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- UN Security Council approves Iran sanctions
The UN Security Council voted to impose more sanctions on Iran, targeting conventional arms and the finances of 40 Iranian companies. The vote is a culmination of months of debate over the international community stance on Iran's nuclear development program. Brazil and Turkey voted against the resolution, out of anger that the Security Council rejected attempts by the two countries to broker a revised nuclear deal with Iran. The Wall Street Journal (6/9)       - U.K. puts UN, other aid organizations on notice
U.K. International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell issued a warning to the World Bank, International Committee of the Red Cross, UN and other international aid agencies, saying that they must either demonstrate the results of their efforts or receive less U.K. funding. Though Britain's foreign aid budget has been spared in spending cuts, Mitchell said that the U.K. would direct greater funding to those organizations with proven track records in the fight against global poverty and other problems. BBC (6/9)  - Height is a risk factor for heart disease, report says
Men and women who are shorter than average are more prone to cardiovascular and heart problems, and 50% more likely to die from heart disease than taller people, a report shows. Researchers combined data from 52 earlier studies involving more than 3 million people to examine the existence of a connection between stature and heart-health issues. Google/Agence France-Presse (6/8) - EU readies biofuel certification plan
The European Commission will unveil new a biofuels policy Thursday, one aimed at securing a supply of low-carbon energy in line with the European Union's goal of generating 10% of the bloc's transportation fuels from renewable sources by 2020. Environmentalists criticized the EU over concerns production of biofuels was creating more carbon gas emissions than it was saving. The updated policy will create a certification standard for biodiesel and ethanol to help reduce the amount of fuel coming from ecologically delicate areas, including forests and peat lands. The New York Times (free registration) (6/7) - Scientists urge more ocean protection measures
Worries over the effects of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico dominated Tuesday's observance of UN-recognized World Oceans Day. Scientists say they fear the spill could have a lasting impact on food chains in the Gulf region. A group of almost 250 scientists from 35 countries issued a statement calling on world leaders to create marine reserves. NYTimes.com/Green blog (6/8) , MSNBC (6/7) - Global economic crisis hit workers rights
The global economic crisis cost tens of millions of jobs and helped spur violence against workers around the world in 2009, with murders of labor activists rising more than 30% compared with the previous year, according to a report from the International Confederation of Trade Unions. Both governments and private businesses were guilty of putting pressure on workers unions and infringing on workers rights, the report charges. AlertNet.org/Reuters (6/9) - Afghan deal with Taliban would cost women, former official says
Afghan President Hamid Karzai's plan to offer amnesty to the Taliban in exchange for an end to their insurgency poses a direct danger to women and the meager gains in women's rights over the past decade, says Massouda Jalal, former Cabinet minister and presidential candidate. "Their engagement will be bad news to our values and to the women of Afghanistan, so I hope it doesn't happen. We need to depowerment of the Taliban and extremism," Jalal says. The Toronto Star (6/8) - Kimberley Process report on Zimbabwean diamonds is questioned
Human-rights groups are protesting a report by a UN-backed Kimberley Process monitor, which recommends that Zimbabwean diamonds be allowed on the market. Activists say the report ignores evidence of abuses in the Zimbabwean mining industry and endangers a Zimbabwean civic leader. Zimbabwe's critics say that the military forces charged with protecting Zimbabwe's vast diamond fields from illegal miners engage in rape, assaults and other attacks against the miners -- a charge that the Kimberley Process confirmed last year. The New York Times (free registration) (6/8) - Taliban hit NATO in Pakistan and Afghanistan
Taliban fighters launched an unprecedented attack on NATO forces outside the Pakistani capital, setting a column of 50 Afghanistan-bound NATO supply trucks on fire. At least seven people died in the midnight assault by 10 gunmen -- the first attack staged by the Taliban near Islamabad. NATO forces suffered four more deaths in southern Afghanistan, where a NATO helicopter crashed after Taliban fighters shot it with a rocket-propelled grenade. BBC (6/9) , The Guardian (London) (6/9) - Address Somali piracy at the source
 Naval patrols off the Horn of Africa have helped decrease the number of successful pirate attacks, but winning the battle against piracy requires a shift in strategy, writes Antonio Maria Costa, head of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Costa suggests technical and financial assistance to improve Somali's prison system, institute anti-money-laundering measures, and increase Somali governance and law enforcement capabilities. The New York Times (free registration) (6/8) - Contradictory videos of Iranian scientist defector raise eyebrows
In a video aired by Iranian state television, an Iranian scientist who defected to the U.S. last year said that he had been instead abducted and tortured by the U.S. -- a claim he then retracted in a second video. An Internet chat session recorded in April revealed a disheveled Shahram Amiri claiming that he had been abducted during a religious pilgrimage by a joint operation between the CIA and Saudi Arabia's Istikhbarat. Despite the release of a second video -- in which a cleaned-up Amiri refuted his own claims -- Iran protested formally through diplomatic channels, sparking speculation that the incident could hinder the release of three U.S. hikers held by Iran for the past year. The Washington Post (6/9) - Brazil experiences economic growth spurt
The Brazilian economy surged in the first three months of 2010, with gross domestic product growing by 9% compared with the same period in 2009 -- a growth rate reflecting Brazil's emergence as a new Western power. Agriculture and industry experienced reported growth, but domestic consumer demand is the factor most responsible for the rapid economic rise in Brazil -- which has been largely insulated from the effects of the global financial crisis that ravaged other developed economies. BBC (6/8)  | |  | | | | | | | | Deputy Program Director | Human Rights Watch | New York, NY | | Online Communications Senior Associate, Public Affairs Girl Up Campaign | United Nations Foundation (UNF) / Better World Fund (BWF) | Washington, DC | | Campaign Associate, Girl Up Campaign | United Nations Foundation (UNF) / Better World Fund (BWF) | Washington, DC | | Communications Associate, Public Affairs Girl Up Campaign | United Nations Foundation (UNF) / Better World Fund (BWF) | Washington, DC | | Systems Administrator | United Nations Foundation (UNF)/Better World Fund (BWF) | Washington, DC | | Pledge Guarantee for Health (PGH) Associate | United Nations Foundation (UNF)/Better World Fund (BWF) | Washington, DC | | Managing Director, Thought Leadership | United Nations Foundation (UNF) / Better World Fund (BWF) | Washington, DC | | | |  | |  | |
 | - In 2007, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the EPA has the authority to regulate greenhouse-gas emissions. On Thursday, the U.S. Senate will vote on a proposal that would strip the EPA of this authority.
Should Congress be the only body able to issue rules on global warming emissions?
 | Yes -- a government agency has no business being in charge of such a sweeping issue | | No -- emissions reductions are needed now and the Supreme Court has affirmed |
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