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Top Stories>>China - Yesterday, fighting heavy rain and destroyed roads, rescuers finally reached the epicenter of the earthquake in Wenchuan county, where as many as 60,000 people are still missing. By some estimates, the overall death toll is already north... [More]
Top Stories>>China - A 7.8 magnitude earthquake jolted Sichuan yesterday leaving nearly 12,000 dead so far. The shock, felt as far away as Bangkok, severed road, rail, air, and phone links to the region, hampering relief efforts and forcing some... [More]
Top Stories>>Sudan - The rebel Justice and Equality Movement launched an attack on a Khartoum suburb Saturday, the first time in decades that the civil war has touched the capital. The Government rebutted the attack and severed diplomatic ties with... [More]
Top Stories>>Myanmar - The first aid supplies are on their way to Myanmar in a UN plane as the military junta continues to drag its feet on large-scale international aid. The first shipment includes high-energy biscuits, medical kits, and tents.... [More]
According to conservative estimates, over 15 million children worldwide have lost at least one parent to AIDS. That population, equivalent to the population of New York, Paris, and Bangkok combined and mostly living in sub-Saharan Africa, is vulnerable to exploitation,... [More]
Top Stories>>Lebanon - Gunmen supportive of Hezbollah and those of the U.S.-backed government clashed in the streets of Beirut today. Hezbollah supporters blocked the main roads with barricades made of old cars and burning tires. Yesterday the government accused Hezbollah... [More]
The death toll in Myanmar is now over 22,000. Top Stories>>Sudan - Two aid agencies have accused Sudan of bombing the village of Shegeg Karo in Darfur, destroying a primary school and a market and killing 13 people, including 7... [More]
Top Stories>>Myanmar - Cyclone Nargis slammed into the Irrawaddy delta on Saturday, leaving 4,000 dead, 3,000 missing, and hundreds of thousands without shelter. The nation's military junta made a rare appeal for international assistance. Relief agencies met at the UN's... [More]
Dealing with symptoms while causes run free
I'm not sure whether Mark Malan is trying to make a realist or idealist case for Somalia, but no force of the sizes contemplated would be able to control the southern half of that country, on the ground, against the... [More]
Necessary but not necessarily sufficient
The Secretary-General's last report on Somalia provides necessary but not necessarily sufficient requirements for a hope of success with a UN integrated mission, implicitly one which would try to build a whole state apparatus. I agree with you, we need... [More]
Japanese whisky beats Scotch? Top Stories>>China - Envoys from the Dalai Lama will travel to China on Saturday for informal talks. China has blamed the exiled Buddhist leader for fomenting the March 10 unrest in Tibet, which it claims was... [More]
I'd like to pull out and discuss one line in Mark Malan's latest entry: "The Secretary-General adds that the majority of the parties should state their agreement to the deployment of an integrated United Nations peacekeeping operation..." Majority consent. Isn't... [More]
I have been reluctant to contribute to this conversation because I have so little background in the broader issues. I have for the past nine years worked exclusively in attempting to secure a just peace for Sudan and in improving... [More]
Top Stories>>Somalia - Today U.S. strikes in Somalia killed Aden Hashi Ayro, al Qaeda's leader in Somalia who has led al Shabaab militants in attacks against government and Ethiopian troops. Violence led by Ayro had intensified in recent weeks with... [More]
Worse than not authorizing a force at all
The answer your second question is undoubtedly "yes." Promising a peacekeeping mission -- then not being able to deliver -- would be worse than not authorizing one at all. It would be worse for the credibility of the UN Security... [More]
Mark makes an interesting point---that the proposed mission to Somalia may be the straw that breaks the camels back. Still, it seems as if we are inching ever closer to the authorization of a large peacekeeping force there. My question... [More]
Top Stories>>Georgia - Russia has accused Georgia of amassing 1,500 soldiers in the upper Kodori gorge and threatened to retaliate if Georgia uses force in Abkhazi. Russia also stated that it is increasing its force levels in Abkhazi and South... [More]
Interview: Katrin Verclas on using mobile technology for social change
Interview with Katrin Verclas, co-founder of MobileActive.org and co-author of Wireless Technology for Social Change: Trends in Mobile Use by NGOs What are the major findings of the publication? We found that there's a lot of activity. Lots of organizations... [More]
Top Stories>>China - China has sentenced 17 protesters who participated in the March 10 riots in Tibet and surrounding provinces. Sentences ranged from three years to life. Soi'nam Norbu, a 20-year-old driver accused of burning vehicles, throwing stones at government... [More]
If we accept the fact that UNAMID is a failure, then we need to ask a number of questions as to why. Questions that produce answers that go beyond the obvious point that mandates are too convoluted and that peacekeeping... [More]
Top Stories>>Zimbabwe - Partial results from the recount of the vote in the parliamentary election, released over the weekend, confirm that President Mugabe's ZANU-PF party has lost control of parliament. Results from 18 of 23 constituencies have been retabulated and... [More]
Unfair to judge entire missions as successes or failures
Determining the success of a peace operation implies a longitudinal evaluation of where a country such as Cambodia or Mozambique or Sierra Leone is today. It involves a focus not just on the security dimension, but also on aspects of... [More]
Today is World Malaria Day. Play the Deliver the Net game, and a life-saving bed net will be sent to Africa on your behalf. Top Stories>>China - The Chinese state news organization announced today that Chinese officials will meet with... [More]
What has been most successful?
Mark and Bill make a number of great points. Mark's emphasis on the participation of permanent Council members in missions as both a signal and as a way of avoiding unrealistic mandates is very appealing. But it's interesting to note... [More]
An Apollo metaphor for peacekeeping
Permit me to wade in on both of David's comments and Mark's initial input. Getting the mandate right is like getting the re-entry angle right on Apollo capsules return from the moon: too shallow and they'd skip off into space;... [More]
Top Stories>>North Korea - Seven months after a suspected nuclear reactor in Syria was destroyed by Israel, the U.S. government has said that it will make public video evidence of North Koreans working on the reactor. Analysts say that the... [More]
I agree with Mark that the gap between the Security Council's mandates and what is achievable on the ground has often been startling. In part, this is just hope prevailing over good sense. But it also reflects a deeper reality:... [More]
Top Stories >>U.S. - Authorities announced yesterday that they had arrested Ben-Ami Kadish, a former U.S. army engineer, on charges of supplying classified documents to Israel, including information on nuclear weaponry, the F-15 fighter jet, and the Patriot missile defense... [More]
David Bosco raises a legitimate concern about "bang for the buck". However, it is very difficult to measure results with any degree of accuracy when mission mandates are increasingly broad and often patently-over ambitious. I'd like to turn the question... [More]
Top Stories>>Georgia - Yesterday Georgia accused Russia of violating its airspace with a MIG jet to shoot down a reconnaissance drone over Abkhazia. Russia denied the claim, saying that the drone violated UN ceasefire resolutions and was shot down by... [More]
Even as we discuss the logistical, manpower, and financial pressures on DPKO, I hope we do not leave aside the question of what precisely the international community is getting for its (admittedly modest) investment in peacekeeping. Is the current crop... [More]
First, just so we're clear, DPKO has been growing -- nominally, 25 percent in the past year alone -- just not as fast as its operational commitments. Eight years ago, 520 people in New York supported roughly 40,000 military, police,... [More]
As Bill Durch aptly points out in the paper (pdf), the surge in UN peacekeeping has been neither met by commensurate increases in the number of staff in the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO), nor by commensurate increases in... [More]
UN Dispatch Salon: UN Peacekeeping's Challenges and Opportunities for the Next Administration
On January 20, 2009, the next President will have a unique opportunity to create a new global agenda for the United States and right the course of America's foreign policy. William Durch, from the Stimson Center, has published a paper... [More]
Top Stories>>South Africa - Thousands of South Africans took to the streets of Johannesburg to protest the rise in food prices, which have increased by around 14 percent. This protest follows similar demonstrations in Haiti and Indonesia. Wheat prices worldwide... [More]
Top Stories>>Russia and friends - Yesterday Russia announced its expanded support for Abkhazia and South Ossetia, two separatist republics in Georgia. The "support" falls short of full recognition, a step that Russia has threatened in response to the declared independence... [More]
Top Stories>>Russia - Vladimir Putin has confirmed that he will accept the reigns as head of United Russia, the nation's dominant political party, as well as become prime minister of Russia, at the end of his presidency. Putin, however, will... [More]
Top Stories>>Zimbabwe - Yesterday the high court of Zimbabwe dismissed the opposition's appeal for an immediate release of long-delayed results of the presidential election held late last month. In response, the Movement for Democratic Change called for a nationwide strike... [More]
Elevating Adolescent Girls on the Global Agenda
remarks made by Kathy Calvin, COO of the UN Foundation, at Breakthrough: The Women, Faith, and Development Summit to End Global Poverty I want to speak to you about three things this evening: First, about adolescent girls and why the... [More]
Top Stories >>Zimbabwe - On Sunday, authorities ordered a recount of votes for 23 seats in last month's parliamentary election, which, according to the original count, gave the opposition Movement for Democratic Change control of parliament. The MDC has challenged... [More]
Will they eat cookie or cake? A British court decides. Top Stories >>Uganda - Yesterday, Joseph Kony, the notorious leader of the LRA, balked at signing a final peace deal with the Ugandan government once again, and he fired his... [More]
Top Stories >>Nepal - Today the citizens of Nepal vote in their first election in nine years, the result of a peace deal with Maoist rebels who have ended their decade-long insurgency to transition to a legitimate political party. The... [More]
Top Stories >>Iraq - General Petreaus, testifying in front of the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees yesterday, announced a pause in U.S. troop withdrawals from Iraq that would be, at minimum, 45 days, but could last indefinitely. He... [More]
Congratulations Washington Post reporter Steve Fainaru for winning this year's Pulitzer Prize for international reporting (full list). UN Dispatch expects to at least be nominated next year. Top Stories >>Olympics - Over 3,000 French police officers were unable to stop... [More]
Top Stories >>NATO - Russian President Putin sat down for the first time with leaders at the NATO summit yesterday, although Russian concerns have been heavily considered throughout the three-day meeting. Putin expressed new concerns about the U.S. missile defense... [More]
French linguistic purists are waging a war in defense of the point-virgule (semi-colon), which they say is being driven to extinction by the lazy habits of English speakers. Starting 5 >>China - China jailed 34-year-old Hu Jia, an outspoken rights... [More]
Top Stories >>Zimbabwe - Despite reports yesterday that President Robert Mugabe would step down after 28 years in power, Zimbabwe's state-run newspaper has reported that a runoff will be held as opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai failed to garner over 50... [More]
Possibly stunning news out of Zimbabwe
This breaking New York Times report from Zimbabwe suggests that President Mugabe's advisers are in negotiations with opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai about a possible transfer of power, apparently sparked by Mugabe's conclusion that a runoff election would be "demeaning." The... [More]
The longest ever Olympic torch relay began in Beijing yesterday under massive security. India's football captain, Baichung Bhutia, in solitary with Tibetan demonstrators, has declined an invitation to carry the torch. Starting 5 >>Zimbabwe - After three days the winners... [More]
Dith Pran, a New York Times photojournalist, chronicler of the devastation wrought by the Khmer Rouge, and basis for the The Killing Fields, died on Sunday. Top Stories >>Zimbabwe - The results from Saturday's presidential election in Zimbabwe have not... [More]
Enjoy an Egg McMuffin with your Morning Coffee today in honor of its inventor, Herb Peterson, who died today at age 89. Starting 5 >>Zimbabwe - Zimbabwe's hotly contested presidential election will be held tomorrow. Opposition leaders have repeatedly stated... [More]
Starting 5 >>Korea - South Korea's new government announced on Wednesday that it would speak out against North Korean human rights abuses and that aid would not be expanded until the North abandons its nuclear weapons program. North Korea responded... [More]
For those of you who missed it, Stephen Colbert dedicated his entire show last Thursday to World Water Day. He introduced Aqua Colbert, visited the American Museum of Natural History's water exhibit, and interviewed Dean Kamen, inventor of the Segway... [More]
Top Stories >>Pakistan - Within minutes of assuming his new role, Pakistan's new Prime Minister Yousaf Gillani released a dozen judges, including Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, detained by President Musharraf last year. PM Gillani also called for a UN investigation... [More]
The Olympic torch has begun its 85,000-mile journey. The American death toll in Iraq reaches 4,000. Top Stories >>Pakistan - On Saturday, the Pakistan People's Party named its pick for Prime Minister, Yousaf Raza Gillani, a former speaker of the... [More]
U.S. Intervenes on Ethiopian Abortion Law
I applaud recent posts by Frances and Michelle recognizing that, for much of the world, unsafe abortion remains a critical issue for women's health and rights. I also agree with those who have said that U.S. leadership and support is... [More]
Top Stories >>Iraq - A law that would pave the way for provincial elections has been allowed to proceed by Iraq's Presidency Council, possibly opening a new door to political progress. The law was originally part of a trifecta, including... [More]
March 20, 2008, is Day One of the sixth year of the War in Iraq. Regardless of your views on how sound the reasoning was for going to war, it's hard to deny that we have a long way to... [More]
Barak Obama takes on race in America. Top Stories >>Iraq - The Iraq war has now entered its sixth year. The New York Times is providing a series of stories looking back at various aspects of the last five years... [More]
Only the first few minutes were devoted to the "monster" incident. For the most part, Power talks smartly about her new book and the future of the U.S. in Iraq. Money quote: "What Sergio's life underscores is the degree to... [More]
My concern really would be with how deeply will the cultural, regional sub-context be taken in to account while implementing the PEPFAR Bill. The way it looks to me with so many clauses and sub-clauses it appears already to have... [More]
Top Stories >>Russia - Today Secretaries Rice and Gates continue what has been widely reported as positive talks on missile defense, non-proliferation, and terrorism in Moscow. Yesterday Secretary Rice confirmed that President Bush had sent a letter to President Putin... [More]
A Better Defender of Women's Rights
I don't work on reproductive health and rights on the international level, but I have worked on the national level and think that there's obviously much work to do that could definitely make us "a better defender" for women's rights... [More]
Top Stories >>Tibet - China has closed Lhasa to visitors and blocked websites (including youtube) as violent protests continue there and spread to the neighboring Sichuan, Qinghai, and Gansu provinces. The Dalai Lama has said that he will not intervene... [More]
Top Stories >>Tibet - Ongoing protests surrounding the anniversary of the 1959 uprising that led to the flight of the Dalai Lama continue to grow. Yesterday, hundreds of monks took to the streets in Lhasa in the largest demonstrations against... [More]
I am interested in hearing from those of you who work primarily on women's reproductive health and rights globally whether you think the "walk the talk" at home argument holds water? Would the United States be able to be a... [More]
No connection between legality and incidence
I want to respond to part of what Kavita said: "Finally, the women's movement needs to show the political will and courage to refuse to cede the moral high ground by showing itself able and willing to speak to the... [More]
In what may be one of the lamest ledes ever, the New York Times announces "Caution: Heavy Internet traffic ahead. Delays possible." Best get your Morning Coffee while you can. Starting 5 >>Tibet/India - The 100 Tibetan exiles who had... [More]
I think it is terribly important for the new U.S. administration to advance gender equality as part of a more comprehensive strategy for peace and social justice both at home and in the rest of the world. It is also... [More]
Obama wins the Mississippi primary. Think something is missing from Morning Coffee? Add it through a comment below. Top Stories >>United States - Admiral James "Fox" Fallon, commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East best known for his outspoken... [More]
Regarding Michelle's question...
Michelle, this a great question and I think complicated. I am hoping for a new administration that does not inappropriately use humanitarian or health, food aid, etc. as a means of accomplishing political goals. Within that context, there needs to... [More]
I suspect many of us will agree that Adrienne's solid, common-sense paper (pdf) articulates pretty much exactly what we'd like to see the next president do. I'm curious, though, what others think about the political tactics he or she should... [More]
Did Slate knowingly swipe "Eliot's Mess" from Colbert? Meanwhile, the Vatican delineates new sins, including pollution and "social injustice." Top Stories >>The Hague - The prosecution of three Croatian former generals, Ante Gotovina, Ivan Cermak, and Mladen Markac, accused of... [More]
Adrienne Germain's "New Agenda for Women" is a solid and fairly comprehensive plan for a US administration committed to partnering with governments north and south that are already on board and working to achieving many of these goals. As the... [More]
New Thinking Required to win the Fight
The pending US legislation to reauthorize the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) needs to be informed by the fact that increasing targets and money alone will not significantly help in responding to AIDS. After more that 25 years... [More]
William Safire takes on the etymology of "waterboarding." Top Stories >>Pakistan - Nawaz Sharif, leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-N, agreed on Sunday to join the Pakistan People's Party -- led by Asif Ali Zardari, Benazir Bhutto's widower -- in... [More]
A New Agenda for Women and Girls: A UN Dispatch Salon
Starting on January 20, 2009, the next President will have a unique opportunity to create a new global agenda for the United States and right the course of America's foreign policy. Adrienne Germain, President of the International Women's Health... [More]
An 8-year-old Brazilian who passed a law school entrance exam has been blocked from enrolling becasuse they think he should finish elementary school first. Top Stories >>Jerusalem - At least one gunman entered the Merkaz Harav seminary in Jerusalem on... [More]
Turkmenistan is rewarding women who have over eight children with $25, as well as free utilities, transportation, and dental care. Top Stories >>Israel and Palestine - Israel and the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas agreed yesterday to resume talks under pressure... [More]
John McCain has secured the Republican nomination and will be endorsed by the President today. Hillary Clinton earned campaign-saving wins in Ohio and Texas yesterday (as well as Rhode Island). The government of Chad is building a 10-foot-deep moat around... [More]
Hillary promises to press on regardless of the results today in Ohio, Texas, Rhode Island, and Vermont. The BBC reports from the Obama bus. Top Stories >>Ukraine - Gazprom, Russia's state natural gas company, cut a quarter of its gas... [More]
February 29th marked the fourth anniversary of President Jean Bertrand Aristide's departure from Haiti. Since that time the United Nations' seventh peacekeeping mission (MINUSTAH) has been on the ground ensuring that Haiti's transformation to a more secure, stable and capable... [More]
Protesters attack Japanese whalers with "non-violent chemical warfare," rotten butter. Top Stories >Russia - Vladimir Putin's hand-picked successor, Dmitri Medvedev, won Russia's presidential election with roughly 70 percent of the vote on Sunday. Putin will be his Prime Minister. Medvedev... [More]
Beware the plague of the jellyfish, but flock to the Indian train system. It sounds safer than Amtrak ... in one way at least. Top Stories >>Kenya - Rival leaders in Kenya signed a powersharing agreement yesterday, a day after... [More]
Conservative lion and founder of the National Review, William F. Buckley, Jr., died yesterday at age 82. If you want to avoid mispronouncing a leader's name on national TV, you might want to watch this a few times. Top Stories... [More]
Obama (who received Dodd's endorsement yesterday) and Clinton had a contentious debate last night in Ohio, sparring mainly on healthcare and trade. There is no longer any debate, however, about the source of "Parmesan." Top Stories >Tuberculosis - The World... [More]
First the New York Philharmonic, now Eric Clapton has been invited to play Pyongyang. Top Stories >>Kenya - Kofi Annan has expressed frustration that parties in Kenya have been unable to reach a final deal, despite weeks of talks. The... [More]
Joel and Ethan Coen, as well as Daniel Day Lewis and Javier Bardem, took home some well-deserved hardware at the Oscars last night. The NY Philharmonic meanwhile plays Pyongyang. Top Stories >Cuba - Raul Castro became the new president of... [More]
President Bush's dance movies in Liberia have been unfairly labeled as "David Brent-style gyrations." Obama handily wins the Democratic "global primary," but only claims .5 more delegates...don't ask me how you get half a delegate. Top Stories vs. >>Serbia -... [More]
The French have made Terminator-style rubber out of urine, while the Americans were focusing on a wooden car that can travel 240mph. Top Stories >>Star Wars - The US Navy successfully hit an impaired satellite the size of a school... [More]
Obama won in Wisconsin and Hawaii. McCain took Wisconsin and Washington State. Scientists researching the effects of climate change have found giant sea monsters near Antarctica. Top Stories >>Uganda - An agreement has been reached between the government of Uganda... [More]
Obama gets the endorsement of Obama, Japan, ... well at least part of it, while McCain is endorsed by Bush, Sr. Today, Wisconsin and Hawaii will decide for themselves. Top Stories >>Cuba - Fidel Castro has officially stepped down as... [More]
A day after Valentine's, and where's the love? Romney has some for McCain. I have some for Indy. Top Stories >>Hezbollah - In front of 10,000 mourners at the funeral of Imad Mughnieh in Beirut, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah threatened Israel... [More]
"A crisis is a terrible thing to waste"
Vinod Khosla, of Khosla Ventures and the founding CEO of Sun Microsystems, is one of the rock stars of this summit. His presentation, "...mostly convenient truths from a technology optimist," was sharp and witty and immediately set the summit on... [More]
Bush administration pushes for bilateral ties with Iraq
In an op-ed in Tuesday's Washington Post, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert Gates, confident in the steps that Iraqi leaders are taking to solidify their country's sovereignty, called on Congress to support negotiations of a "normal... [More]
The Demand-Side Attack on Climate Change.
Diana Ferrel, the director of the McKinsey Global Institute, is currently making a convincing case for energy efficiency at the UN Investor Summit on Climate Change (the FT has a good summary). The world is obsessed with supply-side solutions to... [More]
Happy Valentine's Day. Hamas is in love with its gunmen. I'm in love with the UN Investor Summit on Climate Risk. Top Stories >>Malaysia - Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi of Malaysia has dissolved parliament, setting in motion a process... [More]
If you're looking for an unfiltered view of the Summit, check out the webcast.... [More]
Professor Holdren gave an incredibly stark, complex, and truly amazing presentation. I won't do it a disservice by boiling it down to a paragraph here. (I'll publish the full text when it becomes available online). The one fact that shocked... [More]
Wirth opens Investor Summit on Climate Risk
Former Senator Tim Wirth, and UN Foundation President, is now opening the UN Investor Summit. His message: we are on schedule to finish negotiations on a successor regime to Kyoto in Copenhagen in 2009, and a big part of that... [More]
for the tardiness of Morning Coffee. We're having technical difficulties, and I'm over at the UN early to live blog the UN Investor Summit on Climate Risk. Stay tuned...... [More]
In yesterday's "Potomac" (I think I might prefer "Chesapeake") primary, Obama and McCain ran the table, Obama by unexpectedly wide margins. Tomorrow I will be blogging live from the UN Investor Summit on Climate Risk. Top Stories >>Russia - Russia... [More]
The RNC hates on Obama's Grammy (video) as we head into the "Potomac" or "Chesapeake" primaries today (DC, VA, and MD). Television and film writers are expected to approve a deal to end the three-month-long strike today. Saudi Arabia bans... [More]
Obama won primaries in Maine, Kansas, Louisana, Washington, and the Virgin Islands over the weekend, drawing the delegate count even closer. McCain won Washington, but lost Louisiana and Kansas to Huckabee. Amy Winehouse won five Grammys, but was forced to... [More]
Taking the Long View on Renewables
Today the New York Times, and quite a few other papers, picked up on reports published yesterday in Science that suggest "almost all biofuels used today cause more greenhouse gas emissions than conventional fuels." The Times did sneak "today" into... [More]
Romney dropped out of the Republican process. Yusuf al-Qaradawi was refused a UK visa, while Amy Winehouse was denied a U.S. one. The latter will not be able to perform at the Grammy awards. Top Stories >>Smoking - A WHO... [More]
Top Stories >>Serbia - Nationalist Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica has blocked plans for a Serbian-European political and economic agreement, suggesting that it was an attempt to make Serbia concede the independence of Kosovo. Boris Tadic, a pro-European moderate who was... [More]
Obama won more states, but Clinton claimed more delegates, and the battle continues. McCain solidified his frontrunner status in the Republican primary (even though Huckabee wasn't too shabby). Top Stories >>Chad - Rebel attacks have ceased in Ndjamena in the... [More]
America votes and spends. Top Stories >>Zimbabwe - Robert Mugabe's reign as president will be challenged for the first time in 20 years by Simba Makoni, a "reform-minded technocrat" and a senior member of the ruling ZANU-PF party. Opposition parties... [More]
The NY Giants pulled off one of the greatest upsets in American football history by beating the undefeated (and record-breaking) New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII. Nearly 750,000 have flocked to Carnival (video). And Sarko-Bruni is official (or as... [More]
Hillary and Barack debated in Hollywood to a crowd you usually see at a Lakers game. The candidates are releasing their 2007 fundraising numbers. Obama has raised $32 million so far in 2008. Top Stories >>Malaria - The WHO is... [More]
The last Republican debate before Super Tuesday was held last night at the Reagan Library in California as Guiliani and Edwards drop out. Serbia also held it's last televised debate before the presidential run-off on Sunday between incumbent and supporter... [More]
John McCain won a close Florida primary last night, solidifying his status as the frontrunner in the race to be the Republican nominee. Rumors suggest that Rudy Guiliani, who finished a distant third, will endorse McCain today in advance of the last Republican... [More]
President Bush delivered his last State of the Union last night, but most attention is focused on today's Republican primary in Florida. A West Virginia major used a magazine containing his photo as an ID at airport security, and a New... [More]
Obama won the S.C. democratic primary, and today he picks up a key endorsement. President Bush delivers his final State of the Union tonight. And Bono is engaging in iPod diplomacy. Top Stories >>Right-wing ally of ousted PM Thaksin Shinawatra, Samak Sundaravej, was... [More]
Roger Federer's grand slam winning streak finally came to an end. The wife of a Fairfax county school administrator left a message on the answering machine of a student who called her husband at home...and it is all the rage... [More]
>>Jason Green, who works at an Australian crocodile farm, was attacked by a female of the species only to subsequently shot by a colleague trying to save him. Green survived and is now recuperating post surgery. Top Stories >>Egyptian... [More]
Oscar nominations were released yesterday. If you haven't seen No Country for Old Men yet, do yourself a favor. Meanwhile, the Fed made the largest interest rate cut in over 20 years. In other news: >>The five UN permanent representatives... [More]
Over the long weekend, Hillary Clinton and Mitt Romney won the Nevada caucuses, while John McCain outlasted the dirty politics of South Carolina. Last night the Dems had a firey debate in Myrtle Beach (C&L has video. ) In Other... [More]
Sorry about the delay this morning folks... Some are predicting that the writers' strike is nearing an end, while artists' nude models in Italy are taking up the mantle. In the land of the clothed... >>The Economist has published a... [More]
Keeping an Open Mind on Nuclear Energy
Nicole Belle blasted Tucker Carlson yesterday for suggesting that if you're "reflexively" against nuclear power in 2008, you're "not a forward thinking person." She cites as her reasoning the unsolved issue of how to permanently store or dispose of nuclear... [More]
At the Council on Foreign Relations, Kellyanne Conway, Geoffrey Garin, Douglas Schoen, and Joe Klein discuss the role of foreign policy in the 2008 campaign. (video - audio) This morning's candidate primer >>Police in Kenya fired live rounds and tear... [More]
Last night Mitt Romney won the Michigan Primary, further complicating the battle to be crowned the Republican nominee, while the Dems debated in Las Vegas in advance of the Nevada caucuses on Saturday. Apple unveiled a laptop that fits into... [More]
Although we will never be as concise as Steven Colbert, UN Dispatch will begin today offering a quick morning briefing on world events. Enjoy. >>Israeli PM Olmert ratchets down expectations as Israeli and Palestinian negotiators begin to meet on "core... [More]
Bali: The Essential United Nations
Last month's climate change conference in Bali was another reminder that if we didn't have a United Nations, we would have to invent it. Bali may not have seemed like a triumph -- but it was. It was a triumph... [More]
Climate Change Hits the Big Time
As Matthew Yglesias previously noted, along with a new aspect on Baltimore's decay, last night's episode of The Wire brought a new moniker used by the touts trying to convince buyers that their narcotics are the most lethal. Once branded... [More]
Nearly at the end of this morning's press conference in Mali announcing the launch of the national integrated health campaign, a representative from WHO noted a possible loss in translation. Admiral Ziemer, who leads the President's Malaria Initiative, was seated... [More]
I have arrived in Bamako, Mali, after a grueling 36 hours in transit. On the way over, I read a series of stories about the series of explorers that the British African Association sent to find the Niger and the... [More]
Ohhh…it's hot in here all right! The temperature is sky high in Bali as representatives from over 180 countries meet at the United Nations Climate Change conference. I thought that I would take a break in between meetings, side-events, and... [More]
Getting to yes on a roadmap in Bali is proving to be no easy task. Every discussion and every issue is part of a bigger chess match, and few countries appear willing to give much ground at this point. Every... [More]
There is nothing like a song and dance to get attention in Bali. Lest delegates become jaded by the minutiae of negotiations, an international coalition of youths has been working to call attention to the big climate change picture with... [More]
Part of Bali is about the negotiations between countries on how to move forward on climate change. But Bali is also a big carnival of ideas and there are all sorts of organizations with booths lining the halls of the... [More]
Agrofuels, like ethanol, are often hailed as a clean-energy alternative to fossil fuels. But in Bali, agrofuels have come under particularly heavy fire from NGOs, who say they the booming industry has become a major factor in deforestation and higher... [More]
It turns out that although we know enough to know for sure that the world's climate is changing, we still don't know all that much about the weather in many parts of the world, especially the local climate. There are... [More]
Yvo de Boer, who heads the Climate Change Convention, in his opening speech yesterday, said the outcome of the conference "will, to a degree, determine whether Bali -- and other vulnerable places -- are destined to become a lost paradise,... [More]
Adaptation is a big issue in Bali. With sea level rising, more droughts in some places and more intense rainfall in others, people are going to have to deal with change. Many people have already been affected by climate change,... [More]
It's usually rather easy at big international meetings to tell who's a delegate and who's an NGO. But with the opening formalities of Bali out of the way, it's much harder to know who's who. Instead of wilting in the... [More]
Opening day was a day for staking out positions in Bali. While many countries made similar points -- such as that the science was clear and that urgent action is needed -- there were subtle and sometimes not so subtle... [More]
There was polite applause for the speakers opening the Bali conference, but the meeting really erupted in sustained applause when Australian delegate Howard Bamsey told the Climate Change Convention that Australia would ratify the Kyoto Protocol. Bamsey said that the... [More]
A "breakthrough" in Bali would, according to Indonesia's Environment Minister Rachmat Witeolar who is also the President of the Bali Conference, should consist of the launch of negotiations that will lead to a global agreement to address climate change, an... [More]
There were no questions asked about the science of climate change at one of the first press briefings here in Bali by the head of Climate Change Convention secretariat, Yvo de Boer. There were no questions doubting whether climate change... [More]
All along the main road from the airport to the conference center are signs welcoming delegates. It's not the high season for tourism right now in Bali, as my taxi driver tells me that December is usually rainy. And today... [More]
Outlook on Bali and American Involvement
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee held a hearing yesterday on the upcoming climate negotiations in Bali. While many have noted that the prevailing idea seems to be that the world is in a holding pattern for the next U.S. President... [More]
How well do you know your World Heritage Sites?
imaging('tpod.jpg',0,0,false) Looking for an afternoon diversion? The newly created Friends of World Heritage Trivia Game challenges you, on the clock, to pinpoint UNESCO World Heritage Sites. There's a lot of diversion to be had here -- 14 lightening rounds... [More]
imaging('boltonmat.jpg',0,0,true) This story in today's Times, reporting the State Department's announcement that a "team of American experts had arrived at North Korea's sole functioning nuclear reactor and begun the work of disabling the facilities," reminded me that I've been... [More]
Boiling down the UNCLOS "debate"
While Gail Collins's shtick on the political attention being paid to the Convention on the Law of the Sea does her readers a bit of a disservice considering its actual importance, her column in Saturday's Times does a pretty good... [More]
The UN Convention on Law of the Sea was just voted out of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee 17 to 4, with Sens. Vitter, Coleman, Isakson, and DeMint opposing. Supporters were hoping for only 2 no votes. The next battle... [More]
As Mark mentioned, not everyone got into the spirit of UN Day yesterday. Niles Gardiner, from the Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom, published this: As overpaid and under worked United Nations bureaucrats quaff champagne and feast on canapés and shrimp... [More]
Corine Hegland has written a great summary article (pdf) on UNCLOS for the National Journal. I got this from Matt, who writes "She's doing neutral reporting, so she doesn't come out and say that there's little to the opponents' case... [More]
"Does the UN Effectively Fulfill its Mission?"
Today, in honor of UN Day, DipNote, the "U.S. Department of State Official Blog," is soliciting responses to the question above. We believe that, although there are certainly steps to be taken to ensure that the UN can more efficiently... [More]
Opening up the international biofuels market
imaging('clini.jpg',0,0,true) by Dr. Corrado Clini, Director General of the Italian Ministry for the Environment Land and Sea and Chairman of the Global Bioenergy Partnership Trade in biofuels and biofuels feedstocks is currently too low. European and US systems of... [More]
"Captain" misses the boat on MONUC
Confusing the Hutus and Tutsis is the least of the mistakes Ed Morrisey made in a post on the Democratic Republic of the Congo this morning. Ostensibly he uses the new Human Rights Watch report on North Kivu as shaky... [More]
Monday morning diversions: UN Edition
"In honor of United Nations Day on Wednesday," the NY Times published an interconnected series of UN-based puzzles in yesterday's paper. Don't cheat.... [More]
Martin Elmund from Malaria No More, who has also been covering the Gates Malaria Forum, writes today about news regarding "RTS,S, the world’s most clinically advanced malaria vaccine candidate." Elmund explains: A joint project between GlaxoSmithKline and the Gates-funded Malaria... [More]
Update on kidnapped WFP official
The Guardian has more information today about Idris Osman, the WFP official kidnapped in Somali: About 60 soldiers forced their way into the WFP offices yesterday morning, taking Idris Osman, a Somali national, into custody at gunpoint and locking him... [More]
The Malaria Challenge: Do we shoot for "E"?
imaging('mosquito2.jpg',0,0,false) As I was watching the Gates Malaria Forum's "Town Hall" yesterday evening (entire day's webcast), I was struck by an anecdote told by Brian Greenwood, Professor at London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine: When Sir Ian McGregor... [More]
Bill and Melinda Gates: Let's chart path to eradicate malaria
by Amy DiElsi imaging('billandmelinda.jpg',0,0,true) Melinda Gates, Co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, opened the Gates Malaria Forum in Seattle this morning with a call to embrace the effort to eradicate malaria. While many have been cautious to declare... [More]
imaging('wfp_somalia.jpg',0,0,true) On the heels of World Food Day, highlighting the "inherent human right of every woman, man, girl and boy, wherever they live on this planet" to food, comes news that the head of the World Food Program in... [More]
by Elizabeth McKee Gore imaging('emckee.jpg',0,0,true); In Seattle today, 250 leaders in the malaria space interacted at the first ever Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Malaria Forum. Leadership from vaccine research, drug research, vector control, social mobilization and advocacy were convened... [More]
imaging('rss.png',0,0,true); In part due to the good arguments made in these two posts (here and here), I just created a full-text RSS feed for UN Dispatch. For those of you who are unfamiliar with RSS feeds, check out this... [More]
UN's IPCC and Gore win Nobel Peace Prize
imaging('norway.jpg',0,0,true) Although most headlines today will read the other way around, it's importantly not to overlook that the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has been central to coalescing the "scientific consensus," or what the public would recognize as... [More]
I began writing a post this morning about something striking that I read in this Joseph Romm post yesterday, in which he discusses the similar new books Break Through, by Michael Shellenberger and Ted Nordhaus, and Cool it, by Bjorn... [More]
I certainly agree with Blake's premise that the unilateral efforts of any one nation, even China, are unlikely to completely turn the tide in Myanmar. However, I think he overlooks one key aspect of China's foreign policy arsenal, its veto... [More]
imaging('milliband.jpg',0,0,true) The new (and young) UK Foreign Minister David Milliband is blogging and appears to be doing it well. He's making an effort to directly connect with other bloggers. As Blake noted, he sat down with Steve, Sameer, Blake,... [More]
"The End of a Nightmare" in Liberia
imaging('Charles_Taylor.jpg',0,0,false); Steve Radelet, one of the guest bloggers standing in for Nicholas Kristof, today penned a column detailing the remarkable turn-around in Liberia.... [More]
Colbert on North Korea and Diplomacy
Last night Colbert suggests, "There is a real danger that this triumph of diplomacy could make people think diplomacy can triumph."... [More]
Gaffney Lost on Law of the Sea
by Martine Apodaca The UN Convention on Law of the Sea, which came into force in 1994 and has been ratified by 154 countries and the European Community, has been gathering steam in the U.S. Senate, is widely supported by... [More]
Turning the Corner on International Cooperation
by Congressman Bill Delahunt, Congressional Representative to the 62nd UN General Assembly imaging('delahunt.jpg',0,0,true); Last week I attended the opening of the 62nd United Nations General Assembly in New York, where I serve as one of two Congressional representatives in the... [More]
Following on Mark's post yesterday about the disheartening attacks on AU peacekeepers in Darfur comes this news from the Washington Post: Senegal threatened Monday to withdraw its more than 500 troops from Darfur, moving the African Union's beleaguered peacekeeping mission... [More]
Not Seeing the Trees for the Forest
imaging('saffron2.JPG',0,0,false); *Photo:AP This morning, Blake makes a key point halfway through his post on the UN Human Rights Council and Burma. He writes: It's important to remember that it's the 47 member states that make up the Council, not... [More]
The Case for a More Regulated Biofuels Market
by Karl E. Watkin, Chairman of D1 Oils plc (D1), the UK-based global producer of biodiesel Climate change is a global problem that can only be solved with globally implemented solutions. There is a Tsunami of dedication, commitment, and money... [More]
imaging('nypolice.jpg',0,0,true); Midtown Manhattan is a madhouse this week. Both the opening session of the 62nd UN General Assembly and the Clinton Global Initiative are in town and bring with them both an unprecedented group of world leaders and a... [More]
imaging('cgi.png',0,0,true); Two interesting things that I heard during the CGI plenary on deforestation (see below): Franz Tattenbach, the Executive Director of FUNDECOR, talked about the progress that has been made in reforesting Costa Rica, which has gone from 26... [More]
Commitments on Energy Efficiency
imaging('cgi.png',0,0,true); The closing plenary of the first day of CGI has started (watch live). It will feature a discussion on children in conflict with Angelina Jolie (see below), Nicolas Kristof, Mohammed Atmar, Valentino Deng, and Alvaro Uribe. But first,... [More]
imaging('angelina2.JPG',0,0,false); imaging('cgi.png',0,0,true); The press room here cleared out about 15 minutes ago. Angelina Jolie is in the room next door announcing her new Education Partnership for Children of Conflict, "a historic education partnership to address the needs of children... [More]
imaging('cgi.png',0,0,true); The Clinton Global