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- UN warns on ecological tipping points
UN Convention on Biological Diversity executive secretary Ahmed Djoghlaf has warned that global climate change is closing to pushing several sensitive ecosystems over tipping points -- after which damage will be irrevocable. Deforestation in the Amazon, algae growth in many freshwater lakes and rivers, and coral reef decline due to increased ocean acidification and warmth were named as three potential tipping points. Djoghlaf chided UN member nations for failing to meet a 2002 pledge to curb the loss of biodiversity. Google/Agence France-Presse (5/10)       - WFP names Christina Aguilera hunger ambassador
The UN World Food Programme named Grammy award-winning artist Christina Aguilera an ambassador against hunger. Aguilera has traveled to Guatemala to see WFP efforts for maternal and child health and raised more than $60 million as part of a celebrity telethon to benefit Haiti. Aguilera plans to go to Haiti soon in her new official capacity. ABC News (5/7) - Children's lot is improving among poor, says WHO
Progress toward the Millennium Development Goals has seen far fewer deaths among children due to malnutrition, HIV and tuberculosis, according to a report published by the World Health Organization. Child mortality has improved in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Mozambique and Rwanda, though some countries may still struggle to meet the MDGs by the 2015 target. Annual deaths of children fell to 8.8 million in 2008, down 30% from 1990 levels. AlertNet.org/Reuters (5/10) - Recession, distraction undermine AIDS drug effort in Africa
Though the number of people taking AIDS medication in Uganda has doubled in the past decade, the global economic crisis has undermined donor support for the fight against AIDS -- while some philanthropists have gone on to support cheaper, more successful efforts against other diseases. Uganda clinics have begun turning away people who have relied on AIDS medication, while Nigeria and Swaziland have reported drug shortages and Tanzania and Botswana are cutting services. In Uganda, some 500,000 require treatment and just 200,000 receive medication -- but each year 110,000 more people are infected. The New York Times (free registration) (5/9) - Senegal struggles to provide basic services for mothers, babies
Improved access to reproductive health services and the availability of basic supplies like beds for patients to lie on are among the needs medical service providers in Senegal cite as critical in the battle against maternal mortality. One out of every 21 Senegalese women dies during childbirth or as a result of pregnancy complications. The Toronto Star (5/8) Top five news stories selected by UN Wire readers in the past week. - Results based on number of times each story was clicked by readers.
- Guyana ponders environment, poverty equation
Plans under consideration to pave a mud road that traverses Guyana's rain forest connecting the capital Georgetown with boomtowns along the Brazilian border pit the country's desire for development and poverty alleviation against environmental conservation. Opponents claim 2 million acres of the biodiverse South American rain forest would be adversely affected by a paved road. The New York Times (free registration) (5/8) - India sees reward in backing for China during Copenhagen
Bilateral relations between China and India have improved dramatically as a result of close coordination of negotiating positions during the December 2009 Copenhagen climate summit to counter demands from Western countries, an Indian official notes. "We were critical to China at Copenhagen. The Chinese know, in their heart of hearts, that we saved them from isolation," Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh said. The Hindu (India) (5/10) - Iran executes 5 Kurdish activists
Iranian authorities executed five Kurdish activists Sunday in a move widely seen as a warning to opposition supporters ahead of the one-year anniversary of massive anti-government demonstrations that erupted after Iran's controversial June 2009 presidential election. Authorities ordered executions in February this year ahead of planned protests. The New York Times (free registration) (5/9) - EU approves unprecedented bailout package
European leaders pledged nearly $1 trillion to save the European Union from a debt crisis that has threatened to undermine the viability of Europe's political confederacy. EU countries will contribute $636 billion from new and existing loan programs in order to bolster investor confidence, while the International Monetary Fund will kick in another $321 billion. Riots in Greece and a dramatic free fall in the U.S. stock market have capitalized concerns that the European debt crisis could have far-reaching effects. The New York Times (free registration) (5/9) - Taliban pledge to resist Western offensive in Kandahar
Believing themselves to be firmly entrenched in the fabric of Kandahar, Taliban fighters are preparing for a showdown with NATO and U.S. troops preparing to move on what U.S. military officials believe to be the capital of the insurgency. The city of Kandahar, home to 1 million people and the birthplace of the insurgency, hosts an unknown number of fighters. Suicide bombings, threats and assassinations -- including the assassination of popular Kandahar Deputy Mayor Azizullah Yarmal -- have escalated as NATO and U.S. soldiers have built up forces in the Kandahar region in advance of the offensive. Los Angeles Times (5/9)
- Reader poll: Which is the biggest opportunity for mobile technology to support the work of the United Nations?
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