North Korea said Friday it was "premature" to declare a formal end to the Korean War, after a reference to renewed efforts by South Korean President Moon Jae-in to put the discussion back on the table amid stalled nuclear negotiations with Pyongyang...

Global Policy

Host Carol Castiel and VOA senior diplomatic correspondent, Cindy Saine, talk with Mona Yacoubian, a senior official at the US Institute of Peace who tells VOA that the end of the US military intervention in Afghanistan underscores the need to prioritize diplomacy, peacebuilding, and development...

Peace Processes;  Global Policy

On this Africa edition of Encounter, Joshua Meservey, senior policy analyst for Africa and the Middle East at the Heritage Foundation and Oge Onubogu, director of the West Africa program at the U.S. Institute of Peace, discuss setbacks in democracy and good governance as exemplified by coups in Guinea and Mali, the need to strengthen regional institutions like ECOWAS and the African Union and the importance of fostering positive trends...

Democracy & Governance

President Biden hosted the first face to face summit with leaders of Japan, Australia and India. The four countries are known as the Quad and see themselves as a democratic bulwark against China...

Global Policy

Talks between U.S. and global leaders this week underscored intensifying concerns about the fallout from the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, but they produced no consensus on how and when to fully resume vital financial assistance to the country as it plunges deeper into economic crisis...

Global Policy

The Taliban took control of Afghanistan over a month ago. The last time they rose to power was in 1996, promising order through a strict interpretation of Sharia law. But how did they become the dominant force in Afghanistan? Rund Abdelfatah and Ramtin Arablouei, hosts of NPR's History podcast Throughline, look at the origins of the Taliban, starting with the Soviet invasion in Afghanistan more than 40 years ago...

Violent Extremism

In 2020, eight Mozambican public officials and one Chinese national named Zhao were arrested for illegally harvesting and exporting timber from Cabo Delgado — Mozambique’s northernmost province — to China. According to local reports, five of the Mozambicans are awaiting trial while Zhao and three Mozambicans have been released, and the seized wood was...

Violent Extremism;  Environment;  Economics

In recent years, the U.S. government has begun revising its approach to addressing violence and conflict prevention in fragile contexts. In 2018 the U.S. government published the Stabilization Assistance Review (SAR). The Global Fragility Act was passed and signed into law with strong bipartisan support in 2019...

Religion;  Fragility & Resilience