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- UN envoy is unhurt in attack on Iraq convoy
An Iraqi policeman was killed, and three others were injured, in an attack Tuesday on a convoy carrying the UN special representative to Iraq. Ad Melkert was not injured, however, when a roadside bomb was detonated as he was leaving the southern Shiite city of Najaf. Los Angeles Times (10/20)       - UN's DR Congo peacekeeping is hampered by helicopter deficit
The United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo is steadily losing military aircraft, even as an appeal for helicopters goes unanswered. UN officials began asking for helicopters two years ago to help peacekeepers reach remote areas and have received three. At the same time, budgets cuts and equipment withdrawals are steadily decreasing the number of helicopters available in country. The Globe and Mail (Toronto) (10/20)  - UN: Increase effort on gender-based violence
Efforts to protect women and girls from wartime abuses and neglect have grown since the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution calling on combatants to protect against gender-based violence, but more needs to be done to ensure long-term recovery for victims, the UN Population Fund says in a new report. Governments around the world have increased trainings on prevention and treatment, and increased support for victims of abuse, but sexual violence remains a powerful weapon in conflict zones, according to the report. The Toronto Star (10/19) - Researchers warn severe droughts to increase
Severe droughts could hit some of the world's most densely populated areas in southern Europe, northern Africa, the U.S. and Latin America by the 2030s and reach unprecedented levels of severity by 2100, researchers from the U.S. National Center for Atmospheric Research warn. Over the same time period, northern Europe, Canada and parts of the Southern Hemisphere will see the risk of serious drought drop, researchers predict. AlertNet.org/Reuters (10/19) - Benin, neighbors are lashed by rain, floods
More than half of Benin is underwater from floods unleashed from the recent weeks of heavy rains in central and western Africa. Some 1.5 million people have been affected, and 377 have died, as a result of the flooding, according to the United Nations. CNN (10/19) - Tasmania's ancient forests to be preserved
The forestry industry working on the Australian island of Tasmania has pledged to stop clearing old-growth native trees after five months of secretive talks with trade unions and environmental groups. The change is partly in response to a higher demand for environmentally-friendly timber, and could mark the end of more than three decades of clashes between green activists and forestry workers. The Independent (London) (10/20) - HRW: Ethiopia is using aid to bolster regime
International aid is being used by Ethiopia's ruling party to strengthen the existing government and punish those who align themselves with the opposition, Human Rights Watch says in a new report. Funds from donors such as the World Bank and European Union are used to pay government salaries, while business loans and work-for-food programs are open only to government supporters, HRW charges. The Globe and Mail (Toronto) (10/20) , AlertNet.org (10/19) - Advocates want more from Calderon on military trials
Right advocates say Mexican President Felipe Calderon's proposal to amend military courts' jurisdiction so that civilian officials can investigate and prosecute some human-rights cases involving the military doesn't go near far enough. Calderon's revisions would apply to cases involving disappearances, torture and rape. Mexico has face consistent pressure from rights groups to investigate the actions of its security forces, particularly accusations of extrajudicial killings. The Washington Post/The Associated Press (10/19) - EU holds off on action over Roma deportations
French compliance with EU directives in the wake of the country's recent expulsions of Roma means that legal proceedings will be dropped, at least temporarily. On Friday, the French government agreed to incorporate elements of a Europe-wide directive on freedom of movement into its national laws. BBC (10/19) - Taliban factions negotiate peace with Kabul
NATO, long embroiled in the war in Afghanistan, is helping to protect some of the enemy Taliban's highest-ranking leaders in order to further talks aimed at ending the nine years of fighting. "When the Taliban see that they can travel in the country without being attacked by the Americans, they see that the government is sovereign, that they can trust us," said an Afghan official. The New York Times (free registration) (10/19) - Chechnya fights off attack on parliament
Armed assailants attacked Chechnya's parliament building Tuesday, triggering a six-hour gunbattle that killed six people and left at least 17 wounded. Chechen authorities see this latest incident as an attack on the region's Moscow-back President Ramzan Kadyrov by members of an Islamic insurgency. The Washington Post (10/19)
- A new poll from the Better World Campaign says that 59% of Americans support the United Nations and 63% support paying our UN dues. Surprised?
 | Yes -- those numbers seem high | | Yes -- those numbers seem low | | No -- that seems about right |
- Register now for the mHealth Summit in Washington, D.C.
The 2010 mHealth Summit brings together leaders in government, private sector/industry, academia and not-for-profit organizations to share information and experiences related to the intersection of mobile technology, health research and policy.Featured speakers include Bill Gates, Co-chair and Trustee of the Bill Melinda Gates Foundation; Aneesh Chopra, U.S. Chief Technology Officer; Dr. Julio Frenk Dean of Faculty, Harvard School of Public Health; and Ted Turner, Chairman, UN Foundation. The mHealth Summit takes place Nov. 8 to 10 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. Click here for more information and to register. |
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