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- Ban expresses concern over Darfur
A recent rise in violence between government forces and rebels in the Darfur region of Sudan is a cause for serious concern, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says. Khartoum continues to put up bureaucratic roadblocks to getting the UN-African Union peacekeeping force to full strength and adequate access to populations affected by the fighting remains a challenge, Ban said in a report on Sudan peacekeeping efforts. AlertNet/Reuters (1/24)       - Gates envisions an end to polio
With sufficient funding for eradication efforts, polio could be confined to just one country in the world within three years, says Bill Gates, head of the Bill Melinda Gates Foundation. Gates is leading efforts to secure $700 million in funding through 2012. Polio remains endemic in only four countries -- Afghanistan, India, Nigeria and Pakistan. AlertNet/Reuters (1/24) - Global Fund head sounds off about corruption
In the wake of a recent Associated Press report chronicling an internal investigation of corruption at the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, executive director Michel D. Kazatchkine explains how the fund identified and responded to incidents of corruption. Kazatchkine writes, "Whenever money intended for [patients] is stolen, it is an affront to the donors who put their trust in us and an outrage for people still waiting to start treatment whose lives are hanging by a thread." Click here for response from (Product) Red founder Bobby Shriver, in which he welcomes action by the Global Fund to police corruption. The Huffington Post (1/24) - Pakistan studies importance of female health workers
The presence of women trained to work as health care providers in rural areas with impoverished women reduces infant deaths more than 20%, according to a study from Pakistani researchers published in The Lancet. Workers participating in the study provided pregnant women with face-to-face consultations on maternal and infant health and pass out stocks of basic supplies such as soap and razors. The New York Times (free registration) (1/24) - Emerging nations scramble to counter soaring food costs
Governments throughout the developing world are implementing a variety of measures -- such as price caps, export bans and new rules designed to soften commodities speculation -- in a bid to curb rising costs for food. The head of the UN World Food Programme said Monday that countries that fail to address surges in food and fuel prices risk not only economic, but political, instability. The Wall Street Journal (1/25) , Bloomberg (1/24) - Carbon taxes vs. carbon trading
Researchers and environmental campaigners are increasingly turning their attention to the possibility of carbon tax programs as a more effective means to battle climate change than carbon markets. Supporters feel a carbon tax -- levying charges on imports -- would be more transparent and equitable than carbon trading mechanisms that allow entities to trade rights to emit greenhouse gases. AlertNet (1/24) - Uganda seeks investigation of Cote d'Ivoire poll
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni is calling for an African Union investigation of last year's presidential election in Cote d'Ivoire, adding that the United Nations should not have recognized Alassane Ouattara as the winner. Talks were expected this week between the United States -- which has endorsed a temporary ban on Cote d'Ivoire cocoa exports -- and representatives of ECOWAS, the West African regional bloc that has threatened to use force to remove Laurent Gbagbo, the incumbent president who has refused to cede power to Ouattara. AlertNet/Reuters (1/25) , Google/Agence France-Presse (1/25) , BBC (1/25) - Palestinians offered concessions on returnees
Confidential documents leaked to news organizations reveal that Palestinian negotiators were willing to settle for the return to Israel of only 10,000 refugees and their families from among the some 5 million Palestinian refugees worldwide. The documents, which trace more than a decade of failed peace talks, also show that former U.S. officials suggested resettling the refugees in South America. The Guardian (London) (1/24) - Russia searches for Moscow bombing culprits
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin vowed a response to the suicide bombing attack at the Moscow airport that left 35 people dead and 180 people injured. Russian authorities have not indicated knowledge of who might be behind the attack -- and no group has yet claimed responsibility -- but initial suspicion is likely to fall on separatists from Chechnya or elsewhere in the Caucasus region. Google/The Associated Press (1/25) - Hezbollah names new Lebanese premier, inciting protests
 Thousands of protesters took to the streets Monday in the Lebanese city of Tripoli after the Iran-backed Shiite group Hezbollah secured the appointment of its candidate as the next Lebanese prime minister. The group brought to collapse this month the country's Western-leaning government after a dispute over the investigation by a UN tribunal into the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, in which Hezbollah is expected to implicated. BBC (1/25) , The Washington Post (1/25) - What issue that is being discussed at the World Economic Forum this week do you find most important?
 | International economic growth | | Environmental sustainability | | International monetary and financial systems | | Universal health care | | Social development |
- Nothing But Nets provides 1M nets to the C.A.R.
The United Nations Foundation's Nothing But Nets campaign, PSI (Population Services International), and UNICEF just announced the successful delivery of nearly 1 million anti-malaria mosquito nets in the Central African Republic (CAR) -- providing one net to each family in the country. The families received their nets less than six months after the UN identified an urgent need to protect them against malaria and thousands of Americans rallied to answer the call for help. UN Foundation (1/25) - Yeo stresses importance of UN at hearing
Better World Campaign Executive Director Peter Yeo testified today before the House Foreign Affairs Committee on the important role played by the United Nations and the value of effective engagement in the international body for the United States. Yeo said, "The majority of Americans understand the importance of the UN to our national priorities, with 59% of people citing their support of the UN in a recent poll." Click here for the full release from the Better World Campaign. - Are you reading UN Wire for school?
Attention students and teachers: We'd like to know if you are reading UN Wire in the classroom or for Model UN clubs -- and what you think of it if you are. Please send comments to UN Wire editor Adam Mazmanian via e-mail. If you've already replied, thank you very much for your contribution. If you haven't responded, please take a moment to write. |
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