Sadako Ogata, first female UNHCR chief passes away

Sadako Ogata (92), a high-profile Japanese diplomat who served as the first female United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) from 1991 to 2000, has passed away on Oct. 22 in Tokyo.

Baku hosts 18th Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit 2019

The 18th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) 2019 is being held at Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan from 25-26 October 2019. The NAM was established in 1961 in Belgrade, Yugoslavia through an initiative ..

Ursula von der Leyen elected as European Commission’s first female president

German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen has been elected as the first female president of European Commission (EC) following a secret ballot among MEPs. She secured the backing of more than half of the Members in the European Parliament ..

Kassym-Jomart Tokayev elected as new president of Kazakhstan

On 9 June, Interim President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has won the 2019 Presidential election of Kazakhstan with 70.96% of the vote. He was recognised as the elected president by the Central Election Commission (CEC) and will take an oath of office ..

Prayuth Chan-ocha elected as new Prime Minister of Thailand

The Thai parliament has recently elected ex military government chief Prayuth Chan-ocha as its new Prime Minister. He beat the popular billionaire leader of the anti-junta Future Forward Party, Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, with 500 votes to 244 after a 12-hour session ..

Dia Mirza appointed as new SDG Advocate of UN

The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has appointed 17 global figures including Indian actress Dia Mirza and Alibaba chief Jack Ma as the new advocates to drive action and solidify global political will for the ambitious Sustainable Development Goals. The ..

King Maha Vajiralongkorn crowned as Rama X of Thailand

King Maha Vajiralongkorn has been crowned as the Rama X of Thailand in a dazzling show of pageantry on behalf of the Thai people. This marked the first ascension of a new monarch in seven decades. The key rituals of ..

Kazakhstan officially renames its capital as ‘Nursultan’

Kazakhstan has officially renamed its capital Astana to Nursultan to honour outgoing leader Nursultan Nazarbayev who stepped down as President after three decades in office. The change was announced after Kassym-Jomart Tokayev was sworn-in as president. He will serve for ..