Monthly Archives: March 2010
Memo to Amanpour
When ABC announced on March 18 that CNN’s chief international correspondent, Christine Amanpour, would become the new host of This Week, it was unexpected news to say the least.
World Meteorological Organization: 2009 Was the Fifth Warmest Year on Record
When we last wrote about the World Meteorological Organization it was in reference to Washington Post columnist George Will’s egregious misrepresentation of WMO data to justify his quixotic global cooling thesis. The WMO rebutted this error in a letter to the editor. Undeterred, Will kept on keeping on playing loose with the facts.
Farming Ban in Uganda Strips Rwandan Refugees of their Autonomy
Characterizing Rwandan refugee settlements in his country, Tarsis Kabwegyere, the Ugandan Minister for Disaster Preparedness, Relief and Refugees said: “This is not a holiday camp.” The snide remark comes after the government of Uganda enacted a ban on farming for refugees, in an attempt to incite the remaining 16,000 – mostly Hutu – Rwandan refugees to voluntary repatriate to their country.
Exclusive: Only 50 of 1000 Seats at Afghan Peace Conference Reserved for Women and Civil Society
(Kabul, Afghanistan) UN Dispatch has acquired details about the demographic composition of Afghanistan’s upcoming ‘peace jirga,’ the conference at which a strategy for ending the war and reconciling insurgent groups with the Afghan Government will be crafted.
According to a source close to the process, only 20 of approximately 1000 seats at the jirga will be reserved for women, and 30 for representatives from academia and civil society. This was information first divulged on the Twitter feed of Tom Shaw.
World Water Day
People in the developed world think of diarrhea as a mild nuisance. But for most of the world it can be a death sentence. Sanitation related diseases – mainly diarrhea – kills over 4,000 children around the world each day, meaning it kills more children than malaria, HIV/AIDS and TB…combined.
Today is World Water Day, so this is a good opportunity to talk about how it is that people die everyday for lack of a clean glass of water. Here is a useful primer from GOOD.
What About Health Care Everywhere Else?
The U.S. Congress passed a historic health care bill last night, hopefully ending the plight of the uninsured in the United States. That number now includes over 30 million people but, over the next couple of years, should shrink to zero. What about health care everywhere else?
The news is both bad and good, as presented in this comprehensive 2008 World Health Organization report (PDF).
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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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