Iran rejects core of nuclear compromise

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said the country would not back a plan, previously endorsed, to ship enriched uranium to France and Russia for processing -- a central part of a deal regarding the country's controversial nuclear program. It's not clear if Mottaki's comments represent a rejection of a deal with the West on Iran's nuclear program or just a revised negotiating position. Los Angeles Times (11/19), Financial Times (tiered subscription model) (11/19)

• UN plots approach to piracy 
• Food aid not part of upcoming North Korea talks 
• Peatland destruction a major climate concern 
• E-health pioneer Selanikio named top innovator 
• Lithuania to investigate alleged secret prison 
• Obama talks tough on Iran, North Korea 
• Career Center 

• UN plots approach to piracy
  Paying ransoms and patrols by naval fleets are insufficient to tackle the piracy threat off the Somali coast, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, the United Nations special envoy for Somalia, told the Security Council. Instead, a regional strategy that builds effective governance, promotes the rule of law and provides alternatives for Somalis is needed. Google/Agence France-Presse (11/18)

• UN investigators decry lack of toilets in world's prisons
  Jails and detention centers without clean toilet facilities constitute a violation of prisoners' basic human rights, and governments must do more to ensure proper sanitation, United Nations investigators said to mark World Toilet Day. "Access to sanitation is fundamental for a life in dignity, which all people are entitled to. Even those convicted of heinous crimes must enjoy such basic rights," said Catarina de Albuquerque, a UN independent expert on human rights and access to sanitation. Reuters (11/18)

• Food aid not part of upcoming North Korea talks
  U.S. President Barack Obama is sending a high-level envoy to North Korea to encourage Pyongyang to return to talks on its nuclear program but will not authorize distribution of food aid to the country in exchange for concessions. North Korea, which is facing another food crisis, previously convinced U.S. officials to provide food aid despite a lack of progress on security concerns. The Washington Post (11/19)

• Floods, droughts in East Africa exacerbated by climate change
  Climate change is killing people in East Africa, where extreme weather events largely have supplanted predictable raining and growing seasons -- bringing devastation to nations that are among the least able to respond. Aid organizations feeding the 23 million people in the region dependent on food aid have begun to appeal to the West for long-term agricultural policy to prepare for the dramatic effects of global-climate change. TIME (11/19)

• Peatland destruction a major climate concern
  Deforestation and degradation of peatlands are unleashing massive amounts of carbon into the atmosphere in places such as Indonesia's Borneo, pitting economic necessity for locals against bigger issues associated with global warming. When swampy peatlands lose trees and have water drained by canals, drying peat begins to unleash a steady stream of carbon, and the risk of uncontrollable fires increases. The Washington Post (11/19)

• Seas are diminishing as carbon sinks
  Oceans are diminishing in their capacity to absorb carbon emissions, a slowdown that tracks the rapid uptick of carbon emissions since the 1950s. NYTimes.com (11/19)

• E-health pioneer Selanikio named top innovator
  A free software platform for health care workers, the use of gold to seek and destroy cancer cells, and the technology that enables mass production of antibiotics are among the seven innovations named by Forbes as making the most important contributions to society in 2009. E-health pioneer Joel Selanikio's software, EpiSurveyor, allows health workers in developing countries to quickly create data-collection systems and speed responses to disease outbreaks. Forbes (11/11), MSNBC (11/10)

• Text-aided crisis mapping aids humanitarian projects
  An organization called Ushahidi -- "testimony" in Swahili -- uses cellular technology to map destruction and killings in conflicts. By compiling text messages in an easily understood graphical format, nonprofit organizations such as Ushahidi are advancing human-rights and humanitarian goals, including aid distribution, by using maps. Utne.com (11/17)

• Other News

• Language, cost still hurdles to wide m-health adoption
  ITWeb.co.za (South Africa)/IT in Healthcare (11/18)

• Developing nations balk at U.S.-run Internet
  Google/Agence France-Presse (11/18)

• Lithuania to investigate alleged secret prison
  A Lithuanian parliamentary committee will investigate a once-windowless, secure building that village residents claim was used by Americans. The property -- suspected to be a CIA-run secret prison or "black site" -- is owned by an unincorporated U.S. firm, whose sole shareholder is identified as a Panamanian company. The Washington Post (11/19)

• Indian girls reject child marriages
  Working with aid agencies in some of the nation's poorest regions, the Indian government is establishing schools for child workers to educate them on their rights regarding child marriages, an outlawed custom that still is widely practiced. Impoverished families avail themselves of the custom to alleviate the financial burden associated with children, among whom half of all girls are married before the age of 18. AlertNet (11/19)

• HRW: No improvement in Cuba on human rights
  Civil liberties remain severely restricted in Raul Castro's Cuba, Human Rights Watch says in a report. Rights advocates hoped Castro, who assumed power in 2008, would loosen controls put in place by his brother Fidel decades ago. Los Angeles Times (11/19)

• Other News

• Actor kidnappings rattle Nigeria movie industry
  AllAfrica Global Media/Daily Champion (11/18)

• Obama talks tough on Iran, North Korea
  Appearing with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, U.S. President Barack Obama delivered harsh words for North Korea and Iran -- nations whose nuclear development programs have triggered international sanctions and could provoke more in the near future. Obama singled out the pattern by which North Korea provokes its neighbors, only to agree to talks, then demand concessions. Obama further criticized Iran for heeding domestic political concerns in its decision to reject an international deal to guide its nuclear program, saying there would be consequences. NYTimes.com (11/19)

• Obama's star falls during trip to Asia
  With the luster of his new presidency somewhat diminished since he took office, U.S. President Barack Obama's trip to Asia was marked more by the difficulties typically associated with diplomacy than by the celebrity that has been afforded his previous trips to Europe and Indonesia. Obama focused on difficult issues associated with Chinese currency, trade with Singapore and South Korea, and security in Japan, foregoing meetings with Chinese dissidents that might have bolstered his reputation as a President intent on bringing about change. NYTimes.com (11/19)

• Former guerillas help drive El Salvador tourism, healing
  Former guerilla fighters are part of a drive by war-scarred El Salvador communities to build a new future based on tourism. Visitors to the "Route of Peace" interact with former refugees and fighters, and get a firsthand look at the mountainous battlefields where the country's civil war unfolded. TIME (11/18)

• Other News

• Mideast peace effort in crisis as Abbas threatens departure
  NYTimes.com (11/18)

• EU hand-wringing sows doubts about presidency
  Los Angeles Times (11/19)

• Afghan attorney general prepares corruption indictments against politicians
  Der Spiegel (Germany) (English online version) (11/18)

Founding Head of School Gashora Girls Academy Gashora Sector, Rwanda National Director - Pakistan World Vision International Islamabad, Pakistan

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