| |  | |  Ban announces bid for second term UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced today his intention to seek a second term as head the world body. Ban is seen as an odds on favorite to win -- he has wide support among member countries and as yet no alternative candidate has emerged. United Nations Foundation President Timothy E. Wirth, who backs Ban's bid for a second term, said, "The question now is, what's the agenda for the second term and how can this be aggressively pursued?" Click here to read Sen. Wirth's statement of support via the UN Foundation. Click here to read a statement of support from UN Foundation Founder and Chairman, Ted Turner. Bloomberg (6/6), Google/The Associated Press (6/5)     
|  |  | "United Nations Secretaries-General are appointed to serve 5-year terms may be reappointed. More on the process: http://bit.ly/it7KNe" @UN |
|  | "A Secretary General cannot order interventions, cannot force national governments to adopt policies, and cannot threaten sanctions should his recommendations go unheeded. As the founders of the United Nations intended, real power lies with the member states themselves not the General Secretariat. Still, when judged by how well he is able to operate within these constraints, Ban's record is strong." UN Dispatch |
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- UN looks for controls on speculation
A new report by the UN Conference on Trade and Development urges greater international oversight, intervention and transparency in response to the increased investment in commodity markets, which has had a significant impact on the prices for a wide range of commodities. "Rising volumes of financial investments in commodity derivatives markets has encouraged herding behavior through which price determination in commodity markets increasingly follows the logic of financial investment rather than market fundamentals," said the report, which highlights the need to deflate bubbles as prices are less and less driven by supply and demand. The Wall Street Journal (tiered subscription model)/Dow Jones Newswires (6/5), Bloomberg (6/5) - Danforth: How the U.S. can help the UN
 Few disagree that accountability, transparency and efficiency are essential elements of the U.S. push to reform the United Nations writes former U.S. Senator and U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations John C. Danforth. But how can American lawmakers best ensure that the reforms are adopted by the world body without hindering its work or undercutting U.S. influence? Sen. Danforth writes, "The U.S. accrues real national security returns when we participate as a reliable member. We multiply the impact of U.S. resources, save money and resources through burden-sharing with international partners, and advance issues on a global scale." USA TODAY (5/27)  | - Vaccine price cuts announced
Aid agencies praised the cuts in prices announced by several pharmaceutical companies for vaccines being made available to poor people in developing countries through the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization, which faces a $3.7 billion shortfall. The vaccine for rotavirus, which kills more than 500,000 children annually, normally costs about $50 in the U.S., but would now cost $2.50 per dose in poor countries. BBC (6/6), The Guardian (London) (6/5) - Musician visits Haiti to observe quake relief effort
Dave "Phoenix" Farrell, the bassist for the band, Linkin Park, traveled recently to Haiti -- in partnership with Music for Relief and the United Nations Foundation -- to observe the rebuilding process more than a year after a devastating earthquake. Farrell, who co-founded Music for Relief, is urging fans to give $10 toward the relief effort via text or the organization's program granting donors exclusive access to MP3s. MTV.com (6/3) - Delay over Kyoto renewal leaves enforcement gap
Even if Japan, Russia and Canada agree to new greenhouse-gas emission goals at talks in South Africa next winter, an extension of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol could not be approved in time to ensure there is not a gap in enforcement in 2012, said Christiana Figueres, the UN climate chief. A global deal on emissions that includes all major emitters is not likely until 2014 or 2015, said Artur Runge Metzger, the lead negotiator for the European Commission. Bloomberg (6/6) - UN is urged to tweak forest study to note tree density
 An effort led by the United Nations to assess the commercial worth of forests should also include the size of trees, and not just the total area they populate, a study concludes. The more dense the forest, the more carbon dioxide it captures -- slowing global warming, and offsetting deforestation elsewhere. AlertNet/Reuters (6/5) - UN official makes case for Internet as human right
 Internet access is a basic human right, and governments should try to provide their people with affordable -- and consistent -- access to the Web, according to a special rapporteur to the United Nations. "Given that the Internet has become an indispensable tool for realizing a range of human rights, combating inequality, and accelerating development and human progress, ensuring universal access to the Internet should be a priority for all states," said Frank La Rue in a report. Los Angeles Times/Technology blog (6/3)  | - HP in mobile health trial
Clinical trials that equip caregivers with smartphones that use applications designed to collect data about malaria outbreaks, and cardiovascular disease, presage the growing role of mobile health monitoring in global health. In Botswana, Hewlett-Packard has teamed up with Positive Innovation for the Next Generation, a mobile health company, to help officials and doctors stem the spread of malaria in specific areas by visually monitoring a database of pictures, video and GPS information. The New York Times (tiered subscription model)/Bits blog (6/6)  | - UN investigates South Sudan fighting
The UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations has dispatched its top military official to the Abyei region of Sudan to investigate reports that Zambian peacekeepers refused to leave their barracks for two days while northern and southern forces clashed, leading to the flight of tens of thousands of people, and the looting and burning of homes. The UN also was investigating the situation in the country's oil-producing state of South Kordofan. BBC (6/5), Reuters (6/5) - Sudanese military is ordered out of Abyei by UN council
The Sudanese military on Friday was told by the UN Security Council to withdraw from the disputed region of Abyei, which has been subjected to burning, looting and illegal resettlement since the May 21 siege characterized by the world body as a "serious violation" of the 2005 peace accord that ended civil war. President Omar al-Bashir had previously rejected similar demands by Western powers. Google/Agence France-Presse (6/4) - With Saleh gone, for now, Yemenis celebrate
 The sudden departure over the weekend of Yemen leader Ali Abdullah Saleh for Saudi Arabia, where he was reportedly operated upon successfully for wounds sustained in an attack on his presidential compound, brought thousands of people into the streets in celebration Sunday. It was unclear whether Saleh would return to the country he has ruled for the past 33 years. The New York Times (tiered subscription model) (6/5) Top five news stories selected by UN Wire readers in the past week. - Results based on number of times each story was clicked by readers.
- Vote for the best "tagline" for a new and emerging social network dedicated to connecting people on the cutting edge of mobile health and electronic health technologies (mHealth and eHealth). Which do you like best?
 | A social network for connected health | | Connecting a healthy future | | A social network for mHealth | | mPowered by You |
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