From the UN News Center:

The Secretary-General urged attendees to build on the momentum generated by the breakthrough in Bali, Indonesia, in last December's landmark UN Climate Change Conference, where 187 countries agreed on the so-called "Bali Roadmap" -- including bolstered action on mitigation, adaptation, technology and finance -- to tackle global warming.

The Bangkok meeting is expected to lay out a work plan for the negotiations which will conclude in 2009 at a major summit in Copenhagen, Denmark. Mr. Ban has emphasized in the past that a successor pact must be ready for ratification three years before the Kyoto Protocol expires to allow countries to make it law in time.

It is also anticipated that this gathering -- attended by delegates from 163 nations -- will further efforts regarding emission reduction targets for developed countries.

Also speaking at the opening of the talks, the top UN climate change official pointed out that three months have already elapsed since the close of the Bali conference.

"This leaves us with around one and a half years -- a very short time-frame within which to complete negotiations on one of the most complex international agreements that history has ever seen," said Yvo de Boer, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Read more.

The Undersecretary General for Management responds to last week's front page Washington Post article on rising costs at the U.N.

The March 21 front-page story "Expenses at U.N. Balloon 25 Percent; U.S. Demands on Body Help Drive Up Budget" suggested that the United Nations recently "presented its top donors with a request for nearly $1.1 billion in additional funds." The implication is that spending is out of control and member states are saddled with the consequences.

But the General Assembly approved the $4.1 billion budget. All additional costs reflect new demands from members, notably the United States, particularly in peace and security. The United Nations does not "present" bills to its members; it acts upon their instructions.

A "doubling" of "administrative costs" is stated as part of the problem. The budget includes mounting costs of special political missions, including Iraq and Afghanistan. By no stretch can these be considered "administrative costs."

The costs of U.N. operations are spiraling upward because they have never been more in demand.

ALICIA BARCENA
Undersecretary General
Department of Management
United Nations
New York

In this week's UN Plaza, Matthew Lee and I cover a host of issues, including francophones at the UN, Northern Uganda, and circumstances surrounding the assassination attempt on East Timor president Jose Ramos Horta. In the segment below, we discuss Ban's recently released report on Somalia.

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.

>>Zimbabwe - The results from Saturday's presidential election in Zimbabwe have not been officially released, however the opposition is claiming a landslide victory over Robert Mugabe, who has held power for 28 years. A government spokesman responded by saying that such a claim "is called a coup d'etat and we all know how coups are handled." Delayed reporting by the Zimbabwe Election Commission, which election monitors say should already have the results, has raised concerns that the ruling party would engage in underhanded tactics to fix the election. In the limited results that have already been announced, Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa, a member of Mugabe's party, ZANU-PF, has already lost his seat.

>>Iraq - Yesterday Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr called for his followers to cease hostilities and demanded concessions from the Iraq's government after six days of fighting in Basra, which, according to some calculations, has claimed more than 240 lives. Iraq's government has announced that it will not stop its attack, and British troops previously stationed at Basra airport have entered the battle for the first time. Plans for a drawdown of British troops will be postponed in light of the new insecurity in Basra.

>>Korea - A North Korean military commander has been quoted as saying, "Our military will not sit idle until warmongers launch a pre-emptive strike ... Everything will be in ashes, not just a sea of fire, if our advanced pre-emptive strike once begins." This statement is the most recent escalation in a war of words that began when South Korea's new president threatened to halt new aid and speak out on human rights abuses should the North not abandon its nuclear program. The new Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in South Korea said last week that the South would strike North Korean nuclear bases in response to a North Korean attack but said that he had no plans for a pre-emptive attack.

>>Uganda - LRA commander Joseph Kony is walking to the Sudan-Congo border to sign a final peace agreement with the government of Uganda.

• Breaking the Silence on Rape in the Congo
• Dire Humanitarian -- And Political -- Imperatives in Somalia

Africa

• Audio: Chris McGreal reports from Harare
• Guardian Daily podcast: Zimbabwe moves for change
• WITNESS: Running in Kenya's land of the champions

Americas

• Venezuela bombs drugs airstrips
• Costa Rican minister steps down over FARC comments
• Letters: Brazil sugars the pill on biofuels
• Farmers meet president as strike grips Argentina
• Chavez 'stifles Venezuelan media'

Asia

• Nicolas Sarkozy to lay out Afghan troop plans as Nato struggles
• Two British marines dead in Afghan blast
• Musharraf swears in 24 members of Pakistan cabinet
• Proposed Myanmar charter bars Suu Kyi from office
• Dutch MP's film angers Indonesia
• China arrests suspect in schoolgirl rapes
• China blasts Dalai Lama as Olympic torch arrives
• Bush to Meet NATO Allies Divided Over Adding Troops in Afghanistan
• New Joint Effort Aims to Empower Afghan Tribes to Guard Themselves
• British Troops, Taliban In a Tug of War Over Afghan Province
• Flirting by Text Message, Indians Test Social Limits
• Security tight as Olympic flame arrives in China
• Japan PM in pinch as voters favor cheaper gasoline

Europe

• Czech PM says U.S. radar deal almost ready: paper
• Split looms in Hungarian coalition after sacking
• 'Le scrapbooking' takes France by storm
• Iceland counters alleged attacks
• France offers plane if Betancourt released

HBO is poised to shine a light on the terrible human tragedy of sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. On Tuesday, April 8 the station will air The Greatest Silence, a ground breaking documentary that exposes the scale and brutality of rape in the Congo (view the trailer). The Enough Campaign and HBO are teaming up to coordinate house screenings around the United States. (Click here to find or organize a screening near you.) The following evening you can join filmmaker, Lisa Jackson; ENOUGH Co-Chair, John Prendergast; and the Director of Public Policy at the Family Violence Prevention Fund, Kiersten Stewart in a conference call to discuss the film and discover practical ways that you can end violence against women in the DRC.

In the meantime, you can brief yourself on the situation by reading this chilling Enough Campaign report on sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo:

According to the International Rescue Committee's latest study of mortality in Congo, death rates there remain unchanged since the end of the regional war that tore through Africa's Great Lakes region from 1998 to 2004. By the end of this and every month, 45,000 more Congolese--half of them children--will die from hunger, preventable disease, and other consequences of violence and displacement.

Congolese women and girls in particular bear the vicious brunt of this crisis. Indeed, eastern Congo right now is perhaps the worst place in the world to be a woman or a girl. The sexual violence and rape exists on a scale seen nowhere else in the world as it is part and parcel of the conflict. It mutilates and humiliates. Its nature is brutal and vicious; it defies both description and imagination. Often successful in its intent to destroy and exterminate, rape as a weapon of war is causing the near total destruction of women, their families, and their communities.

Read the full report (pdf).

I've made the case before that the crisis in Somalia seems to hover perpetually on the edge of falling into the oblivion of international apathy. Today the UN World Food Program, which is working to feed over two million people in conditions of continually deteriorating chaos and insecurity, made an impassioned plea not to forget the dire humanitarian needs in the East African country.

"The international community must put Somalia at the top of its agenda and press for change before it is too late," said Peter Goossens, WFP's Country Director for Somalia. "We call on all authorities in Somalia to help us reach those in need and urge donors not to give up on this country."

Specifically, WFP is calling for $10 million before July, at which point it will have seriously run out of most basic food staples. For the number of lives at stake, this seems a small price to pay.

Not to diminish the urgency of Somalia's humanitarian disaster, the UN's humanitarian and emergency relief coordinator, John Holmes, yesterday emphasized that achieving a political solution in the country is paramount to relieving its people's distress.

"We can provide the means to keep people alive while that solution is being sought, but the solution is going to have to be based on political progress and a different security environment from the sort of 'Wild West' environment that prevails at the moment."

This is the context in which to read the Secretary-General's report that we discussed last week and in which the S-G laid out possible scenarios under which different forms of a peacekeeping force could deploy. Peacekeeping is in many ways is as vital to Somalis as humanitarian aid, but, as Mark stressed, it too will require a peace accord to be at its most effective.

Meanwhile, the U.S.'s continued support for the Ethiopian-back Transitional Government, combined with its overemphasis on counter-terrorism concerns -- exemplified by the series of missiles that it has launched into the country, none of which hit their respective targets -- has deeply alienated many Somalis. If the U.S. is committed to peace in Somalia, it must shift its attitude and invest its full support to the UN's efforts to secure both negotiations and some form of peacekeeping force.

Enjoy an Egg McMuffin with your Morning Coffee today in honor of its inventor, Herb Peterson, who died today at age 89.

>>Zimbabwe - Zimbabwe's hotly contested presidential election will be held tomorrow. Opposition leaders have repeatedly stated that 84-year-old President Mugabe, who has held power for 28 years, is again undermining the election. They claim to have already discovered 90,000 suspicious names on voting rolls. Yesterday he handed out 450 cars to doctors at government-run hospitals. Security forces are on high alert amid warnings by the opposition that they will carry out Kenya-style protests if they feel the election is rigged. The Times reports on the millions of Zimbabwean refugees living in South Africa, some of which may decide to return pending the results of tomorrow's election.

>>Tibet - Yesterday monks in Lhasa interrupted a carefully orchestrated press trip by the Chinese government at the Jokhang Temple. The group of 30 to 40 monks wept and shouted at Chinese authorities and spent 15 minutes with reporters rebutting what they said were Chinese lies about the recent unrest. The Chinese government announced that the monks won't be punished.

>>Colombia - Colombia is offering to suspend the sentences of jailed FARC guerillas if FARC, in turn, frees Ingrid Betancourt, along with other hostages. Betancourt, a former senator and presidential candidate who has spent six years in captivity, is feared to be ill, suffering from Hepatitis B and Lesmaniasis.

>>Korea - North Korea test-fired a battery of short-range missiles today in further defiance of the new South Korean president's reprimand on human rights and non-proliferation. The show of force follows the expulsion of 11 South Korean officials from a jointly run factory complex in Kaesong.

>>Iraq - Iraq's government has extended their deadline for Shia militias to lay down their arms by 10 days as the assault by government forces in Basra has begun to stall.

• What's In A Name?
• UN Population Fund joins others to launch campaign in DRC against sexual violence
• Attacks on Aid Workers Threatening Relief Operations in Darfur

Africa

• Tutu wants SA arms deal inquiry
• Kenya in mobile phone share sale
• U.N. body calls on Sudan to tackle rights abuses
• Kenya power-sharing hits deadlock over cabinet

Americas

• TV crew denies passing fatal flu
• Honduras: Cantaloupe Ban Criticized
• Bolivia: Deadline Set for Energy Nationalization
• Canada confident NATO will help its Afghan troops
• Argentine leader warns strikers
• Robert Gates wants list of all US nuclear arms

Asia

• Shi'ite-Sunni clashes intensify in northwest Pakistan
• Tibetan children in Nepal protest
• Sri Lanka probes 'bomber offer'
• 21 Indonesians Die After Drinking Tonic
• Boat Sinks in Philippines; 13 Are Missing
• Japan court rules troops involved in WW2 suicides
• China allows diplomats into Tibet
• E Timor leader criticises troops
• US hails progress in Russia talks
• China Law Could Impede Microsoft Deal for Yahoo
• Japanese inflation hits decade high
• Fallout From Tibet Is Test for China's Rulers

Europe

• Dutch relief at Muslim restraint over Koran film
• Belarus: Journalist's Homes Raided
• France flies rebel out of Comoros
• Italy murder fuels 'mafia' fears
• U.S. critical of "brutal" Belarus crackdown
• Sarkozy and Brown list joint plans
• Vatican distances Pope from views of baptized Muslim
• EU peacekeepers raid homes of Karadzic family
• EU warns Italy over cheese scare
• German plans for maglev derailed

There are two "Macedonias" in the world. One is the former Yugoslav Republic, the other is a province in Greece that buttresses the former Yugoslav Republic. Macedonia-the-country is officially referred to at the UN as the "Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM)," which aside from being a mouthful is somewhat backward looking. Understandably, Macedonia wants to change this. But Greece is concerned that calling Macedonia, "Macedonia," would sow confusion and imply claims on its northern province.

Yesterday, a UN mediator came up with a compromise: "The Republic of Macedonia (Skopje)." Greece, though, is dissatisfied. Why does this matter? Because next week, NATO is meeting in Bucharest to consider admitting Macedonia and Athens is threatening a veto. Yikes.

(Bronze statue of Alexander on Bucephalus Museo Nazionale di Villa Guilia, Rome, Italy)

Last week, the United Nations Population Fund joined civil society groups, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the Government in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to launch a campaign raising public awareness about the prevalence of sexual violence in the DRC.

The campaign will run for the next month with a number of efforts including marches, conferences, forums, school events and endeavors to popularize laws against sexual violence.

There are 1,100 rape cases reported each month in the DRC. Additionally, victims of sexual violence are often left with little to access to help. Yakin Erturk, the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women, says not only that the justice system is in "deplorable conditions," but that victims often have to pay access to the courts, which she describes as "a major obstacle to justice."

From the UN News Center:

Attacks against aid workers in western Sudan have reached unprecedented levels, jeopardizing vital relief operations in the war-wracked Darfur region, the United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator said today.

In a statement released in Khartoum by her office, Ameerah Haq said the humanitarian community operating in Sudan condemned all acts of violence taking place in Darfur, where rebels have been fighting Government forces and allied militia since 2003.

On Monday Mohamed Ali, a driver contracted by the UN World Food Programme (WFP), was shot dead and his assistant was seriously injured by unidentified assailants while traveling on the main route into Nyala, the capital of South Darfur state.

Read more.

>>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 by expelling 11 South Korean officials from the Kaesong joint industrial site, once a model of cooperation between the North and South. South Korea also stated this week that it would vote for a UN Human Rights Council resolution criticizing North Korea and calling for a full investigation.

>>Iraq - Prime Minister Maliki set a 72-hour deadline for Shia militia to lay down their weapons and avoid prosecution as fighting continued between 30,000 Iraqi soldiers and armed groups in Basra. The 4,100 British troops stationed at the Basra airport are not taking part in the crackdown. Iraqi and American troops have also been deployed to surround Sadr City in Baghdad, the home of Moqtada al Sadr's Mahdi Army, which is still maintaining its declared ceasefire. Sadr followers marched in protest, some saying that Maliki is working in league with al Sadr's Shia rivals, the Supreme Islamic Iraq Council and the Badr Brigades, in an attempt to lessen his power prior to October provincial election.

>>Russa/U.S. - President Bush, who travels to Europe next week, has been invited by Russian president Putin to meet and attempt to iron out conflicts over possible NATO expansion into Georgia and the Ukraine and missile defense. It is likely to be their last meeting before Putin is replaced as president by Dmitri Medvedev, who will attend the meetings in his first substantial interaction with President Bush.

>>Somalia - The al Shabab islamic forces briefly captured Jowhar, a strategically placed town 50 miles north of Mogadishu, yestreday, releasing prisoners and taking weapons. In the past month, the faction has done the same in six towns in southern Somalia. The raid follows a a statement delivered to the UN Security Council by 40 NGOs on Tuesday warning of an "impending humanitarian crisis" in Somalia. The statement claims that nearly a million Somalis have been displaced. The Somali army is in shambles.

>>Iran - Iran has threatening legal action against the West for losses sustained from what it claims were illegal UN Security Council Sanctions passed on March 3. The threats were delivered in a letter from Iran's foreign minister Manouchehr Mottaki to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. It is not yet clear where Iran would present such a case.

• One Problem With A "League of Democracies"
• McCain calls for Strengthening the NPT through Disarmament
• Celebrities and their UN-affiliated Causes
• Colbert's Water Day episode
• The Questionable Efficacy of a "Bomb Bomb Bomb, Bomb Bomb Sudan" Strategy

Africa

• Angola to host landmine pageant
• Mugabe's opponents 'forced to eat election posters'
• Comoran rebel seeks asylum
• Navy Says Egyptian Died in Suez Clash
• White farmer faces prison in Zimbabwe for refusing to give up dairy land
• Tsvangirai 'surprised' by support
• Arrests over Ethiopia's fake gold
• Nigerian ministers sacked in graft probe
• How Joseph Kony is keeping his options open
• Mugabe opponents would unite for run-off: campaign
• Mugabe rival is 'denied adverts'

Americas

• Argentine Farmers Vow to Press Strike Over Tax
• More US passport 'file breaches'
• British reality TV crew accused as flu kills four in isolated Peruvian tribe
• U.S. Says Hussein Spy Agency and Iraqi-American Arranged '02 Trip by Lawmakers
• Virus Kills Chile's Salmon and Indicts Its Fishing Methods

Asia

• Maoists shun gun for mobiles in Nepal poll campaign
• Banned Indian group's leader held
• Indian men in US 'slave' protest
• Response: Bhutan is neither authoritarian nor stuck in a time warp
• Pakistan's new leaders tell US: We are no longer your killing field
• Philippine chains halve rice portions
• Bush calls Hu to urge Tibet talks
• Monks disrupt Tibet media visit
• Burma leader in rare appearance
• Eyewitnesses Recount Terrifying Day in Tibet
• India temple stampede kills eight
• U.S. Steps Up Unilateral Strikes in Pakistan
• Taiwan says did not dismantle U.S. missile parts

Europe

• Sarkozy and Brown to urge more market transparency
• Sarkozy in UK nuclear talks
• Serbia to push for separating ethnic Serbs from Kosovo
• Sarkozy's wife hailed as France's Princess Diana
• Karadzic's family homes raided
• Bruno the wandering bear ends up stuffed in Munich museum
• Remains of 'pioneer woman' found in Spain are oldest west European
• France: No Eiffel Redesign Planned, Says Architect Who Made Proposal
• French 'serial killer' on trial
• European Leaders Press China Over Tibet
• Plan to put 16m African children into school
• Austria to return more art Nazis stole from Jews

Mark is right to call attention to the "new international institutions" that John McCain alluded to in his speech today. In proposing a "League of Democracies" -- an idea that, interestingly, resembles a Bush administration proposal from September 2005 -- McCain's speech very neatly mirrors the foreign policy address he gave at the Hoover Institution over a year ago, when he first launched the idea of an organization that "could act where the U.N. fails to act." What, exactly, does he have in mind? Straight from the horse's mouth, courtesy of an op-ed he wrote in Financial Times last week:

The nations of the Nato alliance and the European Union...must have the ability and the will to act in defence of freedom and economic prosperity. They must spend the money necessary to build effective military and civilian capabilities that can be deployed around the world, from the Balkans to Afghanistan, from Chad to East Timor.

While McCain's commitment to working together with other countries is welcome, his seemingly singular focus on a U.S.-Europe alliance could detract significantly from the objective of international cooperation. True, the UN General Assembly often grapples with tensions between the global "North" and the global "South," between "developed" countries and the "developing" 130 countries in the so-called "G-77." The existence of these tensions -- which often frustrate American objectives -- is not, however, a reason to exclude such a substantial number of states from the global decision-making process.

In the 1950's and 60's, the UN reached a seminal point in its history, welcoming a flood of newly decolonized countries in Asia and Africa. To create an alliance consisting largely of militarily strong ex-colonial powers would be, to say the least, a disturbing development, both philosophically and practically. If as President McCain is serious about working with the rest of the world to address the pressing problems of the day, then he should commit to working with the -- admittedly imperfect, but hugely necessary -- institution that already exists -- the United Nations.

On the heels of his trip to the middle east, John McCain is billed to give a major foreign policy address today. The Washington Post got its hands on some highlights.

"The United States cannot lead by virtue of its power alone," McCain said. Instead, the country must lead by attracting others to its cause, demonstrating the virtues of freedom and democracy, defending the rules of an international civilized society, and creating new international institutions to advance peace and freedom, he said.

"If we lead by shouldering our international responsibilities and pointing the way to a better and safer future for humanity ... it will strengthen us to confront the transcendent challenge of our time: the threat of radical Islamic terrorism," said McCain.

Naturally, "creating new international institutions" catches my attention. Later in the article, it seems that McCain is referring to building a coalition of democracies and renewing American commitment to nuclear disarmament through strengthening the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. For a thorough explanation of why this first idea may be problematic, I'll encourage readers to (pre) order Matt Yglesias' new book Heads in the Sand. Meanwhile, it's really encouraging to see McCain throw his support behind not just disarmament, but the NPT in general.

The Nuclear Non-Proliferation treaty, created in 1968, maintains that nuclear weapons proliferation can only be curtailed if nuclear countries make moves toward disarmament and the rest of the world be allowed to access civilian nuclear technology. However, this "three pillar" strategy has taken a beating in recent years, in part because some nuclear powers have largely ignored its disarmament protocols in pursuit of so-called tactical nuclear weapons. Re-affirming American support for nuclear disarmament is not only a good thing on its own, but it helps to strengthen our entire international non-proliferation regime. Supporting the NPT-- which means abiding by its precepts and working with allies to raise the costs of non-compliance -- is critical to curtailing the global spread of nuclear weapons.

Angelina Jolie looks after refugees, Drew Barrymore helps feed the world, Nicole Kidman takes on violence against women and Bono promotes the MDG's. But this week belongs to Jay-Z, who explains why water is for life.

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 and a promising new water purification system.

Mark Helprin's "Bomb Sudan" piece in the New York Times today would have been a bit more persuasive back in 2004-2005, when the Sudanese government was more directly responsible for the fighting in Darfur. Today, it reads as completely detached from reality on the ground.

Helprin advocates a bombing campaign targeted against Sudanese military interests in Darfur in order to force Khartoum to "stop the mass killings and dislocation and...to pressure Sudan into negotiating settlements in good faith," This is obviously a sentiment which I would totally agree. However, Helprin seems to not really have paid much attention to political and military developments in Darfur over the last two years.

Ever since the Darfur Peace Agreement in May 2005, the conflict has proliferated from the government and janjaweed vs three distinct rebel groups to a conflict that pits a panoply of over 15 rebel groups fighting the government, former janjaweed, each other, and sometimes humanitarian workers and peacekeepers. Some of the janjaweed have joined the regular Sudanese armed forces, some have joined the rebels. (This International Crisis Group report gives an excellent overview of each group's parochial aims.)

Frankly, there is a reason that people who follow the situation in Darfur most closely, like activists at the Save Darfur Coalition or experts at the International Crisis Group or Enough Campaign do not advocate strategic bombing. After the dust settles and the Sudanese army is evicted from Darfur, what kind of peace do we expect will take hold? To be sure, the government is responsible for much of the violence, but not all of it--IDP camps and villages will still be attacked by marauding janjaweed and rebels.

Countries with sophisticated air power capabilities can bomb all they want, but bombing alone will not protect people as they gather firewood or water or help them return home. Rather, security for people on the people of Darfur can only be achieved through a large infusion of ground forces in Darfur. So far, the only organizations willing to take on this challenge are the African Union and UN peacekeeping, which Helprin dismisses as a "camping trip to the tower of babble." The fact is, these peacekeepers that Helprin mocks are the only armed forces putting their lives on the line to save Darfur. We just need more of them--and they need more equipment like APCs and Helicopters. The best way to provide security for the people of Darfur is to empower the peacekeeping mission there, not devote precious resources to a fanciful bombing campaign.

>>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 into the assassination of Benazir Bhutto.

>>Iraq - Government security forces battled with Shi'ite militias in Basra today in an attempt to bring the city under federal control. The battle may prove important in the British exit strategy. Meanwhile, followers of Muqtada al Sadr continued to engage in a national civil disobedience campaign.

>>Comoros - The archipelago nation of Comoros, located off the coast of Mozambique, has, with the assistance of 1,350 African Union troops, taken control of the rebel island of Anjouan. Anjouan, an island of 300,000, was led by Mohamed Bacar, who had clung to power after an illegal election last year. Comoros has endured 20 coups since it gained independence in 1975.

>>Tibet - Protesting Tibetan monks, joined by locals hundreds of locals to call for the return of the Dalai Lama, were fired on by Chinese paramilitaries in Garze, which borders Tibet. Reports suggest that at least two were killed.

• Meanwhile, a Global Food Crisis
• UN Plaza: Parag Khanna explains the Second World

Africa

• Mining forces out thousands in SA
• Slow progress on Kenyan cabinet
• TB Patients Chafe Under Lockdown in South Africa
• Somalia: W.H.O. Says Polio Has Been Eradicated Again
• Ugandans 'forgive' Gaddafi

Americas

• Colombia revives tensions with comments: Chavez
• Venezuela Chavez basks in needed glory of Exxon win
• Two Contractors Abducted in Iraq Are Found Dead
• Brazil: Dengue Fever Outbreak
• Economy takes place of war in election fight
• Mining forces out thousands in SA
• Bush Says War's Outcome 'Will Merit the Sacrifice'
• Earthquake strikes northern Chile

Asia

• Just like America, China is building a multi-ethnic empire in the west
• 40% of Afghan aid returns to donor countries, says report
• Fresh inquiry into Gujarat riots
• Torch protest was "disgraceful", says China
• BBC website 'unblocked in China'
• Russia's Medvedev presses NATO over expansion
• 5 Dead in Attack on Mine-Clearing Team in Afghanistan
• Bhutanese vote sees rejection of king's in-laws

Europe

• Up to 100 cars in Austrian crash
• Iceland unexpectedly raises rates to 15%
• One dead in Austrian motorway crash
• Belarus: U.S. Cuts Embassy Staff
• The Netherlands: U.S. Company Shuts Anti-Koran Web Site
• Out of East Germany via Bulgaria
• Andorra La Vella Journal: Hard Times Hit a Postage-Stamp Land
• Serbia Formally Proposes Ethnic Partition of Kosovo

Once again, the World Food Program is warning that unless donors step up it will have to start rationing food aid.

The Rome-based World Food Program said it issued the appeal in a letter sent to governments on Thursday, urging them to be as generous as possible by May 1 so the WFP will not have to begin rationing food aid.

The agency estimates that in Darfur alone it needs to provide emergency food for as many as 3 million people daily. The organization, the world's largest humanitarian agency, gives food to as many as 70 million people worldwide.

Earlier this month, WFP executive director Josette Sheeran said that the high prices of food and oil have been swelling the ranks of the hungry since last summer, and cautioned that the crisis would continue for several years.

Sheeran said that a 40 percent rise in the cost of fuel and commodities such as grain since mid-2007 have raised the cost of food and transport, causing the shortfall in the agency's 2008 budget.

The WFP says it needs $125 million to cover transportation costs and $375 million to purchase new food stocks. But this is just the humanitarian face of a larger global crisis. As Ban wrote a couple weeks ago rising food prices are also fomenting political instability around the world.

Food riots have erupted from West Africa to South Asia. In countries where food has to be imported to feed hungry populations, communities are rising to protest the high cost of living. Fragile democracies are feeling the pressure of food insecurity. Many governments have issued export bans and price controls on food, distorting markets and presenting challenges to commerce.

In January, to cite one example, Afghan President Hamid Karzai appealed for $77 million to help provide food for more than 2.5 million people pushed over the edge by rising prices. He drew attention to an alarming fact: The average Afghan household now spends about 45 percent of its income on food, up from 11 percent in 2006.

Other than Free Rice enthusiasts, it seems that few people in donor countries paying much attention to this emerging global crisis.