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- U.S. pressures UN on "special inspection" for Syria
Citing Syria's lack of cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.S. has called for "special inspection" by the UN of alleged nuclear sites to force compliance with international standards on nuclear development. In recent months, the Syrian government has prevented IAEA inspectors from entering as many as five sites with suspected ties to a nuclear weapons program. The Wall Street Journal (8/6)       - Colorado candidate sees bike-sharing as a UN-sponsored threat
U.S. Republican gubernatorial candidate Dan Maes has warned that his opponent, Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, supports a bike-sharing program that represents a vehicle for nefarious ideas supported by the UN. Maes warns that Denver's membership in the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives has exposed it to dangerous ideas such as inexpensive communal bicycle programs, which Maes says puts environmental and communal concerns above individual rights -- and human freedom. The Denver Post (8/5)   | - Pakistani floods are affecting 4 million people
In the most devastating flood to hit Pakistan in 80 years, some 1,600 people have died and as many as 4 million people's lives have been affected. U.K. humanitarian aid officials said that the speed of delivery of aid to people who are struggling to find food, shelter and potable water will be crucial to curbing the devastation. As officials are racing to prevent damage and loss of life in Karachi, where the waters are approaching, anger with Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari's refusal to cancel official state visits to France and U.K. has boiled over. The Independent (London) (8/6) - Facing drought, Russian bans export of wheat
Under the worst heat wave on record and facing a severe drought, Russian authorities banned the export of wheat in an effort to stave off a food-pricing crisis. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said that the ban would preserve wheat reserves as well as cattle. Putin and other Russian authorities have come under fire over the heat wave, while multinational trading companies have called for a ban to escape wheat futures prices set before the drought, at a time when food prices were far lower. The New York Times (free registration) (8/5)  | - Genetically modified plants take to nature
New research suggests that genetically modified plants can survive in the wild -- and transgenes may even boost their fitness. A study in North Dakota found that of canola plants within a select area, some 80% of the plants carried the transgene. Most canola in the area has been developed to be resistant to various herbicides used to kill off weeds that lack those transgenes. The discovery marks the first time that a community of genetically modified plants has been discovered growing wild. BBC (8/6) - With "static kill," BP ends oil spill
BP has completed the final leg in its "static kill" procedure to plug the Gulf Coast oil well at the root of the worst oil spill in U.S. history. Engineers began the procedure by pouring mud into the well to clog it and then covered it over entirely with concrete. Through a second procedure known as "bottom kill," BP engineers are drilling a relief well to ensure that there is no possibility of a continued spill. Though the spill was an uncontrollable disaster just a few months ago, the oil spill will not reach the Loop Current and travel up the Atlantic Ocean, as some of the more apocalyptic scenarios envisioned. The Washington Post (8/5) - Wyclef Jean candidacy inspires and baffles
Wyclef Jean's announcement that he will run for the presidency in Haiti has generated enthusiasm across the country, even in places where exiled President Jean-Bertrand Aristide is still popular. However, skeptics point out that Jean's lack of proficiency in Haitian Creole or French will hinder his campaign. Jean also would require an exemption from Haiti's residency requirements to qualify to run for office. Los Angeles Times (8/6) - U.S. charges 14 with support for al-Shabaab
The U.S. announced that it has charged 14 individuals for material support for the Islamist militant organization al-Shabaab, which is waging a violent campaign against the troubled government of Somalia. Members of the group -- most of whom lived in Minnesota -- went door to door to seek donations under false pretenses that they then funneled to al-Shabaab. Ten of the 14 allegedly left the country to join the organization, while seven members of the organization are U.S. citizens. Some 20 men from the U.S. have left Minnesota for Somalia in order to join al-Shabaab since late 2007. Google/The Associated Press (8/5) - Tariq Aziz speaks up on regrets, occupation
Former Iraqi Foreign Minister Tariq Aziz, who surrendered to U.S. authorities after the fall of Baghdad, speaks to the Guardian about the conditions of his imprisonment -- and offers his opinion on Iraq today compared with Iraq under Saddam Hussein. Aziz, a pan-Arab loyalist who has been charged with one crime against humanity committed under Saddam, says that life was better for Iraqis under the former dictator. He has urged U.S. President Barack Obama to continue the occupation of Iraq, suggesting that the departure of U.S. troops would lead to destabilization. The Guardian (London) (8/5) - Karzai noses into U.S.-backed anti-corruption teams
U.S. authorities fear that efforts by Afghan President Hamid Karzai to shut down two U.S.-backed anti-corruption units -- the Major Crimes Task Force and Special Investigative Unit -- could fray U.S.-Afghanistan relations and imperil congressional funding for U.S. aid for Afghanistan. The Washington Post (8/6)  | |  | | | | | | | | 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 | | 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 | | SENIOR ADVOCATE/RESEARCHER (International Financial Institutions) | Human Rights Watch | 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 |  52.67% | | BP took the blame, not an energy policy that is over-reliant on oil |  30.96% | | The Environmental Protection Agency will regulate carbon emissions |  10.32% | | Capping carbon emissions is really a tax on energy |  6.05% | |
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| | | About UN WIRE | | UN Wire is a free service sponsored by the United Nations Foundation which is dedicated to supporting the United Nations' efforts to address the most pressing humanitarian, socioeconomic and environmental challenges facing the world today. | | | | | | | | Recent UN Wire Issues: - Thursday, August 05, 2010
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