United Nations
UN-ravelling the world of United Nations acronyms
Have you heard of the latest trend in New York City? If you’re in Manhattan, it’s the mysterious Frog Club, an establishment so exclusive that one can only gain access by sending…
Don’t play it by ear: Audio deepfakes in a year of global elections
Artificial intelligence company OpenAI recently introduced Voice Engine, a natural-sounding speech generator that uses text and a 15-second audio sample to create an “emotive and…
Great power ambitions: India’s aim at the UN Security Council
India has, time and again, been questioned by Europe on its commitment to buying Russian oil despite the sanctions on Moscow, against the backdrop of the ongoing armed conflict…
Can South Korea become a global pivotal state?
“South Korea should no longer be confined to the Korean Peninsula but rise to the challenge of being what I have described as a ‘global pivotal state’, one that advances freedom,…
By default not design: the end of the asylum consensus
During a summer break, The Interpreter will feature selected articles each day from throughout the past year. Normal publishing will resume 15 January, 2024. This article first…
Down or out: The future of fossil fuels at COP28
Asking the CEO of one of the world’s largest oil companies to broker a global agreement to phase out fossil fuels was always going to be a long shot, but as the scheduled final…
Half time at COP28: Reflections from Dubai
The daily commute on Dubai’s metro during this year’s UN climate summit (COP28) offers a strange juxtaposition. There is the expected picture for a climate conference: e-car ads,…
Does the world have any energy left to cope with another war?
It is not often that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) gets involved in a national referendum, but that is exactly what recently occurred when South American country Guyana…
Indonesia ratifies nuclear weapons ban treaty. Australia should too.
Indonesia’s parliament last month agreed to ratify the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). This is an important political development, and it…
Learning to live in a world without progress
It’s hard not to like Steven Pinker. I’ve never met the celebrated cognitive psychologist and public intellectual, but he’s managed to cheer me up on occasion. Even though that’s…