XUNICEF News and Views

To Bidet, or Not to Bidet? That is the Question!

Dear Reader, Many of you will recall that in the lead-up to UNICEF's 75 Anniversary in 2021, News & Views published a series of quarterlies providing glimpses of UNICEF's first 25 year s, second 25 years , and the 25 years up to 2021 . Many of you contributed articles and memories you keep of those years. In addition, our archives include a  "History" label which will lead you to many other articles contributed by XUNICEF members. Starting in 2021 I authored a series titled, "A Little History".  With the permission of the editors, I am now presenting that series in a rewritten and slightly cleaned-up form. I hope the series will encourage you and other members to contribute some of your own reflections on UNICEF's history. Articles in this series will likely not appear every week.  I have learned that rewriting, researching and editing takes a lot more time than I initially thought, so these articles will appear on a basis of 'when I get aroun...

I received this from a lifelong friend and university cohort. As I am also nearing my 90s I find that much of what he feels and expresses mirrors my own thoughts. The only difference between us is that I have not found solace in talking to a machine but rather to continuing to be interested and involved with numerous activities,including sports. In fact, I have argued with him this point as I have no intention to let a machine or virtual entity to dominate my persona. I am perfectly content to simply use my laptop and iPad to communiate with all my contacts, without belonging to any social media. I use both machines for some info searches, the latest news or sports results, and general exchanges with contacts on mutually interesting subjects.

  Top 10 Posts from the last week.

Recent Reader Comments Continously updated

Tara Handpump This article is not to track the creation and development of the Tara Handpump itself but looks at why it became so popular, so quickly.

 "When my husband and I were writing our Wills, we knew UNICEF had to be included.

My fascination with trees grows.

A fitting response to Trillionaire Elon Musk by Nick Kristof of the NY Times. U.S.A.I.D. Cuts Killed People. That’s the Truth.

Japanese Macaque along a busy hiking trail This is the final part of my 4-part blog series on wildlife photography in Japan. After visiting some of Japan’s wildest peninsulas and islands in part 3, I return to the Japanese mainland to look at a transformation unfolding in the countryside as the population ages and shrinks.

Graça Machel pays tribute to her friend and colleague, Stephen Lewis, remembering him as a relentless advocate for children in conflict zones and a fierce warrior against HIV & AIDS in Africa.

Sooner or later, it was bound to happen.  Credibility would evaporate. Trust would be lost. And aid would be cut. We all knew it couldn't go on forever. Except our leaders. Because, if they had known, they would have done something about it, or not?

  This week's top ten posts  In case you missed it - here are the top 10 posts viewed the past week.   'Shantha Takes on Toyota --Toyota Blinks' by Tom McDermott Posted by Tom McDermott 115  Bears, Seabirds and Whales: Japan’s Wild Edges. By Joachim Theis Posted by Joachim Theis 108  A UN Secretary-General who Defied the US – and Suffered a Backlash (shared by Robert Cohen) Posted by XUNICEF News and Views 107  Ro-meow and Juliet: Cat steals show during tragic ballet finale (shared by Fouad Kronfol) Posted by XUNICEF News and Views 105  New US funds begin to trickle in - US Pledges Over $1 Billion to UNICEF and WFP by Tom McDermott Posted by XUNICEF News and Views 102  Former UNICEF colleague takes on the Ebola Bundibugyo outbreak, by Tom McDermott Posted by Tom McDermott 91  I Israeli envoy and UN official clash at hearing on children in conflict Posted by XUNICEF News and Views 86  The Development Strategist (3) - Philanthropically Minded: Detlef Palm Poste...

"She is gone, my only rose..." mother of Raghad By Tom McDermott Reading the news often brings unexpected connections between the statistics in UN reports and real people.  The news of the death of Raghad Ashour on Monday in Gaza suddenly made real the numbers in the report issued the following day by the UN Indpendent Commission of Inquiry - see "About that shouting match". Raghad was killed by an Israeli drone in Gaza on Monday morning while on her way to school to prepare for her final exams. She is now among the 1,011 Palestinians killed and at least 266 children killed since the ceasefire of last October.   UNICEF Palestine was among many mourning her death: "We are devastated by the killing of Raghad, 17, a UNICEF Youth Champion, on her way to sit her high school exam in Gaza." Who was Raghad?   - There is something in the details of Raghad's life that makes her death especially hard to absorb. Her father had been killed in an Israeli strike wh...

As we mark the Day of Ashura(varies by location according to moon phase), we wanted to send a warm note to our XUNICEF community.

Image: Magnifique FIFA’s Double Standard A beacon abroad, darkness at home: FIFA’s questionable practices. Manuel Manrique Castro Jun 24, 2026

Title: Migration: a reality, not an emergency Author: The Lancet Migration European Regional Hub Publication: The Lancet Date: 19 June 2026

If I get dementia…

Title: The Overlooked Link Between Disaster Response at Home and U.S. Power Abroad Author: Leonardo Martinez-Diaz Publication: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Date: 18 June 2026

Title: Afghanistan’s Madrasa System under the Taliban Author: Afghanistan Human Rights Center Publication: Afghanistan Human Rights Center Date: 27 January 2025

The Genocide Report that Followed Four Days Later Robert Cohen wrote to several of us on Saturday morning asking if we could locate the video of a confrontation that had erupted the previous day (Friday) at the UN meeting marking the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict. Robert included a link to a Reuters report but wanted the visual record. The video from UN Web TV is worth watching (below or here ). At the meeting, Israel's ambassador Danny Danon launched a furious public attack on Pramila Patten, the Secretary-General's Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, demanding her resignation after her office blacklisted Israel for alleged sexual abuses for the first time. "You caved to the secretary-general's obsession with targeting Israel," Danon told her. Vanessa Frazier — Malta's former UN ambassador and now the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, who had herself com...

We are enjoying retirement and have been exploring amazing corners of Albania (our first base in our first step of retirement. )  Lake Ohrid is an amazing lake on the border shared by Albania and North Macedonia.

Secretary-General Kofi Annan speaks at a ceremony to unveil the official portrait of his predecessor, Boutros Boutros-Ghali. Credit: UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe Title: A UN Secretary-General who Defied the US – and Suffered a Backlash Author: Thalif Deen Publication: Inter Press Service (via Global Issues) Date: 22 June 2026

Title: Israeli envoy and UN official clash at hearing on children in conflict Author: Reuters (uncredited staff report) Publication: Reuters Date: 19 June 2026

Title: Pakistan and Afghanistan: a call for health diplomacy and restraint Author: Zulfiqar A Bhutta, Fawad Akbari, Shabina Raza, Suraya Dalil Publication: The Lancet Date: June 19, 2026

Julien Harneis in conversation at Chatham House, November 2024. Image: Chatham House We always want to congratulate a colleague when we learn of their appointment to a senior post. In this case however, we might temper our good wishes with the thought that the new job is one few people would want, and without doubt among the world's toughest. On the other hand, for the past 30 years Julien Harneis seems to have moved from one tough post to another. His latest challenge however is likely to be "off the charts" in terms of difficulty.

It was a pleasant surprise this morning to come across a NY Times article ( A Humble 3-Wheel Electric Vehicle Lands Toyota in Federal Court) which mentions a former UNICEF staffer, Shantha Bloemen, We had never crossed paths in our UNICEF lives, or for that matter, in XUNICEF. Her story and the story of the organzation she founded seems intriguing.

The World Bank has never had a woman president. Neither have the African, Asian, Inter-American, or Islamic Development Banks As the search for the next SG continues, this article points to another great lacuna in gender equality, that of women leaders in financial institutions. The Glass Ceiling has been broken in many UN agencies like UNICEF, WFP and UNESCO, but much more is still needed. PS. Not to forget our own Blog Editors team is still looking for a woman to volunteer!

 This will bring smiles to most readers as an unusual happening in the world of art and culture. It brings back a personal memory in Hanoi in 1980 when Nadia and I attended the opera Fidelio by Beethoven ,sung in Vietnamese when a huge rat came out of one of the loges and onto the stage…the audience was mesmerized for an instant and then the laughter broke out.

This time I take you to Geneva where I spent last month with my daughter Aastha. Behind her house is Park Beaulieu, which has an amazing tree with almost 15 branches rooted into the ground and shooting up to the sky.1 It seems to be there since eternity. It’s wondrous and no matter what, I make my way daily to just stare at it… after sometime passes, I sit at my favourite bench and breathe in the atmosphere.

  This week's top ten posts   In case you missed it - here are the top 10 posts viewed the past week

Rhinoceros Auklet This is Part 3 of my four-part series on wildlife photography in Japan. In Part 2, I wrote about Japan’s winter bird spectacles, some of them sustained by supplementary feeding. In this post, I turn to animals that must fend for themselves: brown bears, seabirds, and whales on Japan’s northern and southern frontiers.

Title: A Year of Unthinkable Suffering: Record Number of Children in Conflict Victims of Grave Violations in 2025, With Government Forces as the Leading Perpetrator for the First Time Author: Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict Publication: United Nations – Children and Armed Conflict Date: 17 June 2026