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- Ban urges elimination of nuclear weapons
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for the total elimination of all nuclear weapons, observing that only complete nuclear abstinence could prevent the use of the nuclear bomb. On Friday, Ban will become the first UN secretary-general to attend the ceremony commemorating the bombing of Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945. The U.S., U.K. and France will all send envoys to the ceremony, marking the first time any of the Allied countries have attended the event. Google/Agence France-Presse (8/5)       - Security Council implores Iraq on government
Almost five months have passed since parliamentary elections in Iraq, but rival factions have yet to agree on a governing coalition -- a situation that the UN Security Council says is interfering with the provision of basic services to citizens. A council statement called on Iraq to "form, as quickly as possible, a government that is inclusive and represents the will of the Iraqi people and their hope for a strong, independent, unified and democratic Iraq." Reuters (8/4) - Campbell to testify in Taylor blood-diamond trial today
Today The Hague is hearing the testimony of supermodel Naomi Campbell, who received a so-called blood diamond from the notorious former Liberian dictator Charles Taylor -- testimony that will help to establish when Taylor received and dealt diamonds from Sierra Leone. Taylor is said to have seized diamonds in order to exchange them for weapons, which he used to arm Sierra Leonean rebels. Campbell has refused to discuss the episode in public. Los Angeles Times (8/5)   | - Rancor over Haiti fund continues
More than six months after the Jan. 12 earthquake that devastated Haiti, just 18% of the $5.3 billion pledged by international donors has reached rebuilding efforts on the ground. Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive and former U.S. President Bill Clinton, who are heading Interim Haiti Reconstruction Commission, have been critical of the World Bank, which is managing some of the reconstruction funds, for what they say are high administrative costs and excessive bureaucracy. The Miami Herald (free registration) (8/3) - 10 mHealth guidelines for policymakers
A combination of public and private leadership is necessary for the development of mobile health technologies and their integration into health care systems. David K. Aylward, executive director of the mHealth Alliance, and his co-authors offer 10 guidelines for policymakers looking to bring the benefits of mHealth to their own populations. Among their suggestions: Avoid putting technology experts in charge and look for single projects that can be scaled up when launching mHealth initiatives. Americas Quarterly (subscription required) (Summer 2010) - What's next for Guantanamo?
The lack of precedent -- legal and situational -- for the U.S. military detention facility at Guantanamo Bay has hampered the efforts of the Obama administration to close the prison. Some of the prisoners reportedly prefer Guantanamo to returning home, where they fear persecution. For those detainees that the U.S. intends to charge and prosecute, the Obama administration has yet to decide whether they will be prosecuted in a U.S. court or military tribunal. The Economist (7/29)  | - Lebanon, Israel pledge to abide by UN cease-fire
Lebanese and Israeli military officials pledged to work to avoid escalating a tense border standoff after an exchange of fire that the UN says was prompted by Lebanese soldiers firing on Israeli troops who were clearing brush on Israeli territory. Israel and Lebanon confirmed their dedication to the terms outlined by the UN-arranged peacekeeping solution and agreed to work with the UN Interim Forces in Lebanon to avoid further hostilities. Bloomberg Businessweek (8/5) - Pakistan reels after Taliban assassination, severe floods
Pakistan is buckling under the strain of the twin threats of natural and man-made disaster as flooding and Taliban attacks take their toll. The Taliban assassinated Sifwat Ghayur, a Western ally and the chief of an ethnic Pashtun security force tasked with fighting the Taliban along the tribal border region. Meanwhile, the UN has warned of severe food shortages in areas beset by floods stemming from one of the most dramatic monsoon seasons in 80 years. Bad weather continues to hamper helicopter efforts to deliver humanitarian aid to Swat Valley and other beleaguered regions. The Wall Street Journal (8/4) , The Washington Post (8/5) - Petraeus modifies combat rules in Afghanistan
In his first tactical directive since taking over U.S. command of the war in Afghanistan from Gen. Stanley McChrystal, Gen. David Petraeus announced new rules of engagement for U.S. soldiers in combat situations that are reportedly designed to clarify rules for junior officers for the use of artillery and airstrikes. Under the counterinsurgency strategy promulgated by McChrystal, civilian deaths were reduced, but apparently field commanders lacked clarity on when such tactics were appropriate. A spokesman for Afghan President Hamid Karzai said the new rules were "basically ... not very different" from earlier directives. Los Angeles Times (8/5)  | |  | | | | | | |  |  Director Civil Society (emphasis climate adaptation) | Institute for Sustainable Communities | Washington, DC | | Executive Director, United Nations Association of the USA (UNA-USA) | United Nations Foundations | Washington DC, DC | | Executive Assistant to the Executive Director, Global Partnerships | United Nations Foundations | Washington DC, DC | | Administrative Assistant, Global Partnerships | United Nations Foundations | Washington DC, DC | | SENIOR ADVOCATE/RESEARCHER (International Financial Institutions) | Human Rights Watch | Washington, DC | | Web Producer/Project Manager | United Nations Foundation (UNF)/Better World Fund (BWF) | Washington, DC | | Director, Corporate Relations | United Nations Foundation (UNF)/Better World Fund (BWF) | Washington , DC | | Director, Online Communications – Public Affairs | United Nations Foundations | Washington DC, DC | | Director, Maternal Newborn mHealth Initiative (MNMI) | United Nations Foundations | Washington DC, DC | | Staff Accountant | United Nations Foundations | Washington DC, DC | | Executive Assistant, Energy Climate | United Nations Foundation (UNF) / Better World Fund (BWF) | Washington, DC | | | |  | |  | |
 | - The U.S. Senate is poised to consider a vastly pared down mix of energy legislation and drilling regulations, meaning the worst environmental accident in U.S. history will not translate to a breakthrough on carbon emissions reductions. Why?
 | The Senate's 60-vote threshold is too difficult | | BP took the blame, not an energy policy that is over-reliant on oil | | Capping carbon emissions is really a tax on energy | | The Environmental Protection Agency will regulate carbon emissions |
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