| |
- Ban's report on child soldiers names violators
Countries and militia groups that continue to use child soldiers must face stricter punishments, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon argues in his new annual report on the issue to the Security Council. Ban drew particular attention to a list of violators appearing for the first time in the report of entities that have been repeatedly named for recruiting child soldiers over the past five years. Google/The Associated Press (5/22)       - New Gaza militant group targets UN summer camp
A group of about 20 militants tore through a United Nations-administered summer camp for children in the Gaza Strip on Sunday setting fire to the site just days after a new group, The Free of the Homeland, criticized the UN Relief and Works Agency for promoting immorality. Militants dissatisfied with the ruling Hamas government's more nationalistic agenda have stepped up attacks in recent months against Western influences. AlertNet.org/Reuters (5/23) - New measles outbreak may wipe out gains to date
The World Health Organization is reporting an explosive new outbreak in measles that may undermine recent gains reported against the disease. Though the number of deaths of children aged 5 and younger due to measles has fallen precipitously -- from 733,000 in 2000 to 118,000 in 2008, according to UN figures -- WHO expects outbreaks that could claim more than 500,000 deaths by 2012. In an assembly in Geneva, WHO's 193 member states agreed to try to achieve a 90% vaccination rate among their populations by 2015. Reuters (5/21) - Haiti's small-scale entrepreneurs get microfinance boost
Microfinance efforts tied to literacy and finance training are helping Haiti's entrepreneurial earthquake survivors provide for their families in a manner lenders hope will prove sustainable. Microcredit supporters believe the process will help reinvigorate Haitian commerce, which is traditionally powered by self-employment. The Miami Herald (free registration) (5/23) 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.
- U.S. considers takeover of Gulf cleanup
A growing number of wildlife colonies along the Louisiana coast are exhibiting effects of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico as public backlash against the response of the U.S. government and BP grows. U.S. authorities are warning they may takeover response efforts from the company. U.S. and BP officials are also locked in a debate over the use of the dispersant Corexit, with the company refusing to cease pumping it into the Gulf or provide a reason for its continued use, citing a need for trade secrecy. The Independent (London) (5/24) , Google/The Associated Press (5/23) - Turner: U.S. energy infrastructure is "obsolete"
 UN Foundation founder Ted Turner is turning his business acumen to renewable energy and efforts to refashion U.S. strategy on reducing dependence on fossil fuels. "So we'll live in a clean world, energy independent, financially stable, prosperous, with lots of jobs. There's nothing except the coal industry and the oil industry standing in the way," Turner says in this interview. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (free registration) (5/21)  | - Can mobile phone tools tackle corruption in India?
Authorities in India's Bihar state are ready to pilot a program that uses mobile phone technology to battle some forms of government corruption in the public health care system. Medical workers will be able to register bank accounts through their cell phones to help avoid demands from local managers for portions of peoples' salaries. India has more than 520 million mobile phone subscribers -- 165 million of them in rural markets where traditional banks have few branches. The Toronto Star (5/24) - Iran notifies IAEA of nuclear-swap deal
Pressing on with its effort to divert new sanctions from the West, Iranian officials notified the International Atomic Energy Agency of the nuclear-swap agreement it reached last week with Turkey and Brazil. Iran says that the deal, which would see Iran share some of its low-enriched uranium for processing outside Iran, obviates the need for a fourth round of sanctions from the UN Security Council. But officials from the U.S. said that the deal still permits Iran access to much of its low-enriched uranium. Bloomberg Businessweek (5/24) - UN, U.S. urge Haiti authorities to investigate deadly prison riot
A New York Times investigation found evidence suggesting that deaths arising from a failed prison riot that took place in Haiti soon after the earthquake was not the result of inmate fighting but a brutal repression by Haitian authorities. Many of the dead inmates -- numbering between 12 and 19 -- were buried in an unmarked grave. The UN and U.S. have urged the Haitian government to collect evidence and begin an investigation. The New York Times (free registration) (5/22) , BBC (5/23) - U.S. supports South Korean decision to break ties with North
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton described U.S. support for South Korea as unwavering, fully backing a gesture to sever nearly all relations with North Korea. South Korean President Lee Myung-bak announced that North Korean vessels would be denied the use of South Korean shipping lanes and further said that South Korea was breaking off nearly all trade with the North after the revelation of compelling evidence suggesting that a North Korean torpedo sank South Korea's Cheonan warship. With the support of the U.S. military, South Korea resumed psychological warfare exercises and readiness drills. The Washington Post (5/24) , The New York Times (free registration) (5/24) - Thailand sweeps the streets but problems remain
 Bangkok residents took to the streets Sunday to help city workers clean the Thai capital after authorities intervened militarily to end two months of paralyzing anti-government protests. While the immediate crisis has ended, Thai society remains bitterly divided along the political and socio-economic lines that sparked unrest, and protest leaders seem disinclined to respond positively to the government's talk of reconciliation. The Washington Post (5/24) , The New York Times (free registration) (5/23)
- What is the primary benefit of UN peacekeeping operations?
 | Cost-effective solutions for preventing conflict and keeping peace | | Promotion of democratic governance by supporting free and fair elections | | Maintaining stability abroad through conflict prevention and peacemaking | | Sharing the burden of promoting international security with other countries in the world |
|
 | Key Sites
| | |
This SmartBrief was created for eleccion@yahoogroups.com
| | | 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: - Friday, May 21, 2010
- Thursday, May 20, 2010
- Wednesday, May 19, 2010
- Tuesday, May 18, 2010
- Monday, May 17, 2010
| | | Lead Editor: Adam Mazmanian
Contributing Editor: Juliette Terzieff | Kriston Dean Capps
Mailing Address:
SmartBrief, Inc.®, 1100 H ST NW, Suite 1000, Washington, DC 20005 | | | | | | © 1999-2010 SmartBrief, Inc.® Legal Information | | |
The number of children under 5 who die is dropping by about 2% annually thanks to more effective public health strategies aimed at conditions such as malaria, HIV/AIDS and waterborne illnesses, according to a study published in the journal The Lancet. Over the past 20 years, the overall number of annual deaths within the age group has decreased from 11.9 million to 7.7 million. 
No comments:
Post a Comment