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- UN to define ashes-to-engine safety metric
The UN International Civil Aviation Organization convened a special meeting of its leadership to establish global metrics for unacceptable levels of ash concentration for airplane engines -- a question that has vexed European aviation authorities since the eruption of Iceland's Eyjafjallajökull volcano. Though the UN ICAO currently sets standards for visibility and minimum ceiling, no standards exist for flying through plumes of volcanic ash. Google/The Associated Press (4/20)       - Iranian effort to persuade UN Security Council members to vote against sanctions
Iran is turning its focus to the UN Security Council in its bid to win a reprieve from the Western sanctions pursued by the Obama administration. Iran has revived an offer for talks about instituting a nuclear fuel swap, a deal that Western leaders say they will not consider given the present conditions outlined by Iran. Iranian diplomats seek to persuade the UN Security Council's rotating members, such as Lebanon and Uganda, to vote against a potential fourth round of sanctions -- which would be a break from precedent. The Washington Post (4/21)   | - Stars, social media unite for malaria effort
Celebrities are lining up to support an online campaign to urge people to buy insecticide-treated bed nets to help prevent the spread of malaria in Africa. Former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, Microsoft founder Bill Gates and actor Ashton Kutcher will seek to leverage their followings on the social-media site Twitter to drive the campaign. AlertNet.org/Reuters (4/21) - Texas welcomes Haitian soccer team for training, recovery
The Haitian national soccer team has taken up refuge in San Antonio, where they are practicing in advance of a match next month against Argentina -- and enjoying the hospitality of the Lone Star State. Though the team did not qualify for the World Cup and has not played an official game in nearly a year, the Haitian players hope to secure a win and a morale boost for their deeply troubled country, where many people from the soccer federation died in the January earthquake. Google/The Associated Press (4/20) - BASIC to look for climate compromise
A key bloc of powerful countries will meet next week to discuss the future of the Kyoto Treaty and identify a possible compromise to overcome disagreement on efforts to forge an international climate treaty. Brazil, South Africa, India and China -- known collectively as BASIC -- are viewed as the key representatives of developing countries in creating an international climate policy. AlertNet.org/Reuters (4/21) - Industry measures climate change by profit margin
Though climate denialists have attacked climate change science with renewed enthusiasm recently, some corporations have already begun to profit on the effects of climate change. One super heavy lift transport company has determined that it can save time and money by foregoing the Suez Canal and instead paying Russia for permission to travel the Northeast Passage -- a way that has always been obscured by Arctic ice until recent summers. Though Americans' concerns about climate change appear to have peaked two years ago and declined since, industrialists are taking seriously the threat -- and opportunity -- of "climate exposure." Slate (4/19) - UN rules Uruguay not at fault in Argentina pollution dispute
A UN court ruled that there was no evidence that a Uruguayan pulp mill is polluting a river that serves as a border between Uruguay and Argentina. Though there is no appeal to decisions made by the International Court of Justice, activist groups in Argentina say that they will continue to maintain a border bridge blockade that they have kept since 2006. Argentine President Cristina Kirchner has argued that Uruguay ignored a bilateral treaty between the two countries by not informing Argentina of the mill's development. The Wall Street Journal (Europe) (4/21) - "Dirty War" dictator gets jail time
An Argentine court Tuesday sentenced former military ruler Reynaldo Bignone to 25 years in prison for human rights crimes. Bignone, who led the country's "Dirty War" from 1982 to 1983, was charged in the kidnapping, torture and murder of 56 individuals while he was commander of the notorious interrogation base Campo de Mayo in the late 1970s. BBC (4/20) , The Times (London) (4/21) - Iraqi election mired in recount politics
Former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, whose political alliance captured the most votes in Iraqi national elections last month, has called for a broader recount than the partial recount ordered by an Iraqi court -- a move that may increase tensions along sectarian lines. While the court ordered a recount for Baghdad after Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki complained that ballots had been manipulated, the court has not responded to Allawi's complaints of voter fraud in southern Iraq, where Allawi fared poorly. The New York Times (free registration) (4/20) - South Korea interrupts assassination plot by North Korea
South Korean officials uncovered a plot by two would-be North Korean defectors to assassinate Hwang Jang Yop, a former mentor to North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and the isolated nation's most notorious defector. The men, who entered South Korea through Thailand, confessed that they were ordered by military commanders to report on Hwang and stand ready to kill him. Hwang fled North Korea after witnessing the devastating effects of the leadership's economic policy in the 1990s, which led to widespread famine. BBC (4/21) , Google/The Associated Press (4/20)
- Does the United States benefit from United Nations peacekeeping missions around the world?
 | Yes | | No |
- Soccer stars come together to fight malaria
The world's most popular sport, soccer, could become the driving force in the fight against malaria in 2010. In the lead up to World Malaria Day 2010, United Against Malaria, a Bill Melinda Gates Foundation supported partnership of soccer teams, celebrities, global health organizations, governments, corporations and public citizens, is harnessing the power of soccer to unite the malaria community across the globe. Read more at the UN Foundation website. |
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