International

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, former president of Liberia and a member of The Elders, addressed a high-level open videoconference (VTC) on the United Nations Secretary-General’s annual report on the protection of civilians in armed conflict. Invited because of her experiences leading Liberia through both the Ebola Crisis and its recovery from a decades-long civil war, President Sirleaf provided insights on how to manage the impact of COVID-19 on civilian populations in conflict and post-conflict situations. She urged the council to “act with boldness” to protect those trapped in conflict and “end the cycle of immeasurable loss and human tragedy.”

Former Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) and APB speaker Gro Harlem Brundtland weighed in on the coronavirus epidemic, drawing parallels to the SARS epidemic that originated in China in 2002. Brundtland was at the helm of the WHO when the global threat of SARS arose, and her clearheaded leadership during a time of hysteria helped curtail and contain the spread of the disease.

Former President of Ireland and APB speaker Mary Robinson is the Chair of the Elders, an independent group of global leaders working for peace and human rights, founded originally by Nelson Mandela. In her capacity as Chair of the eminent council, she recently took part in the annual unveiling of their signature "doomsday clock" in Washington, D.C. Used as a metric that measures the existential and global level of threat to humanity, the 2020 clock is set at 100 seconds to midnight, which is the closest to midnight it has been since 1947. This is a sobering wake-up call to pressing issues of our time, notably climate change and nuclear arms controls.

APB speaker Herman Boone, a beloved football coach, mentor, leader and motivator that touched the hearts of thousands, has passed away at the age of 84 in his home in Alexandria, Virginia. Boone is best known for uniting two racially diverse football teams in the '70s as newfound head coach of the T.C. Williams High School. The incredible story, including his journey with assistant Bill Yoast, was memorialized in the mega-hit film Remember the Titans, in which Boone was played by Denzel Washington to great acclaim. Coach Boone was a larger-than-life figure in the Alexandria community, and he became a symbol of steadfastness in the fight for racial integration and equality nationwide.

APB speaker Vaclav Smil, a renowned scientist, professor and thought leader has released his much-anticipated new book Growth: From Microorganisms to Megacities via the MIT Press. Smil’s expertise in the realms of climate, energy and consumption have made him a larger-than-life figure in the scientific discussions around our society’s response to climate change, especially the potential of energy transitions.

Former Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, a Nobel Peace Laureate known as “Africa’s Iron Lady,” has been appointed Health Workforce Ambassador by the World Health Organization (WHO).

On the heels of Michael Cohen’s stunning testimony before Congress, the news media continues to look to Watergate legend Carl Bernstein for insightful analysis and no-holds-barred commentary. In an attention-getting exchange on Anderson Cooper 360, CNN political analyst Bernstein countered a jaw-dropping statement from former Republican presidential candidate and Trump defender Rick Santorum.

In three short years, Sophia has seen many firsts. She is the first non-human to address the U.N., gain citizenship and grace the covers of Cosmopolitan and Elle. She has gone on a date with Will Smith, sung a duet with Jimmy Fallon and wowed speaking audiences from Indiana to Pamplona, Spain.

Liberia’s former president, Nobel Peace Laureate and APB speaker President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has joined The Elders, a group of former world leaders tasked with ensuring peace and human rights. Sirleaf, Africa’s first democratically-elected female head of state, is a leading promoter of freedom, justice, women’s empowerment and democratic rule.

Written by APB Exclusive Speaker, Mark Blyth: No one wants to talk about Brexit, and yet we have to. If you take Brexiteers at their word, the point of leaving the EU, which is the largest free trade zone in the world, is to make it possible for the UK to sign its own better free trade deals, most of which would be with, yes, the EU. Yeah, that makes sense...