FrEe LaTeSt UpDaTe

Humanitarian community voices concern over economic crisis

Aid and development officials warn that the world's deepening economic crisis may have disastrous effects on humanitarian aid and multilateral efforts to fight disease and poverty and care for refugee populations. "It would be tragic if the funds available to the humanitarian community in general and the UNHCR in particular were to decline at the very time when the demands upon us are increasing so dramatically," UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres said Monday. AlertNet.org/Reuters (10/6)

• Ban urges review of Georgia mission 
• China's HIV/AIDS problems growing 
• Penguins wash up on tropical Brazilian beach 
• Iraqi women balance patriotism and fear 
• Chechens in Georgia watched war with Russia with knowing eyes 
• Career Center 
• Wildcam puts spotlight on Belize Barrier Reef 

• Ban urges review of Georgia mission
  United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called for the mandate of the UN mission monitoring the cease-fire between Georgia and Abkhazia to be extended for four months, as officials consider whether to continue UN involvement in the aftermath of the Russia-Georgia war. The Washington Times/The Associated Press (10/6)

• U.K. minister warns about UN leadership's response to global calamities
  U.K. International Development Minister Gareth Thomas will release a statement warning that serious reforms are required to address the UN's handling of man-made and environmental disasters, as these disasters are happening with greater frequency and deficiencies and the UN's responses are costing lives. The Guardian (London) (10/7)

• China's HIV/AIDS problems growing
  HIV/AIDS infections rates are rising and spreading across China, according to a study published in the journal Nature. Infections have spread to all Chinese provinces, and rates in groups not previously considered to be in China's high-risk category are now rising quickly. The New York Times (10/7)

• Expulsion of missionaries blamed for deaths among Amazon tribe
  Leaders of Venezuela's forest-dwelling Yanomami tribe allege that the expulsion of American missionaries in 2004 -- accused by President Hugo Chávez of espionage -- has led to deaths by negligence of more than 50 people in the southern rain forest. Missionaries supplied medicine as well as fuel used to transport sick tribesmen to medical facilities for urgent care. The New York Times (free registration) (10/6)

• Economy, governance looking better across Africa
  Even as the West grapples with a deepening economic crisis, Africa is on track to post solid growth this year, a trend led by many former war zones, including Angola, Mozambique and Liberia. Alongside the economic successes, many African countries are also posting progress in good governance. TIME (10/6)

• Poverty contributing to Kenya trafficking scourge
  Economic woes are contributing to the vulnerability of thousands of Kenyans every year who fall victim to human traffickers and now represent one out of every 40 trafficked persons worldwide. In some cases, victims are promised employment; in others, they are taken advantage of after paying transport fees for passage to wealthier countries. AllAfrica Global Media/The Nation (10/5)

• Other News

• Uganda reports rise in male circumcision as HIV preventative
  Mail & Guardian (South Africa) (10/7)

• Penguins wash up on tropical Brazilian beach
  A plane typically used to transport military equipment was used to fly hundreds of penguins from tropical beaches in Brazil, where 270 Magellanic penguins washed up, to Pelotas, in South Brazil, where it is hoped upon release that the older penguins will then lead the younger penguins to Patagonia. The Guardian (London) (10/7)

• Other News

• World Bank review prompts DRC action on logging contracts
  The Toronto Star/Reuters (10/6)

• FAO: World needs to reassess biofuel strategies
  AlertNet.org/Reuters (10/7)

• Iraqi women balance patriotism and fear
  As Iraq prepares to hold elections, women interested in standing as candidates must balance the desire to serve with security concerns. Unlike previous elections where ballots carried only party symbols, this time candidates' names will appear -- raising fears female legislators and their families might face a backlash from ultra-conservative elements of Iraqi society. TIME (10/6)

• Israel's first integrated school opens doors
  Israel's first bilingual Jewish-Arab high school, which has admitted its first class of 14 Arab citizens of Israel, faces exceptional challenges as the nation's first institutional effort to integrate students. The school has not received accreditation from the education ministry, which will make it difficult to receive government funding or administer matriculation exams; the ministry says the school failed to file complete paperwork by the deadline. The Christian Science Monitor (10/7)

• Georgia media plight highlights failure to uphold standards
  Georgia's lack of press freedoms is drawing fire from critics at home and abroad as a glaring example of the country's failure to live up to the democratic standards it claims to espouse. The New York Times (10/7)

• Chechens in Georgia watched war with Russia with knowing eyes
  Chechens who fled a civil war with Russia in the 1990s to join the Muslim Kisti -- ethnic Chechens living in the mountainous region of Georgia -- watched the war between Georgia and Russia with a knowing cynicism. Some fled to the Turkish border when Russian aircraft begin flying over Georgian territory. The Christian Science Monitor (10/7)

• China suspends talks, port calls after U.S. sells arms to Taiwan
  Protesting the announcement of a $6.5-billion defensive arms sale to Taiwan, China canceled a senior military visit to the U.S. in addition to suspending port calls by U.S Navy ships. Analysts suggest that China may seek to repair relations with a new administration in January. Los Angeles Times (free registration) (10/7)

• U.S. bailout does not allay fear of global recession
  Though the bailout package recently approved by the U.S. Congress and signed by President George W. Bush offers assistance to foreign banks, the plan has not reassured European investors. The supranational European Union bloc has no formal mechanism for dealing with an international European financial crisis, a fact that has led to bank failures and mass withdrawals across Europe. The New York Times (free registration) (10/6)

• Other News

• Lame-duck Olmert to try to persuade Medvedev on Syria, Iran arms sales
  Ha'aretz (Tel Aviv, Israel) (10/7)

• Arab League deploys ambassador to Iraq
  The Washington Post (10/7)

• Angola arms trial produces glamorous suspects
  The Washington Post/The Associated Press (10/7)

• Peacekeepers reinforce Darfur camp presence over attack fears
  AlertNet.org/Reuters (10/6)

Director, Gender, Women and Health World Health Organization (WHO) Geneva, Switzerland Chief of Party, Iraq Community Action Program III International Relief and Development (IRD) Iraq Administrative Assistant Center on Global Counterterrorism Cooperation Washington, DC IDIQ Program Manager, USA International Relief and Development (IRD) Arlington, VA IDIQ Program Manager International Relief and Development (IRD) Iraq Project Director, Cultural Heritage Project International Relief and Development (IRD) Arlington, VA Project Coordinator, Cultural Heritage Project International Relief and Development (IRD) Erbil, Iraq Senior Program Officer, Infrastructure International Relief and Development (IRD) Arlington, VA Technical/Proposal Writer, Democracy &Governance International Relief and Development (IRD) Arlington, VA Finance and Accounting Officer (Reforming Family Law Program) - Kuwait Freedom House Kuwait Program Officer (Reforming Family Law Program) -- Kuwait Freedom House Kuwait Project Director (Reforming Family Law Program) -- Kuwait Freedom House Kuwait General Manager CHF International Afghanistan Finance Associate Friends of the World Food Program Washington DC Director of Development Freedom House Washington, DC

• Wildcam puts spotlight on Belize Barrier Reef
  

  During the IUCN World Conservation Congress, the United Nations Foundation, National Geographic Society and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) announced the launch of WildCam Belize Reef, an innovative remote-imaging tool for research and conservation. WildCam Belize Reef will be the first long-term deployment of an open-ocean, live, streaming video system available to the public. It is also the latest addition to the National Geographic WildCam program and is the pilot project for a new series that aims to engage new audiences in the protection and preservation of World Heritage around the globe. The Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System was designated a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1996.

  Click here to read more from the United Nations Foundation.
  

  

• United Nations
• Secretary-General
• UN News Centre
• Key UN Bodies, Agencies, Funds and Programs
• UN Foundation
• UN Dispatch

UN Radio News Service

UN chief calls for decent living conditions for all UN Radio News Service