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- CAR appeals to Security Council for aid
Authorities from the Central African Republic have asked the United Nations Security Council for help as a peacekeeping mission prepares to depart. CAR is struggling to address security issues associated with several rebel groups operating in the country's north and east. The Security Council ordered the withdrawal of peacekeepers from the region in response to demands from CAR's neighbor Chad. AlertNet.org/Reuters (8/10)       - A cautious Israel agrees to continue with UN flotilla probe
Israeli officials confirmed that they will continue to participate in the UN probe of the Israeli raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla -- the first UN investigation in which Israel has taken part. Officials said that UN investigators will not be granted access to Israeli soldiers, as Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak -- who will provide testimony today to the ongoing Israeli investigation into the incident -- says that he is certain that Israel acted in full compliance with international law. National Public Radio (8/11)   | - U.K. hospitals detect new "superbug"
Patients who traveled from the U.K. to India and Pakistan in search of elective treatments such as cosmetic surgery have apparently returned with a so-called "superbug" that is resistant to most forms of antibiotics. The bacteria produces an enzyme called NDM-1 that makes it resistant to the most powerful antibiotics, known as carbapenems. Scientists fear that the bacteria will likely go global. BBC (8/11) - UN appeals for aid access to Darfur refugee camp
United Nations officials are urging Sudan to reopen access to a Darfur refugee camp where more than 50,000 people are sheltering after suspending access due to outbreaks of violence in the area more than a week ago. UN and relief officials are expressing concerns about shortages of food, medicine and water in the middle of rainy season that could lead to a spike in fatalities at the camp. The Washington Post/The Associated Press (8/10) - Russia's fires could bring radioactive smoke
Russian forest authorities and Greenpeace are expressing worry the presence of fires in areas still contaminated by the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster may send radioactive smoke into populated areas. Environmentalist say there is no current way to gauge the scope of the threat or how far contaminated particles may have spread. The New York Times (free registration) (8/10)  | - Rights groups urge Wikileaks to protect civilians
Afghan and international human-rights advocates including Amnesty International and the International Crisis Group have asked Wikileaks to give consideration for the nonmilitary personnel named in 77,000 leaked documents related to the Afghan war. The groups sent a series of e-mails to Wikileaks founder Julian Assange asking the names of Afghan civilians and those who work alongside international forces be removed to protect them from retaliation. Wikileaks has yet to release an official response. Google/The Associated Press (8/10) , The Independent (London) (8/11) , CNN (8/10) - Sri Lanka war crimes panel begins work
Sri Lankan authorities launched a war crimes panel today to examine claims of human-rights abuses and mass civilian deaths during the government's final battles against the Tamil Tiger rebels in 2009. The move comes after Sri Lankan authorities refused to cooperate with a United Nations investigation panel. Critics say the current effort -- which gives the panel no authority to actually investigate claims -- is just a show intended to deflect international criticism of the country's human-rights record. Google/The Associated Press (8/11) , AlertNet.org/Reuters (8/11) - Gay marriages get boost from Mexico's Supreme Court
Mexico's Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered all Mexican states to recognize same-sex marriages performed in Mexico City. Earlier this month, the court ruled Mexico City's legalization of same-sex marriages to be constitutional. Tuesday's decision does not obligate other states to enact gay-marriage provisions of their own. The court is also considering the constitutionality of a Mexico City provision that legalizes adoption for gay couples. The New York Times (free registration) (8/10) - Former child combatant faces military tribunal
Canadian citizen Omar Khadr, who was 15 when he was captured for allegedly throwing a grenade that killed a U.S. soldier in Afghanistan, will be the first Guantanamo Bay detainee to face a military tribunal. UN Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict Radhika Coomaraswamy has warned that the trial of Khadr, who is now 23, sets a dangerous precedent for the prosecution and treatment of children in conflict zones. Coomaraswamy says that no child has been prosecuted for a war crime since World War II. BBC (8/10) - Al-Qaida gives Iraq militants a raise
U.S. military leaders say that al-Qaida hopes to lure Sunni fighters known as the Sons of Iraq away from their affiliation with Iraq's government by offering them a higher salary. A leader of the Sunni Awakening Council said that about 100 of 1,800 rank-and-file Sons of Iraq members had not collected their salaries, suggesting that they have switched sides. U.S. leaders fear that al-Qaida is engaged in a membership drive in advance of the imminent departure of U.S. troops. The Guardian (London) (8/10)  | |  | | | | | | | | Director of IT | Trivedi Foundation | San Francisco / Los Angeles / New York, CA | | Sales Manager | Trivedi Foundation | San Francisco / Los Angeles / New York, CA | | Director of Marketing | Trivedi Foundation | San Francisco / Los Angeles / New York, CA | | 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 | | Development Director | Crisis Action | New York, NY | | | |  | |  | |
- Which of these preventable diseases has the highest mortality rate among children?
 | Malaria | | Pneumonia | | Measles | | HIV/AIDS | | Polio |
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