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- Violence alters UNHCR's Afghan work
Aid efforts on behalf of tens of thousands of internally displaced Afghans are at risk from the country's deteriorating security situation, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres warns. UNHCR's foreign staff is unable to travel to more than 50% of the country, leaving the agency to rely on local staff and other organizations to reach populations in need. Google/The Associated Press (5/5)        - U.S. floats plan to boost development
The administration of U.S. President Barack Obama is reviewing a plan to revamp unify development efforts and shift the relationship between the U.S. Agency for International Development and its longtime parent agency, the State Department. A new report discusses the establishment of an interagency "development policy committee" that would report directly to the U.S. president. The State Department is reportedly looking to continue its oversight of USAID. ForeignPolicy.com/The Cable blog (5/3) - WHO launches a snakebite database
In an effort to curb some 100,000 deaths caused each year by snakebites, the World Health Organization launched a website database listing approved antivenoms. Countries in sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and Southeast Asia are most vulnerable to venomous snakebites -- which affect 2.5 million people every year. Many countries in vulnerable regions lack the laboratory facilities to isolate snake venom and produce adequate quantities of antivenom. The Boston Globe/The Associated Press (5/5) - New U.S. trade bill would boost Haiti's job market
U.S. authorities are preparing to give tens of thousands of unemployed Haitians a boost in their job searches. American legislators are expected to endorse a legislative update today that will pave the way for long-term investments in the country's textile and garment industries by tripling the amount of duty-free access for products. Haitian authorities project the move will pave the way for tens of thousands of new jobs. The Miami Herald (free registration) (5/4) - In Sudan, brides are traded for cattle
Mundari tribesmen make up just one of the tribes caught between ancient tradition and the rush of modernity in southern Sudan, where the tribes still trade daughters for longhorn cattle. Luxury goods and government services alike hold appeal to many people who live by tribal traditions yet encounter these things every day, leading some fathers to trade daughters for cash in order to buy modern conveniences. Los Angeles Times (5/4) - Birds suffer from Gulf spill
Hundreds of bird species that make their homes in the marshes, swamplands and national parks along the U.S. Gulf Coast face both immediate and long-term risks from the massive oil spill making its way toward land. Oil that reaches shore will have adverse effects on species currently nesting and laying eggs, and will likely remain in the bird habitats for years, experts warn. AlertNet.org/Reuters (5/4) - Face veil prompts fine for Tunisian woman in Italy
Police in northern Italy penalized a Muslim Tunisian woman with a fine for wearing a face-concealing veil in public under a municipal ordinance that bans clothing that prevents easy identification of the wearer in public buildings. The fine comes as city and national officials across Europe consider measures to ban face-covering Islamic garments. The Guardian (London) (5/5) - Ahmadinejad reacts to UN scolding
Any chance of stabilizing U.S.-Iranian relations would end if the U.S. succeeds with efforts to secure United Nations Security Council sanctions over Iran's nuclear program, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad warned Tuesday. Ahmadinejad said Iran remains open to more diplomatic efforts to ease concerns and plans to meet this month with the leaders of Brazil and Turkey, two of the Council's nonpermanent members, to discuss a proposed enriched-uranium swap deal. The Washington Post (5/4) - Sanctions could boost Revolutionary Guard: Engineering companies owned by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps have been awarded enormous no-bid contracts to develop Iran's energy resources in the wake of sanctions that have forced European companies to abandon Iran -- sanctions that were intended to squeeze the Revolutionary Guard Corps. The Washington Post (5/5)
- Iraqi Shiite blocs form coalition to take government
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's State of Law bloc has joined with another prominent Shiite bloc, the Iraqi National Alliance, to form a political coalition to lead the Iraqi government -- even as election outcomes are still in dispute. The independent Kurds are expected to add their numbers to the Shiite coalition's 159 seats, which is just short of a majority. While it remains to be seen who will lead the new coalition government as prime minister, the deal represents a significant defeat for the Sunni bloc led by former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi. BBC (5/5) , National Public Radio (5/5) , The New York Times (free registration) (5/4) - An election bid by Nigeria's acting leader could split the ruling party
With no figure in the front-runner position to become candidate for the People's Democratic Party in the Nigerian presidential election, a divided party could enter into an unprecedented election. Although the People's Democratic Party has selected the president since the end of military rule in 1999, a bid by acting President Goodluck Jonathan would disrupt the party's standing rule of alternating between candidates from the Muslim north and candidates from the Christian south. Potential candidates from the north -- including former military commander Ibrahim Babangida and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar -- have vowed to fight Jonathan for the nomination. One analyst said that the development represented a healthy transition from an anointed candidacy to fair political process. Bloomberg Businessweek (5/5) - NYC bomb may prompt U.S. to press Pakistan on militants
The arrest of Faisal Shahzad in conjunction with a failed car bomb attack on Times Square in New York is expected to raise the scrutiny of U.S. authorities on Pakistan, where Shahzad and a growing number of captured extremists are said to have received training. Pakistan is still resisting pressure to launch a full-on offensive against Pakistani Taliban and Lashkar-i-Taiba militants in North Waziristan -- where Shahzad may have received training. The Washington Post (5/5)
- 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. |
- UN approval rating rises to 60% in new poll
New public opinion polling shows that Americans' favorable rating of the United Nations has risen to 60%. The data released today by the United Nations Foundation and its sister organization, the Better World Campaign, is the highest favorable rating for the UN in five years. The polling illustrates that Americans are responding positively to the work of UN in light of its response to recent natural disasters around the world, as well as the UN's continued efforts to protect human rights and address humanitarian emergencies. UN Foundation (5/5) |
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