| |
 | |
 Karzai's anti-corruption plans remain a mystery
In his first speech after being declared the winner of the hotly disputed presidential election in Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai addressed the problem of corruption -- without detailing a plan to battle it. Karzai pledged to strengthen an anti-corruption commission and review the laws but ruled out replacing high-ranking officials. Karzai refused to answer questions about the role of presidential contender Abdullah Abdullah, who paved the way to Karzai's victory by refusing to participate in the runoff election, seemingly ignoring calls by many critics and Abdullah supporters to form a coalition government. The asterisk on the election poses a problem for the Barack Obama administration, which seeks a legitimate partner in Afghanistan's government. Los Angeles Times
(11/3)
, The New York Times
(11/3)
|
 |
 |
What a country like Pakistan needs is long-term commitment and engagement for helping with development issues rather than a knee-jerk reaction because one or two people are being killed. Our people are being killed every day. In a situation like this, a country like Pakistan would be left fending for itself. How can people expect the country to improve?"
Pakistan analyst Imtiaz Gul. Read the full story.
|
|
 |
UN Dispatch: Every year, half a million women die as a result of pregnancy. And for every death, there are 20-30 cases of maternal injury. At the same time, high-end private clinics support surrogate mothers bearing children for infertile couple from the wealthy world. It's an ugly dichotomy, and it points to financial inequalities and health sector weakness.
UN Dispatch
|
|
- UN removes staffers from Pakistan's northwest
After the loss of 11 staffers to the recent spate of extremist attacks in Pakistan, the UN is withdrawing staff from the contentious area in northwestern Pakistan -- the area where supporters hoped aid would do the most to battle the spread of extremism. The precise number of staff removed is unknown but small. Experts have stressed that developing infrastructure and law and order are necessary to prevent territory from falling to the Taliban. The Independent (London)
(11/3)
- UN to debate Gaza war crimes resolution
The UN will hold a special meeting Wednesday to debate a draft resolution that would require UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to raise war crimes charges against Israel with the Security Council as documented in the Human Rights Council-commissioned study that has come to be known as the Goldstone Report. The resolution is considered likely to pass the General Assembly but faces a near-certain veto in the Security Council. AlertNet.org/Reuters
(11/2)
- Analysis: No end to HIV/AIDS crisis in sight
The HIV/AIDS epidemic will continue to rage out of control by its 50th anniversary in 2031 unless drastic changes in how the world approaches the disease are made, according to an analysis from HIV/AIDS experts published in the journal Health Science. Experts warn that simply capping new infections at 1 million people per year will require $722 billion in spending during the next 22 years. The New York Times
(11/2)
- Drug prices drive a million malaria deaths a year
A million people a year are dying from a failure to procure effective medicine to counter malaria infection, Populations Services International Malaria says. The cost of artemisinin combination therapy drugs, which can be as high as 65 times the daily minimum wage in some African countries, leads impoverished individuals to purchase older, less effective drugs. AlertNet.org/Reuters
(11/2)
- Kilimanjaro's ice top disappearing
 Eighty-five percent of the ice atop Tanzania's Mount Kilimanjaro has disappeared since 1912, 26% of it in the past nine years, according to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Researchers differ in their assessment of causes behind the accelerated melting pace of recent years, but ice field retreats are happening across the world. The New York Times
(11/2)
- Leaders lower expectations for Copenhagen climate talks
Governments, activists and diplomats say global climate talks underway in Barcelona -- a prelude to the UN talks to take place in Copenhagen that will largely set the agenda for that meeting -- are liable to shape global climate policy, for better or for worse. Some government leaders have tried to dial down expectations for the meeting in Copenhagen, saying talks inevitably will continue into 2010 and beyond. UN climate chief Yvo de Boer says nations will reach a consensus in December that will guide a deal to be finalized in 2010. The New York Times/Green Inc. blog
(11/2)
- India favors UN-backed carbon offset plans
Carbon offset programs are gaining support in India as a way to provide electricity to millions and curb carbon emissions. The United Nations-backed programs allow investors to build clean energy installations such as wind farms and solar power plants in the developing world and earn carbon credits in exchange. Reuters
(10/30)
- Kimberly group might suspend Zimbabwe
Members of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme meeting in Namibia face the prospect of being blasted as failures over inaction on concerns surrounding Zimbabwe's diamond production. Rights groups say the KPCS, set up to keep conflict diamond off the international market, should suspend Zimbabwe until the government does more to end human-rights abuses in its diamond-mining regions. AllAfrica Global Media
(11/2)
- First U.S. visit to Myanmar since 1995
In the first official visit by a senior U.S. diplomat to Myanmar since Madeleine Albright's trip in 1995, two senior U.S. diplomats are meeting with junta officials in Myanmar and are also scheduled to meet with detained democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi. The Guardian (London)
(11/3)
- North Korean military assumes direction of economy
Managing state mineral trading companies as well as what little food is distributed to the people, North Korea's military has come to dominate daily life throughout the impoverished country. After two nuclear tests and an array of missile launches that provoked tightened UN sanctions -- thereby weakening arms sales to Iran, Pakistan, Syria and others -- the North Korean military assumed state-trading companies to boost production of raw materials to sell to China. The Washington Post
(11/3)
- Analysis: Domestic polls motivate Iranian nuclear pose
The latest deadlock in nuclear negotiations between Iran and Western powers might be in part a consequence of intense political maneuvers meant as much for a domestic audience as for the outside world, according to experts. Political scientists point to a dominant and public debate within Iran over President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's role as a negotiator with the West, with hostile reformists reluctant to cede him the ground of pragmatic diplomacy -- and conservative critics simply opposed to negotiation altogether. The New York Times
(11/2)
- IMF will not rule out capital controls
Though the International Monetary Fund will not recommend using capital controls to control asset prices bubbles, officials said they were not necessarily opposed to the strategy, either. Noting Brazil recently imposed a 2% tax on short-term capital inflows to prevent bubbles, IMF managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn observed capital controls have costs and are typically ineffective -- a significant ideological shift from past IMF policy. Financial Times (tiered subscription model)
(11/3)
|
 |
Key Sites
|
| |
| |
| About UN WIRE |
| UN Wire is a free service sponsored by the United Nations Foundation which is dedicated to supporting the United Nations' efforts to address the most pressing humanitarian, socioeconomic and environmental challenges facing the world today.
|
|
| |
| |
| | Recent UN Wire Issues:
- Monday, November 02, 2009
- Friday, October 30, 2009
- Thursday, October 29, 2009
- Wednesday, October 28, 2009
- Tuesday, October 27, 2009
| | | Lead Editor: Adam Mazmanian
Contributing Editor: Juliette Terzieff | Kriston Dean Capps
Mailing Address:
SmartBrief, Inc.®, 1100 H ST NW, Suite 1000, Washington, DC 20005 | |
| |
|
| © 1999-2009 SmartBrief, Inc.® Legal Information |
| |
