| |  | |  Celebrating advances in mHealth Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, said Monday during her keynote speech at the mHealth Summit in Washington, D.C., that the growth of smartphones in the U.S., and the nearly 12,000 applications related to health, should encourage providers to work together more closely, especially to protect the privacy of personal health data. At a reception prior to the start of the conference, the mHealth Alliance and Rockefeller Foundation named the top 11 innovators in the sphere of mobile health technology for 2011. Videos of the mHealth Summit can be streamed here, via LiveStream. UN Dispatch (12/6), Government Health IT online (12/5), MobiHealthNews.com (12/5)     
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|  | "In official circles, Macedonia is known as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia -- FYROM. The thing is, Macedonia just wants to be known as 'Macedonia.' Or, perhaps the 'Republic of Macedonia.' It understandably doesn't want to keep that 'Yugoslav' modifier." UN Dispatch | |
- Security Council backs more Eritrea sanctions
The United Nations Security council has voted to approve increased sanctions against Eritrea over concerns authorities there continue to provide support to Islamist militants. Eritrea's neighbors had called for the move after a United Nations report charged Eritrea with backing al-Shabab and other groups in Somalia. BBC (12/5) - Malaria map casts light on lesser-known parasite
 A map depicting malaria hotspots across the world is casting attention on a malarial parasite that is widespread in South Asia, and parts of Latin America, but "a forgotten step sister" when compared to the global efforts to eradicate the most common form of malaria in Africa. "This map helps us understand just how difficult it is going to be to eradicate malaria," said Peter Gething of Oxford University, a member of a team studying the Plasmodium vivax parasite. Reuters (12/5), Nature/NewsBlog (12/5), United Press International (12/5) - Barefoot Artists transforms communities
Lily Yeh's Barefoot Artists works to help residents in conflict-ravaged communities revitalize neighborhoods and heal personal traumas through art. Barefoot Artists has partnered with artists in communities in China, Rwanda and elsewhere on transformative art such as schools and memorials. The Christian Science Monitor (12/5) - Zimbabwe hairdressers battle HIV/AIDS
Public health advocates have turned to female hairdressers in Zimbabwe to help cut the rates of HIV/AIDS infections. About 1,500 hairdressers in the country display female condoms and give customers lessons on how to use. AlertNet (12/5) - A look at the lives of Afghan women after the Taliban
 An audio slideshow narrated by writer and photographer Nick Danziger depicts the changes in the lives of Afghan women a decade after the defeat of the Taliban. Danziger, who has been traveling to the country for the past 27 years, provides a sweeping account that features a girl hobbled by a landmine and women healing from self-immolation, as well as girls at school and women in the spheres of medicine and, even, politics. The Guardian (London) (12/5)  | - China offers binding carbon targets
The heavily-downplayed UN climate talks in Durban, South Africa, were awash with excitement Monday after China appeared to advocate a legally binding pact on carbon emissions after 2020. "We accept a legally binding arrangement," said Xie Zhenhua, the country's chief negotiator, challenging the U.S. and other industrial powers to reconsider their stances, and do more to curb emissions of greenhouse gases. The Globe and Mail (Toronto) (12/6), The Wall Street Journal (12/6) - Shipping-fuel charges a private source for climate aid?
Charges on shipping fuels have been identified as the first potential private source of income for the UN Green Climate Fund. A draft document being circulated at climate talks in Durban, South Africa, proposes that the International Maritime Organization set a carbon price per ton of shipping fuel, then funnel the money to the climate aid fund. Bloomberg (12/5) - Conflict, poverty are protecting the Congo Basin
A lack of development in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo thanks to grinding conflict and poverty in the area has helped protect the Congo Basin from exploitation, conservationists say. The area is home to the world's second largest rainforest, which could fall victim to destructive mining, logging and farming practices as conflict slows. BBC (12/5) - U.S. eyes agreement to conserve marine species
The proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership could help protect endangered marine species by aiding efforts to curb the illegal trade in wildlife and plants, Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Demetrios Marantis says. U.S. officials are negotiating the agreement with several countries including New Zealand, Malaysia and Chile. AlertNet/Reuters (12/6) - Diamond watchdog pulls out of "irrelevant" trade scheme
The international watchdog for the diamond industry, Global Witness, withdrew Monday from the Kimberley Process, citing a failure to police human-rights abuses in trade in rough diamonds and related failings in Cote d'Ivoire, Zimbabwe and Venezuela. The nongovernmental organization called the diamond-certification scheme outdated, irrelevant and "an accomplice to diamond laundering." The Wall Street Journal (12/6), The Guardian (London) (12/5)
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