saher Alghorra for The New York Times

Much has been said about how Ukraine should treat Russian prisoners of war. Less attention has been paid to the emotional struggle for the Ukrainians tasked with that work.

© Oksana Parafeniuk for The New York Times