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- Japan beats out Iran for Security Council seat
United Nations members voted 158-32 to name Japan as a temporary member of the UN Security Council, defeating Iran for the Asian seat. Austria and Turkey were elected for the two European seats, defeating Iceland. Mexico and Uganda and won their seats unopposed. BBC (10/17)  - China dairies meet to discuss fate of tainted-milk company
China assembled representatives from five of its major dairy companies to discuss the fate of Sanlu Group, the dairy company at the heart of a tainted-milk scandal that saw four infants die and 54,000 children made sick. Some or all of the dairies may purchase parts of Sanlu Corp. in a move that China hopes will restore confidence in the sector. CBC.ca/The Associated Press (10/17) - EU agrees to push forward plan to go green
The European Union agreed Thursday to press forward with a bold plan to slash the block's carbon gas emission rates despite the financial pressure already being brought to bear on industry given the global economic crisis. EU leaders will still have to find agreement on how to share the burden of switching over to greener technologies, and they are reportedly willing to consider stimulus packages to help drive the change. The Globe and Mail (Toronto)/The Associated Press (10/16) - Conservationists urge bailout package for animals
The forecast for animal survival is particularly gloomy and the world community has failed to slow the rates of biodiversity loss, delegates to the World Conservation Congress in Spain said last week as they appealed for a "bailout" package for nature. The Economist (10/16) - Bush to leave fate of Guantanamo Bay in next chief's hands
Despite draft plans from the Pentagon providing options for closing the U.S. Guantanamo Bay detention facility in Cuba, U.S. President George W. Bush will leave the decision over the prison's fate to his successor. Neither Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama nor Republican nominee John McCain has yet produced plans for closing the prison. Financial Times (10/17) - Police beat women protesters during Zimbabwe demonstration
Police in southern Zimbabwe beat women demonstrators urging political reconciliation between President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF party and Morgan Tsvangirai's MDC party -- who ostensibly share power in the state. Carrying a statement prepared by Women of Zimbabwe Arise, the protesters organized outside government offices, decrying deplorable conditions in Zimbabwe spurred by hyperinflation as a result of an ongoing stalemate over government cabinet appointments. Los Angeles Times/The Associated Press (free registration) (10/16) - Rwanda switches to English in break with past
As part of Rwanda's efforts to disassociate itself from its bloody past, the country has decided to switch the education system to focus on teaching in English, rather than French. The move reflects a profound anger with France over its training of militias that carried out genocidal activities during the country's infamously bloody 1994 summer. The Globe and Mail (Toronto) (10/16) - U.S. played role in Iranian revolution
Recently declassified documents reveal that U.S. administrations in the 1970s under Republicans Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford may have taken more critical actions that helped spark Iran's 1979 revolution than were previously known. White House policymakers, including Ford aide Donald Rumsfeld, argued for manipulating oil prices in order to destabilize Mohammed Reza Shah Pahlavi's regime. U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger opposed the move, warning that destabilization could give rise to radical elements. Los Angeles Times (free registration) (10/17) - Zimbabwe opposition urges UN, AU intervention
The Zimbabwean opposition called for United Nations and African Union intervention to mediate in talks over cabinet post allotments that threaten to scuttle a power-sharing deal. Zimbabwe's endangered power-sharing deal is seen by many observers as the best hope for bringing an end to the country's out-of-control economic disintegration. AlertNet.org/Reuters (10/17) - DRC, Rwanda trade dangerous barbs
 Five years after the end to a brutal war between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo fears are growing that the DRC's renewed descent into violence combined with vicious exchanges between the two may portend a new war in the neighborhood. The Economist (10/16) - India efforts unlikely to affect Sri Lankan offensive
Indian attempts to influence Sri Lankan authorities to end an offensive against the Tamil Tigers is tempered by memories of a disastrous attempted intervention in the 1980s. Sri Lankan officials believe their current efforts will be enough to defeat the Tamil rebels and force an end to 25 years of conflict. Reuters (10/17) - Spanish judge opens old wounds with Franco-era investigation
A Spanish judge has opened the country's first investigation into executions and repression during the four-decade Francisco Franco regime, opening up heated debate among Spaniards who had overwhelmingly supported a pact to forget past atrocities once Franco died in favor of a smooth transition to democracy. The New York Times (10/17) - Lawyer for murdered Russian journalist Politkovskaya nearly poisoned
Police confirmed the discovery of mercury pellets inside the vehicle of Karinna Moskalenko, a lawyer representing the family of Russian journalist and fierce Vladimir Putin critic Anna Politkovskaya, who was murdered outside her home two years ago. The attempted poisoning caused Moskalenko -- who has often defended critics of the Kremlin -- to develop headaches, nausea and dizziness. The Independent (London) (10/16)  |  |  | | | | | | | | Senior Program Officer, Infrastructure | International Relief and Development (IRD) | Arlington, VA | | Technical/Proposal Writer, Democracy &Governance | International Relief and Development (IRD) | Arlington, VA | | Director of Development | Freedom House | Washington, DC | | Director of Security | American Refugee Committee International | Minneapolis, MN, USA | | 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 | | 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 | | Assistant Country Director | CARE USA | Kabul, Afghanistan | | Chief of Party, Iraq Community Action Program III | International Relief and Development (IRD) | Iraq | | | |  | |  | |
 | - Bioenergy could help lift West African rural areas out of poverty
A new report released by the United Nations Foundation, the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development and the Energy and Security Group finds that bioenergy can provide significant economic and environmental opportunities for rural areas in West Africa. The report, "Sustainable Bioenergy Report in UEMOA Member Countries," released today at a side event at FAO Headquarters in Rome, finds that donor and host country investments in bioenergy can reduce the exposure of West African countries to high food and oil prices and open up new economic opportunities in clean energy development. Click here to read more from the UN Foundation. Click here for the full report.
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