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- UN: Israel can do more to ease Gaza blockade
Israeli authorities' moves in recent weeks to allow a limited amount of goods into the Gaza Strip demonstrates Israel can do more to ease the three year old blockade without jeopardizing its security interests, the United Nations' Relief and Works Agency head John Ging says. The UN has repeatedly called for an end to the blockade on humanitarian grounds. AlertNet.org/Reuters (4/22)        - No easy recovery for Haiti
The Haitian government has asked aid organizations to halt distribution of free food despite concerns from local officials that tens of thousands remain homeless or unemployed. Haiti's health care system is facing a crisis as private hospitals struggle to remain open after providing free treatment in the wake of the Jan. 12 earthquake and competing with aid groups to maintain staff. The Miami Herald (free registration) (4/22) , The Globe and Mail (Toronto) (4/23)  | - UNEP: Global pact on warming unlikely this year
UN Environment Programme executive director Achim Steiner has said that an approach to global climate change involving many treaties on individual issues is unlikely to prevent climate change -- even in the face of continued resistance from the U.S. and China to a legally binding treaty. Experts say that the upcoming climate conference in Cancun, Mexico, represents an opportunity to finalize a less formal deal that would realize pledges made in accord with the nonbinding Copenhagen agreement totaling more than $30 billion to assist poor and developing countries adjust to the impacts of climate change. AlertNet.org/Reuters (4/22) - Beijing employs new tools to battle garbage stench
Beijing authorities are employing deodorant cannons, odor-eating sheets and machines to convert gas into energy in their battle against the city's massive piles of garbage. Warmer weather is increasing the amount of rotting garbage in the city's 13 landfills, and local residents are complaining about the smell. AlertNet.org/Reuters (4/23) - Climate conference in Bolivia calls out wealthy countries
An international conference of grass-roots organizations and climate-change activists in Bolivia argued that a court should be convened to try countries for crimes against the climate. The World People's Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth, hosted by Bolivian President Evo Morales, established that wealthy countries must reduce carbon emissions by 50%. Of more serious concern to wealthy interests is the opposition voiced by the conference to the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation scheme, which would allow countries to earn carbon credits for deforestation efforts. The Guardian (London) (4/23)  | - Picket threat keeps Goldstone from family event
Richard Goldstone, a South African judge who helmed a UN probe into Israel's military attacks on the Gaza Strip, said he will not go to his grandson's bar mitzvah to avoid bringing politics to the event. The South African Zionist Federation had been planning to demonstrate against Goldstone, whom they accused of damaging Israel's reputation. Los Angeles Times (4/22) - U.S. looks to jump-start Mideast talks
U.S.-brokered indirect talks between Israelis and Palestinians delayed by an Israeli announcement on construction in East Jerusalem last month may soon begin. U.S. officials have demanded Israel guarantee no such additional announcements will be made in the coming months, and agree to discuss critical topics like refugees as a part of the process. The New York Times (free registration) (4/22) - Thai protesters mull compromise in the wake of grenade attacks
Thailand's anti-government protesters said Friday they would accept the dissolution of parliament in a month rather than immediately in a bid to avert violent confrontations. The offer, which is unlikely to be accepted by embattled Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, comes a day after a grenade attack on a commuter train station killed one person and injured dozens. AlertNet.org/Reuters (4/23) , TIME (4/23) - Hamas: Terrorists to the West, moderates to some Gazans
Opposition groups are mounting a campaign in the Gaza Strip to portray Hamas as moderate -- an epithet that would surprise many in the U.S. and Israel, who still list Hamas as a terrorist organization. An armed Palestinian organization named Islamic Jihad is one of the groups that has called out Hamas for growing too secular and political over the course of its administration of Gaza. In January 2009, Hamas issued an order saying that rocket attacks against Israel were against Palestinian interests and ceased firing them. Los Angeles Times (4/22) - Iran pledges greater access to IAEA
In new overtures to the international community, Iran has promised the International Atomic Energy Agency greater access and monitoring at a facility where Iran has begun enriching uranium at relatively high levels -- a development that was greeted by the West as reason to pursue sanctions. Though an agreement for greater cooperation between the IAEA and Iran has been struck in principle, Western experts remain skeptical, noting that these are routine obligations in light of Iran's provocative decision to enrich uranium to 20% purity. Ha'aretz (Tel Aviv, Israel) (4/23) - U.S. says little as Russia regains influence
 As Russia moves to reinvigorate its influence over countries formally part of the Soviet Union the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama seems content to sit on the sidelines. U.S. officials insist they have not turned their back on pro-West allies in the region. TIME (4/23)
- Does the United States benefit from United Nations peacekeeping missions around the world?
| Yes |  89.41% | | No |  10.59% | |
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| | | 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: - Thursday, April 22, 2010
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