Ban to help Lebanon resolve political crisis

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon arrived in Beirut Thursday to help Lebanon's political leaders end their stalemate over the presidential election. The term of the incumbent president, Syrian-backed Emil Lahoud, expires Nov. 23, and fears are the government could end up splitting into two rival factions if disagreements continue on a compromise candidate. BBC (11/15)

• UN resolutions must be followed, Lebanon's ambassador says 
• World Bank: Poor lack access to financial tools 
• World Bank hopes to bring light to Africa 
• Indonesia grapples with religious freedom rights 
• Guehenno: Darfur peacekeeping force already in trouble 

• UN resolutions must be followed, Lebanon's ambassador says
  Nawaf Salam, Lebanon's ambassador to the United Nations, has said Israel must do a better job at implementing the requirements under the resolution that the UN Security Council approved in August 2006 after the war between Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah militia. Salam also called for reform of the Security Council to make it "more representative, more democratic, more efficient and more just." The Daily Star (Lebanon) (11/15)

• Head of UN's intellectual property agency to resign next year
  Kamil Idris, director general of the World Intellectual Property Organization, said this week he will step down in late 2008, a year before his term was set to expire. Some Western countries had accused Sudanese-born Idris of mismanagement and pressured him to resign, but he has denied any wrongdoing and had the backing of African and Muslim governments. Financial Times (tiered subscription model) (11/15)

• Other News

• Death penalty countries try to block UN vote on execution ban
  The Independent (London) (11/15)

• Chevron settles charges it abused UN's oil-for-food program
  NYTimes.com/Associated Press (11/15)

• World Bank: Poor lack access to financial tools
  People in the world's poorest countries often lack bank accounts or access to financial services, the World Bank reported this week. The report calls on governments and the private sector to do more to cut costs and expand access to services. Reuters (11/14)

• Afghan children to be educated about mines
  Afghan and United Nations officials have launched a public awareness campaign aimed at educating children in Afghanistan about the dangers of mines and other unexploded ordnance. One Afghan child every day on average is injured or killed by such explosives. IRINNews.org (11/15)

• Kenyan men said to face identity crisis
  Modern men in Kenya are facing so many different expectations -- ranging from being good husbands to being stylish "metrosexuals" to being men of old tradition -- that they are suffering from a collective identity crisis, a new magazine in the country argues. While Kenya may be poor, it does have a growing middle class, and the changing society creates conflicts with old ways of living. The Washington Post (11/15)

• Poll results: What is the largest impediment to economic growth in Africa?
  On Wednesday, we asked UN Wire readers what they considered the largest impediment to economic growth in Africa. About 52% said corruption, about 23% said poor infrastructure, about 14% said volatility, about 8% said other and about 3% said high cost of exporting.

• Other News

• Chile works to provide shelter after quake
  USA TODAY/Associated Press (11/15)

• World Bank hopes to bring light to Africa
  Less than one-quarter of Africans have access to electricity, so most people on the continent have little light after the sun sets. In September, the World Bank rolled out an initiative called "Lighting Africa" that includes a contest to get good business ideas for bringing electricity to millions of poor Africans over the next couple of decades. The Christian Science Monitor (11/15)

• After disastrous spill, questions about Russia's oil business
  For some of the workers struggling with shovels to clean up the heavily polluted Black Sea shore after the Russian tanker accident, questions must be asked about the way the country is handling its surging oil business. Russia is making big money on its massive oil exports, but some of the locals say the country seems to care little about the environmental consequences. Los Angeles Times (11/15)

• Kyoto carbon trade registry gets first customer
  Japan has become the first country to utilize carbon offset trading provisions under the Kyoto Treaty upon the successful launch of a registry to track purchases, the United Nations said Wednesday. Many developed countries plan to follow suit, with Switzerland and New Zealand expected to be next. Environmental News Network/Reuters (11/14)

• Other News

• Web site tracks world's power plant pollution
  The Toronto Star (11/15)

• Indonesia grapples with religious freedom rights
  Proponents of non-traditional offshoots of the world's major religions often face persecution and prosecution in Indonesia, despite the country's official commitment to respect freedom of religion. Human rights advocates say provisions in Indonesia's existing laws that criminalize blasphemy, heresy and apostasy are in direct conflict with freedom guarantees in the Indonesian constitution. International Herald Tribune (11/15)

• Branded as witches, African children struggle to survive
  Thousands of African children have been driven out of their homes, accused of witchcraft and abandoned to survive any way they can. Many end up scrounging a living on the streets, while a lucky few find shelter in churches and children's homes. NYTimes.com (11/15)

• Guehenno: Darfur peacekeeping force already in trouble
  The planned United Nations-African Union hybrid peacekeeping force to be deployed in Darfur is at risk of failure before it even gets on the ground, UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Marie Guehenno said Wednesday. Disputes continue with Sudan over the composition of the force, and no country has yet stepped forward to volunteer any of the vital specialized units needed to complete the mission, Guehenno explained. CNN/Associated Press (11/15), AlertNet/Reuters (11/15)

• Civilians' mental health a common casualty of war
  In Somalia, where conflict has raged for years, the public's mental health has suffered considerably as a growing number of locals feel internally tormented by the chaos. It's a stark example of what conflict often can do to a society's mental health, the Los Angeles Times reports. Chicago Tribune (11/15)

• IAEA, EU prepare to report on Iran's nuclear cooperation
  Iran has mostly cooperated with the International Atomic Energy Agency's requests for information about its nuclear program, the United Nations' nuclear watchdog is expected to report this week. But meanwhile, the U.S., Britain and France are pressing for more information on a "whole range of outstanding questions," said John Sawers, the British ambassador to the UN. Los Angeles Times (11/15)

• U.S. looks at post-Musharraf possibilities
  U.S. officials are beginning to look past President Gen. Pervez Musharraf as Pakistan's political crisis deepens. Few within the U.S. administration believe Musharraf will survive the upheaval unleashed when he declared emergency rule on Nov. 3 and are looking at the possibilities of who and what might come next. NYTimes.com (11/15)

• U.S. urged to end backing for Musharraf: The U.S. should immediately end its support for Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf in favor of support for a return to the rule of law and liberty, former Pakistan Bar Association head Mohammad Akram Sheikh said Thursday. The Washington Times (11/15)

• Other News

• Abundance of arms fuels Cote d'Ivoire violence
  IRINNews.org (11/14)

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Africa's economic climate improving: World Bank ... UN Radio

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