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- UN launches climate oversight panel
Harold Shapiro, an economist who has served as president of Princeton University and the University of Michigan, will lead a 12-member panel that will oversee the work of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The move comes in the wake of the highly politicized revelation of several mistakes made by the group. The panel is tasked with drawing up recommendations to ensure that the UN IPCC correctly cites sources, considers a variety of perspectives on climate science and secures peer review for all its work. NYTimes.com/Green blog (5/3)       - Croatian minister is appointed UN deputy on human rights
Croatian Justice Minister Ivan Simonovic has been named UN assistant secretary-general for human rights, a position recognizing his practice in the law and service as Croatia's ambassador to the UN. Simonovic says that he hopes to finalize Croatian judicial reforms in order to clear its entry into the European Union before taking his new position. Though Croatia's human-rights record has improved dramatically since the 1990s, there are still some complaints among EU officials and human-rights activists. Los Angeles Times/The Associated Press (5/4)   | - In a shift, Niger openly seeks food aid
Niger is once again in the grips of widespread famine, in the wake of a recent drought and failed crops. But the country's military government, which seized power in a February coup, is adopting a more open approach than previous regimes by distributing food from government storage centers and by openly discussing the famine with the population and with aid agencies and the UN. The New York Times (free registration) (5/3) - Canadian politician has harsh words on abortion
Conservative Canadian Senator Nancy Ruth delivered a blunt warning to aid and development groups Monday, telling them to stop complaining about the government's stance on abortion in foreign aid or risk potential domestic policy fallout. "This is now a political football. This is not about women's health in this country," Ruth said. Canada hosts the next G8 meeting in June where maternal health is expected to feature prominently on the agenda. The Toronto Star (5/3) - Gathering seeks to highlight role of grandparents in HIV/AIDS crisis
More than 450 grandmothers from 12 countries are heading to Swaziland to participate in the inaugural African Grandmothers' Gathering where they will discuss the impacts of HIV/AIDS on families. Organizers hope to build a movement to support targeted funding for grandparents, who often step in to care for children when parents die from the disease, from aid agencies and donors. The Guardian (London) (5/3) - U.S. plans on handing BP an oil spill bill
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said that BP will be held responsible for compensating Gulf Coast fishers whose livelihoods have been destroyed by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill -- an accident that has caused BP's stock to plunge. The costs are likely to greatly outweigh the $75 million cap on liability for economic damages such as lost wages, which has prompted several Democratic U.S. senators to push a bill raising the ceiling to $10 billion. In advance of the economic damage certain to follow as the vast oil slick reaches the coast, sea turtles and other marine life have already begun washing up dead in Pass Christian, Miss. The Guardian (London) (5/3) , Financial Times (tiered subscription model) (5/4) - African bloc backs female circumcision ban
Delegates from 27 African countries assembled in Senegal in support of a UN ban on female genital mutilation -- a practice that affects some 120 million women through Africa and the Middle East. The UN Population Fund reports that about 91 million girls aged 9 and under have undergone genital mutilation, with 3 million operations performed each year. The African Union has warned that migrants who leave for Europe and other areas in the West are bringing with them the practice and that the West must work to combat it also. Google/Agence France-Presse (5/3) - Suspect nabbed in attempted NYC bombing
U.S. federal agents arrested Faisal Shahzad, a U.S. citizen from Pakistan, in conjunction with a failed attempted to trigger a car bomb in Times Square in New York. Authorities arrested Shahzad as he attempted to board a plane for Dubai. Authorities expressed skepticism that the Pakistani Taliban could claim responsibility for the attack, despite threats by Pakistani Taliban leader Hakimullah Mahsud that the militant organization would soon carry out suicide attacks in the U.S. Shahzad recently returned from a five-month trip to Pakistan, which was also a destination for would-be New York bomber Najibullah Zazi and a group from Washington who are now on trial in Pakistan. The New York Times (free registration) (5/4) , Los Angeles Times (5/3) , The Christian Science Monitor (5/4) - Military action, regime change discussed as options to deter Iran
Military action, border security and support for the opposition are all strategies discussed by the U.S. and its allies as ways to deter Iran from developing nuclear weapons -- an outcome that is as undesirable as it is difficult to deter. Airstrikes against Iranian nuclear facilities might destabilize the Middle East, while regime change has drawbacks as a favored U.S. policy because its success is difficult to predict. Further, a more liberal government might not be able to move immediately against conservative elements working to build a nuclear weapon. National Public Radio (5/4) - Sunnis see their hopes fade in election results
Sunnis who participated in the much praised Awakening -- a counterinsurgency campaign in which Sunni tribal leaders switched allegiances, joining Western allies in the fight against al Qaeda -- have not reaped the political rewards they expected for their efforts. The recent elections have done little to boost the station of Sunnis, who did not organize after the Awakening in order to assert themselves in the election. A recount ordered by incumbent Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki could materially change the election results, which has further delayed the formation of a coalition government. The New York Times (free registration) (5/3) , BBC (5/3)
- Reader Poll: To achieve Millennium Development Goal #5, improving maternal health, international organizations should focus their efforts on which of the following:
 | Improving emergency obstetric care. | | Improving prenatal care. | | Helping girls to stay in school. | | Preventing mother-to-child HIV transmission. |
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