| | | Maternal mortality drops worldwide The numbers of women dying during pregnancy or childbirth worldwide have dropped from a half a million a year in 1980 to about 350,000 in 2008, according a study published in the medical journal The Lancet that reviewed maternal mortality data from 181 countries. Countries including China, Bolivia and Egypt have made significant gains in cutting maternal mortality rates. As of 2008, the majority of maternal deaths occurred in six countries: Nigeria, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Ethiopia and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Still, India is among the countries that has sharply cut its incidence of maternal mortality over the period of the study. Researchers credit a combination of increased access to qualified birth attendants and rising income levels. The New York Times (free registration) (4/13) , BBC (4/12) | | | Aid is less than 1% of government spending on average in OECD countries while there is still much effort needed to reach the MDGs. This is a vital investment with big returns for the world as a whole." OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría. Read the full story. | | | "President Obama seems to understand the value of the International Atomic Energy Agency. He has called on countries to double the IAEA's budget over the next four years. In 2010, the United States increased its own contributions by 20%." UN Dispatch | | - OECD warns G8 is slipping on MDG aid pledges
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has said that the G8 is unlikely to keep to a $38.7 billion aid commitment set for the 2015 UN Millennium Development Goals. Though the Paris-based group praised countries such as the U.K. for increasing its aid commitment, several countries drastically cut their budgets for aid spending. OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría acknowledged that countries were struggling after the global economic recession but urged donors to keep to their commitments. The Guardian (London) (4/14) - IAEA chief: Nuclear fuel deal for Iran stalled
Iran, Russia, France and the U.S. appeared deadlocked on attempts to reach agreement on a proposed deal to process uranium, said Yukiya Amano, the new head of the International Atomic Energy Agency. The proposal would see Iran ship its uranium to Russia and France for further refinement and receive back fuel supplies for a reactor producing cancer treatment isotopes. AlertNet.org/Reuters (4/13) - Sudanese election extension wins UN support
The UN welcomed a decision by Sudan's National Election Commission to extend voting by two days in hopes of extending the multiparty vote in areas where confusion or technical errors have caused delays. The Sudan People's Liberation Movement -- which withdrew its candidate from the election among concerns that Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir's ruling National Congress Party would commit voting fraud -- had asked for an additional four days of voting. Some 750 international and 18,000 Sudanese election monitors are working to ensure the election against the threat of fraud and manipulation. CNN (4/14) - Deadly quakes strike China's Qinghai province
A series of powerful earthquakes struck China's Qinghai province Wednesday with initial reports of hundreds dead and thousands more injured. The Chinese army has moved in to assist rescue efforts, but the remoteness of the quake zone will challenge aid and response. The Washington Post (4/14) - Profits from microloans raises concerns
Prominent microloan proponents are concerned the practice is increasingly dominated by traditional banks and financial institutions charging hefty interest rates on lending originally intended as a low cost, high impact means to combat poverty. "Microcredit should be seen as an opportunity to help people get out of poverty in a business way, but not as an opportunity to make money out of poor people," says Muhammad Yunus, microloan pioneer and Nobel laureate. The New York Times (free registration) (4/13) - African sex workers battle for rights
Sex workers from across East Africa are banding together to push for an end to harassment, violence and discrimination. In Uganda, activists are looking to raise public awareness on human rights and educate other sex workers on health risks. In Kenya, sex workers are fighting back against discrimination by security forces. AlertNet.org (4/13) - UN hopes safe shelter draws homeless Haitians out of capital
Authorities hope a new camp built by the United Nations will provide a more stable living environment for Haitians left homeless by the Jan. 12 earthquake and help ease some of the congestion in Port-au-Prince. The camp features water supply centers, a school and clinic, and is built to withstand flash floods and mudslides that routinely accompany hurricane season. TIME (4/13) - Panel rules no scientific wrongdoing in 'Climategate'
An independent panel has ruled that the University of East Anglia's Climatic Research Unit did not commit malpractice in an episode that has been popularly described as "Climategate." The panel recommended that researchers work more closely with statisticians in order to ensure that complex data are used appropriately. Critics sought to portray the content of leaked e-mails between climate scientists as representing a deliberate effort to mislead the public and manipulate data. BBC (4/14) - In turnabout, Argentina may probe Spanish crimes
Argentina has been asked by human-rights groups to open an investigation into human-rights violations including murder and disappearances that occurred in Spain during the Spanish Civil War and just after under the dictatorship of Gen. Francisco Franco. The probe is seen in part as a riposte to investigations into South American rights violations by Spanish Judge Baltasar Garzon. The case in question involves the Argentine relatives of three Spaniards killed during the war. Google/The Associated Press (4/14) - Vatican "clarifies" in wake of French rebuke
The Vatican's secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, waded into the controversy over abuse of children by priests by linking pedophilia to homosexuality. Bertone's comments drew harsh rebukes from the French foreign ministry. Subsequently, a Vatican spokesperson said Bertone's statement was backed by data, but also said that the church was not trying to make claims of a "psychological or medical nature." Mail & Guardian (South Africa)/Agence France-Presse (4/14) , BBC (4/14) - Obama picks up support for nuclear security pact
Forty-six countries joined the U.S. in signing a pact to ensure the world's nuclear materials against the threat of proliferation and terrorism within four years. The commitments -- proposed by U.S. President Barack Obama and signed by world leaders assembled in Washington for a nuclear security summit -- are voluntary agreements, which has spurred skepticism about their likelihood for success. However, many countries left with declarations pledging to ratify existing (and legally binding) nuclear treaties. The Washington Post (4/14) , The Independent (London) (4/14) - U.S. says al-Qaida was sold on nuclear scam
U.S. Deputy National Security Adviser for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism John Brennan said that the U.S. knows that al-Qaida seeks to obtain nuclear material for a weapon -- and the U.S. believes that al-Qaida has been taken for a ride on several occasions. Brennan said that criminal gangs in the former Soviet Union have scammed would-be nuclear terrorists by selling them a fictitious substance known as "red mercury." Wired.com/Danger Room blog (4/13) - Obama: U.S. influence over Mideast peace process is limited
The U.S. cannot force Israel and the Palestinians into a peace agreement if the two sides decide their interests are not best served by the process, U.S. President Barack Obama warned Tuesday. The Obama administration has brought significant pressure to bear on both sides to resume talks over the past year but has gained little traction. Google/The Associated Press (4/13) - China may float its currency this summer
U.S. President Barack Obama dialed back some of the pressure that the U.S. has recently applied to China to allow its currency to appreciate, acknowledging that China's monetary policy is a sovereign issue. Obama observed that a Chinese monetary policy that hewed more closely to the market would be in China's best interests. Many Chinese central bank officials say that China will allow the yuan to appreciate this summer in order to curb inflation. Bloomberg (4/13) , Financial Times (tiered subscription model) (4/14) | | Key Sites | | This SmartBrief was created for eleccion@yahoogroups.com | | About UN WIRE | UN Wire is a free service sponsored by the United Nations Foundation which is dedicated to supporting the United Nations' efforts to address the most pressing humanitarian, socioeconomic and environmental challenges facing the world today. | | | | | Recent UN Wire Issues: - Tuesday, April 13, 2010
- Monday, April 12, 2010
- Friday, April 09, 2010
- Thursday, April 08, 2010
- Wednesday, April 07, 2010
| | | Lead Editor: Adam Mazmanian Contributing Editor: Juliette Terzieff | Kriston Dean Capps Mailing Address: SmartBrief, Inc.®, 1100 H ST NW, Suite 1000, Washington, DC 20005 | | | | © 1999-2010 SmartBrief, Inc.® Legal Information | | |
No comments:
Post a Comment