Bono meets Abe to discuss AIDS, poverty in AfricaKyodo News
TOKYO — U2 lead singer Bono met Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Wednesday to discuss fighting AIDS, poverty and health issues in developing countries, especially in Africa. "Japan made a promise in the G8 (summit) in Gleneagles last year to double its aid to Africa," Bono told reporters afterward. "Some countries make promises and they don't keep them. Japan, we trust to fulfill their promise and the world believes in the honor of a Japanese promise."
Japan Today (11/30)DEMOCRACY IN THE BALANCELiving symbols of reform in AfghanistanFemale lawmakers work for, and embody, change.By Alissa J. Rubin, Times Staff Writer
AMONG the crowd of 800 turbaned elders who gathered in a vast tent, one person stood out: a slender woman in a white head scarf.She took the podium only briefly, but when she did, most conversation came to a standstill. And though many of the bearded, tradition-bound elders are uncomfortable talking to a woman in public, several dozen clustered around her afterward to ask questions. Her name is Zahera Sharif, and she is the only woman among the four members of Afghanistan's parliament from Khowst province. In a conservative area where it is possible to drive through towns without seeing a single woman on the street, she is a rarity.
Los Angeles Times (11/29)Annan Seeks Summit Outside Iraq to Reconcile FactionsBy Robin Wright and Colum Lynch
The U.N. Security Council unanimously extended the mandate for the 160,000-strong U.S.-led coalition in Iraq for an additional 12 months yesterday, as Secretary General Kofi Annan proposed an international conference at a venue outside the war-torn country to forge reconciliation among Iraq's political parties. Addressing what may be the most controversial issue to face the Bush administration, Annan said that Iran and Syria should be included in efforts to stabilize Iraq.
Washington Post (11/29)UN slams use of child soldiers, sexual violence against kidsAgence Presse France
UNITED NATIONS (AFP) - The UN Security Council on Tuesday sharply condemned the continuing recruitment and use of child soldiers in armed conflicts as well as the killing of and sexual violence against children. After a day-long open debate on the issue of children caught in armed conflict, the 15-member council issued a statement welcoming steps taken by national and international courts "against those who are alleged to have committed grave violations against children."
ABS-CBN Interactive Philippines (11/29)EXTRAORDINARY RENDITIONS REPORT
Europe Knew about Secret CIA FlightsThe European Parliament has issued a report on CIA secret flights and prisons in the European Union. It points the finger at 11 EU states, saying they knew all about the extraordinary renditions program.
When the existence of secret CIA flights ferrying terror suspects through Europe to third countries for interrogation -- so-called "extraordinary renditions" of terror suspects -- hit the headlines last year, Europeans were appalled. A number of European governments were likewise quick to voice their shock at such behavior. Turns out, they faked it. A June report by the Council of Europe outlined the collusion of many EU states with the CIA's activities. And now, the European Parliament has issued its own draft report into the matter. It accuses 11 EU countries of having turned a blind eye to the questionable practices.
Der Spiegel (Germany) (11/29)Central African Republic a 'tragedy in the making': UNThe Associated Press
The Central African Republic is veering toward disaster, a senior United Nations official warned Tuesday, a day after rebels captured a northern town and said they were headed to the country's southern capital. "Central African Republic is a tragedy in the making," said Ibrahima Fall, who headed a weeklong UN mission to the country. "The situation there is bleak. It has been bleak for a number of years. It is becoming bleaker by the day."
CBC News (Canada) (11/28)UN report says Afghan drug fight will take decades to winJASON STRAZIUSO - Associated Press
KABUL — The fight against opium production in Afghanistan has so far achieved only limited success and will take decades, not years, to win, a report released Tuesday by the UN drug agency and the World Bank said. Efforts to stamp out Afghanistan's record-setting opium trade have been stymied by corruption, and the drug trade is now run by a few powerful players with strong political connections, the report found. Opium cultivation in Afghanistan rose 59 per cent this year to 5,500 tonnes — enough to make 550 tons of heroin, nearly a third more than is consumed by the world's drug users. The harvest provided more than 90 per cent of the world's opium supply.
Toronto Globe and Mail (11/28)Violence and persecution follow Europe's downtrodden minority across the continentEight million Roma find political voice in face of evictions and mob attack
Ian Traynor in Ambrus, Slovenia
Miha Strojan was tending to his sick mother when the mob arrived. Wielding clubs, guns and chainsaws, several hundred villagers converged on the cottage in a clearing in the beech forest with a simple demand. "Zig raus [Gyppos out]," they called in German, deliberately echoing Nazi racist chants. "Bomb the Gypsies." It was the last Saturday of last month, when the mob terrorised the extended family of more than 30 Roma, half of them children, into fleeing their clearing a mile over the hill from the farming village of Ambrus in eastern Slovenia. "They were building bonfires on our land and shouting that if we don't move out, they will bomb us and crucify our children," recalls Mr Strojan, 30.
The Guardian (United Kingdom (11/28)Amnesty Urges Nigeria to Curb Sexual Abuse by ForcesBy REUTERS
LAGOS (Reuters) - Nigeria should urgently overhaul its legal system to curb widespread sexual violence against women, including rape by security forces and police, Amnesty International said on Tuesday. The abuses are encouraged by a weak judicial system and the failure of all levels of government in Africa's most populous country to tackle the abuses, the group said in a report titled ''Nigeria: Rape - the silent weapon.'' Soldiers in Nigeria still enjoy a large measure of impunity seven years after the election of President Olusegun Obasanjo ended 30 years of almost continuous army dictatorship.
New York Times (11/28)Sending African troops into Somalia 'would trigger war'-Thinktank warns of risks in American UN proposal· Islamic courts would view move as provocativeXan Rice, east Africa correspondent
A US-backed proposal to send African troops into Somalia to support the weak government raises the risk of triggering an all-out war with the Islamic courts that could destabilise the entire region, a leading thinktank said yesterday. The International Crisis Group warned that approval of the draft US resolution, to be presented to the UN security council tomorrow, would be viewed by the Supreme Islamic Council of Somalia (Sics) as tantamount to a declaration of war.
Guardian (11/28)US to consult with Security Council members on MyanmarPress Trust of India
The United States plans to hold consultations with other Security Council members on a resolution, which would describe the actions of Myanmar military regime as a threat to peace and security and ask it to take concrete steps to reverse the situation.But it would not call for sanctions and it is unclear whether other members of the council would go along.
Hindustan Times (11/28)'Sierra Leone is like a tinderbox. It will only take one spark'It should have been a success story. But four years after Tony Blair hailed Britain's role in ending a brutal civil war, this small country is back on the brinkSteve Bloomfield reports
Sweat drips off the ceiling of a seedy Freetown nightclub. The neon strip lighting illuminates a crowded dance floor where beautiful young Sierra Leoneon women gyrate against the pot bellies of middle-aged white men. A former British paratrooper propping up the bar drunkenly boasts he has just closed a mining deal worth hundreds of millions of dollars by beating up a local chief, putting a gun to his head and threatening to shoot if he doesn't sign the document. Outside, 19-year-old Joseph hops towards new arrivals, one hand clutching a series of bead necklaces to sell, the other holding a crutch. The stump that was his left leg before it was chopped off with a blunt machete barely pokes out from below his shorts. He rarely makes enough money to feed himself, let alone his 15-year-old sister.
Independent (United Kingdom) (11/28)AIDS to Be 3rd Leading Cause of DeathBy MARIA CHENG
The Associated Press
LONDON -- Within the next 25 years, AIDS is set to join heart disease and stroke as the top three causes of death worldwide, according to a study published online Monday. When global mortality projections were last calculated a decade ago, researchers had assumed the number of AIDS cases would be declining. Instead, it's on the rise.
Washington Post (11/27)World Court Official Reports Evidence on Darfur CriminalsBy Nora Boustany- Washington Post Foreign Service
The International Criminal Court has found sufficient evidence to identify the perpetrators of some of the worst atrocities in Sudan's Darfur region, and the probe offers "reasonable grounds to believe" that crimes against humanity were committed, chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo told the annual meeting of the court's member states in The Hague. "We selected incidents during the period in which the gravest crimes occurred," he said Thursday in a report on his activities over the past year. "Based on the evidence collected, we identified those most responsible for the crimes." Moreno-Ocampo did not name the targets of the investigation, which he said is nearly complete.
Washington Post (11/25)Call to end female circumcisionMuslim scholars from around the world have called for female genital mutilation to be banned and those who carry it out to face punishment. At a conference on the subject in the Egyptian capital Cairo, the scholars said governments should enforce existing laws against the practice. Earlier, the top religious authorities in Egypt said religion offered no justification for the procedure.
BBC (11/24)
Nothing But Nets Rick Reilly
In his latest Sports Illustrated column Rick Reilly reports on his trip to Nigeria to distribute the first round of anti-malaria bed nets, bought from money raised by the Nothing But Nets campaign.According to Reilly, the nets have had an immediate impact on the health and well being of some communities. "One hospital in Nigeria," writes Reilly, "is saying that since the nets went up, outpatient cases of malaria have dropped from 80 a month to 50."
Sports Illustrated- Life of Reilly Column (11/29)When war and children collide:If the US will not lead in protecting the most vulnerable in the world from violence, who will?By Donald Steinberg
NEW YORK – The tragic impact of war on children has taken center stage this month in international forums. First, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has just issued a report, based on insights from Radhika Coomaraswamy, special representative on children and armed conflict, that underscores the effect of war on millions of children world-wide. Second, the UN Security Council will debate this topic Tuesday under the leadership of Council president Jorge Voto-Bernales. Third, pretrial hearings have begun for the International Criminal Court case against Congolese warlord Thomas Lubanga, who is charged with forcing children, some as young as 10 years old, into his militia.
Christian Science Monitor (11/27)Olmert vows 'restraint' as truce beginsIsraeli PM says next step in keeping peace in Gaza should be release of kidnapped soldierMITCH POTTER- MIDDLE EAST BUREAU
JERUSALEM—Hoping to expand the first day of a fragile ceasefire into something more tangible, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert last night promised a return to "serious, genuine, open and direct" peace talks with Palestinians if the truce holds firm. Vowing that Israeli forces would show "the necessary patience and restraint" in the coming days to give Palestinians an opportunity to rein in rogue elements, Olmert said the next test towards stabilization would be the release of Israeli soldier Gilid Shalit, whose capture in a cross-border raid last June triggered a crushing Israeli military offensive.
Toronto Star (11/27)Thousands of kids struggle on the streets of Buenos Airesstory by Alejandra LaBaca
BUENOS AIRES -- A slim, red burn crosses the left side of Víctor's face from cheekbone to forehead. His eyelid is burnt. His lower eyelashes are gone, charred to the rim of his eye. Only 3 ½ months old, Víctor faces a tough life. ''He got burnt with a pipe,'' says his 16-year-old mother, Marta, referring matter of factly to the pipe she uses to smoke paco, a cheap, highly toxic byproduct of cocaine refining.
Miami Herald (11/27)Lebanese government approves Hariri tribunal The Lebanese government approved on Saturday plans for a special tribunal to try those accused of assassinating former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, Information Minister Ghazi Aridi said. Aridi made the remarks after an extraordinary cabinet session without six resigned pro-Syrian ministers. The approval, though widely expected, was bound to deepen the country's political crisis and spark mass street demonstrations by Hezbollah and its allies to topple the government led by Prime Minister Fouad Seniora. Six pro-Syrian ministers resigned earlier this month after the country's leaders failed to reach an agreement on formation of a national unity government.
People's Daily Online/Xinhua (China) (11/26)UN launches campaign to end violence against womenNew York, Nov. 25 (PTI): The United Nations today launched a major campaign aimed to raise awareness about violence against women worldwide and seek vigorous steps to end it. The 16-day campaign will focus on bride burning, sexual violence as a weapon of war, genital mutilation, date rape, child marriage, gender-based violence and honour killing, among other abuses. The launching of the campaign coincides with the International Day of Elimination of Violence Against Women.
The Hindu (11/25)Budding African entrepreneurs provide proud face of microfinance revolutionBy Alexander Panetta
BAMAKO, Mali (CP) - In a humble cement building with an unfinished second storey lives an idea just big enough that it might change the world. The proud smiles on the faces of those whose lives it has already touched put a human face to the potential of the microfinance revolution. The concept has already inspired a Nobel Peace Prize along with new hope for millions, which in poverty-stricken Africa is as fresh as the new coat of paint on these walls.
CANOE (11/25)Bangladesh launches polio vaccination to reach 24 million children under 5The Associated Press
DHAKA, Bangladesh: Hundreds of thousands of volunteers and health workers fanned out across Bangladesh Saturday to vaccinate some 24 million children under the age of 5 against polio, following an outbreak of new cases earlier this year, an official statement said. Parents with their children queued in about 120,000 immunization centers, many at bus and railway stations, airports, slums, schools, community centers and in remote villages, to eradicate the deadly disease that resurfaced after an absence of about five years, the Health and Family Planning Ministry said.
International Herald Tribune (11/25)Fiji marches down old coup road Ian McPhedran
FIJI is facing another military coup, possibly next week, when renegade military chief Frank Bainamarama returns home from New Zealand. Three Australian warships, as well as more than 100 troops, are standing by just outside Fijian waters ready to evacuate thousands of Australians if violence breaks out. The naval task group includes the amphibious transport ship HMAS Kanimbla , frigate HMAS Newcastle and replenishment ship HMAS Success.
Herald Sun (Australia) (11/25)Eradicating polioTODAY'S COLUMNIST
By Paula J. Dobriansky and Timothy E. Wirth
Many Americans vividly remember the polio epidemics of the 1950s, when fear of the crippling virus closed schools and swimming pools across the country. The last case caused by a wild polio virus in the United States occurred in the late 1970s, however, and the disease that once alarmed Americans no longer causes much concern in this or most other countries, thanks to advances in medicine and concerted global efforts to eradicate it. Yet, polio remains endemic in four countries -- Afghanistan, India, Nigeria and Pakistan.
Washington Times (11/23)United Nations must find freedom to actBy Douglas Hurd
We do not know much about Ban Ki-moon, the new secretary-general of the United Nations, but we know that the organisation is weak, divided, bureaucratic – and indispensable. In a world of nearly 200 nation states it provides a meeting place, resources and a unique form of authority, based on international law. None of these resources works perfectly but they are in demand because they cannot be provided elsewhere. This year the Security Council has passed resolutions on Lebanon, Iran, North Korea, Darfur and Palestine. None of these is assured of success but they represent the nearest approach the world has seen to action by an international community.
Financial Times (United Kingdom) (11/23) (Registration Required)HIV epidemic 'is getting worse' Sub-Saharan Africa is still bearing the brunt of the HIV/Aids epidemic, a UNAids report has revealed. Almost three-quarters of deaths from Aids in 2006 occurred there and two-thirds of those living with HIV are in that area. UNAids says there are an estimated 39.5 million people now living with HIV. The number living with the virus has increased everywhere, with the most striking increases in East Asia and Central Asia/Eastern Europe.
BBC (11/21)
Everyone knows that I'm here with the family in Mexico to write the "Great American Novel" that has been screwing with my head and breaking my heart for the last fourteen years. But there were a lot of questions as to why it was necessary to quit the job, sell the house, uproot the family and move 3,000 to a foreign country where none of us proficiently speak the language. I have tried to explain this expansively and philosophically but, in truth, it was much simpler than the grand plans and multi-decade long-range economic, philosophic, political plan this is supposed to arise from this first foundational step.
The real reason was to regain my sanity.
I have great friends who understand me as a very complicated individual who has a hard time living in the moment because my head is so far down the road. My entire career has been built on seeing the past and future in ways few can imagine or, quite frankly, care to bother with. As much as I love my dearest and most trusted of friends, we seldom occupy the same head space as they tend to see today or the short term and get so caught up in petty dramas and their "obligations" that rather than do what they want to do, they do what they think they are supposed do. I've had great, visionary employers but they too suffer from this lack of imagination and inspiration to do what is right versus what is necessary.
I've come to believe this the very nature of the American character. We are so focused on doing what we think we should do that we suppress what we want to do and thus, when the pressure of desire becomes greater the need for appearances we reveal our real desires and shatter the illusion of our pretext. Be they conservative republican Christian politicians with an overwhelming desire for teenage boys or conservative, right wing, preachers who officially revile against the rights of homosexuals while they hook up with gay outcall prostitutes and snort lines of crystal meth, my instinct is not to merely revile them for their hypocracy but to pity them. All their lives they have had it beat into them to do what they should do rather than do what they want to do. And because their desire is for something they have been trained to believe is "evil and immoral" their obsession becomes only that much greater. I sincerely believe they think that the more they pray themselves not to feel something and harangue against it, the more likely they are to be "liberated" from their passion. And, in truth, they only become more obsessed and intrigued by their passion and find a totally new thrill in donning hat, dark glasses and fake name and dabbling in that life they truly desire but publicly revile. The outcome is always the same; that living of two incompatible lives will inevitably be exposed and shatter the myth they have so carefully cultivated about themselves. So should we hate and revile the Ted Haggard's and Mark Foley's of the world? No. We should instead look inside ourselves and see what great passion fills our soul but we bury and mask with a facade of responsibility. We then must realize that this great passion will not be denied and should begin to break down our own myth before circumstances unexpectedly shatter the illusion we have so carefully crafted.
That's why I came to Mexico. I have been working full time since I was 14 years old (my first paying job was at 5 working with my father at a crematorium picking nails out of the ashes of the dead with a magnet...yes, that does explain a lot). I was raised to be responsible. I was never a kid. At 14 I was driving for a living (yep, another funeral job... this time hauling bodies from their place of death to the mortuary) two years before I could legally drive. Before I was 18 I had worked in the mortuary business, insurance, travel, newspaper, vitamin, real estate and banking industries. At 18, I was going to school fulltime while still hauling bodies, driving a chemical truck, running convenience stores overnight, serving in the United States Marine Corps Reserve AND running a college radio station. Yes, a lot of drugs were involved because I worked 24/7 six days a week and only slept on Sundays... if time allowed.
In time I was able to relinquish some responsibilities but, to this day, I still function on about three hours of sleep per night (though drug free for the last 17 years if you don't count the coffee and cigarettes) and I still have the need to have a lot of other interests. As well as the book (Jesus Cristo!, this thing is becoming a monster!) I still have Abi's education, my obsession with news and most specifically human rights and constitutional law (expanded now to a worldwide perspective as I've launched a new comparative of the 225 some odd instruments currently in play globally) and my attempts to learn both Spanish and Arabic all with a backdrop of News Talk from NovaMRadio or some random foreign language music station from the country Abi is studying that day. And all of it still doesn't quell my restless mind because I am still gripped with my one great obsession. A series of questions, really:
How can we cut through all the clatter, the bullshit, the biases, the ignorance, the fear that permeates the American character and begin living up to our potential as the saviours of our planet? How is it that the tens of thousands of years of human cultural evolution led us to become this nation we are, with all of our knowledge and resources, to rise to world dominance in just a few hundred years.... an eye blink in the history of our species... and yet we can't we seem to get beyond our childish nature and be real examples of progress? We have the capability of turning the deserts into golf courses... why can't we do that to feed the world? We can drug our children into focused little educational automatons... why can't we create a drug that makes us despise war and destruction and pour it into every water system in the world so we can focus on peace and world prosperity? We can memorize a warehouse full of statistics to craft the perfect rotisserie baseball league or be encyclopedic about our favorite celebrity... so why can't we memorize the names of our state's congressional delegation and build a relationship with them? We can spend hours, hours a day on My Space cyber-stalking our high school crushes so why can't we take a few minutes a day to learn something new about our world, become outraged at an injustice and write a letter of support or condemnation to the appropriate authority? We are the most blessed society the world has ever seen with more wealth, more education, and more capability than any futurist could have ever imagined. So why the hell do we allow ourselves to be manipulated into wars of choice with a foregone conclusion and feign surprise with the inevitable outcome?
What the fuck is wrong with us Americans? Do we want to fail? Are we afraid what might happen to us, to the world, if we truly cared? Do we want to end up like every other empire before us and be relegated to the ash heap of history? Do we want our bones picked over a thousand years from now and have archeologists of the future wonder why, with such potential, we just evaporated from the records or collapsed under our own weight and vanity?
I was like every other American. I had "responsibilities" that kept me from doing what I wanted to do. I wanted to write this book but most importantly I wanted to stop making excuses for why I was doing what was expected versus what was filling up my heart and soul to do since I was a kid. To just, go!
I had a conversation with a friend a few years back when I was seriously contemplating running away to Rio De Janeiro to take up a job as a disc jockey at a Metal radio station. I almost did it but I the only thing that held me back were my "responsibilities". I still have them. I have to take care of my family, educate my children, budget my money to carry us through this great adventure and hope to Gaea the book sells so I don't have to go back to work as a highly productive but under-compensated and unfulfilled tool of corporate America. If I must be crazy focused, at least it is on my family and on a project I hope will allow us to live our lives according to our rules and catering to our desires.
But last week, while our friend Julie was in town for Thanksgiving (we are not holiday people, mind you) I set aside the responsibilities and allowed myself to just enjoy the moment. Rather than taking the super-fast Autopista that would carry us from Guadalajara to Patzcuaro in a little over three hours, we took the back roads that made the journey stretch out to seven hours. We did fine dining at Don Vasco and Cha Cha Cha but likewise ate from roadside vendors that make the most killer food you can imagine. We got pulled into a "Guerilla Thanksgiving" that was one of the most magical events of which I have ever participated. Our dinner companions (we thought would be seven total) were comprised of Julie, our family, a burned out sixty year old hippie (who was the inspiration for the whole event... thank you David), a graduate student from Montreal helping David on the second edition of his Bible of Bamboo, a young Belgian Internet Technician who just quit his job to backpack all over Mexico for a year, an American Doctoral Candidate who is here in Patzcuaro studying the Purhepecha language and a bunch of Mexican nationals who have no clue what Thanksgiving represents. We had no traditional Thanksgiving bird but used "dwarf turkeys" (chickens) in their stead, made the most bizarre, yet wonderful, stuffing comprised of whatever we had in our respective pantries and Julie's southern mashed potatoes recipe stolen from here redneck mother-in-law. It was fabulous! The music (two accordians, guitar and people taking turns on the tambourine, bongo and flute) was dreamlike! We took Julie to all our favorite places here in the Patzcuaro area and it was wonderful. We stayed up late, chatted about life, ate when we got hungry and not once did I worry about the responsibilities. The book. The bills. American politics. The nuances of constitutional law and legal precedents. Nothing.
I was living in the moment. And it was addicting! And when we put Julie on the plane yesterday, I feared that little break from reality would not sustain us through the rest of this adventure. But I was reminded that this is a reality of our making and we can choose to continue to live in each and every moment or we can find a convenient rut to fall into and blame our "responsibilities" for not continuing to seek out the delicious nectar cupped in every flower that makes the every day moments of life so sweet.
Our neighbor
Rita just returned from a short trip to the states. I wish Julie could have met her. She's the most fascinating woman I've ever encountered and
details her travels in her book, which I am now reading. She's been doing this for 20 years now. If you want to understand what truly inspires people to do the whole ex-patriate thing, she captures it perfectly in her book. I will use her as my on-going inspiration to dip my beak in every succulent flower I encounter along the way.
We start back into the book today. Abi is studying the Pitcairn Islands and I'll flesh out my unsleepable hours with more human rights studies. But I hope that in the process, Julie had a chance to see what we are trying to do here, why we needed to do it and that we didn't come to Mexico to run away from something, we were running to our future... down the back roads of our passions.
EU: Challenge Russia on Human Rights AbusesOfficials Must Raise Abuse Issues at Summit(Moscow, November 23, 2006) – The deteriorating climate for human rights in Russia demands a strong European Union response at tomorrow’s EU-Russia summit, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch called on the European Union to press Moscow to repeal invasive restrictions imposed on nongovernmental organizations and end torture and forced disappearances in Chechnya.
Human Rights Watch (11/22)OPT: Civilians Must Not Be Used to Shield Homes Against Military Attacks(Jerusalem, November 22, 2006) – Palestinian armed groups must not endanger Palestinian civilians by encouraging them to gather in and around suspected militants’ homes targeted by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Human Rights Watch said today. Calling civilians to a location that the opposing side has identified for attack is at worst human shielding, at best failing to take all feasible precautions to protect civilians from the effects of attack. Both are violations of international humanitarian law.
Human Rights Watch (11/22)China says reported HIV/AIDS cases up nearly 30 pct22 Nov 2006 06:07:25 GMTBEIJING, Nov 22 (Reuters) - The number of reported HIV/AIDS cases in China has grown by nearly 30 per cent so far this year, the Health Ministry said on Wednesday, warning the virus seemed to be spreading from high-risk groups to the general public. The reported number of cases at the end of October had risen to 183,733, up from 144,089 at the end of last year, the Ministry said in a statement on its Web site (www.moh.gov.cn).
Reuters/ AlertNet (11/22)Study highlights baby deaths in AfricaJohannesburg, South Africa 22 November 2006 01:48 Africa's infant mortality rate of 1,16-million per year placed it on a par with England's figures in the early 20th century, according to a study released on Wednesday. "Opportunities for Africa's Newborns" said that half of these deaths occurred in Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Uganda. Nigeria alone had over 255 000 newborn deaths a year.
Mail & Guardian (South Africa) (11/22)Annan: UN rights council should focus on DarfurBy ASSOCIATED PRESS
The UN Human Rights Council should broaden its focus beyond the Palestinian-Israeli issue to avoid accusations it is one-sided, Kofi Annan said Tuesday. Speaking to reporters in Geneva for the last time before he steps down as secretary-general at the end of the year, Annan said the council's preoccupation with Israel's actions in Lebanon and the Palestinian territories while ignoring the situation in Darfur had caused some to wonder whether it had "a sense of fair play."
The Jerusalem Post (11/21)Lebanon Official Critical of Syria Is AssassinatedBy MICHAEL SLACKMAN
Published: November 22, 2006
BEIRUT, Lebanon, Nov. 21 — Pierre Gemayel, a Lebanese cabinet minister and strong opponent of Syrian influence in Lebanon, was gunned down in his car here on Tuesday afternoon, jolting a nation already paralyzed by political conflict that threatens to topple the government.
New York Times (1121)EditorialA Discredit to the United NationsThe old, unreformed United Nations Human Rights Commission was selective and one-sided, but occasionally managed to do some good work. That may be more than can be said for its successor body, the Human Rights Council, born earlier this year of a weak-kneed compromise from which the United States stood honorably apart. If this is the best the U.N. can do at reforming itself, it isn’t worth the effort. The council is new, but its deliberations have already fallen into a shameful pattern. When it comes to the world’s worst and most consistent human rights violators, like China, Iran, North Korea, Myanmar and Sudan, there has been a tendency to muffle words and conclusions and shift the focus from individual and political rights to broader economic and social questions. But when it comes to criticizing Israel for violations committed in a wartime context that includes armed attacks against its citizens and soldiers, the council seems to change personality, turning harshly critical and uninterested in broader contexts.
New York Times (11/21)Israel Orders Investigation of Bomb Use in LebanonBy GREG MYRE
Published: November 21, 2006
JERUSALEM, Nov. 20 — The Israeli military chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz, ordered an inquiry on Monday to determine whether the armed forces had followed his orders when it used large numbers of cluster bombs during the month-long war with Hezbollah in Lebanon this summer. Several human rights groups have criticized Israel’s use of cluster bombs, saying they were dropped in or near populated areas.
New York Times (11/21)
Uzbekistan blocks UN resolution criticizing rights recordEDITH M. LEDERER, Associated Press
UNITED NATIONS — Uzbekistan blocked a UN resolution backed by the United States and western countries criticizing its serious human rights violations including the harassment, beating and arrest of journalists, human rights defenders and civil society activists. The General Assembly's human rights committee on Monday voted 74 to 69 with 24 abstentions in support of an Uzbek motion to take no action on the resolution. Many developing countries supported Uzbekistan, arguing that singling out specific countries for criticism of their human rights record is politically motivated and does not lead to change.
Toronto Globe and Mail (11/21)
SPIRIT OF COOPERATION DOMINATES TURKIC SUMMITMevlut Katik
11/20/06- The results of the November 17 summit of the leaders of Turkic-speaking nations exceeded the expectations of many diplomats and political analysts. The presidents of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkey took the first steps toward the creation of a Turkic commonwealth, giving an enthusiastic endorsement to efforts aimed at strengthening energy and security ties. The four leaders, along with Turkmenistan’s envoy to Turkey, gathered at the Turkish Mediterranean resort city of Antalya for the summit, the eighth such gathering of its kind, but the first held in five years. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. Officials from Uzbekistan, who had been slated to attend, ended up boycotting the event due to a breakdown in relations with Turkey.
Eurasianet (11/20)Peru lived regional elections with violenceIt files,
DPA
(Translation from Google Translate)Hundreds of settlers of the Peruvian district of Olaechea in the southern department of Puno destroyed electoral material in a voting center. That was the second act of violence that has occurred in the regional and municipal elections in Peru, informed the minister of Defense, Allan Wagner. “About 300 farmers burst in and destroyed ballot boxes," explained the National Office of the Electoral Process (ONPE), in coordination with the Office of the public prosecutor and the authorities, decided to close the premises and we have capitulated to the military demand”, indicated the minister. The fact is added to another incident registered in the small district of Huayanca, northern department of Ancash, where the settlers also burned the electoral material, which caused suspension of the elections in that locality.
El Comercio (Ecuador) (11/20)Nepalese panel says king must pay for deathsNovember 21, 2006
KATHMANDU: Nepal's isolated King Gyanendra is responsible for the shooting and killing of pro-democracy protesters and must be punished, a panel investigating the crackdown on April's anti-monarchy protests said yesterday. The panel's findings, unprecedented in Nepal, where the king has traditionally been revered as a god, also blamed 201 politicians, royalist ministers, civil servants and army and police officers for human rights violations, abuse of authority and corruption in the bloody clampdown.
Sydney Morning Herald (11/21)Gaza suffering "massive" rights violations - U.N.20 Nov 2006 11:33:05 GMT
By Nidal al-Mughrabi
BEIT HANOUN, Gaza, Nov 20 (Reuters) - A senior United Nations official described Gaza as suffering "massive" human rights violations during a visit to the territory on Monday and urged all sides to be bold in trying to end the violence. "The violation of human rights I think in this territory is massive," Louise Arbour, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, told reporters during a visit to Beit Hanoun, a town the Israeli army shelled earlier this month, killing 19 civilians. "The call for protection has to be answered. We cannot continue to see civilians, who are not the authors of their own misfortune, suffer to the extent of what I see."
Reuters/AlertNet (11/20)Indian boy wins world peace prizeA 14-year-old Indian boy has been awarded the International Children's Peace Prize for leading a campaign against child labour and child slavery. Om Prakash was forced to work as a farm labourer for three years. After he was rescued, Om set up a network that aims to give all children a birth certificate as a way of helping to protect them from exploitation.
BBC (11/19)House lawmakers promote colleague for U.N. postWASHINGTON (AP) — A House Republican and Democrat, in the new spirit of bipartisanship, are urging President Bush to name defeated Republican Rep. Jim Leach to be the next U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. "He is the most diplomatic politician I have ever met," Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., said of Leach, a moderate from Iowa known for his professorial sweaters, his low-key, non-political approach to issues and his opposition to the war in Iraq. "I can't think of any American better qualified to represent our interests before the United Nations," said Rep. Jim Walsh, R-N.Y., who on Tuesday joined Blumenauer in circulating a letter in the House seeking support for Leach if the acting U.N. Ambassador, John Bolton, is forced to resign.
USA Today (11/14)Panic as police break up ODM prayer meetingBy Biketi Kikechi, Amos Kareithi and Allan Kisia
ODM-Kenya leaders, led by Lang’ata MP Mr Raila Odinga, were momentarily buried under plumes of stinging teargas fumes after police violently dispersed them on their way to a prayer meeting.A defiant Pastor Mike Brawan and Lang’ata MP Mr Raila Odinga arrive at Nairobi’s Kamukunji Grounds, venue of planned prayers by ODM-Kenya leaders. This was the price the politicians had to pay for attempting to defy a police order outlawing the meeting at the historic Kamukunji Grounds in Nairobi on Sunday. The police action came just hours after Internal Security minister, Mr John Michuki, warned that the Government would clamp down on politicians who incited the public to violence.
The Standard (Kenya) (11/21)Syrian Foreign Minister, in Baghdad, Calls for Timetable on U.S. Troop WithdrawalBAGHDAD, Monday, Nov. 20 — Syria’s foreign minister said Sunday that his government was prepared to help stabilize Iraq, and during a visit here he called for a timetable for the withdrawal of American troops, saying that it would help reduce the violence.
The New York Times (11/20) (Free registration)Human Rights Watch says Saddam verdict 'questionable'AP
Published: 20 November 2006
Human Rights Watch today said that the trial against former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein in which he was sentenced to death for crimes against humanity was not carried out fairly. The US-based group said the verdict was "questionable" and the Iraqi court was not equipped to handle such a complex case.
The Independent/ United Kingdom (11/20)10 states blamed over Somalia warStory by PATRICK NZIOKA
Publication Date: 11/20/2006
Ten countries have been accused of violating the arms embargo on war-torn Somalia by arming factions in the conflict. However, Kenya is not among the countries flouting the UN rules, the Monitoring Group on Somalia says in its latest report. The group was established by the UN Security Council to investigate, identify and make recommendations on those breaking the embargo. Its report gives details of countries and groups supplying arms, personnel and equipment to various Somali factions.
Kenya Nation (11/20) (Free Registration)
In an effort to keep readers abreast with the most pressing Human Rights issues, I will be updating this blog frequently with World Post headlines. It is always interesting to see other perspectives of human rights issues. We're all in this together. Might as well understand what others are facing every day.
Sign up E-Mail thisSyrian Foreign Minister, in Baghdad, Calls for Timetable on U.S. Troop WithdrawalBAGHDAD, Monday, Nov. 20 — Syria’s foreign minister said Sunday that his government was prepared to help stabilize Iraq, and during a visit here he called for a timetable for the withdrawal of American troops, saying that it would help reduce the violence.
The New York Times (11/20) (Free registration)Human Rights Watch says Saddam verdict 'questionable'AP Published: 20 November 2006
Human Rights Watch today said that the trial against former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein in which he was sentenced to death for crimes against humanity was not carried out fairly. The US-based group said the verdict was "questionable" and the Iraqi court was not equipped to handle such a complex case.
The Independent/ United Kingdom (11/20) 10 states blamed over Somalia warStory by PATRICK NZIOKA
Publication Date: 11/20/2006
Ten countries have been accused of violating the arms embargo on war-torn Somalia by arming factions in the conflict. However, Kenya is not among the countries flouting the UN rules, the Monitoring Group on Somalia says in its latest report. The group was established by the UN Security Council to investigate, identify and make recommendations on those breaking the embargo. Its report gives details of countries and groups supplying arms, personnel and equipment to various Somali factions.
Kenya Nation (11/20) (Free Registration)November 17, 2006 E-mail news covering the UN and the world
Sudan agrees to UN role in helping Darfur In a rapidly changing situationSudanese officials on Thursday announced an agreement in principle that appeared to accept a joint African Union-United Nations peacekeeping force for the war-ravaged Darfur region. However, Sudan's foreign minister on Friday said the deal would not involve UN peacekeepers entering Darfur but rather the world body will provide technical assistance to the existing AU peace force.
Read the UN News Centre's article.
USA TODAY/Associated Press (11/17)US aid ship cures public opinionPublic opinion polls conducted in two of the more populous Muslim countries showed that humanitarian aid from a U.S. Navy hospital ship had healed more than health problems. When people were made aware of the mission, it left a positive perception of the United States. These findings will encourage more such missions, officials said.
The Washington Times (11/17)Progress for the women of KabulThis feature by The Washington Post delves into the stories of five women from Kabul, Afghanistan, sharing their stories of hardship and success. Each of the women now runs her own business in Kabul -- one even employs 36 other women -- but as the Taliban works to regain power, the future of these women and other citizens of Afghanistan remains uncertain.
The Washington Post (free registration) (11/17)Myanmar's people suffer as China wants energyAs Myanmar's government continues to abuse its people, international attempts to press for change, especially by the U.S., have failed repeatedly for nearly a decade -- largely because of China's interest in securing energy contracts with the repressive military regime, The New York Times reports. As China's economic power has soared, Myanmar's regime has managed to further cement its stronghold on the suffering South Asian country, the paper writes.
The New York Times (11/17) (free registration)
Bono meets Abe to discuss AIDS, poverty in Africa
