Yearly Archives: 2009
Yemen: The Humanitarian Crisis
Considering how the end of 2009 is shaping up, 2010 may be the year of Yemen.
The country has been in the news quite a bit the last few days as the alleged potential Northwest Airlines bomber is said to have ties to extremists in Yemen, which is located just south of Saudi Arabia on the Arabian peninsula. The United States is also said to be expanding its covert operations in Yemen to target al Qaeda members who have a foothold there.
First US case of XXDR TB identified
Until today, I hadn’t even heard of extremely drug resistant tuberculosis. There are only a handful of cases globally. The term was only defined in the last couple of years. It refers to TB bacteria that are resistant to all tuberculosis drugs and it’s almost always fatal. This is not the same as XDR TB (with one X), aka extensively drug resistant TB, which still responds to some third-line TB drugs and has a lower mortality rate.
Petra Nemcova: How Access to Education Can Heal the Ravages of Natural Disasters
Special to Dispatch from Petra Nemcova, Founder and Chair, and Phil Caputo, Executive Director, Happy Hearts Fund
Interpol Under Siege by Uninformed Bloggers
Last week, the Obama Administration issued an executive order that extended certain diplomatic privileges to Interpol–the International Criminal Police Organization. This was a pretty innocuous bureaucratic move, but it has apparently sparked some serious concerns among a certain cadre of blogger. For example, you have Steve Shippert and Clyde Middleton of ThreatsWatch worrying that this “could conceivably include…Americans arrested on our soil by
UN Peacekeepers Accused of Abuses in Cote D’Ivoire
The United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI) has been accused of sexual abuse and exploitation among its military personnel. It has announced that it is investigating the allegations, and adding additional preventative procedures to ensure that the UN’s zero-tolerance policy against abuse and exploitation is followed.
Eritrea’s Transition to Pariah-State Status Nearly Complete (UPDATE Sanctions Pass, 13-1)
Six months ago, I predicted that Eritrea was on its way to becoming the newest pariah state on the international scene. Later today, that status may be officially confirmed as join the ranks of Sudan, North Korea, and Iran when the Security Council votes on a sanctions resolution on Eritrea and its political leadership. How did it come to this? I’ll refer back to my original post.
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The SC; HRC; DPRK; South Sudan
The SC: The Security Council today held its last consultations under the Council Presidency of ROK. Tomorrow, Russia will take over the rotating Presidency of the Security Council for March under Ambassador Vitaly Churkin.
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The SG; Mali; Middle East; Palestine
The SG: At the Fifth Global Forum of the UN Alliance of Civilizations in Vienna, Austria today, the SG emphasized the role of youth in ensuring a “prosperous, equitable and peaceful future.”
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The SG; DRC; HRC; Palestinian Prisoner
The SG: In Ethiopia over the weekend, the SG is now in the United Arab Emirates. Today he met with Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashed Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, where the two discussed developments in the region, including Syria, Iran, Lebanon, Egypt and Jordan, and in the Middle East Peace Process.
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