ICG on Kosovo
March 21, 2008 1 min. read

Exactly one month to the day, Serb rioters broke into the U.S. embassy in Belgrade in a public display of their anger towards the United State for their recognition of Kosovo as an independent state.  International Crisis Group completed an excellent briefing this week summarizing the events of the last month and laying out several […]

Read more
Deadly attacks in West Darfur breached international law , UN report
March 21, 2008 4 min. read

The United Nations on Thursday condemned an attack on civilians in West Darfur by forces backed by the Sudanese government.  The U.N. report said aerial attacks accompanied ground forces on raids on several villages, resulting in over 100 dead and several thousand displaced. The United Nations is only as strong as its member states; very […]

Read more
"The potential possibilities of any child are the most intriguing and stimulating in all creation."
March 21, 2008 1 min. read

-Ray L. Wilbur, third president of Stanford University © UNICEF/Giacomo Pirozzi All children are born into this world full of endless possibility, sadly many will face hardship and struggle for the entire duration of their childhood. The majority of children's struggles are preventable, disease, poor education, hunger, lack of proper sanitation and clean drinking water. […]

Read more
Are the British Better at Building Public Support for Development?
March 21, 2008 2 min. read

The British Department For International Development is partnering with the Guardian to sponsor a journalism competition on international development and reducing global poverty. Only UK residents are eligible, and they have separate categories for true amateurs and freelance writers. The finalists get their articles published and some computer equipment. This one essay contest isn't going […]

Read more
For Arabs, A Window into the US Presidential Election
March 21, 2008 4 min. read

Middle East Online (and Al Jazeera magazine subsequently) published an intriguing article by Rima Merhi, a Lebanese human rights activist and research fellow at the Middle East Institute working on Arab media outreach to American public opinion. Based on the readership of the two publications, it is safe to assume that Mehri is speaking to primarily an […]

Read more
Protests in Tibet
March 20, 2008 2 min. read

This week violence broke out the capitol city of Tibet. Tibetans demanding independence from China took to the street in a rare act of defiance from almost 50 years of Chinese rule. Tibet's government-in-exile said 80 Tibetans had been confirmed killed by the Chinese while trying to squash the protests. The Economist reports in-depth from Lhasa: “China […]

Read more
World Water Day, 20 March 2008
March 20, 2008 1 min. read

In a statement issued by UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon's message on World Water Day targeted a lack of political will as the main reason for failure to achieve basic sanitation.  However with today is marked to bring awareness to the plight of some  2.6 billion people world wide who are without proper sanitation facilities and […]

Read more
A funny thing happened on the way to the Islamic conference …
March 19, 2008 3 min. read

Under the shadow of the fifth anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, leaders of many Arab nations gathered in the tiny African nation of Senegal for the Organization of the Islamic Conference meeting.  While the leaders of the impoverished nation wonder if hosting such an event will ultimately generate good graces from the wealthy […]

Read more
More Cool Stuff
March 19, 2008 3 min. read

Man, I am a sucker for innovation, for using your head to come up with designs and systems that mimic nature and produce real energy and real energy savings.  I’ve been reading a new book on renewable energy and alternative fuels and there’s some wild stuff in there:  algae grown using carbon dioxide from power […]

Read more
Clean Water and Sanitation a Must for Children
March 19, 2008 4 min. read

“Today 2.6 billion people, including almost one billion children, live without even basic sanitation. Every 20 seconds, a child dies as a result of poor sanitation. That's 1.5 million preventable deaths each year.” Children around the globe continue to endure needless suffering due to diseases brought on by a lack of access to clean drinking […]

Read more
Can Kenya's Children be Healed?
March 19, 2008 4 min. read

Internally displaced persons (IDPs) at the Jamhuri grounds, Nairobi, Kenya. January 2008 © Julius Mwelu/IRIN The battle for a peaceful Kenya is far from over as a semblance of everyday life remains a distant dream for most Kenyans. While this month saw the signing of a power-sharing deal, the fight for peace and stability in […]

Read more
Different Views on Aid
March 19, 2008 1 min. read

This might only be amusing to me, but today my google alerts inbox had articles with African leaders stating completely opposite views on foreign aid.  Gaddafi warned against imperialist powers using their foreign aid to buy influence in Africa. Meanwhile, the new leaders of the new coalition government in Kenya were asking Western diplomats to […]

Read more

Popular from Press