Also Try Archives Current Events Lessons Democracy and Corporate Power Democracy and Media Swine Flu Lists Countries - Search Engines by Country (Search Engine Colossus) Provides search engines from within many countries in both the language of the country and English. 3-00 Globalization Issues (Awesome Library) Provides sources that discuss the pros and cons of globalization and "Americanization." 8-02 Leaders by Country (Peoplespot.com) Provides six sources of information on of leaders by country. leaders, rulers, Presidents, and Prime Ministers 9-00 Multimedia -Editorials: Commentary on World Political Issues (CNN News) "Fareed Zakaria GPS is an hour-long program that takes a comprehensive look at foreign affairs and the policies shaping our world. Every week we bring you an in-depth interview with a world leader, as well as a panel of international analysts who examine the major global developments of the week. As always, Fareed's emphasis is on new ideas and innovative approaches to solving the world's toughest problems." 11-08 Happy People Dancing Across the Earth (NASA.gov) "Many humans on Earth exhibit periods of happiness, and one method of displaying happiness is dancing. Happiness and dancing transcend political boundaries and occur in practically every human society. Above, Matt Harding traveled through many nations on Earth, started dancing, and filmed the result. The video is perhaps a dramatic example that humans from all over planet Earth feel a common bond as part of a single species. Happiness is frequently contagious -- few people are able to watch the above video without smiling." 07-08 News -001 Antiviral Drugs for Influenza (Flu) (CDC.gov) "Although yearly vaccination with the flu vaccine is the best way to prevent the flu, antiviral drugs can be effective for prevention and treatment of the flu." 04-09 -001 Flu Vaccinations (CDC.gov) "The single best way to protect against the flu is to get vaccinated each year." Editor's Note: As of April 27th, a vaccine for "swine flu" had not been made available. 04-09 -001 One-Stop Access to Pandemic Flu Information (PandemicFlu.gov) "The CDC is actively investigating isolated human cases of swine influenza A (H1N1) in several states (CA, TX, OH, KS, NY) and is working closely with Canada and Mexico and with the WHO. The CDC is continuously updating investigation information." 04-09 -001 Swine Flu Update Worldwide (World Health Organization) "Human cases of swine influenza A (H1N1) virus infection have been identified in the United States. Human cases of swine influenza A (H1N1) virus infection also have been identified internationally. The current U.S. case count is provided below." 04-09 -001 Swine Flu Update for the U.S. (CDC.gov) "Human cases of swine influenza A (H1N1) virus infection have been identified in the United States. Human cases of swine influenza A (H1N1) virus infection also have been identified internationally. The current U.S. case count is provided below." 04-09 -01-07-09 Europeans Suffer as Russia Cuts Gas Shipments (MSNBC News) "Russia shut off all gas supplies to Europe through Ukraine on Wednesday — leaving more than a dozen countries scrambling to cope during a winter cold snap. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin publicly endorsed the move and urged that international observers be brought into the energy dispute." 01-09 -01-18-09 Hamas Declares Cease Fire (CNN News) "Palestinian militants declared Sunday that they would stop attacks on Israel for a week, a statement that came hours after Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert announced a unilateral cease-fire in the country's assault on Hamas in Gaza." "The agreement appears to cover all Palestinian armed factions, not only Hamas." 01-09 -01-21-09 Last Israeli Troops Leave Gaza (Time.com) "The last Israeli troops left the Gaza Strip before dawn Wednesday, the military said, as Israel dispatched its foreign minister to Europe in a bid to rally international support to end arms smuggling into the Hamas-ruled territory." 01-09 -01-23-09 Why Europe Needs Russian Oil (Time.com) "Moscow sent a chilly reminder, over the New Year, of the urgency behind Europe's quest to wean itself off a dependence on Russian natural gas. Millions of Germans, Slovaks, Bulgarians, Moldovans and Italians were left without heat for a week in sub-zero temperatures, as a result of a commercial dispute between Russia and Ukraine — Moscow had turned off the gas supply piped across the vast former Soviet Republic, hoping to turn up the heat on the Western-aligned government in Kiev by turning off the heat in Europe. Restarting the flow required urgent diplomatic shuttling by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other European leaders. But as much as the episode highlighted the problem of depending on energy supplies from an increasingly churlish Russia, finding alternative supply sources will be far from simple." 01-09 -01-26-09 Climatologist: 450, the CO2 Red Line? (ForeignPolicy.com) "Twenty years ago, when global warming first came to public consciousness, no one knew precisely how much carbon dioxide was too much. The early computer climate models made a number of predictions about what would happen if we doubled the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere to 550 parts per million. But, in recent years, as the science has gotten more robust, scientists have tended to put the red line right around 450 parts per million. That’s where NASA’s James Hansen, America’s foremost climatologist, has said we need to stop if we want to avoid a temperature rise greater than two degrees Celsius. Why would two degrees be a magic number? Because as best we can tell, it’s where the melting of the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets would become rapid and irrevocable. The ice above Greenland alone contains about 23 feet of sea-level rise, which is more than enough to alter the Earth almost beyond recognition." 01-09 -01-26-09 Icelandic Government Falls (CNN News) "Iceland's ruling coalition resigned Monday, three months after the collapse of the country's currency, stock market and several major banks, and following months of public protests, Kristjan Kristjansson, a spokesman for the prime minister told CNN." 01-09 -01-26-09 Japanese Workers Urged to Go Home Early (CNN News) "In a country where 12-hour workdays are common, the electronics giant has taken to letting its employees leave early twice a week for a rather unusual reason: to encourage them to have more babies." "Japan in the midst of an unprecedented recession, so corporations are being asked to work toward fixing another major problem: the country's low birthrate." "At 1.34, the birthrate is well below the 2.0 needed to maintain Japan's population, according to the country's Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare." "Analysts say the world's second-largest economy faces its greatest threat from its own social problems, rather than outside forces. And the country desperately needs to make some fixes to its current social and work structures, sociologists say." 01-09 -01-27-09 Study: Global Warming Is Irreversible (TruthOut.org) "As carbon dioxide emissions continue to rise, the world will experience more and more long-term environmental disruption. The damage will persist even when, and if, emissions are brought under control, says study author Susan Solomon, who is among the world's top climate scientists." 01-09 -011-01-09 U.N. Needs $39 Billion to Combat Top Killer of Children (Time.com) "To fight pneumonia, the world's top killer of children, United Nations officials say they need $39 billion over the next six years." 10-09 -02-04-09 Girl Granted Divorce at Age 10 (Time.com) "It was only once the courthouse emptied during the lunch recess that the judge noticed her and asked why she was there. 'I came for a divorce,' she told him. Horrified, he took her to his house to play with his 8-year-old daughter, and granted the divorce two days later." "Despite Yemen's laws against child marriage, about 52% of Yemen's girls marry before the age of 18, often as the second or third wives of far older men. Worldwide, child marriage has been slow to change, according to UNICEF's 'State of the World's Children' report released last month. About 49% of South Asian women in their early 20s were married before the age of 18, according to statistics gathered by UNICEF, which links early marriage to high rates of infant death and maternal mortality in very poor countries." 02-09 -02-25-09 Editorial: Roy Bennett Imprisoned in Zimbabwe (HuffingtonPost.com) "Roy Bennett remains in custody today, and authorities intend to hold him until at least March 4, it was said in an MDC press release. As Bennett is held on charges of 'terrorism,' Zimbabwe military police backed by Mugabe have tried to use him as a political pawn to ensure their own blanket amnesty, no doubt sensing that Mugabe's ZANU-PF party is bound to lose power in the near future." "I know Roy Bennett from my time in the region, and can say without a doubt that he is one of the most courageous men I've ever met, with an unending determination to fight for a safe and prosperous Zimbabwe." 02-09 -03-10-09 China: U.S. Navy Ship Broke Laws (CBS News) "China has rejected an accusation by the United States that a U.S. Navy mapping ship was harassed by Chinese vessels in the South China Sea, saying the American ship was breaking international laws." 03-09 -03-10-09 Dalai Lama Blasts Chinese Military Action in Tibet (CBS News) "The Dalai Lama says China has launched a 'brutal crackdown' in Tibet since protests shook the Himalayan region last year." 03-09 -03-13-09 Study: 42.5 Percent of Children in India Underweight (New York Times) "Small, sick, listless children have long been India’s scourge — 'a national shame,' in the words of its prime minister, Manmohan Singh. But even after a decade of galloping economic growth, child malnutrition rates are worse here than in many sub-Saharan African countries, and they stand out as a paradox in a proud democracy." "China, that other Asian economic powerhouse, sharply reduced child malnutrition, and now just 7 percent of its children under 5 are underweight, a critical gauge of malnutrition. In India, by contrast, despite robust growth and good government intentions, the comparable number is 42.5 percent. Malnutrition makes children more prone to illness and stunts physical and intellectual growth for a lifetime." 03-09 -03-15-09 Clashes in Pakistan (CBS News) "Pakistan agreed Monday to reinstate Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry as chief justice, a move that could help defuse a political crisis that has sparked street battles and raised fears of instability in the country at a time of surging Islamist violence, a government official said." "Opposition leaders and lawyers had vowed to sit-in at the parliament later Monday until the one-year-old civilian government reinstated Chaudhry, who is known for his independence and willingness to challenge authority. The capital has been barricaded with shipping containers and scores of extra police drafted in amid fears of violence." 03-09 -03-25-07 Blair: Iran's Capture of British Sailors "Very Serious" (MSBC News) British Prime Minister Tony Blair said Sunday that 15 British sailors and marines captured by Iran as they searched for smugglers off the Iraqi coast had been outside Iranian waters, and warned that Britain viewed their situation as 'very serious.' " 03-07 -03-25-09 EU Leader Criticizes U.S. Economic Policies (CBS News) "Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek told the European parliament in Strasbourg that the Obama administration's stimulus package and financial bailout risked undermining the stability of the global financial market." 03-09 -03-27-06 Is It Too Late to Stop Global Warming? (ABC News) "A prime example: decayed vegetation in the Arctic, which contains massive amounts of carbon, used to be protected by the perpetual cold. As the climate warms — sped along by human beings burning fossil fuels that release carbon dioxide — scientists say the vegetation will dry out and break down, releasing even more carbon dioxide." " 'Humans are putting about 6 or 7 billion metric tons of carbon in the atmosphere a year, and we're standing on 200 billion tons here," says [biologist Walter] Oechel. 'Any significant portion comes out, that's worse than current human injection into the atmosphere. And once that runaway release occurs, there would be no way to stop it.' " 03-06 -04-06-09 How Ahmad Batebi Survived Torture in Iran (CBS News) "Asked if he feels free now, he told Cooper, 'No, I don't feel free. I have a responsibility to the people imprisoned in Iran whose human rights are being violated. I have to get their message out. And it’s a big responsibility that doesn't leave one free. But to an extent I do feel free. I live in a free country and I've left prison.' " 04-09 -04-15-09 Fiat Requires Union Concessions for Chrysler Deal (MSNBC News) "Automaker Fiat Group SpA will walk away from a deal to take a 20-percent stake in Chrysler LLC if the U.S. automaker's unions don't agree to major cost cuts, Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne said in an interview published Wednesday." 04-09 -04-15-09 Taliban Cleric Declares Judicial Independence in Pakistan Area (CBS News) "The Taliban cleric in charge of Pakistan's Swat Valley has declared the area judicially independent from the country's federal government." "Sufi Mohammad said Wednesday that Islamic law, or Shariah, decisions handed down by militants in the mountainous region will not be subject to appeal or overrule by the Pakistani Supreme Court or any other avenue of appeal in the justice system, reports CBS News' Farhan Bokhari." 04-09 -04-19-09 The New Left in China (MSNBC News) "Although Chairman Mao continues to be revered here as the visionary who founded the country and transformed it into a world power, the Communist Party has broken from many of his ideals through market-based reforms over the past three decades." "The most influential critics, known collectively as the New Left, are not like the dissidents or political exiles of a previous generation. They are not calling for an overthrow of the Communist regime. Their recommendations and criticisms are, instead, based on a belief that state power can redress the injustices created by free markets, privatization and globalization. Their views are also characterized by a fierce nationalism and criticism of the West." 04-09 -04-20-06 East African Disaster Deepens (ABC News) "Over the last three years, about 3 million people have fled their homes and nearly 200,000 people have died as Sudan's government and pro-government Arab militias have attacked, pillaged and raped the black African population in what many have called genocide." 04-06 -04-22-06 Russia Controls Much of Western Europe's Fuel Supply (Washington Times) "Russia, which has demonstrated its willingness to use energy as a political weapon, is tightening its grip on supplies to Western Europe, with projections showing it will provide 70 percent of the region's natural gas by 2025." 04-06 -04-26-09 Swine Flu Kills 81 in Mexico (CNN News) "No kissing to say hello. No large crowds. No close contact." "That's the advice of the Mexican government as more and more people die of swine flu, which has turned into a 'public health emergency of international concern,' according to the World Health Organization." 04-09 -04-27-09 Preventing the Flu (CDC.gov) "The single best way to prevent seasonal flu is to get vaccinated each year, but good health habits like covering your cough and washing your hands often can help stop the spread of germs and prevent respiratory illnesses like the flu. There also are flu antiviral drugs that can be used to treat and prevent the flu." Editor's Note: As of April 27th, a vaccine for "swine flu" had not been made available. 04-09 -04-29-06 Worst Draught in 20 Years Hits East Africa (ABC News) "The Horn of Africa is facing its worst drought in two decades, and nearly 6 million people in Ethiopia, Somalia, Djibouti and Kenya are at risk of dying. In recent days the much-anticipated seasonal rains have arrived in some parts of the region, but it's not nearly enough and in many places the sudden rains have led to flash flooding." 04-06 -04-30-09 Experts: Too Late to Close Borders (Time.com) "The data matches computer models run by biostatisticians like Longini, who found that even the strictest limits on air travel would only slow the start of a flu pandemic, not stop its spread." "What works better are social-distancing actions on a local level — closing schools, having employees work at home and limiting public gatherings where the flu can spread easily. Such methods worked during the deadly 1918 Spanish flu — cities that acted quickly to close schools and theaters early in the pandemic had peak death rates 50% lower than cities that acted more slowly. Today doctors could also prophylactically administer antiviral drugs to the close contacts of any swine flu patients, a strategy that has been shown to help prevent the spread of the flu. 'Until you start to see really massive clusters, that can be a really effective method,' says Longini." 04-09 -04-30-09 Specialists: Containing Flu Is Not Feasible (New York Times) " 'Containment is no longer a feasible option,' Dr. Keiji Fukuda, deputy director general of the World Health Organization, announced Monday night in Geneva after a meeting of the agency’s emergency committee on the spreading swine flu virus. 'The world should focus on mitigation. We recommend not closing borders or restricting travel.' " 04-09 -04-30-09 WHO: Swine Flu Epidemic Imminent (Time.com) "The World Health Organization has raised its pandemic alert for swine flu to the second highest level, meaning that it believes a global outbreak of the disease is imminent." 04-09 -05-01-07 Venezuela Takes Over Private Oil Fields (PBS News) "In a move meant to advance and fund his nationalism agenda, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Tuesday nationalized the remaining privately operated oil fields valued at $30 billion." "Chavez, meanwhile, described the turnover as the end of the era of U.S.-oriented policies that opened up oil reserves to foreign investment." "Chavez still will need outside investment to develop the Orinoco region, which could help Venezuela surpass Saudi Arabia as the country with the most reserves, the AP reported." 05-07 -05-03-09 India's Teachers Use Corporeal Punishment (Time.com) "Teachers say they resort to physical punishment because of the inherent problems of India's public education system, specifically, the immense challenge of maintaining control of huge classes of unruly children. 'Most children in my school are criminal-minded,' says Dr. S.C. Sharma, the principal of a government school in South Delhi. 'We have caught them stealing fans from classrooms and even the iron grills from the windows. How do you discipline such kids?' In Sharma's school the teacher-student ratio is 1:63, compared with a recommended ratio of 1:35." 04-09 -05-11-07 British Prime Minister Announces Resignation (PBS News) "British Prime Minister Tony Blair announced Thursday that he plans to resign next month from the office he has held for the past decade. Foreign policy analysts look at Blair's record and relations with the United States." 05-07 -05-11-07 Gordon Brown's Personality (Time.com) "What are the qualities demanded of a leader? Wisdom? Integrity? Experience? Perhaps. But what really counts may be pubbability — an elusive X factor that makes voters want to share a pint with a politician. And on that front, Gordon Brown — the 56-year-old Scot who is expected to replace Tony Blair as Britain's Prime Minister this summer — has a problem." 05-07 -05-12-07 International Editor of the Year Award (World Press) "In recognition of enterprise, courage and leadership in advancing the freedom and responsibility of the press, enhancing human rights and fostering excellence in journalism, our 2005-2006 choice honors three Mexican journalists posthumously." "Raúl Gibb Guerrero, Dolores Guadalupe García Escamilla and Alfredo Jiménez Mota gave the ultimate sacrifice in their pursuit of journalistic excellence and freedom of press. Their courage, tenacity, and dedication in covering sensitive subjects, especially drug trafficking, caused them to live in a danger zone of threats and violence, which ultimately led to their murders. They led three very separate lives, but had the love of their country and press freedom in common." 05-07 -05-13-07 Taliban Military Leader in Afghanistan Killed (MSNBC News) "The Taliban’s most prominent military commander, a one-legged fighter who orchestrated an ethnic massacre and a rash of beheadings, was killed in a U.S.-led military operation in southern Afghanistan, officials said Sunday." 05-07 -05-14-09 Suu Kyi Faces Jail (Time.com) "Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who's known in Burma simply as 'the Lady,' was dragged to the notorious Insein Prison on Thursday morning to face charges of disobeying the terms of her house arrest. On May 3, according to the Burmese state press, an American man illegally swam across a lake to Suu Kyi's waterfront villa and snuck into her compound for two nights." 05-09 -05-17-07 Minorities Now One-Third of U.S. Population (Financial Times) "Paul Wolfowitz announced his resignation as president of the World Bank shortly after 6pm on Thursday, bringing to an end a turbulent two-year tenure as chief of the world’s leading development institution." "This follows the publication of a devastating report Monday into his handling of a secondment package for Shaha Riza, a bank official with whom he was romantically involved. "The report found that Mr Wolfowitz had broken the bank’s code of conduct, three staff rules and the terms of his contract." 05-07 -05-17-07 Missing Child Shows Differences in Parenting (CNN News) "The disappearance of 4-year-old Madeleine McCann, the British girl who vanished from her hotel room in southern Portugal while her parents dined just 50 meters, has captivated hearts and triggered debate around the world." 05-07 -05-18-07 World Bank After Wolfowitz (MSNBC News) "The political firestorm at the World Bank that cost President Paul Wolfowitz his job Thursday was sparked by a promotion he arranged for his girlfriend. But some of the real issues behind his ouster have been festering since his first day on the job in 2005, when he embarked on a mission to change the way the 60-year-old institution manages its task of fighting global poverty." 05-07 -05-18-09 Civil War in Sri Lanka Over? (Time.com) "Firecrackers exploded around Colombo on Monday as Sri Lankans celebrated what they hoped would be the end to a civil war that has plagued the nation since 1983." 05-09 -06-02-09 North Korean Successor Announced (USA Today) North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il has picked his youngest son — the NBA-loving product of a Swiss boarding school — to succeed him as ruler of the reclusive, nuclear-armed state, South Korean media and legislators reported Tuesday." "Choi and others suspect that, at best, Kim Jong Woon would emerge as the front man for someone wielding backstage power. 'If he is indeed the choice — a huge if — it might reflect the desire of some people to have a convenient but powerless figurehead,' Lankov says. 'So somebody is going to run the show, keeping the boy in front.' " "The real power broker after Kim Jong Il dies might be his brother in law, Jang Song Taek, 63, Choi and other analysts say." 06-09 -06-04-09 Obama Makes Major Speech in Egypt (MSNBC News) "Using quotes from the Quran, President Barack Obama called for a 'new beginning between the United States and Muslims' Thursday and said together, they could confront violent extremism across the globe and advance the timeless search for peace in the Middle East." 06-09 -06-08-09 Pakistani Tribesmen Attack Taliban (Time.com) "As many as 1,600 tribesmen have joined a citizens' militia in Upper Dir district — an indication of rising anti-Taliban sentiment in Pakistan as the military pursues its offensive against the militant group in the nearby Swat Valley." "The militias, known as lashkars, were focusing on two villages known as Taliban strongholds, said Khaista Rehman, a local police chief. Officials said Sunday the tribesmen had managed to clear three other villages." 06-09 -06-22-09 Iranian Leader Tries to Cut Off the "Head" of Opposition (ABC News) "As part of a broad crackdown on the media and perceived dissidents, the Iranian government has arrested 23 journalists and bloggers since the disputed presidential election on June 12." "A spokesman for opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi said today more than 700 supporters and organizers have also been detained over the past week, among them former Vice President Mohammed Ali Abtahi and Ebrahim Yazdi, a former foreign minister and architect of the Islamic Recpublic." 06-09 -07-01-09 Coup in Honduras (CNN News) " 'Foreign governments misunderstand our situation,' Congressman Juan Orlando tells TIME. 'Once they learn that this was really a legal change of power, they will change their position.' Yet it could be tough to persuade the international community of the legality of exiling a President at the barrel of a gun." "On July 1, the Organization of American States gave Honduras 72 hours to reinstate Zelaya or face suspension of its membership, and Zelaya has said he plans to return to Tegucigalpa anyway if his foes don't comply. In response, Micheletti has sworn that he will arrest Zelaya if he sets foot in the country and that he is ready for anything Venezuela — or anyone else — can throw at him. With neither side showing signs of compromise, the risk of a violent clash rises — a prospect that worries many in Tegucigalpa." 07-09 -07-08-09 Chinese Government Still in Conflict With Citizens (Time.com) "Three days after ethnic clashes left 156 dead in the city of Urumqi, the Chinese government is still struggling to bring calm and order to the Xinjiang capital. On July 8, Communist Party leader Li Zhi announced that the government would seek the death penalty for anyone found responsible for the killings as President Hu Jintao flew home from Italy, cutting short his visit to the G-8 summit. While the city hasn't seen a return to fighting on the scale it witnessed on July 5, scattered outbursts are stoking fears that violence could erupt again, and tensions on all sides of the conflict are still high." 07-09 -07-29-09 China Among the Top in Executions (ABC News) "Executions in the United States were down from last year, while Iran and Saudi Arabia appeared near the top of the list of the world's top executioners, the anti-death penalty group Hands Off Cain said in a report about 2008 and the first six months of this year." "The report said China accounted for at least 5,000 executions — or 87.3 percent of the total — the same estimate as last year." 07-09 -08-11-08 Why Africa Is Still Starving (Time.com) "Over time, sustained food aid creates dependence on handouts and shifts focus away from improving agricultural practices to increase local food supplies. Ethiopia exemplifies the consequences of giving a starving man a fish instead of teaching him to catch his own. This year the U.S. will give more than $800 million to Ethiopia: $460 million for food, $350 million for HIV/AIDS treatment — and just $7 million for agricultural development. Western governments are loath to halt programs that create a market for their farm surpluses, but for countries receiving their charity, long-term food aid can become addictive. Why bother with development when shortfalls are met by aid? Ethiopian farmers can't compete with free food, so they stop trying." 08-08 -08-16-07 The Growing Role of China in the World (US News) "After years focusing on its own economy, China has begun to go global in influence as well as economics. With growing interests around the globe—from mines in Peru to peacekeepers across Africa to pipelines into Central Asia—China is finding it can no longer live by its doctrine of 'nonintervention.' In Africa, Latin America, Asia, and the Middle East, China is beginning to use its influence in ways that may prove problematic for the United States." 08-07 -08-23-09 Drought Strikes India Again (Time.com) "Even if it can't buy rain, there is still time for the government of India to rethink how it can start to prepare for the next drought. Sunita Narain of the Centre for the Study of the Environment in New Delhi advocates a new, national water policy to make farmers less vulnerable to the vagaries of the monsoon, encompassing more effective use of groundwater, better monitoring of weather patterns and water supply, implementing village water-security plans, and encouraging conservation and water recycling in the cities. In a recent editorial she wrote, 'We must learn, fast, how to reinvigorate our water policy keeping in mind the two big changes — more variable rainfall and desperately growing water needs.' Seth believes farmers need not just more handouts, but better access to low-interest credit, so they don't have to rely on moneylenders in every lean year." 08-09 -08-28-08 Narrowing World Health Disparities (Time.com) "On average, a black man living in Washington, D.C., does not live as long as a man in India, and he certainly doesn't live as long as a white man in his hometown. The reasons — just like the reasons that the Japanese and Swedes live longer than the Ukrainians, and why aborigines in Australia on average die 17 years earlier than non-aborigines — are almost entirely social, according to a new report from the World Health Organization (WHO) released today." 08-08 -08-28-08 Study: Lifespan Depends on Where You Live (MSNBC News) "Major inequalities in health and life expectancy persist worldwide, according to an independent World Health Organization commission which on Thursday called for all countries to offer universal health care." " 'Between countries we have life expectancy differences of more than 40 years. A woman in Botswana can expect to live 43 years, in Japan 86 years.' " 08-08 -09-01-08 Japanese Prime Minister Resigns (Time.com) "Japan's unpopular prime minister, Yasuo Fukuda, announced his resignation Monday after less than a year in office." "Fukuda, in a hastily arranged news conference Monday evening, said he was stepping down to avoid a "political vacuum" at the head of the world's second-largest economy." 09-08 -09-02-08 Mental Health Issues Surface on Pakistan's Likely Leader (Newsweek.com) "If Pakistan's upcoming election goes as expected, Asif Ali Zardari, widower of assassinated leader Benazir Bhutto, will succeed Pervez Musharraf as the country's next president, giving Zardari at least partial sway over the Muslim country's nuclear arsenal. Concerns spiked last week with the disclosure of medical records indicating that as recently as last year, doctors hired by Zardari had diagnosed him with mental problems including dementia, depression and posttraumatic stress disorder. While Zardari's spokespeople say he has been cured, multiple U.S. officials, among them Rep. Pete Hoekstra, the ranking Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, told NEWSWEEK that word of Zardari's mental-health history took them by surprise." 09-08 -09-06-08 Bhutto's Widower Is Elected Pakistan's President (MSNBC News) "The widower of slain former leader Benazir Bhutto will succeed Pervez Musharraf as president of Pakistan after winning a landslide election victory Saturday." Visitors sometimes misspell as Packistan, Pakestan, or Packestan. 09-08 -09-07-09 U.N. Worker Tried for Wearing Pants Faces Fine, Not Flogging (CNN News) "A woman put on trial for wearing clothing deemed indecent by Sudanese authorities was fined Monday, but will not get the 40 lashes she could potentially have faced, her lawyer said." "Al-Hussein, a journalist who worked in the media department of the United Nations mission in Sudan, is fighting to have the law declared unconstitutional. She resigned from her U.N. position in order to waive her immunity as an international worker." " 'The manner in which this law has been used against women is unacceptable, and the penalty called for by the law -- up to 40 lashes -- abhorrent,' Tawanda Hondora, deputy director of Amnesty International's Africa program, said in a statement." "U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has said he is concerned about al-Hussein's case." " 'The United Nations will make every effort to ensure that the rights of its staff members are protected,' Ban said in July. 'The flogging is against the international human rights standards. I call on all parties to live up to their obligations under all relevant international instruments.' " 09-09 -09-12-07 Putin Replaces Prime Minister (MSNBC News) "President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday replaced his long-serving prime minister with an obscure Cabinet official — a surprise move that could put him in the running to succeed Putin in next year’s presidential election." 09-07 -09-12-07 The World's Energy Hotspots (WorldPress.org) "The volatile Middle East is still the center of the globe when it comes to energy policy, which has consequences for the rest of the world. For example, according to the Institute for International Economics, the United States faces a probable economic recession, estimated at 30 percent due to a sudden increase in the hydrocarbon price index. Moreover, the Center for Global Energy Studies in London estimates that the geopolitical turmoil in Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, and Venezuela, coupled with the emergence of "energy nationalism," has reduced the daily supply of oil—from 2000 onward—by 7.8 million barrels. This is a substantial decrease, comparable with the daily consumption of Germany and France combined. For the time being, there are five hotspots where the 21st century's energy game is unfolding, which will affect the economy worldwide for the coming years." 09-07 -09-15-07 $100 Computer for Every Child Becomes $188 Computer (CNN News) "Leaders of the nonprofit One Laptop Per Child that was spun out of MIT acknowledged Friday that the devices are now slated to cost $188 when mass production begins this fall. The last price the nonprofit announced was $176; it described $100 as a long-term goal." 09-07 -09-22-09 How to Not Get H1N1 Flu (Time.com) "Keeping your hands clean can stop viruses that are living and breeding around you from causing infection." 09-09 -09-23-09 China, Not U.S., Stars at Climate Summit (MSNBC News) "Although some 100 world leaders met Tuesday for a U.N. climate summit, most of the attention was on just two — President Barack Obama and China's Hu Jintao. Both vowed to take the threat of rising seas, drought and deforestation seriously, but only one had some momentum behind him and it wasn't Obama." " 'China and India have announced very ambitious national climate change plans,' Yvo de Boer said. 'In the case of China, so ambitious that it could well become the front-runner in the fight to address climate change,' de Boer said. 'The big question mark is the U.S.' " 09-09 -09-25-06 Global Warming Nears "Dangerous Levels" (MSNBC News) "Global temperatures are dangerously close to the highest ever estimated to have occurred in the past million years, scientists reported Monday." 09-06 -09-25-07 Candidate Match Game (USA Today) "Polls suggest Americans are concerned primarily with a few key issues in the 2008 presidential election. USA TODAY researched candidate positions on those top issues — Iraq, immigration and health care — as well as a few others that may influence the election. We then came up with 11 multiple-choice questions that would help differentiate the candidates and their stances." 09-07 -09-25-07 Perilous Passage to Pakistan (Christian Science Monitor) "With Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf in an unusually vulnerable political position, one of that nation's most popular opposition leaders, former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, is pledging to return home from self-exile on October 18." 09-07 -09-25-09 Editorial: Global Financial System Still At Risk (MSNBC News) "A year after the panic that brought the world’s financial system to the brink of collapse, the Group of 20 nations will now assume the role of a permanent council on global economic cooperation. But there is still no global regulatory framework to prevent another major market meltdown." 09-09 -09-26-07 Bloody Clashes in Myanmar (CBS News) "Security forces in Myanmar opened fire Wednesday on demonstrators, and witnesses said police beat and dragged away dozens of Buddhist monks. The government said at least one person was killed, while dissident groups and media reported up to eight dead." 09-07 -09-26-09 Children Under 10 Will Need Two Swine Flu Shots (U.S. News) "Still confused about what's going to happen with swine flu shots next month? You're not alone. The federal government and individual states still haven't told us how they're going to distribute the vaccine, or when. Yesterday's chirpy press release from the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases made it easy to think that all children will need just one swine flu immunization, but that's not true. The younger a child is, the less well his or her immune system responded to the swine flu vaccine in clinical trials. So children under age 10 will need two doses of swine flu vaccine, one month apart, according to the NIAID itself." 09-09 -09-27-07 China and Others Running Out of Water (New York Times) "The North China Plain undoubtedly needs any water it can get. An economic powerhouse with more than 200 million residents, the region has limited rainfall and depends on groundwater for 60 percent of its water supply. Other countries have aquifers that are being drained to dangerously low levels, like Yemen, India, Mexico and the United States. But scientists say the aquifers below the North China Plain may be drained within 30 years." "'There’s no uncertainty,' said Richard Evans, a hydrologist who has worked in China for two decades and has served as a consultant to the World Bank and China’s Ministry of Water Resources. 'The rate of decline is very clear, very well documented. They will run out of groundwater if the current rate continues.' " 09-07 -10-03-07 "The Elders" Visit Sudan (CBS News) "The visit by 'The Elders,' which is headed by Nobel Peace laureates Carter and Desmond Tutu, is largely a symbolic move by a host of respected figures to push all sides to make peace in Darfur." 10-07 -10-08-06 North Korea Tests a Nuclear Bomb (USA Today) "North Korea said Monday it had performed its first nuclear weapons test, an underground explosion that defied international warnings but was hailed by the communist nation as a 'great leap forward' for its people." 10-06 -10-09-09 Barack Obama Wins Nobel Peace Prize (New York Times) "President Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for his 'extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples,' a stunning honor that came less than nine months after he made United States history by becoming the country’s first African-American president." 10-07 -10-13-09 Gaza's Tunnel Economy (Time.com) " 'There is only one economy — there's a tunnel economy,' says John Ging, head of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency in the Gaza Strip. 'You have zero exports and zero commercial imports through the [Israeli-controlled] crossing points.' " "Under the blockade, Gaza's unemployment rate has become the highest in the world." " 'It's accurate to say that the economy has been destroyed. All aspects of the commercial sector are in tatters, including the physical infrastructure,' says the U.N.'s Ging. 'But what we have here is a phenomenal entrepreneurial spirit, and the only thing we need to revive the economy of Gaza is the creation of opportunity, which means lifting the siege.' " 10-09 -10-14-07 The Myanmar Clampdown (Internationl Herald Tribune) "The anonymity of these people is part of their story. Neither the foreigner nor the speakers can be identified for fear of retribution against those who speak out. Two teachers, a young man, a housewife, an abbot, a businessman - all tell the same story in their different ways. It is the story of a people ruled by terror, stripped of freedom, who do not know when their suffering will end." 10-07 -10-14-09 U.S. and Chinese Interests in Afghanistan (MSNBC News) "In making the case for converging U.S. and Chinese interests in Afghanistan, Robert Kaplan wrote last week in a New York Times opinion piece that, 'The problem is that while America is sacrificing its blood and treasure, the Chinese will reap the benefits. The whole direction of America’s military and diplomatic effort is toward an exit strategy, whereas the Chinese hope to stay and profit.' " 10-09 -10-17-09 Children Are Victims of Churches in Africa (MSNBC News) "The idea of witchcraft is hardly new, but it has taken on new life recently partly because of a rapid growth in evangelical Christianity. Campaigners against the practice say around 15,000 children have been accused in two of Nigeria's 36 states over the past decade and around 1,000 have been murdered. In the past month alone, three Nigerian children accused of witchcraft were killed and another three were set on fire." "Nigeria is one of the heartlands of abuse, but hardly the only one: the United NationsChildren's Fund says tens of thousands of children have been targeted throughout Africa." 10-09 -10-17-09 Swine Flu Links to Pneumonia (CBS News) "The virus can cause life-threatening viral pneumonia much more commonly than the typical flu, prompting the World Health Organization on Friday to warn hospitals to prepare for a possible wave of very sick patients and to urge doctors to treat suspected cases quickly with antiviral drugs." "Experts stress that most people who get the H1N1 virus either never get sick or recover easily. But some young adults, possibly especially women, are falling seriously ill at an unexpectedly rapid pace and are showing up in intensive care units and dying in unusually high numbers, they say." "Although why a minority of patients become so sick remains a mystery, new research indicates that H1N1 is different from typical seasonal flu viruses in crucial ways -- most notably in its ability to penetrate deep into the lungs and cause viral pneumonia." 10-09 -10-28-07 After the Myanmar Crackdown (PBS.org) "TOM MALINOWSKI, Human Rights Watch: Well, it's a stage of siege in Burma. There's no question about that. We don't know what the numbers are, because the country is closed. No one has access to the prisons. There's no way of getting a true picture of the death toll right now." "But it is a state of siege: The monasteries are occupied by the military; the troops are in the streets; there are nighttime raids in which security forces go neighborhood by neighborhood, pull people out of their homes who they believe, based on their video footage, participated in these demonstrations. People are very, very much afraid." "But I think it's interesting the government is also afraid and has some reason to fear what might happen next." 10-07 -10-28-09 A "Trial of the Century" for Muslims (Time.com) "The killing of Marwa el-Sherbini provoked outrage among Muslims for its sheer brutality and brazenness. According to witnesses, the pregnant mother was stabbed to death in front of a courtroom full of people in Germany by a man with an apparently deep-seated hatred of Muslims. Thousands marched in Egypt, Iran and other Muslim countries against what they perceived as a disturbing rise of Islamophobia and racism in Germany, as well as the scant attention the attack received in the German media." 10-09 -11-01-09 Abdullah Pulls Out of Afghan Runoff (Time.com) "Afghan opposition candidate Abdullah Abdullah prepares to leave following a press conference on November 1, 2009 in Kabul, Afghanistan. Abdullah announced that he would pull out of this week's run-off presidential election in Afghanistan due to concerns over widespread fraud and abuse of power by the governmment." 10-09 -11-03-07 Musharraf Suspends Pakistan's Constitution (US News) "President Gen. Pervez Musharraf suspended Pakistan's constitution and deployed troops in the capital Saturday, declaring that rising Islamic extremism had forced him to take emergency measures. He also replaced the nation's chief justice and blacked out the independent media that refused to support him." 11-07 -11-05-08 World Reacts to Obama's Victory (USA Today) "From Beijing's streets to France's Elysee Palace, common citizens and leaders of the world greeted Barack Obama's election largely as a sign of hope that America would mend torn international relations and lead the way out of global economic turmoil." 11-08 -11-15-09 World Leaders Agree to Delay Agreement on Climate Change (New York Times) "President Obama and other world leaders have decided to put off the difficult task of reaching a climate change agreement at a global climate conference scheduled for next month, agreeing instead to make it the mission of the Copenhagen conference to reach a less specific 'politically binding' agreement that would punt the most difficult issues into the future." 11-09 -11-21-07 U.S. Presidential Candidates Protest Saudi Court Ruling (CNN News) "U.S. presidential candidates Wednesday condemned Saudi justice after a rape victim was sentenced to 200 lashes and six months in jail." 11-07 -11-23-07 Imran Khan Ends Hunger Strike in Pakistan (Daily Express) "Drawn and haggard, former cricket superstar Imran Khan ended his hunger strike yesterday." "He had vowed to fast to death after his arrest last week in a round-up of political protesters in Pakistan." 11-07 -11-26-06 Yemen Editor Jailed Over Cartoons (BBC News) "A court in Yemen has sentenced a newspaper editor to a year in jail for reprinting Danish cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad." 11-06 -11-26-07 Pakistan's President to Step Down as Army Chief (MSNBC News) "Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf, under pressure to end a state of emergency that critics say he is using to keep his grip on power, is to quit as army chief and take an oath of office for a third presidential term on Thursday." 11-07 -12-03-07 Venezuela Votes "No" on Extending Term for President Chavez (MSNBC News) "President Hugo Chavez suffered a stunning defeat Monday in a referendum that would have let him run for re-election indefinitely and impose a socialist system in this major U.S. oil provider." 12-07 -12-23-06 Holocaust Infrastructure Much Larger Than Previously Thought (USA Today) "Couched in patronizing and dehumanizing language, documents from the earliest camps foreshadow a system that would define the word "genocide." They show that years before the mass-scale killings began at death camps such as Auschwitz, the intellectual groundwork of viewing categories of humanity as subhuman was already in place." 12-06 -12-30-06 The Haj Begins Without Incident (ABC News) "More than two million Muslim pilgrims began a symbolic devil-stoning ritual on Saturday, putting to the test new safety measures at a stage of the haj that has seen tragedy in the past." 12-06 -Current Events (Wikipedia.org) Provides world news each day in a variety of topics, especial politics. 11-04 -Editorial: Innovation and Education Needed to Head Off Water War (WorldPress.org) "For 2ie's dean, Paul Ginies, Africa's water shortage needs money to be thrown at it. But Africa also needs trained people to manage that influx of cash, he says. 'The main problem here is the lack of capacity of governance and the under-capacity of companies to respond,' he said." "Ginies estimated one trained engineer should be in place to manage every $1 million invested in a country's infrastructure. In Burkina Faso, because of austerity measures imposed on the civil service, if there is not a major new recruitment drive natural attrition will mean there are no trained engineers in the Ministry of Agriculture and Water within 10 years, according to 2ie's calculations." 09-07 -Editorial: It's Too Late for "Later" (New York Times) "There was a chilling essay in The Jakarta Post last week by Andrio Adiwibowo, a lecturer in environmental management at the University of Indonesia. It was about how a smart plan to protect the mangrove forests around coastal Jakarta was never carried out, leading to widespread tidal flooding last month." "This line jumped out at me: 'The plan was not implemented. Instead of providing a buffer zone, development encroached into the core zone, which was covered over by concrete.' " "You could read that story in a hundred different developing countries today. But the fact that you read it here is one of the most important reasons that later has become extinct. Indonesia is second only to Brazil in terrestrial biodiversity and is No. 1 in the world in marine biodiversity. Just one and a half acres in Borneo contains more different tree species than all of North America — not to mention animals that don’t exist anywhere else on earth. If we lose them, there will be no later for some of the rarest plants and animals on the planet." "Indonesia is now losing tropical forests the size of Maryland every year, and the carbon released by the cutting and clearing — much of it from illegal logging — has made Indonesia the third largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the world, after the United States and China. Deforestation actually accounts for more greenhouse gas emissions than all the cars and trucks in the world, an issue the Bali conference finally addressed." 12-07 -Finding the World's Happiest Places (CNN News) "It may take a lot of frequent-flier miles, a penchant for cold places, a tolerance of taxes and regular doses of chocolate, but happiness could be within reach. However, it's not where most people might expect." 02-08 -Freedom Losing Worldwide (Christian Science Monitor) "A new report by Washington watchdog group Freedom House says a clampdown on political rights made 43 countries 'not free' in 2007." "A second consecutive year of freedom's decline – particularly in South Asia, but also in the region of the former Soviet Union, the Middle East, and sub-Saharan Africa – is the main conclusion for 2007 of the annual survey by Freedom House, which monitors trends in political freedoms and advocates their expansion. This is the first time in 15 years the group has seen two consecutive years of decline." 01-08 -UN Calls Water Top Priority (Time.com) "U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged the world on Thursday to put the looming crisis over water shortages at the top of the global agenda this year and take action to prevent conflicts over scarce supplies." 01-08 -World Watch News (CBS News) Reports on breaking news throughout the world. -World's Largest Companies (ABC News) "In total, the global 2000 companies now account for $30 trillion in revenues, $2.4 trillion in profits, $119 trillion in assets and $39 trillion in market value. Around the world, 72 million people work for these companies." 04-08 -Worst Food Crisis in a Generation (MSNBC News) "The globe's worst food crisis in a generation emerged as a blip on the big boards and computer screens of America's great grain exchanges. At first, it seemed like little more than a bout of bad weather." 04-08 01-15-07 Kuwaiti Royal Sentenced to Death (MSNBC News) "A court has convicted a member of Kuwait’s ruling family for drug trafficking and it condemned him to death, according to a ruling obtained Monday." "It is believed to be the first time that a member of a ruling family in one of the Persian Gulf Arab states has received the death sentence for a drug offense." 01-07 01-27-07 Melinda Gates in the Spotlight (MSNBC News) "Melinda Gates has traveled the world with her husband, meeting with the rich and powerful and visiting its poorest in remote African villages. She and her husband share top billing at the world’s richest foundation, but Bill Gates always dominated the spotlight — until this year." 01-07 09-14-06 U.N. Nuclear Agency Calls U.S. Report on Iran "Outrageous and Dishonest" (CBS News) " A recent House of Representatives committee report on Iran's nuclear capability is “outrageous and dishonest” in trying to make a case that Tehran's program is geared toward making weapons, a senior official of the U.N. nuclear watchdog has said." 09-06 11-14-06 Blair Proposes New Strategy for Iraq (USA Today) "Because much of the militancy in Iraq comes from outside its borders, [British Prime Minister Tony] Blair said what he called a 'whole Middle East strategy' was needed to counter it." "Resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict must be the core of such an approach, he argued, followed by efforts to stabilize Lebanon and unite moderate Arabs and Muslims behind a push for peace in those countries and in Iraq." 11-06 12-24-06 Lawyer: Saudi Morals Police Use Religion to Oppress (MSNBC News) "Saudi human rights lawyer Abdul-Rahman al-Lahem said he had been waiting years for a case like this: A woman and her daughter, both accused of promiscuity, were followed by the morals police as they left a private residence on the outskirts of the capital." "The police assumed that the women had been visiting male friends. But the two had been at the home of female relatives. And unlike the thousands who had previously been intimidated into dropping their grievances, they insisted on taking their kidnappers to court." "Lahem, a 35-year-old father of two, contends that the police oppress people in the name of religion and act as if the rules don't apply to them. He wants to prove them wrong." 12-06 Chechnyan Leader Dies Fighting for Justice (Time.com) "Indeed, [Natalia] Estemirova's determined efforts over the past decade to uncover and document extrajudicial killings, torture, disappearances and kidnappings in Chechnya have made her many enemies, including Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov, the republic's Kremlin-backed president. She had also become a thorn in the side of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who, as former president, had presided over the Second Chechen War, which began in 1999 and ended in 2002." 07-09 Editorial: Indian News Adherence to Cardinal Principles (WorldPress.org) "From the above, it seems that these news channels perhaps lack a definite focus and may have diverged from the cardinal principles of broadcasting to which they should be adhering." 03-07 European Union News (Awesome Library) Provides news about the European Union. 6-05 International News (Washington Post) Provides international news stories. New Prime Minister for Australia (Time.com) " 'Today Australia has looked to the future,' said the country's newly elected Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, claiming victory for his Labor Party for the first time since 1996. Poll after opinion poll had predicted a Labor triumph in national elections, but few had forecast its scale. Labor captured at least 22 seats from the ruling Liberal-National coalition — including, it appears, the northwestern Sydney seat held for the past 33 years by Prime Minister John Howard." 11-07 News Sources (Awesome Library) Provides sources of national and world news, by subject or country. News on Nuclear Threat of North Korea (CNN) Provides news stories related to North Korea's nuclear threat. 2-03 North Korea (Awesome Library) Provides news and current events related to North Korea's relationship with the USA and the international community. Also provides background information on North Korea, such as history, economy, government, and more. 1-03 Papers -001 Earth Hour (EarthHour.org) "2,848 cities, towns and municipalities in 84 countries have already committed to VOTE EARTH for Earth Hour 2009, as part of the worlds first global election between Earth and global warming." Editor's Note: Buildings will turn off their lights on March 28th, 2009, to show solidarity with efforts to reduce human contributions to climate change. 03-09 -Brazil, the World's Hottest Market (Newsweek.com) "The specter of rising food and fuel prices now threatens to destroy an era of unprecedented global prosperity, with two notable exceptions: Brazil and Canada. Both countries produce and export enough food and fuel not just to offset the worst of global inflationary pressures but even to turn the price spike from a menace to a boon. They are the only two major economies where prices have not burst the upper limit of the central bank's inflation target." 07-08 -Editorial: Economic Summit Fell Short (New York Times) "In normal times we don’t expect a lot from summit meetings. But with the global economy imploding, leaders at Thursday’s meeting of the world’s top 20 economic powers had an urgent responsibility to come up with concrete policies to fix the global financial system and restore growth. They fell short." "Where they fell dangerously short was their refusal to commit to spend the hundreds of billions of dollars in additional fiscal stimulus that the world economy needs to pull out of its frighteningly steep dive. With consumer spending and business investment collapsing around the world, rich countries are the only ones that have the resources to do what is needed." 04-09 -Editorial: How China Is Capitalizing on the Economic Crisis (Time.com) "Once shy of making major foreign investments, Beijing has gone on the prowl for resources and underpriced assets across the globe. Cash-rich Chinese companies, backed by soft loans from state banks and re-energized by lower labor costs as jobs dry up, are descending on Central Asia, Africa and even Western Europe to snap up assets." 04-09 -Editorial: Is the Press Misreporting the Environment Story? (Time.com) "Rather than a stenographer, Pooley would prefer to see the media adopt the position of an "honest referee — keeping score, throwing flags when a team plays fast and loose with the facts, explaining to the audience what's happening on the field and why." In an issue as complex as climate change, the country badly needs smart, fair umpires, and the media can play that role. But the wave of cutbacks and closings that have hit the American media could make that all but impossible. Referees need to know the game cold, and climate change demands day-in, day-out experience from dedicated reporters. But a dwindling few media outlets are willing to pay for that kind of coverage at a time when the economy is crashing — Time's corporate cousin CNN has eliminated its entire full-time science section." 03-09 -Experts: Sanitation Is a Life-Saver Worldwide (MSNBC News) "The world is neglecting a crisis over poor sanitation even as it makes progress in providing clean water, which means that diarrhea and related illnesses such as malnutrition will continue to kill at an alarming rate, experts said Friday." "About 1 billion people do not have access to safe drinking water, and 2.5 billion people lack access to adequate sanitation, according to the United Nations. But the World Water Council, organizer of a forum in Turkey this week, said investment in sanitation rarely amounts to more than 0.3 percent of global GDP, even though latrines and sewers are relatively cheap and play a key role in preventing disease." 03-09 -German Federal Court Rejects Voting Machines (Bundes-Verfassungs-Ggericht) "However, the Federal Voting Machines Ordinance (Bundeswahlgeräteverordnung) is unconstitutional because it does notensure that only such voting machines are permitted and used which meetthe constitutional requirements of the principle of the public nature ofelections. According to the decision of the Federal ConstitutionalCourt, the computer-controlled voting machines used in the election ofthe 16th German Bundestag did not meet the requirements which theconstitution places on the use of electronic voting machines." Editor's Note: Voting machines were rejected because they did not allow public scrutiny of the individual ballots. This standard would also be relevant to voting machines in other countries, such as the United States. 03-09 -Millennium Development Goals to Reduce Human Suffering (United Nations) The first goal is to "Reduce by half the proportion of people living on less than a dollar a day" and to "Reduce by half the proportion of people who suffer from hunger." Editor's Note: The 191 UN member states agreeing to support the goals estimate that between 2000 and 2015 it would cost $40 billion dollars to achieve all of the goals to reduce suffering. Meanwhile, world spending on military was $956 billion last year alone. 5-05 -Report: Climate Change "Catastrophic" (CNN News) "More than 300 million people are already seriously affected by the gradual warming of the earth and that number is set to double by 2030, the report from the Global Humanitarian Forum warns." "The report's startling numbers are based on calculations by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that the Earth's atmosphere warmed by 0.74 degrees Celsius (1.33 degrees Fahrenheit) from 1906 to 2005, with much of that increase coming in recent decades. The panel predicts that by 2100 temperatures will have increased a minimum of two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) over pre-industrial levels regardless of what's agreed in Copenhagen." 05-09 -Research: Amazon Forest Crisis Can Create "Incalculable Consequences" for Earth (The Independent) "The vast Amazon rainforest is on the brink of being turned into desert, with catastrophic consequences for the world's climate, alarming research suggests. And the process, which would be irreversible, could begin as early as next year." "Scientists say that this would spread drought into the northern hemisphere, including Britain, and could massively accelerate global warming with incalculable consequences, spinning out of control, a process that might end in the world becoming uninhabitable." 07-06 -Simulation Results: Temperature Rise Caused a Mass Extinction (BBC News) "A computer simulation of the Earth's climate 250 million years ago suggests that global warming triggered the so-called 'great dying'." "A dramatic rise in carbon dioxide caused temperatures to soar to 10 to 30 degrees Celsius higher than today, say US researchers." "Some 95% of lifeforms in the oceans became extinct, along with about three-quarters of land species." 8-05 -Study: Climate Problem the Top Concern Worldwide (USA Today) "Pollution and other environmental problems increasingly are seen as the leading threat the world faces, according to a massive survey of global public opinion released Wednesday. The United States is given much of the blame for those problems and the responsibility to respond to them." "In 34 countries, the proportion of those who said they had 'a lot of confidence' in Bush to 'do the right thing' was in single digits." 07-07 Africa's Future: Four Essentials (WorldPress.org) "As the Group of 8 nations prepare for the annual July 2005 Summit in Scotland, the dire development needs of Africa will again come into sharp focus. A recent report on development issues worldwide by the United Nations concludes that Africa is neither on course to meet goals of halving poverty rates by 2015 nor moving significantly to improve access to portable water and basic sanitation." "However, to provide assistance to more than 300 million Africans who live on extreme poverty, surviving on less than one dollar a day, Group of 8 nations at the July 2005 Summit have an urgent obligation to provide immediate, 100 percent debt relief for the poorest nations in Africa. Poor African nations should not have to choose between debt servicing and saving the lives of its citizens." 7-05 Ahmadinejad, Mahmoud - President of Iran (ABC News) "Until a few months ago, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was the mayor of Tehran. This son of a blacksmith was elected president of the country by promising to give poor people a share of Iran's oil wealth." "From his first days in office, he began to express a fervent belief in the Shiite prophecy that the 12th imam, or the messiah, would return to save the believers and kill the infidels. What really got many people's attention was that the new president said it would happen in the next two years." 01-06 Brazil Reacts to High Food Prices (New York Times) "Luciano Alves planted beans, corn and grain on about 7,500 acres of his farm in southern Brazil last year. This year, he is planting 8,600 acres. And he credits Brazil’s president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, with the increase." " 'The government is helping us finance the purchase of new machinery,' said Mr. Alves. 'They reduced the interest rates we pay and have given us more time to pay off the loans. It’s vital.' " 08-08 Bush Administration Blocks Plans to Reduce Global Warming (Guardian Unlimited) "While the aid-for-Africa element of the G8 discussions has progressed to the point where pledges of billions of dollars have been made, the greater issue of saving the planet is bogged in petty negotiation, largely because America's delegates still refuse to admit, in public, that global warming is caused by human activity." 6-05 EU Nations Make Ocean "Land Grab" (Guardian Unlimited) "A vast tract of the Atlantic seabed more than 200 miles off shore is being claimed by a coalition of four European countries eager to expand their oil and gas prospecting rights." "No country may claim any part of the seabed more than 350 miles from its shore. Once rights are established, states may extract the minerals and natural gas or oil discovered in the annexed seabed." 06-06 Editorial: "No Government Can Justify Torture" (Bloomberg.com) "Iraq security forces are torturing detainees and the abuses are becoming 'routine and commonplace,' the Human Rights Watch said." " 'The Iraqi security forces obviously face tremendous challenges, including an insurgency that has targeted civilians,' Whitson said in the report published on the Human Rights Watch Web site. 'We unequivocally condemn the insurgents' brutality. But international law is unambiguous on this point: no government can justify torture of detainees in the name of security.' ''1-05 Editorial: Are Aid Agencies What Africa Really Needs? (Guardian Unlimited) "Ending poverty appears to have little to do with overseas aid or the activities of NGOs. It has to do with pragmatic governments that create a business-friendly environment and place a heavy emphasis on education." "By contrast, Africa has suffered from rulers who are parasites on their people, where the elites loot resources to line their own pockets and create an environment where investors fear to tread." 01-06 Editorial: Death of a Fighter for Truth (TimesOnline.co.uk) "As one of Iraq’s most gifted journalists, Atwar Bahjat covered many funerals, capturing the grief, indignation and fury of countless mourners struggling to comprehend their country’s descent into sectarian conflict." "Yesterday her own funeral made news when the procession through Baghdad was attacked, first by a gunman and then by a bomber." 02-06 Editorial: Iraq Must Deliver Oil to Sunnis in the Constitution (Christian Science Monitor) "Rather, the key to Iraq's near-term stability is quite simply the rights and prerogatives of the 20 percent of Iraqis who are Sunni Arabs." "It is this group that provides perhaps 90 percent of the insurgency's active fighters and most of its new recruits. It is this group amid which the insurgency lives, hides its arms, plots its attacks, finds its safe houses. And it is this group that is on the verge of being fundamentally marginalized, in political power as well as economics, by what is happening in the constitution-writing right now." "The Kurds want not only the land back for the Kurdish families who once owned it - a reasonable enough proposition - but virtually all the rights and revenue to the oil produced in its vicinity." 8-05 Editorial: Is Democracy Empowering Islamists? (Christian Science Monitor) "The Palestinian vote was a win for democracy - but also for a radical group the US rejects." "The 'irony,' Mr. Gerges adds, is that the Bush administration's championing of the Middle East's democratization has allowed the radical Islamists to 'flex their political muscle' - from Egypt and Saudi Arabia to Lebanon and Iraq." 'We're seeing that, for now, the only alternative to secular regimes in the Middle East are the Islamists,' says [Haim] Malka [a Middle East expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington]. 'They're the only ones who have legitimacy among the people.' " 01-06 Editorial: Water, a Dangerous Commodity (International Herald Tribune) "The latest World Water Forum just concluded in Mexico City is very far from being another international jamboree for jet-setting officials and ministers. Clean and abundant water, long taken for granted in parts of the world, is in fact a scarce and sometimes dangerous commodity for fully two-thirds of humanity. Poor-quality water or the lack of any water at all, kills 10 times as many people as are killed in all world conflicts." 03-06 Girls at U.N. Urge Global Action (ABC News) "A 16-year-old Nepalese girl burst into tears describing her work in a match factory to help support her mother. A Jordanian teen spoke out about violence against girls in rural areas. A former child soldier from Congo cried when she recalled her suffering as a sex slave." 03-07 How Young Is too Young to Be a Fighter? (ABC News) "As young girls and boys wildly kick and punch each other in rural rings across Thailand, spectators (farmers, trainers, families, friends) place their bets. Each child stands to change his or her family's fortune with a winning blow." 10-07 Illiteracy Increasing in China (MSNBC News) "Illiteracy is increasing in China, despite a 50-year-old campaign to stamp it out and a declaration by the government in 2000 that it had been nearly eradicated. The reasons are complex, from the cost of a rural education to the growing appeal of migrant work that draws Chinese away from classrooms and toward far-off cities." 04-07 Iran Ultra-Conservative Becomes President (BBC News) "Iran's new ultra-conservative President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been confirmed in office, following his surprise election victory in July." 8-05 Is Western-Style Democracy Good for Everyone? (BBC News) Asks readers to answer the question, "Is western-style democracy good for the world or is it just another example of cultural imperialism?" Provides samples of responses to the question. 11-03 Lifestyles of Women in Iran (Time Magazine) "These girls came of age in the same culture as my friend's little girl, into a society whose middle-class value system was being transformed, where laws forced religious observance, and the lines between an individual's private values, the force of habit, and social background blurred. But rather than turning out uniformly devout or predictably rebellious, they are more independent than any generation before them, negotiating their way through society, and around hejab, with great competence." 02-07 Limits to Debt Relief to Poorest Nations (BBC News) "The deal to relieve 100% of poor country debts is historic - but it only sets the scene for a much bigger battle at Gleneagles over trade and aid." 6-05 News and Articles Related to Current Events (Council on Foreign Relations) CFR provides news and articles 05-07 Nuclear Risks Grow (Independent - Popham) "At least as damaging as North Korea's departure [from the non-proliferation ban] have been successive moves by Washington to distance itself from nuclear disarmament." "In the run-up to the Iraq war, the US President, George Bush, signed National Security Presidential Directive 17, which said: 'The United States will continue to make clear that it reserves the right to respond with overwhelming force – including potentially nuclear weapons....' " "This assertion, analysts say, undermined...the so-called 'negative security assurances'...not to use nuclear weapons against the non-nuclear weapon states." "The assurances were considered vital in discouraging states from developing their own nuclear weapons.""More and more states are likely to buy the argument that the only way to be secure in a unipolar world is to go down the nuclear road – 'to pre-empt pre-emption', one analyst said." 4-03 Peace and War (Waging Peace) Provides articles and news stories regarding peace and war. 5-02 Provides Key Documents Related to Democracy (Democracy Dialogues) Provides over two dozen documents. 03-06 Red Crystal Now Available to Protect Medics (USA Today) "The 'Red Crystal' debuts Sunday as an emblem that can be used to protect its relief workers, part of an agreement for Israel's admission to the Red Cross movement after more than half a century of exclusion." 01-07 Report: Global Warming Cause and Effects (CBS News) "The study traces global temperatures and so-called greenhouse gases going back thousands of years. It shows a gradual variation until the Industrial Revolution begins, when fossil fuel use skyrockets, as do temperatures, CBS News correspondent Mark Phillips reports." 01-07 Report: Scientists Offer Plan to Combat Global Warming (RedOrbit.com) "To head off the worst of climate change, governments must pour tens of billions of dollars more than they are into clean-energy research and enforce sharp rollbacks in fossil-fuel emissions, an expert scientific panel reported to the United Nations on Tuesday." 02-07 Report: USA, China, Malaysia, and Saudi Arabia Are the Worst Offenders (CBS News) "Sweden, Britain and Denmark are doing the most to protect against climate change, but their efforts are not nearly enough, according to a report released Monday by environmental groups." "The United States — the world's biggest emitter of greenhouse gases — ranked at 53, with only China, Malaysia and Saudi Arabia doing worse." 11-06 Report: We Are Threatened (BBC News) "The most comprehensive survey ever into the state of the planet concludes that human activities threaten the Earth's ability to sustain future generations." "Two services - fisheries and fresh water - are said now to be well beyond levels that can sustain current, much less future, demands."7-05 Study: New Estimates on Deaths from Wars (ABC News) "The researchers estimate that 5.4 million people died from 1955 to 2002 as a result of wars in 13 countries. These deaths range from 7,000 in the Democratic Republic of Congo to 3.8 million in Vietnam." "According to Obermeyer, the estimates are three times higher than those of previous reports. Data from this new study also suggests that 378,000 people worldwide died a violent death in war each year between 1985 and 1994, compared with 137,000 estimated at the time." 06-08 Study: World Is More Unequal Today (BBC News) "A UN report has found that the world is more unequal today than it was 10 years ago, despite considerable economic growth in many regions." "The report recommends expanding opportunities for productive employment, bringing marginalized groups into society and working to distribute the benefits of what it called the increasingly open world economy." 8-05 The Flu: A Guide for Parents (CDC.gov) Provides a guide for parents regarding influenza (flu). Editor's Note: As of April 27th, a vaccine for "swine flu" had not been made available. 04-09 The Perfect Storm (ABC News) "Not one scientist of any credibility on this subject [of global warming] has presented any evidence for some years now that counters the massive and repeated evidence — gathered over decades and come at in dozens of ways by all kinds of professional scientists around the world — that the burning of fossil fuels is raising the world's average temperature." "Or that counters the findings that the burning of these fuels is doing so in a way that is very dangerous for mankind, that will almost certainly bring increasingly devastating effects in the coming decades." "One small group of special interest businesses leaders — those of some fossil fuel companies — have been well documented by journalist Ross Gelbspan and others to have been fighting a PR campaign for 15 years to keep the American public confused about the wide and deep scientific consensus on this." "They've aimed, as Gelbspan explains, to keep us thinking that (to borrow the president's words this morning) 'There's a debate over whether it's manmade or naturally caused' — though no open and thorough journalism this reporter knows of can find any such thing." 06-06 Toxic Cottonseed Becomes Food (Christian Science Monitor) "Dr. Rathore and his colleagues have figured out how to make poisonous cottonseeds fit for human consumption. The new, nontoxic seeds could give 500 million people an additional source of high-quality protein, the team estimates, if the genetically engineered plant is approved for cultivation." 11-06 U.N. Resolves to Protect Children from War (BBC News) "The UN Security Council has unanimously approved a resolution aimed at protecting children in armed conflict." "The council agreed to monitor more than 50 governments and rebel groups accused of violating children's rights and punish those who did not stop." "Abuses include killing or maiming children, using child soldiers and sexual violence against children." 7-05 U.N.: World Can End Poverty by 2025 (MSNBC News) "Global poverty can be cut in half by 2015 and eliminated by 2025 if the world’s richest countries including the United States, Japan and Germany more than double aid to the poorest countries, hundreds of development experts concluded in a report Monday." "At stake is life or death for tens of millions of impoverished people, it said." 1-05 United Nations Climate Change Conference (CBS News) The United Nations Climate Change Conference will be held in Copenhagen on December 7 - 18, 2009. 03-09 Where Abusing Women Is Normal (International Herald Tribune) "In few places on earth is violence against women more entrenched, and accepted, than in sub-Saharan Africa. One in three Nigerian women reported having been physically abused by a male partner, according to the latest study, conducted in 1993." 8-05 Wolff: Global Food System Can't Survive (CNN News) "As the nation marks World Hunger Relief Week, more people are asking: Why are so many people starving and what, if anything, can be done to eradicate hunger?" "Wolff thinks hunger can be conquered. Her group produces 'Medika Mamba,' energy dense, peanut butter food that's designed to ensure Haitian children survive childhood. Medika Mamba is easy to make, store, preserve and distribute, she says." "Patel says '2008 was a record year in terms of harvest. There's more food per person in 2008 than there's ever been in history. The problem is not food, but how we distribute it.' " 11-08 World Military Spending Tops $1 Trillion (USA Today) "Global military spending in 2004 broke the $1 trillion barrier for the first time since the Cold War, boosted by the U.S. war against terror and the growing defense budgets of India and China, a European think tank said Tuesday." "Led by the United States, which accounted for almost half of all military expenditure, the world spent $1.035 trillion on defense, equal to 2.6% of global gross domestic product, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute said." 6-05 World's Growing Food-Price Crisis (Time.com) "With relief agencies struggling to feed the hungry and the shelves in Pakistan, Burkina Faso, Senegal and many other countries in the developing world stocked with food many locals can no longer afford, the prospects for chaos are steadily growing." 2-08 World's Priciest Cities (Time Magazine) "The survey by Mercer Human Resource Consulting ranked 143 cities around the world, measuring the comparative cost of more than 200 areas such as housing, transportation and food. The findings are designed to help multinational employers determine compensation for their expatriate workers." 06-07

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