The future of civilization hinges on the outcome of the international climate talks in Copenhagen, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon told reporters today.
If that's the case, the prospect for human survival just took a turn for the worse.
The New York Times reported yesterday that Nigeria has eliminated Guinea worm. It’s been an entire year since a worm was seen. This is a big deal. Guinea worm is a horrifying monster of a parasite; the worms can grow to three feet long and come busting out of human skin through an open sore. There is no medication for someone infected with a guinea worm.
UN Dispatch has assembled an excellent team to cover the action in Copenhagen. For the duration of the conference, we will offer daily round-ups that present the highlights and major developments of the day in easily digestible prose. These will be written by Dispatch contributors Lindsay Beyerstein and Aaron Wiener. For those craving a deeper look at the diplomacy of Copenhagen, our man in India, Abhishek Nayak, is your source. He'll be in Copenhagen during the crucial second week of the conference and will of
A truly horrific day in Badhdad. A coordinated suicide bombing attack against five targets has killed well over 100 people. The New York Times has the story. Meanwhile "Baghdad Kill" is a trending twitter topic. Here is a report from ITN:
The Sudanese government has detained top politicians from the Sudan People's Liberation Movement, a group comprised of southern Sudanese ex-rebels who signed a 2005 peace accord with the central government. Why is this significant?
The delegates have descended on Copenhagen. The curtain has been raised. And as UN climate chief Yvo de Boer told the representatives of 192 countries at the opening festivities of the 12-day international climate conference, “The clock has ticked down to zero. After two years of negotiation, the time has come to deliver.”
A version of the same editorial calling for action in Copenhagen ran in 56 newspapers in 45 countries today. Many on the front page. This unprecedented effort was spearheaded by the Guardian. Good for it.
Today 56 newspapers in 45 countries take the unprecedented step of speaking with one voice through a common editorial. We do so because humanity faces a profound emergency.
The WHO just launched a major tobacco control program in Africa. It’s funded with ten million dollars from the Gates Foundation, and it’s going to focus on building the ability of African governments to enforce controls against tobacco use.
The White House announced that President Obama has changed his travel plans for Copenhagen. Rather than stoping by Copenhagen en route to picking up his Nobel Prize on December 9th, the President will attend the very last day of the conference, December 18th. This is good news. As one close observor writes via email,
"By switching his visit from Dec. 9 to Dec. 18, Obama appears to be betting that his presence can - as he has expressed hope for several times in the past - push the negotiations "over the top" toward an agreement."