| |
- Palestinians face hurdles in seeking UN vote
Palestinians hoping to gain statehood through a UN vote in September must negotiate a labyrinth of rules and laws at the world body after the United States said it would oppose the unilateral effort. Legal experts say Palestinians might still be able to bring the matter to a vote before the General Assembly despite a U.S. veto on the powerful Security Council. Google/The Associated Press (5/23)       - U.S. diplomacy and Syria's HRC bid
Behind-the-scenes negotiations spearheaded by the United States to keep Syria from taking a seat on the UN Human Rights Council are being characterized by diplomats as intense. Initially, neither Arab nor Asian countries would run against Syria, but Kuwait eventually took its place after American warnings that a Syrian victory would represent a victory for bloody repression of pro-democracy movements in the Middle East. San Francisco Chronicle/The Associated Press (5/23)  | - Saudi woman appeals to choose husband
A female surgeon in Saudi Arabia is appealing to the Supreme Court for a hearing that pits a woman's right, under Islam, to choose her partner, provided he is morally upstanding, against the country's law requiring women to obtain permission from a male guardian to marry. "I'm a surgeon. I'm responsible for people's lives. I want to be responsible for my own life," said the woman, who was beaten by her father and brothers, and has lived for five years in a shelter for battered women. The Christian Science Monitor (5/23)  | - Radiation effects in Japan to be studied by UN
The UN Scientific Committee on the effects of Atomic Radiation on Monday said that it would need at least two years to publish a full report on the impact of radiation on people and the environment from Japan's ongoing nuclear crisis. The risk of seawater contamination was growing after a one- to two-week delay was announced in the construction of a decontamination facility to treat the hundreds of thousands of tons of radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Reuters (5/23), The Wall Street Journal (tiered subscription model) (5/23) - Recent natural disasters not isolated, but connected
 Scholar and global climate activist Bill McKibben dares readers not to merely view recent U.S. and global natural disasters as isolated incidents, but direct consequences of climate change. He draws connections among disasters that appear to fly in the face of a recent filing by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce with the Environmental Protection Agency stating that "populations can acclimatize to warmer climates via a range of behavioral, physiological, and technological adaptations." The Washington Post (5/23) - Pledges lag as deadline nears under climate accord
Nearly two dozen developed countries have pledged some $28 billion in fast-start financing to help developing countries reduce emissions and adapt to climate change by the end of 2012, according to a global environmental think tank. Countries set a relatively modest benchmark of $30 billion in pledges -- due by the end of this month -- under the Copenhagen Accord of 2009. AlertNet (5/23) - Abyei violence threatens Sudan treaty
Sudan appeared to be moving closer to all-out war after northern troops rejected UN demands to withdraw from the disputed border town of Abyei, which was beset by fire and looting. The army's incursion is seen as both audacious and risky -- threatening not only the peace treaty signed in 2005, but the scheduled July 9 celebrations in southern Sudan as a new, independent country. The New York Times (tiered subscription model) (5/23) - Some 20,000 flee looting, flames in Sudan border town: The virtual annexation of Abyei by north Sudanese troops has thrown into question not only the independence of the disputed border town, but of the entire southern Sudan. The UN -- which has called for the withdrawal of northern troops while southern leaders weigh their response -- reports that armed criminals were burning and looting much of the town, from which nearly the entire population of some 20,000 has fled. BBC (5/23), Reuters (5/23)
- Rotary nears polio fundraising goal
American philanthropist Bill Gates was slated to speak today about the status of the fundraising drive by Rotary International to raise $200 million by the end of June 2012 to help eradicate polio worldwide. The Bill Melinda Gates Foundation pledged $355 million to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. The Times-Picayune (New Orleans) (5/23)  | |  | | | | |  |  Project Coordinator | Invisible Children | Dungu, Congo (Dem. Rep. of) | | Senior Associate, Private Sector Engagement | United Nations Foundation | Washington, DC | | Program Administrator - Project on Justice in Times of Transition, Institute for Global Leadership | Tufts University | Medford, MA | | Regional Leader, East Asia | World Vision International | Bangkok, Thailand | | Senior Associate, Planning and Learning | United Nations Foundations | Washington, DC | | Senior Communications Officer, Global Health | United Nations Foundation | Washington, DC | | Communications Officer, (UNA) | United Nations Foundation | Washington, DC | | Associate, Online Communications (UNA) | United Nations Foundation | Washington, DC | | | |  | |  |
|
 | Key Sites
| | |
This SmartBrief was created for eleccion@yahoogroups.com
| Advertise With Us | Amy DiElsi
Director for UN Foundation Communications
United Nations Foundation
1800 Massachusetts Ave., NW, Suite 400
Washington, DC 20036
(D) 202-419-3230
(C) 202-492-3078
(F) 202-887-9021
www.unfoundation.org | | | | 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: - Monday, May 23, 2011
- Friday, May 20, 2011
- Thursday, May 19, 2011
- Wednesday, May 18, 2011
- Tuesday, May 17, 2011
| | | Lead Editor: Adam Mazmanian
Contributing Editor: Juliette Terzieff
Mailing Address:
SmartBrief, Inc.®, 1100 H ST NW, Suite 1000, Washington, DC 20005 | | | | | | © 1999-2011 SmartBrief, Inc.® Legal Information | | |
No comments:
Post a Comment