| |
- UN highlights dangers to humanitarian workers
Intimidation, kidnapping and slaying of United Nations and aid workers is on the rise around the world in 2010, the United Nations warned Wednesday ahead of World Humanitarian Day. In Afghanistan alone, UN officials noted, there were 19 direct attacks on UN and aid workers and 63 individuals abducted in the first six months of the year. CNN (8/18)       - UN to host emergency Pakistan relief session
In response to the slow effort to raise aid money for Pakistan, the UN will hold an emergency session to make up the remainder of its initial $460 million push for flood relief. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will announce additional flood relief funds from the U.S. for Pakistan at the UN session. The number of people in Pakistan requiring immediate relief from the devastating floods has skyrocketed, with official estimates now eclipsing 8 million people. The UN session comes amid fears that flooding will continue. Google/Agence France-Presse (8/19) , The New York Times (free registration) (8/19)   | - South Africa faces massive strike
More than a million teachers, nurses, court staff and other state workers launched a strike Wednesday that South African authorities fear will have a large impact on the country's economy. The cash-strapped government has offered striking workers a 7% salary increase and a small housing allowance, but few observers expect unions will advise members to accept. The Globe and Mail (Toronto) (8/18) , Bloomberg Businessweek (8/19) - Clinton unveils new diplomatic tool: The Global Health Initiative
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton outlined the Obama administration's Global Health Initiative, a new effort that will invest $63 billion over the next six years to help partner countries build integrated health systems. The initiative -- a successor to the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief and the President's Malaria Initiative -- will focus on administration and health initiatives in a diplomatic context. To bolster fragile states, the Global Health Initiative will emphasize maternal and infant health care. PoliticsDaily.com (8/17) - Scientists hope tuberculosis marker will aid treatment
A "genetic signature" found in the blood of active tuberculosis patients will help researchers develop better diagnostic tests and potentially better treatments for the disease, British scientists reported in the journal Nature. The genetic signature appears only during an active infection and shows the extent of the disease's presence in a patient's lungs. AlertNet.org/Reuters (8/18) - Oxfam pushes for "Robin Hood tax" on financial transactions
With many countries still reeling in the wake of the global financial crisis and the deadline for the UN Millennium Development Goals approaching, Oxfam is advocating a "Robin Hood tax" on financial transactions in order to protect the world's poor. Oxfam has expressed concern that much of the press about the global financial crisis has been devoted to the fate of countries -- including Greece, the U.S. and the U.K. -- rather than the poor, whose ranks have increased dramatically across the developed and especially the developing world as a result of the banking crisis. The Guardian (London) (8/18) - UN delays issue of carbon offset credits
New regulatory efforts by the UN Clean Development Mechanism -- the world's second-largest carbon emissions market -- are fueling concerns among speculators that the supply of carbon credits is bound to diminish. UN regulators would not immediately issue credits to a Chinese company for its hydrofluorocarbon-23 emissions, a gas whose warming effect on the atmosphere is 11,700 times more potent than carbon dioxide. The UN placed four projects awaiting carbon credits on review this week, with concerns mounting that offsets for HFC-23 emissions are subject to misuse. Bloomberg (8/19)  | - Shedding some light on the problem of dirty water
On a trip to Zambia, Timothy Whitehead says, he saw chemical tablets being widely used to sterilize drinking water. Convinced that there must be a better way, he created a bottle that sterilizes water using an ultraviolet bulb powered by a wind-up generator. The Pure bottle is competing for an international innovation prize sponsored by Sir James Dyson, but Whitehead has other goals, too. "Big water companies have been in contact," he says. "There's definitely the potential that it will go further." Telegraph (London) (8/16) - China examines North Korea crash, defection
A North Korean military fighter jet crashed in China's Liaoning province Tuesday in what authorities believe was an attempted defection. The pilot died in the crash, but Chinese authorities are looking for passengers who may have escaped the wreckage. There has been a spike in defections this year as food scarcity inside North Korea increases. Los Angeles Times (8/19) - Security issues complicate Pakistan crisis
Pakistani security forces clashed with militants in the northern city of Peshawar in what authorities say was an attempt by militants to take advantage of police focusing on flood relief efforts. The massive destruction and humanitarian crisis affecting Pakistan has American officials re-examining their engagement strategy for Pakistan, and the region. Officials fear militant groups aligned with the Taliban and al-Qaida will seek to exploit the chaos and expand their support base. Google/The Associated Press (8/18) , The New York Times (free registration) (8/18) - Deadly explosion hits restive China region
An explosion along the main highway connecting China's troubled Xinjiang province with western Kashgar early Thursday left seven people dead and at least a dozen wounded despite heavy security in the region. Ethnic clashes between Han and Uighurs in Xinjiang's capital, Urumqi, during 2009 left 200 people dead and dozens of businesses destroyed. The Washington Post (8/19)  | |  | | | | | | | | Senior Associate, Foundation Relations | United Nations Foundations | Washington DC, DC | | Online Communications Associate | United Nations Foundations | Washington DC, DC | | Operations Assistant | United Nations Foundations | Washington DC, DC | | Executive Assistant to the Executive Director, Development | United Nations Foundations | Washington DC, DC | | Business Operations Officer – Energy | United Nations Foundations | Washington DC, DC | | 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 | | SENIOR ADVOCATE/RESEARCHER (International Financial Institutions) | Human Rights Watch | Washington, DC | | Development Director | Crisis Action | New York, NY | | Executive Director, United Nations Association of the USA (UNA-USA) | United Nations Foundations | Washington DC, DC | | Director, Maternal Newborn mHealth Initiative (MNMI) | United Nations Foundations | Washington DC, DC | | | |  | |  | |
 | - What's your primary source of world news?
 | Social networks: Facebook, Twitter or others | | Television | | Online news sites and blogs | | E-mail newsletters/reports | | Print newspapers or magazines | | Other |
|
 | Key Sites
| | |
This SmartBrief was created for eleccion@yahoogroups.com
| | | 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: - Wednesday, August 18, 2010
- Tuesday, August 17, 2010
- Monday, August 16, 2010
- Friday, August 13, 2010
- Thursday, August 12, 2010
| | | Lead Editor: Adam Mazmanian
Contributing Editor: Juliette Terzieff | Kriston Dean Capps
Mailing Address:
SmartBrief, Inc.®, 1100 H ST NW, Suite 1000, Washington, DC 20005 | | | | | | © 1999-2010 SmartBrief, Inc.® Legal Information | | |
No comments:
Post a Comment