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 Thai protesters, troops clash in open combat as rioters interrupt ASEAN conference
A state of emergency was declared in Thailand after demonstrators stormed a conference center where members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations were meeting, prompting officials to cancel the meeting. The red-shirt protesters, supporters of deposed Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, gathered near the capitol and clashed with armed soldiers throughout Bangkok. Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, who survived an attack on his motorcade, made a public appearance to dispel rumors his administration had been supplanted by a military coup. The Independent (London)
(4/12)
, NYTimes.com
(4/12)
, Los Angeles Times
(4/13)
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We need a generation to disappear. We are all in our thirties, and the people in politics today are the same ones as when we were born.
French political consultant Mams Yaffa. Read the full story.
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UN Dispatch: The NY Times quotes a pirate on mainland Somalia: One pirate named Ali, in Galkaiyo, Somalia, said the American Navy rescue won't discourage other Somali pirate groups at all. "As long as there is no just government in Somalia, we will still be the coast guard," he said, adding: "If we get an American, we will take revenge.
UN Dispatch
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- Ban calls on Tamil Tigers to release civilians during new year ceasefire
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Tamil Tigers must allow trapped civilians to leave a northern war zone during a halt to hostilities called by the government of Sri Lanka to recognize the new year holiday. More than 100,000 civilians are trapped without aid or relief in an area of active combat between rebel and government forces -- though rebels claim the civilians are staying voluntarily. Bloomberg
(4/13)
    
- Kidnappers threaten to kill aid workers
Kidnappers in Darfur have threatened to kill two Western aid workers held hostage unless French authorities retry aid workers convicted then pardoned for the abduction of children from Chad. The women's employer, Aid Medicale International, is leading negotiations to secure their release in response to kidnappers' demands the Sudanese government take no part. AlertNet.org/Reuters
(4/12)
, The Globe and Mail (Toronto)/Reuters
(4/12)
Top five news stories selected by UN Wire readers in the past week.
- Results based on number of times each story was clicked by readers.
- India says it will not commit to binding emissions cuts
Just days after the Barack Obama administration released a plan to combat climate change, India issued a warning that it would not commit to binding emissions cuts, reflecting the serious debate among emerging markets about whether to prioritize economic transformation or addressing global climate change. India, which uses coal for more than 60% of its power, likely will depend on coal for decades. The Washington Post
(4/13)
- Efforts underway to cut Indian cow emissions
Scientists are working to develop more sustainable diets for India's 283 million cows as the bovines' emissions become an integral part of the climate-change debate. Researchers are looking for alternatives to costly higher-quality diets that are out of reach for most of India's livestock owners. TIME
(4/11)
- Taliban gunmen kill Afghanistan women's rights legislator
Sitara Achakzai, an Afghani politician who pursued basic human rights for women in Afghanistan, was killed by two Taliban gunmen as she traveled to a provincial meeting in Kandahar. Achakzai, who traveled by rickshaw to appear less conspicuous, returned to Afghanistan after living in exile in Germany during the rule of the Taliban. The Guardian (London)
(4/13)
- French minorities mull political future
French minorities are looking to break through into mainstream French politics but believe it will take at least a generation to make substantial inroads. The indifference of French political parties, not society, is preventing advances, minority representatives say. NYTimes.com
(4/12)
- China gender gap significant
 China's bias in favor of male children and restrictive one-child policy has resulted in a 32 million gap between males and females younger than 20 primarily because of couples' decisions to abort female fetuses, Chinese and British researchers report in a study published by the British Medical Journal. The findings provide some of the first hard data on the scope of the gender-balance equation facing China. NYTimes.com
(4/10)
- China promises human rights initiative
Chinese authorities released a two-year plan Monday vowing protections for a wide range of civil liberties, including the right to a fair trial and the right to participate in government decisions. Human rights activists cautiously welcomed the expression of commitment by Beijing. NYTimes.com
(4/13)
- Ahmadenijad: Changes are coming
Iran is encouraged by the tone adopted by new American President Barack Obama and open to the re-establishment of diplomatic relations with the U.S. provided there are concrete shifts in U.S. policy, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad tells Der Spiegel in this extensive interview. Iran, says Ahmadinejad, is not interested in revenge or a rehashing of old mistakes but instead wants constructive progress on a range of issues, including Afghanistan and Iraq. Der Spiegel (Germany) (English online version)
(4/10)
- Navy SEALs team returns U.S. captain alive, kill three Somali pirates
U.S. Navy SEALs rescued U.S. captain Richard Phillips from his Somali captors, killing three pirates in the process. One pirate, who had been stabbed when the group seized the ship captained by Phillips, gave himself to authorities in exchange for medical care. Negotiations with the other pirates, who grew increasingly agitated, ended in failure when Navy officials perceived a threat to the captain. The Washington Post
(4/13)
, Los Angeles Times
(4/13)
- Afghanistan struggles to ensure elections take place
With the clock ticking on presidential elections scheduled for Aug. 20, Afghan officials and their U.S. and NATO allies are struggling to ensure free and fair elections in a country wracked by violence. Large swathes of Afghanistan are out of government control or viewed as significantly risky operating environments, but an election delay would throw the already struggling country into a constitutional crisis. NYTimes.com
(4/11)
- Peru rebels kill 13 soldiers in ambush
Peruvian Prime Minister Yehude Simon condemned an attack by Shining Path rebels in which 13 soldiers were killed. The attack by the once-sizable and formidable militia, now thought to be small and split between two areas, occurred in the southeast province of Ayacucho. BBC
(4/12)
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Mexico City's rapidly increasing water-supply problems demand dramatic action to prevent a massive disaster and serve as a warning for the world's other metropolises. 
