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- Ban alarmed by ethnic clashes in Kyrgyzstan
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon expressed alarm over the continued ethnic fighting in Kyrgyzstan, where 117 people have died in three days of intense conflict. Observers say that the ouster of former Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev has likely inflamed ethnic tensions, as Bakiyev still claims supporters in Osh- and Uzbek-populated south. BBC (6/14)       - UN to review Taliban names on terror blacklist
A UN Security Council delegation is visiting Kabul, Afghanistan, to consult with leaders about the possibility of removing Taliban leaders from the terrorist blacklist, which currently notes 142 Taliban figures and 360 others with alleged ties to al-Qaida. The delegation, which will look to advise the UN Security Council to remove or add to names on the blacklist, comes after the recent assembly of Afghanistan's peace jirga. Blacklisted figures may not keep bank accounts or travel across international borders, and the blacklist has been a sticking point among the Taliban in negotiations with Afghanistan and the West. The New York Times (free registration) (6/12) - Koreas to brief UN Security Council in separate sessions
Representatives from North and South Korea will each brief the UN Security Council on the sinking of the South Korean warship, an incident that South Korea blames on a North Korean torpedo. North Korea requested a separate session to brief the UN Security Council, an apparently unprecedented request. Though analysts see the prospect of war on the Korean Peninsula as unlikely, skirmishes could break out along the armed border or disputed territorial waters where the warship was sank. Reuters (6/14)  - Is polio re-emerging in Russia?
Russian authorities announced Sunday the country's first death from polio in more than a decade and said testing has confirmed four other polio cases. Thus far, all of the cases have involved citizens of Central Asia, where small outbreaks have erupted this year. AlertNet.org/Reuters (6/13) 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.
- Is Japan paying for whaling votes?
Japan has been doling out bribes of cash, paid travel and prostitutes to representatives of smaller countries as part of its campaign to secure votes at the International Whaling Commission, according to an investigation by London's Sunday Times. Japan would like to see the end to a 24-year moratorium on commercial whale hunting at a IWC meeting this month. Sunday Times (London) (6/13) - U.S. is accepting international help as Gulf cleanup costs rise
After initially refusing international offers of assistance for dealing with the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the U.S. has requested technical aid from countries with experience in cleaning oil spills, including European Union countries, Canada and Mexico. The U.S. took nearly 10,000 feet of boom from Canada and accepted another 14,000 feet of boom and two skimmers from Mexico. Critics have questioned whether the U.S. was too slow to act on initial offers after it received a rosy estimate for the cleanup costs from BP -- costs that have ballooned to $1.6 billion. The Washington Post (6/14) , The Independent (London) (6/14) - Somali government is mobilizing child soldiers
Somali human-rights groups and UN officials report that the Somali government is recruiting hundreds of child soldiers to fight on the front lines of its ongoing conflict with radical Islamic insurgent forces. The UN has named the Somali government as one of the most persistent recruiters of child soldiers -- some as young as 9 -- a charge that Somali government officials attribute to improper vetting. The beleaguered Somali government has not yet taken action on UN plans to remove child soldiers and has refused to ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child -- as has the U.S. The New York Times (free registration) (6/13) - Advocates challenge laws, traditions for African women's rights
A team of international human-rights lawyers and advocates are looking to change the mores around sexual assault and women's rights in Africa, beginning with Kenya, Malawi and Ghana. All three countries are reviewing laws related to marital rape, but additional efforts will be needed to address the norms of customary law that equate women with property. The Globe and Mail (Toronto) (6/12) - Behind the scenes at a Chinese labor action
 With only a little planning and no formal union, Tan Guocheng, a worker at a Honda factory in Foshan, China, led his colleagues in a brief strike that resulted in raises for factory workers. Tan lost his job as a result of his participation in the strike. Across China, strikes and calls for independent unions are growing as reflection of worker frustration with low pay and long work days. The New York Times (free registration) (6/13) - Clashes mark Iranian election anniversary
Demonstrators marked the one-year anniversary of the disputed Iranian presidential election with small protests that drew clashes with Iranian security forces throughout Tehran. Opposition leaders Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi called off official opposition demonstrations, fearing that the Iranian government crackdown on the protesters would be severe. Los Angeles Times (6/12) - Iran is considering changes to IAEA relationship
Iranian authorities are working on a bill that would reduce the country's relations with the International Atomic Energy Agency in the wake of recently imposed additional United Nations Security Council sanctions. IAEA officials failed to prevent the sanctions despite numerous agency reports that confirmed the nonmilitary aspirations of the country's nuclear program, Iranian news reports say. IAEA officials say Iran has not provided enough information to make such a determination. Bloomberg Businessweek (6/13) - Iraq's Central Bank targeted in bomb attack
At least 15 people died and dozens more were wounded in a coordinated attack outside Iraq's Central Bank on Sunday, the latest in a string of attempted and successful robberies of financial and business institutions across the country. Iraqi security officials believe the attack was an attempt by al-Qaida operatives. The Washington Post (6/14)  | |  | | | | | | | | 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 | | | |  | |  | |
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