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>>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 offices in Bangkok to coordinate their response. Myanmar is scheduled to hold a referendum on a new constitution next week, and the government's response to the cyclone could shape that vote.

>>Iraq - According to four Shi'ite militiamen captured in Iraq and questioned separately, Hezbollah has been training Iraqi militiamen at a base near Tehran. The U.S. has made such accusations in the past, and Iran has denied those accusations. Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki announced Sunday that Iraq would launch its own investigation into the matter.

>>Somalia - Tens of thousands of people rioted today in Mogadishu over high food prices. The riot began with the refusal of traders to accept old 1,000-shilling notes, which they claim are worsening inflation.

>>Bolivia - Yesterday, Bolivia's richest region, Santa Cruz, voted overwhelmingly for autonomy in a referendum boycotted by supporters of Evo Morales. The vote, the first of four on greater autonomy for eastern provinces, is seen as a rejection of Morales's leftist reforms. Morales has said that, because of the boycott, the vote is invalid.

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September 25, 2008


Halfway to the Millennium Development Goals
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The following appeared as an op-ed in The Guardian Online on Thursday, September 25th.

This week, over 150 world leaders are gathered at the UN for the opening of the general assembly. If recent years are any indication, news outlets will focus on the disagreements aired on Tuesday, when George Bush and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad took the podium.

But the real drama occurs today (Thursday), when the same global leaders that butted heads earlier in the week take stock of one of the most far-reaching and noble statements of international cooperation ever agreed upon, the millennium development goals.

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