| |
- UN to establish rules for sovereign debt
Governments and financial institutions are calling upon the United Nations to address issues of sovereign debt by creating rules that would help prevent irresponsible lending, and empower courts to resolve debt-related disputes. The initiative, which is expected to be taken up early next year by the UN Conference on Trade and Development, is intended to reduce the frequency, and intensity, of debt crises. Reuters (9/29)       - International troops to police Côte d'Ivoire vote
The UN Security Council has authorized sending up to 500 additional international troops to Côte d'Ivoire to help "ensure calm" in the run-up to a national election scheduled for Oct. 31. It is the first such election since 2002, when an effort to topple the West African government resulted in civil war. Google/Agence France-Presse (9/28)  - 2010 target for HIV care is missed
Only about one-third of the people worldwide in need of HIV/AIDS drug treatments are receiving the medicine they need, and a pledge by world leaders to achieve universal access by the end of 2010 is out of reach, according to a report from the World Health Organization, the United Nations AIDS program and UNICEF. An estimated 5.2 million people in developing countries receive anti-retroviral treatments, and governments need to significantly increase their efforts to provide drugs to the 14.6 million more who do not. BBC (9/28) - Massive water project alters Chinese landscape
Chinese authorities have undertaken a massive $62 billion water-diversion project to divert supply from China's southern flood plains and western mountains in to water-stressed Beijing. Engineers will create an unprecedented network of canals, aqueducts and tunnels to carry the water supply. Chinese conservationists have expressed serious concerns over the project's effects on plant and animal life, and potential damage to archaeological sites. Los Angeles Times (9/29) - Human activity endangers fifth of world's plant species
 One out of every five plant species in the world is in danger of extinction primarily due to human land-conversion activities such as agriculture and logging, according to the first global plant threat analysis. Researchers hope the findings will help drive action at a United Nations summit in October on global efforts to protect biodiversity. AlertNet.org/Reuters (9/29) - Iran sentences "blogfather" to jail
An Iranian court has sentenced Hossein Derakhshan to 19 years in jail for disseminating anti-government propaganda and cooperating with hostile countries. Derakhshan -- known as the "blogfather" or by his online handle "Hoder" -- is credited with launching the country's blog revolution and helping pro-democracy activists learn how to leverage the power of the Internet. The Guardian (London) (9/28) , BBC (9/28) - Terror plot against Europe is uncovered
Western intelligence agencies say they have uncovered, and hampered, a plot by al-Qaida to carry out attacks -- similar to those in Mumbai in 2008 -- in Germany, France and the United Kingdom. The rise in the frequency of drone attacks along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border is believed to reflect efforts to target those behind the alleged plot. BBC (9/29) , The Guardian (London) (9/29) - North Korea empowers ruling family
The youngest son of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il has become the country's second most powerful man almost overnight, setting the stage for what observers say is his likely succession. The son, Kim Jong-un, has been named to key military and political posts at a conference of the Workers' Party, the first in three decades. The Washington Post (9/29) , BBC (9/29) - Israeli foreign minister is said to subvert talks
A Palestinian negotiator says peace talks have been undermined by Avigdor Lieberman, Israel's foreign minister, who in a speech Tuesday to the United Nations advocated an interim agreement that could last decades. Specifically, Lieberman called for a territorial exchange based on demographics, an idea that negotiator Nabil Shaath says "reflects a segment of the Israeli society which wants to get rid of all Christian and Muslim Israeli Palestinians." Bloomberg (9/29) , Reuters (9/29) - Europe is swept by protests against spending cuts
Hundreds of thousands of Europeans today protested cuts in public spending, and unemployment, among European Union member states spanning from Spain to Greece. In Brussels, alone, more than 100,000 people, from more than a dozen countries, were expected to demonstrate against austerity measures some say could cause economies to slide back into recession. BBC (9/29) , The Guardian (London) (9/29) - Can peace last in Sri Lanka?
Residents in areas of Sri Lanka under blockade for three decades as the government battled separatist Tamil Tiger rebels until May 2009 are enjoying a return to normalcy, but many resident worry the peace may not last. The government decisively defeated the Tigers and seized control of areas under their influence without really pursuing a political agreement with ethnic Tamils to address the many grievances that helped drive the Tigers' long campaign. Foreign Policy (free registration) (9/27) - India braces for Ayodhya decision
India's highest court is poised to deliver a verdict Thursday on a decades-old legal dispute between Hindus and Muslims over the site of a 16th century mosque in Ayodhya. Political leaders have been appealing to their constituents for calm ahead of the decision. In 1992, deadly riots erupted around the site after Hindu extremists destroyed the mosque. The New York Times (free registration) (9/28)  | |  | | | | | | |  |  MSH SEEKS STAFF FOR HEALTH PROJECT IN BENIN | Management Sciences for Health | Multiple cities, Benin | | Systems Engineer | United Nations Foundations | Washington, DC | | Executive Director, Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves | United Nations Foundations | Washington DC, DC | | Director, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights Program | HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH | New York, NY | | Senior Associate, Development | United Nations Foundations | Washington DC, DC | | | |  | |  | |
- What was the best take-away message from last week's UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Review Summit, the Clinton Global Initiative or the UN Week Digital Media Lounge?
 | Women and girls are the answer to global development | | The smallest solutions -- e.g., bednets, clean cookstoves and vaccines -- will make the largest difference | | We each have a role to play through our resources, skills and networks to achieve the MDGs | | More than ever, technology is a key player in achieving global problems | | Sustainable global development is essential to U.S. national security |
 | - Register now for the mHealth Summit in Washington, D.C.
The 2010 mHealth Summit brings together leaders in government, private sector/industry, academia and not-for-profit organizations to share information and experiences related to the intersection of mobile technology, health research and policy.Featured speakers include Bill Gates, Co-chair and Trustee of the Bill Melinda Gates Foundation; Aneesh Chopra, U.S. Chief Technology Officer; Dr. Julio Frenk Dean of Faculty, Harvard School of Public Health; and Ted Turner, Chairman, UN Foundation. The mHealth Summit takes place Nov. 8 to 10 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. Click here for more information and to register. |
 | 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: - Tuesday, September 28, 2010
- Monday, September 27, 2010
- Friday, September 24, 2010
- Thursday, September 23, 2010
- Wednesday, September 22, 2010
| | | Lead Editor: Adam Mazmanian
Contributing Editor: Juliette Terzieff
Mailing Address:
SmartBrief, Inc.®, 1100 H ST NW, Suite 1000, Washington, DC 20005 | | | | | | © 1999-2010 SmartBrief, Inc.® Legal Information | | |
No comments:
Post a Comment