MediaWatch
For older articles, please go to archive.
April 2006 I
May 2006 I
July/August 2006
France Finally Steps Up
Source: LA Times
France's boosted pledge of a total of 2,000 soldiers for the U.N. force in Lebanon is still a stingy commitment but could help galvanise other European nations to follow suit, says this newspaper. Full article
Source: LA Times
France's boosted pledge of a total of 2,000 soldiers for the U.N. force in Lebanon is still a stingy commitment but could help galvanise other European nations to follow suit, says this newspaper. Full article
Airplane Terrorism Case Prompts Questions About the Work of Islamic Charities in Britain
Source: New York Times
With another charity under the spotlight for a possible connection to an alleged terror plot, Ian Fisher investigates to what extent Islamic charities ever mask fundraising for extremist groups. Full article
Source: New York Times
With another charity under the spotlight for a possible connection to an alleged terror plot, Ian Fisher investigates to what extent Islamic charities ever mask fundraising for extremist groups. Full article
A Strange Battle in Congo
Source: The Nation
Analysts are disoriented and the Congolese people deeply disappointed about the outbreak of violence after the elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo, says Juakali Kambale. Full article
Source: The Nation
Analysts are disoriented and the Congolese people deeply disappointed about the outbreak of violence after the elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo, says Juakali Kambale. Full article
Lebanon: A greater folly than '82 war
Source: Toronto Star
The latest Lebanon war is a greater political and moral disaster than the one of 1982, since Hizbollah has emerged politically strengthened and a renewal of conflict looks more, not less, likely, says Haroon Siddiqui. Full article
Source: Toronto Star
The latest Lebanon war is a greater political and moral disaster than the one of 1982, since Hizbollah has emerged politically strengthened and a renewal of conflict looks more, not less, likely, says Haroon Siddiqui. Full article
The Bosnia Excuse
Source: LA Times
The ceasefire in Lebanon is at risk because Western nations can't get over past peacekeeping failures, argues James Traub. Full article
Source: LA Times
The ceasefire in Lebanon is at risk because Western nations can't get over past peacekeeping failures, argues James Traub. Full article
For some in Africa, it's 'magic' over pills
Source: Baltimore Sun
Doctors say that "mystery" HIV potions made of herbs do more harm than good - but still untested and unregulated traditional therapies are flourishing across Africa. Full article
Source: Baltimore Sun
Doctors say that "mystery" HIV potions made of herbs do more harm than good - but still untested and unregulated traditional therapies are flourishing across Africa. Full article
Losing Afghanistan
Source: New York Times
Nearly five years after the U.S. toppled the Taliban government, there is no victory in the war in Afghanistan, partly because of the Bush administration's reckless haste to move on to Iraq and its meagre spending on reconstruction, argues this newspaper. Full article
Source: New York Times
Nearly five years after the U.S. toppled the Taliban government, there is no victory in the war in Afghanistan, partly because of the Bush administration's reckless haste to move on to Iraq and its meagre spending on reconstruction, argues this newspaper. Full article
A Congo Comeback
Source: LA Times
Despite violence, the elections offer a tenuous hope that democracy has a chance in the ravaged nation. Full article
Source: LA Times
Despite violence, the elections offer a tenuous hope that democracy has a chance in the ravaged nation. Full article
The global Aids campaign: a generation's struggle
Source: OpenDemocracy
The lesson of last week's international conference in Toronto is that the global AIDS industry needs to think strategically to meet the challenges of the next 25 years, argues Thomas de Waal. Full article
Source: OpenDemocracy
The lesson of last week's international conference in Toronto is that the global AIDS industry needs to think strategically to meet the challenges of the next 25 years, argues Thomas de Waal. Full article
In Lebanon, Even Peace Is a Battle
Source: New York Times
Victory in the latest war in Lebanon will not be won on the battlefield, but in the race between Hizbollah and the Lebanese government to rebuild homes and lives, say Carlos Pascual and Martin Indyk of the Brookings Institution. Full article
Source: New York Times
Victory in the latest war in Lebanon will not be won on the battlefield, but in the race between Hizbollah and the Lebanese government to rebuild homes and lives, say Carlos Pascual and Martin Indyk of the Brookings Institution. Full article
The big loser after Lebanon: democracy
Source: Daily Star
In the wake of Israel's attacks on Lebanon, the death of hundreds of civilians and the complicity of major powers, Arab citizens are being pushed from domestic democratic concerns into the polarising dichotomy of resistance versus surrender, argues Amr Hamwazy of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington. Full article
Source: Daily Star
In the wake of Israel's attacks on Lebanon, the death of hundreds of civilians and the complicity of major powers, Arab citizens are being pushed from domestic democratic concerns into the polarising dichotomy of resistance versus surrender, argues Amr Hamwazy of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington. Full article
Dancing around the ceasefire motion
Source: Globe and Mail
The United Nations has a bad record on enforcing resolutions and could restore a lot of credibility if it could see the Lebanese one through to the elimination of Hizbollah as a military force, argues this newspaper. Full article
Source: Globe and Mail
The United Nations has a bad record on enforcing resolutions and could restore a lot of credibility if it could see the Lebanese one through to the elimination of Hizbollah as a military force, argues this newspaper. Full article
UN must speed help to Lebanon
Source: Toronto Star
Concerted international action is needed to consolidate the ceasefire, and the United Nations must deploy peacekeepers to southern Lebanon as quickly as possible, the newspaper says. Full article
Source: Toronto Star
Concerted international action is needed to consolidate the ceasefire, and the United Nations must deploy peacekeepers to southern Lebanon as quickly as possible, the newspaper says. Full article
Lebanon war is over, but just for now
Source: Gulf News
The war in Lebanon is nominally over, but only political ideologues could find cause to celebrate the end of the conflict, argues Dr James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute in Washington. Full article
Source: Gulf News
The war in Lebanon is nominally over, but only political ideologues could find cause to celebrate the end of the conflict, argues Dr James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute in Washington. Full article
Return to Kandahar: The Taliban threat
Source: The Independent
The journalist who starred in the film "Kandahar" has gone back to the southern Afghan city for the first time in four years, where she finds residents living in fear as Islamic insurgents extend their reach still deeper into the country. Full article
Source: The Independent
The journalist who starred in the film "Kandahar" has gone back to the southern Afghan city for the first time in four years, where she finds residents living in fear as Islamic insurgents extend their reach still deeper into the country. Full article
Important test for peacekeeping
Source: Bangkok Post
The international force in Lebanon has two vital tasks - it must keep the lid on a very hot and complicated confrontation, and must also prove that U.N. peacekeeping is a valid alternative to brutish warfare in the Middle East. Full article
Source: Bangkok Post
The international force in Lebanon has two vital tasks - it must keep the lid on a very hot and complicated confrontation, and must also prove that U.N. peacekeeping is a valid alternative to brutish warfare in the Middle East. Full article
Enforcing the ceasefire
Source: The Guardian
The risk in Lebanon is that the U.N., France and Germany may try to restrain Israel from any further ceasefire violations while Britain and the United States remain silent, argues this newspaper. Full article
Source: The Guardian
The risk in Lebanon is that the U.N., France and Germany may try to restrain Israel from any further ceasefire violations while Britain and the United States remain silent, argues this newspaper. Full article
United Nations: The World's Scapegoat
Source: LA Times
The Middle East ceasefire will evaporate if great powers hide their failures behind the U.N., argues Paul Kennedy, professor of history at Yale University and author of "The Parliament of Man: The Past, Present and Future of the United Nations". Full article
Source: LA Times
The Middle East ceasefire will evaporate if great powers hide their failures behind the U.N., argues Paul Kennedy, professor of history at Yale University and author of "The Parliament of Man: The Past, Present and Future of the United Nations". Full article
A new target in the AIDS war
Source: San Francisco Chronicle
To combat HIV/AIDS, we need better and cheaper medicines, faster delivery and treatments tailored for specific countries, populations and ages. It will cost tens of billions of dollars for years to come, but what choice do we have, asks the Chronicle. Full article
Source: San Francisco Chronicle
To combat HIV/AIDS, we need better and cheaper medicines, faster delivery and treatments tailored for specific countries, populations and ages. It will cost tens of billions of dollars for years to come, but what choice do we have, asks the Chronicle. Full article
UN to the rescue in Lebanon?
Source: Christian Science Monitor
The world keeps turning to U.N. peacekeepers for ever bigger missions, but are they up to the job in Lebanon? Full article
Source: Christian Science Monitor
The world keeps turning to U.N. peacekeepers for ever bigger missions, but are they up to the job in Lebanon? Full article
A phoenix from Lebanon's ruins
Source: OpenDemocracy
Hizbollah sees reconstruction and refugee flows in southern Lebanon as its latest quick win over Israel, writes Paul Rogers on OpenDemocracy. Full article
Source: OpenDemocracy
Hizbollah sees reconstruction and refugee flows in southern Lebanon as its latest quick win over Israel, writes Paul Rogers on OpenDemocracy. Full article
The orphan epidemic
Source: Toronto Star
For all the talk at this week's Toronto AIDS conference, there's little focus on the plight of the disease's forgotten orphans. Full article
Source: Toronto Star
For all the talk at this week's Toronto AIDS conference, there's little focus on the plight of the disease's forgotten orphans. Full article
To empower women in the war on AIDS
Source: Globe and Mail
Given the tools and the education, women could radically change the course of HIV/AIDS and help prevent infection among future generations. Full article
Source: Globe and Mail
Given the tools and the education, women could radically change the course of HIV/AIDS and help prevent infection among future generations. Full article
A Defiant Hezbollah Rises From the Rubble
Source: LA Times
Israel aimed to break the militant organisation with its month-long offensive, but instead it has been strengthened politically in Lebanon. Full article
Source: LA Times
Israel aimed to break the militant organisation with its month-long offensive, but instead it has been strengthened politically in Lebanon. Full article
U.S. treachery and U.N. apathy
Source: Gulf News
The U.N. ceasefire resolution for Lebanon is heavily weighted in Israel's favour and provides little incentive for Hizbollah to lay down its weapons, argues Linda S. Heard in Gulf News. Full article
Source: Gulf News
The U.N. ceasefire resolution for Lebanon is heavily weighted in Israel's favour and provides little incentive for Hizbollah to lay down its weapons, argues Linda S. Heard in Gulf News. Full article
Peace in Aceh: Where there is a will, there is a way
Source: The Jakarta Post
The Indian Ocean tsunami brought the political will to leave old grievances behind and boosted the peace process in Indonesia’s Aceh province, say Martti Ahtisaari, chairman of the Crisis Management Initiative, and Pieter Feith, head of the Aceh Monitoring Mission, on the anniversary of the Helsinki accords. Full article
Source: The Jakarta Post
The Indian Ocean tsunami brought the political will to leave old grievances behind and boosted the peace process in Indonesia’s Aceh province, say Martti Ahtisaari, chairman of the Crisis Management Initiative, and Pieter Feith, head of the Aceh Monitoring Mission, on the anniversary of the Helsinki accords. Full article
Cease-fire? Make it work
Source: Newsday
Only a robust U.N. force can ensure that Hizbollah will not be a threat again, says this editorial. Full article
Source: Newsday
Only a robust U.N. force can ensure that Hizbollah will not be a threat again, says this editorial. Full article
Amid unrest, Haiti gains in fight on AIDS
Source: Miami Herald
The fate of Haiti's AIDS patients has begun to improve despite the country's unstable government, warring gangs and frequent kidnappings. Full article
Source: Miami Herald
The fate of Haiti's AIDS patients has begun to improve despite the country's unstable government, warring gangs and frequent kidnappings. Full article
Put children at the centre
Source: Toronto Star
HIV/AIDS is not widely regarded as as a children's issue but, to halt and begin to reverse its spead, children need to be put at the centre of the agenda, writes Nigel Fisher, president and CEO of UNICEF Canada. Full article
Source: Toronto Star
HIV/AIDS is not widely regarded as as a children's issue but, to halt and begin to reverse its spead, children need to be put at the centre of the agenda, writes Nigel Fisher, president and CEO of UNICEF Canada. Full article
Abstinence-only message misguided
Source: Toronto Star
The United States isn't getting the job done on AIDS, partly because of an ideological focus on abstinence, according to the former U.S. directors of national AIDS policy under Bill Clinton and George Bush. Full article
Source: Toronto Star
The United States isn't getting the job done on AIDS, partly because of an ideological focus on abstinence, according to the former U.S. directors of national AIDS policy under Bill Clinton and George Bush. Full article
Africa's heroic grandmothers
Source: Toronto Star
Wealthy philanthropists and prominent scientists can be expected to steal the limelight at the Toronto AIDS conference this week, but the unsung heroes are the grandmothers who nurse and bury their children, and support their extended families. Full article
Source: Toronto Star
Wealthy philanthropists and prominent scientists can be expected to steal the limelight at the Toronto AIDS conference this week, but the unsung heroes are the grandmothers who nurse and bury their children, and support their extended families. Full article
Where AIDS drugs work
Source: LA Times
People in poor countries may actually work harder to stay on their HIV medication because they realise they have little access to other medical care if they don't, according to new research. Full article
Source: LA Times
People in poor countries may actually work harder to stay on their HIV medication because they realise they have little access to other medical care if they don't, according to new research. Full article
Everyone lost in the Lebanon war
Source: Daily Telegraph
The biggest losers in the Israel-Hizbollah conflict are the Lebanese, as the country wakes up to find more than 1,000 dead, its infrastructure in ruins and the south once again under occupation, says this comment piece. Full article
Source: Daily Telegraph
The biggest losers in the Israel-Hizbollah conflict are the Lebanese, as the country wakes up to find more than 1,000 dead, its infrastructure in ruins and the south once again under occupation, says this comment piece. Full article
All the news that fits: Liberia’s blackboard headlines
Source: New York Times
In a country where wheelbarrows fill in for pick-up trucks and water is carried on little girls’ heads instead of in pipes, it's perhaps no wonder that a battered blackboard serves as newspaper and newsreel all in one. Full article
Source: New York Times
In a country where wheelbarrows fill in for pick-up trucks and water is carried on little girls’ heads instead of in pipes, it's perhaps no wonder that a battered blackboard serves as newspaper and newsreel all in one. Full article
Lull in violence helps Uganda's young 'night commuters'
Source: Washington Times
The number of barefoot children in northern Uganda leaving home by the thousands each night for the safety of nearby towns has fallen sharply amid a lull in fighting and peace talks to end a two-decade-old insurgency. Full article
Source: Washington Times
The number of barefoot children in northern Uganda leaving home by the thousands each night for the safety of nearby towns has fallen sharply amid a lull in fighting and peace talks to end a two-decade-old insurgency. Full article
Aid can be an obstacle to making poverty history
Source: The Daily Telegraph
Aid often does more harm than good by propping up corrupt regimes, creating dependency and holding back reforms that could help business thrive. What's really needed to start making poverty history is a business-friendly environment, says Ruth Lea, director of the Centre for Policy Studies. Full article
Source: The Daily Telegraph
Aid often does more harm than good by propping up corrupt regimes, creating dependency and holding back reforms that could help business thrive. What's really needed to start making poverty history is a business-friendly environment, says Ruth Lea, director of the Centre for Policy Studies. Full article
Gloom over Karabakh peace process
Source: IWPR
The appointment of Matthew Bryza as the U.S. co-chair of the OSCE’s Minsk Group on Karabakh, and his recent visit to the region, could be a sign that Washington is determined to move the peace process along despite recent setbacks. Full article
Source: IWPR
The appointment of Matthew Bryza as the U.S. co-chair of the OSCE’s Minsk Group on Karabakh, and his recent visit to the region, could be a sign that Washington is determined to move the peace process along despite recent setbacks. Full article
The Sri Lankan town that rarely smiles
Source: The Times
If Sri Lanka staggers back into open war, it will probably begin in the government-controlled port city of Trincomalee, which has reprised its role as a primary flashpoint. Full article
Source: The Times
If Sri Lanka staggers back into open war, it will probably begin in the government-controlled port city of Trincomalee, which has reprised its role as a primary flashpoint. Full article
Africa still struggles for democracy
Source: Associated Press on Boston Globe
Whether Congo faces new peace or more violence, its people have embraced the chance to join fellow Africans who are increasingly finding their voices through the ballot box. Full article
Source: Associated Press on Boston Globe
Whether Congo faces new peace or more violence, its people have embraced the chance to join fellow Africans who are increasingly finding their voices through the ballot box. Full article
Maoist guerrillas and tribal rebels threaten India's industrial boom
Source: The Guardian
An armed group of left-wing guerrillas who see industrialisation as an unwanted intrusion hold sway over a vast area of India . Full article
Source: The Guardian
An armed group of left-wing guerrillas who see industrialisation as an unwanted intrusion hold sway over a vast area of India . Full article
Did Israel really need to savage the beauty of Beirut?
Source: USA Today
Until recently, Israel faced hostility in Lebanon mainly from the Shi'ites, who suffered most from Israel's lengthy occupation of the south. Now it is stirring the enmity of countless other Lebanese, writes George E. Bisharat, professor at Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco. Full article
Source: USA Today
Until recently, Israel faced hostility in Lebanon mainly from the Shi'ites, who suffered most from Israel's lengthy occupation of the south. Now it is stirring the enmity of countless other Lebanese, writes George E. Bisharat, professor at Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco. Full article
Pakistan turns to its people, not aid groups, in disaster relief
Source: Christian Science Monitor
Rebuilding in post-quake Pakistan has begun at an admirable pace, thanks to a government strategy of paying survivors to do the work themselves. Full article
Source: Christian Science Monitor
Rebuilding in post-quake Pakistan has begun at an admirable pace, thanks to a government strategy of paying survivors to do the work themselves. Full article
A scramble in India to limit polio
Source: International Herald Tribune
India could reinfect the rest of the world with polio if a new outbreak is not brought under control rapidly, warns the head of the World Health Organization's polio eradication team. Full article
Source: International Herald Tribune
India could reinfect the rest of the world with polio if a new outbreak is not brought under control rapidly, warns the head of the World Health Organization's polio eradication team. Full article
The real problem is getting to a solution
Source: Daily Star (Lebanon)
The paradox of the violence in Israel, Gaza, and Lebanon is that a majority of Israelis and Palestinians favour a two-state solution. The problem lies with powerful and often violent minorities that don't agree, writes Jeffrey Sachs, professor of economics at Columbia University. Full article
Source: Daily Star (Lebanon)
The paradox of the violence in Israel, Gaza, and Lebanon is that a majority of Israelis and Palestinians favour a two-state solution. The problem lies with powerful and often violent minorities that don't agree, writes Jeffrey Sachs, professor of economics at Columbia University. Full article
Poverty-stricken Rwanda puts its faith and future into the wide wired world
Source: The Guardian
More "mobile in every pocket" than "chicken in every pot", Rwanda's Vision 2020 project aims to transform its depressed agricultural economy into one driven by communications and technology. Full article
Source: The Guardian
More "mobile in every pocket" than "chicken in every pot", Rwanda's Vision 2020 project aims to transform its depressed agricultural economy into one driven by communications and technology. Full article
The real problem is getting to a solution
Source: Daily Star (Lebanon)
The paradox of the violence in Israel, Gaza, and Lebanon is that a majority of Israelis and Palestinians favour a two-state solution. The problem lies with powerful and often violent minorities that don't agree, writes Jeffrey Sachs, professor of economics at Columbia University. Full article
Source: Daily Star (Lebanon)
The paradox of the violence in Israel, Gaza, and Lebanon is that a majority of Israelis and Palestinians favour a two-state solution. The problem lies with powerful and often violent minorities that don't agree, writes Jeffrey Sachs, professor of economics at Columbia University. Full article
Have you thought of Darfur lately?
Source: Washington Times
Is there nothing meaningful the United States can do about the situation in Darfur? Full article
Source: Washington Times
Is there nothing meaningful the United States can do about the situation in Darfur? Full article
A small charity takes lead in fighting a disease
Source: New York Times
A drug that could have cured black fever through cheap injections was identified decades ago, but died in the research pipeline because it wasn't profitable. Now a small charity is on the verge of getting the drug approved by the Indian government. Full article
Source: New York Times
A drug that could have cured black fever through cheap injections was identified decades ago, but died in the research pipeline because it wasn't profitable. Now a small charity is on the verge of getting the drug approved by the Indian government. Full article
This time, let there be more than promises
Source: Miami Herald
Foreign donors have pledged $750 million in aid to Haiti, well above the $500 million the country had requested to jump start its economy. It's a cause for optimism but we should hold the applause, says this newspaper. Full article
Source: Miami Herald
Foreign donors have pledged $750 million in aid to Haiti, well above the $500 million the country had requested to jump start its economy. It's a cause for optimism but we should hold the applause, says this newspaper. Full article
Chaos in Congo still taking toll on children
Source: New York Times on International Herald Tribune
Children in Congo die from the same diseases that needlessly kill children all over Africa, such as malaria, diarrhoea and measles, but on a vast and cataclysmic scale. Full article
Source: New York Times on International Herald Tribune
Children in Congo die from the same diseases that needlessly kill children all over Africa, such as malaria, diarrhoea and measles, but on a vast and cataclysmic scale. Full article
Lebanon: Room for diplomacy
Source: Boston Globe on International Herald Tribune
An outcome that benefits moderates could still be achieved but this will require imaginative, energetic and sustained diplomacy, led by the United States, writes Democrat Joseph Biden Jr. Full article
Source: Boston Globe on International Herald Tribune
An outcome that benefits moderates could still be achieved but this will require imaginative, energetic and sustained diplomacy, led by the United States, writes Democrat Joseph Biden Jr. Full article
Afghanistan in Africa
Source: LA Times
While the world's attention is focused on conflict in the Middle East, Somalia may be collapsing into a terrorist haven comparable to Afghanistan under the Taliban, says this editorial. Full article
Source: LA Times
While the world's attention is focused on conflict in the Middle East, Somalia may be collapsing into a terrorist haven comparable to Afghanistan under the Taliban, says this editorial. Full article
A continent-sized vote
Source: Washington Post
Many in Congo suspect that the international community is using historic elections to ratify the rule of the current president, Joseph Kabila. In fact, most diplomats see little alternative. Full article
Source: Washington Post
Many in Congo suspect that the international community is using historic elections to ratify the rule of the current president, Joseph Kabila. In fact, most diplomats see little alternative. Full article
The list: The world’s forgotten territorial disputes
Source: Foreign Policy
Foreign Policy takes a look at some of the border conflicts the world has forgotten about. Full article
Source: Foreign Policy
Foreign Policy takes a look at some of the border conflicts the world has forgotten about. Full article
Rough beast?
Source: Newsweek
Humanitarian intervention succeeds only when circumstances are right, says Michael Meyer, who served for two years with the United Nations mission in Kosovo. Full article
Source: Newsweek
Humanitarian intervention succeeds only when circumstances are right, says Michael Meyer, who served for two years with the United Nations mission in Kosovo. Full article
Israel has a long history of abusing the United Nations
Source: Daily Star (Lebanon)
Last week's Israeli attack on U.N. observers in Lebanon was just the latest in a long line of incidents that have poisoned relations between Israel and the United Nations since the beginning of their relationship. Full article
Source: Daily Star (Lebanon)
Last week's Israeli attack on U.N. observers in Lebanon was just the latest in a long line of incidents that have poisoned relations between Israel and the United Nations since the beginning of their relationship. Full article
Brutal peacekeepers: Congo's election, the UN's massacre
Source: New York Times on International Herald Tribune
In eastern Congo many people would have been unable to vote because of violence that the U.N. has not only failed to stop but has even been party to, the newspaper says. Full article
Source: New York Times on International Herald Tribune
In eastern Congo many people would have been unable to vote because of violence that the U.N. has not only failed to stop but has even been party to, the newspaper says. Full article
One new light in Liberia, an inch back from abyss
Source: One new light in Liberia, an inch back from abyss
For more than 14 years, Liberia has lived in darkness, litterally and figuratively. Full article
Source: One new light in Liberia, an inch back from abyss
For more than 14 years, Liberia has lived in darkness, litterally and figuratively. Full article
Partying in Israel's war zone
Source: Spiegel Online
Hundreds of thousands who have fled northern Israel are now living in tents along the coast in an almost holiday-like atmosphere. Full article
Source: Spiegel Online
Hundreds of thousands who have fled northern Israel are now living in tents along the coast in an almost holiday-like atmosphere. Full article
Africa's health shortage
Source: Boston Globe on International Herald Tribune
Providing AIDS drugs is a great step forward, but industrialised countries will fail to address the pandemic fully if they don't help Africa build a stronger corps of trained health workers. Full article
Source: Boston Globe on International Herald Tribune
Providing AIDS drugs is a great step forward, but industrialised countries will fail to address the pandemic fully if they don't help Africa build a stronger corps of trained health workers. Full article
Aid groups are criticized over tsunami reconstruction
Source: New York Times
In tsunami-affected areas in Aceh, there is a veil of disenchantment with international aid agencies, due to the feeling that extravagant promises backed by unprecedented global donations have yet to materialise. Full article
Source: New York Times
In tsunami-affected areas in Aceh, there is a veil of disenchantment with international aid agencies, due to the feeling that extravagant promises backed by unprecedented global donations have yet to materialise. Full article
Israel is within its rights
Source: Washington Post
Israel's conduct in Lebanon has been fully compliant with the applicable norms of international law, say David Rivkin and Lee Casey, Washington lawyers who served in the Justice Department under presidents Ronald Reagan and George Bush senior. Full article
Source: Washington Post
Israel's conduct in Lebanon has been fully compliant with the applicable norms of international law, say David Rivkin and Lee Casey, Washington lawyers who served in the Justice Department under presidents Ronald Reagan and George Bush senior. Full article
Democracy versus chaos in Congo
Source: Spiegel Online
If Congo can pull off Sunday's election successfully, it would be an enormous step forward for this troubled country. Full article
Source: Spiegel Online
If Congo can pull off Sunday's election successfully, it would be an enormous step forward for this troubled country. Full article
In Sudan and Congo, Rwanda's ugly legacy
Source: New York Times on International Herald Tribune
Darfur holds the world's gaze because of the magic word 'genocide'. In contrast to Darfur's apparent moral clarity, the conflict in Congo offers a mind- numbing collection of combatants known by a jumble of acronyms. Full article
Source: New York Times on International Herald Tribune
Darfur holds the world's gaze because of the magic word 'genocide'. In contrast to Darfur's apparent moral clarity, the conflict in Congo offers a mind- numbing collection of combatants known by a jumble of acronyms. Full article
Shattered country on the cusp of a brighter future - or return to chaos
Source: The Guardian
For a country with an unelected hereditary leader, there's a blunt irony in calling itself the Democratic Republic of Congo. This vast swath of central Africa is many things - a failed state, a humanitarian crisis, a natural resource bounty - but a representative democracy it is not. Full article
Source: The Guardian
For a country with an unelected hereditary leader, there's a blunt irony in calling itself the Democratic Republic of Congo. This vast swath of central Africa is many things - a failed state, a humanitarian crisis, a natural resource bounty - but a representative democracy it is not. Full article
World must not turn away from Darfur's desperation
Source: Chicago Tribune
Mia Farrow, actress and UNICEF goodwill ambassador, makes a plea to the international community not "to let genocide take its course" in Darfur. Full article
Source: Chicago Tribune
Mia Farrow, actress and UNICEF goodwill ambassador, makes a plea to the international community not "to let genocide take its course" in Darfur. Full article
6 keys to peace
Source: Time
This analysis from Time magazine sets out six crucial steps that need to be taken to bring peace and stability to the Middle East. Full article
Source: Time
This analysis from Time magazine sets out six crucial steps that need to be taken to bring peace and stability to the Middle East. Full article
Congo’s abandoned miners
Source: Le Monde Diplomatique
The European Union's willingness to send troops to oversee Congo's coming election is an indication of the value the world puts on the country's mineral resources, which have been the object of international looting. Full article
Source: Le Monde Diplomatique
The European Union's willingness to send troops to oversee Congo's coming election is an indication of the value the world puts on the country's mineral resources, which have been the object of international looting. Full article
'Civilians bearing brunt of conflict'
Source: Al-jazeera.net
Nadia Doumani, Middle East spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross, tells Aljazeera that, according to international humanitarian law, the blockade imposed on Lebanon must not prevent food and other essential supplies from reaching the civilian population. Full article
Source: Al-jazeera.net
Nadia Doumani, Middle East spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross, tells Aljazeera that, according to international humanitarian law, the blockade imposed on Lebanon must not prevent food and other essential supplies from reaching the civilian population. Full article
Wave of kidnappings leaves Haiti shaken
Source: Miami Herald
A new rash of kidnappings in Haiti has raised fears that well-armed, politically aligned street gangs are seeking to destabilise the new government, while others argue their activities are mainly criminal. Full article
Source: Miami Herald
A new rash of kidnappings in Haiti has raised fears that well-armed, politically aligned street gangs are seeking to destabilise the new government, while others argue their activities are mainly criminal. Full article
Losing ground in Afghanistan
Source: New York Times on International Herald Tribune
Building a stable Afghanistan that can stand up to the Taliban once Western soldiers leave will take many years, many billions of dollars and more foreign troops for longer than most Western governments are now prepared to contemplate. Full article
Source: New York Times on International Herald Tribune
Building a stable Afghanistan that can stand up to the Taliban once Western soldiers leave will take many years, many billions of dollars and more foreign troops for longer than most Western governments are now prepared to contemplate. Full article
Quest for the Cure
Source: Foreign Policy
More than a third of the world’s population doesn’t have access to essential medications, with greedy drugs companies, government bureaucracies and apathy all getting in the way. But some frustrated scientists are now finding ways to buck the system. Full article
Source: Foreign Policy
More than a third of the world’s population doesn’t have access to essential medications, with greedy drugs companies, government bureaucracies and apathy all getting in the way. But some frustrated scientists are now finding ways to buck the system. Full article
Lebanon: The other Palestinians
Source: Le Monde Diplomatique
As the world focuses on the crisis in Lebanon and Gaza, which risks turning into a regional conflict, it is time to listen to the Palestinians in Lebanon, in particular those still living in refugee camps. Full article
Source: Le Monde Diplomatique
As the world focuses on the crisis in Lebanon and Gaza, which risks turning into a regional conflict, it is time to listen to the Palestinians in Lebanon, in particular those still living in refugee camps. Full article
Lebanon and Israel: The war from where I stand
Source: International Herald Tribune
While ultimately it is the United States that must broker the final deal, there is a role for Germany, a country with a special relationship with Israel and which has also maintained close and friendly relations throughout the Middle East, says Margarita Mathiopoulos, professor of U.S. foreign policy at the University of Potsdam. Full article
Source: International Herald Tribune
While ultimately it is the United States that must broker the final deal, there is a role for Germany, a country with a special relationship with Israel and which has also maintained close and friendly relations throughout the Middle East, says Margarita Mathiopoulos, professor of U.S. foreign policy at the University of Potsdam. Full article
Tsunami responders primed by recent calamities
Source: Christian Science Monitor
Survivors of the Java tsunami are getting enough aid, at least in the emergency's initial stages, according to relief groups. Full article
Source: Christian Science Monitor
Survivors of the Java tsunami are getting enough aid, at least in the emergency's initial stages, according to relief groups. Full article
Big changes in poor villages
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer
This newspaper visits a Millennium Village in Malawi, a brainchild of Jeffrey Sachs, whose model is simple: Ensure that people are nourished and healthy, upgrade their children's education, get full participation by women and girls, and help some people switch to better jobs than subsistence farming. Funds are coming from philanthropists, foundations, corporations and Japan. Full article
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer
This newspaper visits a Millennium Village in Malawi, a brainchild of Jeffrey Sachs, whose model is simple: Ensure that people are nourished and healthy, upgrade their children's education, get full participation by women and girls, and help some people switch to better jobs than subsistence farming. Funds are coming from philanthropists, foundations, corporations and Japan. Full article
The man who tracked Cambodia's war crimes
Source: Christian Science Monitor
The Monitor profiles a man whose extensive research helped bring Khmer Rouge leaders to court. Full article
Source: Christian Science Monitor
The Monitor profiles a man whose extensive research helped bring Khmer Rouge leaders to court. Full article
Sidon overflows with desperate evacuees
Source: Daily Star (Lebanon)
The Lebanese town of Sidon is now home to 35,000 refugees, with more displaced and wounded pouring in as medical stocks run low. Full article
Source: Daily Star (Lebanon)
The Lebanese town of Sidon is now home to 35,000 refugees, with more displaced and wounded pouring in as medical stocks run low. Full article
With supplies already low, evacuees settled outside Jbeil hope to wait it out
Source: Daily Star (Lebanon)
Civil society groups in the Lebanese town of Jbeil are struggling to confront a growing humanitarian disaster with limited resources. Full article
Source: Daily Star (Lebanon)
Civil society groups in the Lebanese town of Jbeil are struggling to confront a growing humanitarian disaster with limited resources. Full article
Lebanon needs more than a ceasefire
Source: New York Times on International Herald Tribune
Ending the conflict requires not only a ceasefire and peacekeepers, but a guarantee that Hizbollah will halt its attacks on Israel permanently and disband its militia, says this editorial. Full article
Source: New York Times on International Herald Tribune
Ending the conflict requires not only a ceasefire and peacekeepers, but a guarantee that Hizbollah will halt its attacks on Israel permanently and disband its militia, says this editorial. Full article
The road to Damascus is paved with risk
Source: Daily Star (Lebanon)
"You need a lot of everything if you are heading to or from Syria," was one taxi driver's advice to the tens of thousands of evacuees of various nationalities clogging the Lebanese-Syrian border. Full article
Source: Daily Star (Lebanon)
"You need a lot of everything if you are heading to or from Syria," was one taxi driver's advice to the tens of thousands of evacuees of various nationalities clogging the Lebanese-Syrian border. Full article
Desolation won't bring any peace
Source: Daily Star (Lebanon)
Unable to see its enemy clearly, the Israeli armed forces are flattening, quite literally, a wide swathe of southern Lebanon. Full article
Source: Daily Star (Lebanon)
Unable to see its enemy clearly, the Israeli armed forces are flattening, quite literally, a wide swathe of southern Lebanon. Full article
City attacked for first time as refugees flood in from south
Source: The Guardian
Sidon is only one face of the mounting humanitarian crisis across Lebanon: electricity is cut because of fuel rationing, vegetable markets open for several hours before supplies run out, and hospitals are running short of medicines for chronic diseases. Full article
Source: The Guardian
Sidon is only one face of the mounting humanitarian crisis across Lebanon: electricity is cut because of fuel rationing, vegetable markets open for several hours before supplies run out, and hospitals are running short of medicines for chronic diseases. Full article
To flee or to stay? Family chooses too late and pays dearly
Source: New York Times
One family who held out for days in their village of Tireh in southern Lebanon, terrified of what might happen if they left, finally headed north, but became another casualty of Israeli bombing within minutes. Full article
Source: New York Times
One family who held out for days in their village of Tireh in southern Lebanon, terrified of what might happen if they left, finally headed north, but became another casualty of Israeli bombing within minutes. Full article
Fleeing for their lives into the grim unknown
Source: LA Times
In the Lebanese town of Tyre, civil structures appear to have broken down almost completely. Ambulances can't operate, the dead are rotting in the rubble of smashed homes, and food and clean drinking water are running out. Full article
Source: LA Times
In the Lebanese town of Tyre, civil structures appear to have broken down almost completely. Ambulances can't operate, the dead are rotting in the rubble of smashed homes, and food and clean drinking water are running out. Full article
At Lebanon port, war’s displaced wait for boat that doesn’t come
Source: New York Times
Tyre, a Lebanese seaside town in the thick of the combat zone, has become the port of last hope for those fleeing the conflict. Full article
Source: New York Times
Tyre, a Lebanese seaside town in the thick of the combat zone, has become the port of last hope for those fleeing the conflict. Full article
Dazed refugees flood Beirut
Source: LA Times
Tens of thousands of Israelis also have fled their homes, to escape Hizbollah rocket attacks, but they haven't suffered the food, water and medical shortages facing Lebanese refugees. Full article
Source: LA Times
Tens of thousands of Israelis also have fled their homes, to escape Hizbollah rocket attacks, but they haven't suffered the food, water and medical shortages facing Lebanese refugees. Full article
An unsatisfying G-8 summit
Source: LA Times
The world's poor come away disappointed from yet another G8 summit. Full article
Source: LA Times
The world's poor come away disappointed from yet another G8 summit. Full article
Uganda: Unexplored options in northern conflict
Source: New Vision (Kampala) on www.allafrica.com
As Ugandan government representatives and rebel leaders meet in south Sudan in an historic effort to bring an end to the 20-year-old conflict in northern Uganda, let's hope they're thinking about the potential for using traditional justice mechanisms, write Erin Baines and Boniface Ojok, researchers with the Justice and Reconciliation Project in Uganda. Full article
Source: New Vision (Kampala) on www.allafrica.com
As Ugandan government representatives and rebel leaders meet in south Sudan in an historic effort to bring an end to the 20-year-old conflict in northern Uganda, let's hope they're thinking about the potential for using traditional justice mechanisms, write Erin Baines and Boniface Ojok, researchers with the Justice and Reconciliation Project in Uganda. Full article
Nigeria: Africa's oil, minerals and conflicts
Source: Daily Champion (Lagos) on www.allafrica.com
With all its riches, Africa should be one of the most developed continents in the world and instead it's the one most marred by conflicts and contradictions. Full article
Source: Daily Champion (Lagos) on www.allafrica.com
With all its riches, Africa should be one of the most developed continents in the world and instead it's the one most marred by conflicts and contradictions. Full article
Uganda: Aid - the 'tsunami' wrecking Africa
Source: The Monitor (Kampala) on www.allafrica.com
The British government has just announced further aid cuts for Uganda. James Shikwati, director of the Inter Region Economic Network and a top critic of foreign aid, argues in this interview that Britain and the rest of the international community should cut aid altogether. Full article
Source: The Monitor (Kampala) on www.allafrica.com
The British government has just announced further aid cuts for Uganda. James Shikwati, director of the Inter Region Economic Network and a top critic of foreign aid, argues in this interview that Britain and the rest of the international community should cut aid altogether. Full article
Israel must beware the cost
Source: The Age
Both in Lebannon and in Gaza, it is not Israel's right to protect its civilian population from terrorist aggression that is at issue, but the way Israel goes about exercising that right, says Henry Siegman, senior fellow on the Middle East at the Council on Foreign Relations. Full article
Source: The Age
Both in Lebannon and in Gaza, it is not Israel's right to protect its civilian population from terrorist aggression that is at issue, but the way Israel goes about exercising that right, says Henry Siegman, senior fellow on the Middle East at the Council on Foreign Relations. Full article
Massacre of Haiti innocents
Source: The Observer
'It's very difficult to nail down the motives behind actions in Haiti and there's often a mix of political, economic and territorial motives at play', says Desmond Molloy, who heads the U.N.disarmament, demobilisation and re-integration programme in the country, commenting on a massacre of civilians by unknown gunmen. Full article
Source: The Observer
'It's very difficult to nail down the motives behind actions in Haiti and there's often a mix of political, economic and territorial motives at play', says Desmond Molloy, who heads the U.N.disarmament, demobilisation and re-integration programme in the country, commenting on a massacre of civilians by unknown gunmen. Full article
Diplomacy's turn in Lebanon
Source: New York Times
Stopping the fighting in the Middle East won’t be easy, but the dangers of escalation are too great to permit the major powers or anxious Arab leaders to turn away, says this editorial. Full article
Source: New York Times
Stopping the fighting in the Middle East won’t be easy, but the dangers of escalation are too great to permit the major powers or anxious Arab leaders to turn away, says this editorial. Full article
Symbolic slugfest wins Israel nothing
Source: Spiegel Online
Peter Eigen, Africa expert and founder of Transparency International, discusses the G8's unfulfilled promises to eradicate poverty in Africa and talks about his personal, decades-long battle against corruption. Full article
Source: Spiegel Online
Peter Eigen, Africa expert and founder of Transparency International, discusses the G8's unfulfilled promises to eradicate poverty in Africa and talks about his personal, decades-long battle against corruption. Full article
Kosovo tensions rise as pressure increases
Source: Christian Science Monitor
Kosovo Albanian and Serb officials are due to meet for talks about Kosovo's final status, but the process is further complicated by the West's insistance on reaching a solution by the end of the year and Russia's concern that an independent Kosovo could set an unwelcome precedent for its own breakaway republics. Full article
Source: Christian Science Monitor
Kosovo Albanian and Serb officials are due to meet for talks about Kosovo's final status, but the process is further complicated by the West's insistance on reaching a solution by the end of the year and Russia's concern that an independent Kosovo could set an unwelcome precedent for its own breakaway republics. Full article
Symbolic slugfest wins Israel nothing
Source: LA Times on Newsday
Israel is not solely to blame for the escalating violence, but as a sovereign state with a major army, it has to be the most responsible party, writes David N. Myers, professor in Jewish history at the University of California Los Angeles. Full article
Source: LA Times on Newsday
Israel is not solely to blame for the escalating violence, but as a sovereign state with a major army, it has to be the most responsible party, writes David N. Myers, professor in Jewish history at the University of California Los Angeles. Full article
Response and responsibility
Source: LA Times
Responsibility for the escalating carnage in Lebanon and northern Israel lies with one side only and that is Islamist militant party Hizbollah, along with its Syrian and Iranian backers, says this editorial. Full article
Source: LA Times
Responsibility for the escalating carnage in Lebanon and northern Israel lies with one side only and that is Islamist militant party Hizbollah, along with its Syrian and Iranian backers, says this editorial. Full article
Sparks flying along the pipeline
Source: Spiegel Online
The sparks flying between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh could easily turn into a full-blown conflagration along the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, a new billion-dollar conduit for Caspian oil. Full article
Source: Spiegel Online
The sparks flying between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh could easily turn into a full-blown conflagration along the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, a new billion-dollar conduit for Caspian oil. Full article
A rocky road to post-conflict democracy
Source: Daily Yomiuri
The United Nations should focus on institution-building in post-conflict situations, not simply holding elections. But the problem is that while holding an election is an event that organisers can paint as a "success" and leave, establishing deep-rooted rule of law is a slow process that doesn't lend itself easily to instant celebrations and photo ops, say Ramesh Thakur, senior vice rector of the U.N. University in Tokyo and William Maley, author of "Rescuing Afghanistan". Full article
Source: Daily Yomiuri
The United Nations should focus on institution-building in post-conflict situations, not simply holding elections. But the problem is that while holding an election is an event that organisers can paint as a "success" and leave, establishing deep-rooted rule of law is a slow process that doesn't lend itself easily to instant celebrations and photo ops, say Ramesh Thakur, senior vice rector of the U.N. University in Tokyo and William Maley, author of "Rescuing Afghanistan". Full article
After Mumbai
Source: Boston Globe on International Herald Tribune
If Al Qaeda turns out to be behind the Mumbai bombs, it should prompt both India and Pakistan to try and resolve their 60-year quarrel. Full article
Source: Boston Globe on International Herald Tribune
If Al Qaeda turns out to be behind the Mumbai bombs, it should prompt both India and Pakistan to try and resolve their 60-year quarrel. Full article
Trial over massacre at Srebrenica begins
Source: New York Times on International Herald Tribune
If the trial of seven former Bosnian Serb officers for their role in the Srebrenica massacre reaches a verdict, it would be the most far-reaching judgment yet involving Srebrenica. The only thing that could top it would be if General Ratko Mladic and political leader Radovan Karadzic - fugitives from charges of masterminding the massacre - were delivered to the court. Full article
Source: New York Times on International Herald Tribune
If the trial of seven former Bosnian Serb officers for their role in the Srebrenica massacre reaches a verdict, it would be the most far-reaching judgment yet involving Srebrenica. The only thing that could top it would be if General Ratko Mladic and political leader Radovan Karadzic - fugitives from charges of masterminding the massacre - were delivered to the court. Full article
The way in - and out - of Israel's wars
Source: Christian Science Monitor
Often it's difficult to sort out who started what in a Middle East conflict, but that's not the case this time: militant Islamists like Hamas in the Gaza strip and Hizbullah in Lebanon provoked this by incursions into Israel. Full article
Source: Christian Science Monitor
Often it's difficult to sort out who started what in a Middle East conflict, but that's not the case this time: militant Islamists like Hamas in the Gaza strip and Hizbullah in Lebanon provoked this by incursions into Israel. Full article
Only sanctions will stop this brutal campaign
Source: The Guardian
The world is watching, and we are all made complicit by the failure of our governments to end Palestinian anguish, says fiction author Ahdaf Soueif, whose latest book is "Mezzaterra: Fragments from the Common Ground". Full article
Source: The Guardian
The world is watching, and we are all made complicit by the failure of our governments to end Palestinian anguish, says fiction author Ahdaf Soueif, whose latest book is "Mezzaterra: Fragments from the Common Ground". Full article
Darfur security in freefall: Humanitarian collapse may occur any moment
Source: Sudan Tribune
As the rainy season deepens in Darfur and eastern Chad, it's making already difficult relief logistics even harder, and massive human suffering on an unprecedented scale is impending throughout Darfur, says Eric Reeves of Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, who has worked on Sudan for the past seven years. Full article
Source: Sudan Tribune
As the rainy season deepens in Darfur and eastern Chad, it's making already difficult relief logistics even harder, and massive human suffering on an unprecedented scale is impending throughout Darfur, says Eric Reeves of Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, who has worked on Sudan for the past seven years. Full article
Will UN involvement help peace process?
Source: Inter Press Service
It's striking that some in Nepal seem to believe the United Nations will help solve the country's 11-year-old conflict in order to help create a democratic state, considering the United Nations is nowhere near being involved. Even if it was, U.N. failures in places like Rwanda, the Balkans and Cambodia don't bode well any role it might play in Nepal. Full article
Source: Inter Press Service
It's striking that some in Nepal seem to believe the United Nations will help solve the country's 11-year-old conflict in order to help create a democratic state, considering the United Nations is nowhere near being involved. Even if it was, U.N. failures in places like Rwanda, the Balkans and Cambodia don't bode well any role it might play in Nepal. Full article
U.N. presence crucial to keep East Timor peace
Source: Asahi Herald
Tasks for the United Nations in East Timor include providing humanitarian aid for displaced people, helping establish the truth and deliver justice, assisting reforms to security agencies and supporting the electoral process, writes Sukehiro Hasegawa, the U.N. secretary-general's special representative for East Timor. Full article
Source: Asahi Herald
Tasks for the United Nations in East Timor include providing humanitarian aid for displaced people, helping establish the truth and deliver justice, assisting reforms to security agencies and supporting the electoral process, writes Sukehiro Hasegawa, the U.N. secretary-general's special representative for East Timor. Full article
Justice for Serbia
Source: Washington Post
The arguments Serbia gives against independence for Kosovo are irrefutable from the point of view of international law and are based on the fundamental pillars of international order: the U.N. Charter, the Helsinki Final Act and U.N. Security Council resolutions, writes Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica. Full article
Source: Washington Post
The arguments Serbia gives against independence for Kosovo are irrefutable from the point of view of international law and are based on the fundamental pillars of international order: the U.N. Charter, the Helsinki Final Act and U.N. Security Council resolutions, writes Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica. Full article
The bride price
Source: New York Times
About one in seven girls in the developing world gets married before her 15th birthday, according to analyses done by the Population Council, an international research group. Full article
Source: New York Times
About one in seven girls in the developing world gets married before her 15th birthday, according to analyses done by the Population Council, an international research group. Full article
The butcher of Beslan
Source: International Herald Tribune
The lull in the Russian-Chechen conflict following the death of Shamil Basayev, the self-styled Chechen leader accused of the Beslan school massacre and other murderous acts, should be seized on by the Russians as a new chance for peace talks with the Chechen separatists. Full article
Source: International Herald Tribune
The lull in the Russian-Chechen conflict following the death of Shamil Basayev, the self-styled Chechen leader accused of the Beslan school massacre and other murderous acts, should be seized on by the Russians as a new chance for peace talks with the Chechen separatists. Full article
Amid Somalia's troubles, Coca-Cola hangs on
Source: New York Times on International Herald Tribune
Coca-Cola's bottling plant in Somalia faces a much changed business environment, one fraught with both opportunity and peril. Islamic militias that took over the capital brought some stability to the city, which will mean lower security costs, but some imams have begun railing against Coke, calling it an un-Islamic beverage. Full article
Source: New York Times on International Herald Tribune
Coca-Cola's bottling plant in Somalia faces a much changed business environment, one fraught with both opportunity and peril. Islamic militias that took over the capital brought some stability to the city, which will mean lower security costs, but some imams have begun railing against Coke, calling it an un-Islamic beverage. Full article
Women rethink a big size that is beautiful but brutal
Source: Christian Science Monitor
In Mauritania, the traditional practice of force-feeding women is declining, but many still risk their health by using pills to gain much-prized weight. Full article
Source: Christian Science Monitor
In Mauritania, the traditional practice of force-feeding women is declining, but many still risk their health by using pills to gain much-prized weight. Full article
The killing fields
Source: International Herald Tribune
Given the history, it should not be surprising if victims of atrocities come to see international justice as an expensive exercise in allaying Western guilt for failing to act in time. Full article
Source: International Herald Tribune
Given the history, it should not be surprising if victims of atrocities come to see international justice as an expensive exercise in allaying Western guilt for failing to act in time. Full article
Russia and NGOs: A photo-op for Putin
Source: International Herald Tribune
Even though Russia's President Putin tried to paint a different picture, the new restrictive law on the work of NGOs in Russia allows for government interference that would be unthinkable in other G-8 countries, says Carroll Bogert, associate director of Human Rights Watch. Full article
Source: International Herald Tribune
Even though Russia's President Putin tried to paint a different picture, the new restrictive law on the work of NGOs in Russia allows for government interference that would be unthinkable in other G-8 countries, says Carroll Bogert, associate director of Human Rights Watch. Full article
Bosnia's leftover guns: Sell, give, destroy?
Source: Christian Science Monitor
The Bosnian and U.S. governments are discussing gifting a shipment of Bosnia's familiar Soviet-type weapons to Afghanistan but small arms experts would like to see Bosnia's weapons destroyed rather than exported. Full article
Source: Christian Science Monitor
The Bosnian and U.S. governments are discussing gifting a shipment of Bosnia's familiar Soviet-type weapons to Afghanistan but small arms experts would like to see Bosnia's weapons destroyed rather than exported. Full article
A resilient Bosnia makes up for lost time
Source: International Herald Tribune
A small but growing network of female entrepreneurs is helping Bosnia emerge from "the most devastating economic collapse of any economy in Central and Eastern Europe since World War II", according to the World Bank. Full article
Source: International Herald Tribune
A small but growing network of female entrepreneurs is helping Bosnia emerge from "the most devastating economic collapse of any economy in Central and Eastern Europe since World War II", according to the World Bank. Full article
A UN role in Timor Leste
Source: Boston Globe
The world community, including the U.S., moved on to the next failing state before East Timor had sufficient strength to stand on its own and that's one of the reasons the country spiralled into violence, write Jose Ramos Horta, East Timor's new prime minister and Raj Purohit of Citizens for Global Solutions. Full article
Source: Boston Globe
The world community, including the U.S., moved on to the next failing state before East Timor had sufficient strength to stand on its own and that's one of the reasons the country spiralled into violence, write Jose Ramos Horta, East Timor's new prime minister and Raj Purohit of Citizens for Global Solutions. Full article
Congo-Kinshasa: long march from plundering to peacekeeping
Source: Inter Press Service (Johannesburg) on www.allafrica.com
Diamonds, gold, cobalt, copper and many other minerals could make Democratic Republic of Congo one of the richest countries in Africa, but greed has turned it into a plundered graveyard. Full article
Source: Inter Press Service (Johannesburg) on www.allafrica.com
Diamonds, gold, cobalt, copper and many other minerals could make Democratic Republic of Congo one of the richest countries in Africa, but greed has turned it into a plundered graveyard. Full article
LRA victim: 'I cannot forget and forgive'
Source: BBC News Online
Lord's Resistance Army rebel leader Joseph Kony denies committing any atrocities, but this Ugandan man responds with the testimony of his own abduction and abuse at the hands of the rebels. Full article
Source: BBC News Online
Lord's Resistance Army rebel leader Joseph Kony denies committing any atrocities, but this Ugandan man responds with the testimony of his own abduction and abuse at the hands of the rebels. Full article
In Sri Lanka, families struggle to escape
Source: LA Times
As violence surges across Sri Lanka, the abductions and forced training of civilians are seen as a sign that insurgents are preparing for a possible return to war between rebels from the Tamil minority and the government dominated by the Sinhalese majority. Full article
Source: LA Times
As violence surges across Sri Lanka, the abductions and forced training of civilians are seen as a sign that insurgents are preparing for a possible return to war between rebels from the Tamil minority and the government dominated by the Sinhalese majority. Full article
Yahia's question: Who will protect Darfuris?
Source: International Herald Tribune
Darfur continues to burn, not just with bullets and bombs, but with the fervour of increasingly divided rebel groups and the men, women and children who have rallied to their cause, writes Ronan Farrow, a Yale Law School student just back from his second trip to Darfur as a UNICEF youth spokesman. Full article
Source: International Herald Tribune
Darfur continues to burn, not just with bullets and bombs, but with the fervour of increasingly divided rebel groups and the men, women and children who have rallied to their cause, writes Ronan Farrow, a Yale Law School student just back from his second trip to Darfur as a UNICEF youth spokesman. Full article
Srebenica Widows Sue UN, Dutch Government
Source: Spiegel Online
Why didn't the Dutch troops request back-up or air strikes against an overwhelmingly superior force of 15,000 Serbs in Srebrenica during the Bosnian war? This is one of the questions that will come up if a lawsuit against the United Nations and Dutch government is successful. Full article
Source: Spiegel Online
Why didn't the Dutch troops request back-up or air strikes against an overwhelmingly superior force of 15,000 Serbs in Srebrenica during the Bosnian war? This is one of the questions that will come up if a lawsuit against the United Nations and Dutch government is successful. Full article
Taming the Tamil Tigers
Source: LA Times
The Indian government should take a more active role in brokering peace in Sri Lanka, while the European Union must work for a return to the bargaining table. Full article
Source: LA Times
The Indian government should take a more active role in brokering peace in Sri Lanka, while the European Union must work for a return to the bargaining table. Full article
Aristide probe is at a standstill
Source: Miami Herald
A corruption investigation of former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide has become mired in Haiti's dysfunctional legal system, polarised politics and uncertainty over the willingness of newly elected President René Préval to pursue the case against his one-time mentor. Full article
Source: Miami Herald
A corruption investigation of former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide has become mired in Haiti's dysfunctional legal system, polarised politics and uncertainty over the willingness of newly elected President René Préval to pursue the case against his one-time mentor. Full article
Drug probe targets Aristide
Source: Miami Herald
Former Haitian president Jean-Bertrand Aristide has been accused of taking millions of dollars in bribes from drug traffickers, but documentary evidence remains elusive. Full article
Source: Miami Herald
Former Haitian president Jean-Bertrand Aristide has been accused of taking millions of dollars in bribes from drug traffickers, but documentary evidence remains elusive. Full article
It's not just G8 who need a 'report card'
Source: The Daily Telegraph
Campaigners and the aid sector that promised to make poverty history should be held to scrutiny as well as governments, writes Kurt Hoffman, director of the Shell Foundation. Full article
Source: The Daily Telegraph
Campaigners and the aid sector that promised to make poverty history should be held to scrutiny as well as governments, writes Kurt Hoffman, director of the Shell Foundation. Full article
It's not just G8 who need a 'report card'
Source: The Daily Telegraph
Campaigners and the aid sector that promised to make poverty history should be held to scrutiny as well as governments, writes Kurt Hoffman, director of the Shell Foundation. Full article
Source: The Daily Telegraph
Campaigners and the aid sector that promised to make poverty history should be held to scrutiny as well as governments, writes Kurt Hoffman, director of the Shell Foundation. Full article
Backtracking in Darfur
Source: Washington Post
If Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir's complete refusal to accept any international military intervention in Darfur is not enough to solidify diplomatic efforts to isolate his regime, it's hard to know what would be, says this commentary. Full article
Source: Washington Post
If Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir's complete refusal to accept any international military intervention in Darfur is not enough to solidify diplomatic efforts to isolate his regime, it's hard to know what would be, says this commentary. Full article
Sri Lanka's uncivil war
Source: Boston Globe on International Herald Tribune
In Sri Lanka, the memory of old atrocities both by the government forces and Tamil Tiger rebels seems to overwhelm a recognition of the need to accept compromises for the sake of peace. Full article
Source: Boston Globe on International Herald Tribune
In Sri Lanka, the memory of old atrocities both by the government forces and Tamil Tiger rebels seems to overwhelm a recognition of the need to accept compromises for the sake of peace. Full article
Africa: Better off without us?
Source: New Statesman
Parts of Africa are making good progress, but it's no thanks to Western aid and debt relief, which often prop up the wrong kind of leader. Full article
Source: New Statesman
Parts of Africa are making good progress, but it's no thanks to Western aid and debt relief, which often prop up the wrong kind of leader. Full article
How to meet the Somalia challenge
Source: Christian Science Monitor
If the international community wants to help Somalia, it should stem arms trafficking into the country, call in the African Union or U.N. forces to protect humanitarian aid deliveries and lend political support to the transitional regime, writes John K. Cooley, author of "Baal, Christ and Mohammed, Religion and Revolution in North Africa." Full article
Source: Christian Science Monitor
If the international community wants to help Somalia, it should stem arms trafficking into the country, call in the African Union or U.N. forces to protect humanitarian aid deliveries and lend political support to the transitional regime, writes John K. Cooley, author of "Baal, Christ and Mohammed, Religion and Revolution in North Africa." Full article
East Timor reveals sobering truths
Source: Financial Times on Toronto Star
Two lessons to be learned from East Timor are that the international community shouldn't abandon newly-formed countries too soon and more attention should be focused on establishing a neutral police force and independent judiciary. Full article
Source: Financial Times on Toronto Star
Two lessons to be learned from East Timor are that the international community shouldn't abandon newly-formed countries too soon and more attention should be focused on establishing a neutral police force and independent judiciary. Full article
Abkhazia: A promising pariah on the Black Sea
Source: International Herald Tribune
Many citizens of Abkhazia - who regard it as a historically independent state - are inspired by the civilised divorce of Serbia and Montenegro and hopeful they will follow the same path with Georgia, writes Viktor Erofeyev, fiction author of "Life With An Idiot" and "Russian Beauty: a Novel." Full article
Source: International Herald Tribune
Many citizens of Abkhazia - who regard it as a historically independent state - are inspired by the civilised divorce of Serbia and Montenegro and hopeful they will follow the same path with Georgia, writes Viktor Erofeyev, fiction author of "Life With An Idiot" and "Russian Beauty: a Novel." Full article
Business joins African effort to cut malaria
Source: New York Times
When Billiton, one of the world's biggest aluminum producers, realised it was losing its employees in Mozambique to malaria, it decided to join forces with the governments of three countries and with other businesses for a systematic anti-malaria campaign across a broad region. Six years on, malaria is losing the battle. Full article
Source: New York Times
When Billiton, one of the world's biggest aluminum producers, realised it was losing its employees in Mozambique to malaria, it decided to join forces with the governments of three countries and with other businesses for a systematic anti-malaria campaign across a broad region. Six years on, malaria is losing the battle. Full article
I will use the Ten Commandments to liberate Uganda
Source: The Times
A Times correspondent ventures deep into the jungle for a rare interview with Ugandan rebel leader Joseph Kony and challenges him on the massacres, mutilations and mystical spirits that have made him Africa’s most wanted man. Full article
Source: The Times
A Times correspondent ventures deep into the jungle for a rare interview with Ugandan rebel leader Joseph Kony and challenges him on the massacres, mutilations and mystical spirits that have made him Africa’s most wanted man. Full article
Push for new tactics as war on malaria falters
Source: New York Times
Why do 800,000 young African children still die of malaria every year - more than from any other disease - when medicines can cure it for $0.55 a dose, mosquito nets would cost $1 a year per child, and indoor insecticide spraying costs about $10 annually for a household? Full article
Source: New York Times
Why do 800,000 young African children still die of malaria every year - more than from any other disease - when medicines can cure it for $0.55 a dose, mosquito nets would cost $1 a year per child, and indoor insecticide spraying costs about $10 annually for a household? Full article
Africa finds a new band-aid
Source: New Zealand Herald
Africa won't be saved by rock stars but rather Asia's appetite for raw materials. Full article
Source: New Zealand Herald
Africa won't be saved by rock stars but rather Asia's appetite for raw materials. Full article
Dangers in Dili
Source: The Guardian
Australia deserves credit for helping restore order in East Timor, but there's more than altruism at work - Canberra and Dili are to develop potentially lucrative oil and gas reserves in the tiny nation. Full article
Source: The Guardian
Australia deserves credit for helping restore order in East Timor, but there's more than altruism at work - Canberra and Dili are to develop potentially lucrative oil and gas reserves in the tiny nation. Full article
Demystifying Kony
Source: Institute for War & Peace Reporting (London) on www.allafrica.com
Following a recent interview with Ugandan rebel leader Joseph Kony, an image is emerging of a more conventional rebel leader than the man described by former followers as a prophet who talked to angels. Full article
Source: Institute for War & Peace Reporting (London) on www.allafrica.com
Following a recent interview with Ugandan rebel leader Joseph Kony, an image is emerging of a more conventional rebel leader than the man described by former followers as a prophet who talked to angels. Full article
Congolese hopeful ahead of July 30 vote
Source: Christian Science Monitor
Congo's first free elections since independence in 1960 could face many hurdles in the coming month. Full article
Source: Christian Science Monitor
Congo's first free elections since independence in 1960 could face many hurdles in the coming month. Full article
A glimmer of light at last?
Source: The Economist
At 5 percent economic growth, is Africa - often dubbed the continent with no hope - finally taking off? Full article
Source: The Economist
At 5 percent economic growth, is Africa - often dubbed the continent with no hope - finally taking off? Full article
'Breathtaking' waste and fraud in hurricane aid
Source: New York Times
Hurricane Katrina produced one of the most extraordinary displays of scams, schemes and stupefying bureaucratic bungles in modern history, costing taxpayers in the United States up to $2 billion. Full article
Source: New York Times
Hurricane Katrina produced one of the most extraordinary displays of scams, schemes and stupefying bureaucratic bungles in modern history, costing taxpayers in the United States up to $2 billion. Full article
In Thailand, an insurgency rooted in ethnicity
Source: International Herald Tribune
Thailand has become accustomed to the daily violence that has claimed more than 1,300 lives over the past two years, a startling death toll for a country that is better known for its beaches. Full article
Source: International Herald Tribune
Thailand has become accustomed to the daily violence that has claimed more than 1,300 lives over the past two years, a startling death toll for a country that is better known for its beaches. Full article
Haiti makes best of a tenuous peace
Source: LA Times
The post-election peace that has been holding in Haiti is as orchestrated as the violence that preceded it, says Paul Denis of the Struggling People's Organisation, a Haitian rival to the president, but one which has joined the governing coalition. Full article
Source: LA Times
The post-election peace that has been holding in Haiti is as orchestrated as the violence that preceded it, says Paul Denis of the Struggling People's Organisation, a Haitian rival to the president, but one which has joined the governing coalition. Full article
Former child soldier digs up mines he helped lay
Source: The Independent
The first time Aki Ra laid a land mine he was five years old, two years after Khmer Rouge took over Cambodia's capital Phnom Penh in 1975. Now he's back to dig them up. Full article
Source: The Independent
The first time Aki Ra laid a land mine he was five years old, two years after Khmer Rouge took over Cambodia's capital Phnom Penh in 1975. Now he's back to dig them up. Full article
Broad reach for Java quake
Source: Christian Science Monitor
A World Bank report says the damage from the recent Java quake is "much greater than initially believed". Full article
Source: Christian Science Monitor
A World Bank report says the damage from the recent Java quake is "much greater than initially believed". Full article
UN defends Rwanda tribunal
Source: The Daily Telegraph
The United Nations has taken 12 years and spent £550 million ($1 billion) to convict only 25 people so far for the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. Full article
Source: The Daily Telegraph
The United Nations has taken 12 years and spent £550 million ($1 billion) to convict only 25 people so far for the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. Full article
U.S. got it wrong on Somalia again
Source: The East African Standard (Nairobi) on www.allafrica.com
The United States must urgently abandon its mindless unilateralism when it comes to Somalia. Full article
Source: The East African Standard (Nairobi) on www.allafrica.com
The United States must urgently abandon its mindless unilateralism when it comes to Somalia. Full article
Fresh hope for peace in northern Uganda?
Source: Christian Science Monitor
South Sudan's role as peace mediator for Uganda is new, but local leaders know they need to remove Ugandan rebels from their territory in order to bring stability and development. Full article
Source: Christian Science Monitor
South Sudan's role as peace mediator for Uganda is new, but local leaders know they need to remove Ugandan rebels from their territory in order to bring stability and development. Full article
It's time for global control of small arms
Source: International Herald Tribune
http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/06/25/opinion/edsen.php Full article
Source: International Herald Tribune
http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/06/25/opinion/edsen.php Full article
We could never make poverty history overnight
Source: http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/article1096454.ece
Public opinion played a huge role in getting world leaders to agree steps towards making poverty history, so it must also ensure the international community delivers on its promises, write British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Finance Minister Gordon Brown and Minister of State for International Development Hilary Benn. Full article
Source: http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/article1096454.ece
Public opinion played a huge role in getting world leaders to agree steps towards making poverty history, so it must also ensure the international community delivers on its promises, write British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Finance Minister Gordon Brown and Minister of State for International Development Hilary Benn. Full article
In Congo's jungles, nowhere to hide
Source: New York Times on International Herald Tribune
Battles for villages in Congo's mineral-rich Ituri district illuminate the perilous road ahead as the country struggles towards peace and democracy. Full article
Source: New York Times on International Herald Tribune
Battles for villages in Congo's mineral-rich Ituri district illuminate the perilous road ahead as the country struggles towards peace and democracy. Full article
Chinese villages, poisoned by toxins, battle for justice
Source: Christian Science Monitor
Hand in hand with its overheated economy, China has developed vast environmental problems, which often cause illness. The countryside saw nearly 90,000 uprisings last year, 50,000 of which were related to pollution. Full article
Source: Christian Science Monitor
Hand in hand with its overheated economy, China has developed vast environmental problems, which often cause illness. The countryside saw nearly 90,000 uprisings last year, 50,000 of which were related to pollution. Full article
Gender-based violence galvanized warlords' foes
Source: Washington Post
It was guns not words that chased away the warlords from Somalia's capital Mogadishu, but intense public revulsion for them - especially among women protesting murders, robberies and rapes - provided crucial support for the Islamic militias. Full article
Source: Washington Post
It was guns not words that chased away the warlords from Somalia's capital Mogadishu, but intense public revulsion for them - especially among women protesting murders, robberies and rapes - provided crucial support for the Islamic militias. Full article
Nepal: the Maoist transformation's fuzzy logic
Source: Opendemocracy.net
Now that Nepal's Maoists are entering the political mainstream, to what extent will they change the terrain of Nepal's polity, and how much will they themselves will be transformed by engaging with society? Full article
Source: Opendemocracy.net
Now that Nepal's Maoists are entering the political mainstream, to what extent will they change the terrain of Nepal's polity, and how much will they themselves will be transformed by engaging with society? Full article
Monitoring human rights? Get a satellite
Source: Christian Science Monitor
Satellites can monitor volcanoes, map deforestation, and help sell property. But can they document human rights violations? Full article
Source: Christian Science Monitor
Satellites can monitor volcanoes, map deforestation, and help sell property. But can they document human rights violations? Full article
A moribund peace between war criminals
Source: Daily Star (Lebanon)
It's time to say it loud and clear: the newborn Darfur peace agreement is already on its death bed, writes Julie Flint, author of "Darfur: A Short History of A Long War". Full article
Source: Daily Star (Lebanon)
It's time to say it loud and clear: the newborn Darfur peace agreement is already on its death bed, writes Julie Flint, author of "Darfur: A Short History of A Long War". Full article
Military business interests fuel abuses
Source: Inter Press Service
The fact that Indonesian army gets only half of its budget from the government means that it has to find the other half elsewhere. One way it raises funds is providing private security services, in arrangements that can lead to rights abuse and corruption, according to Human Rights Watch. Full article
Source: Inter Press Service
The fact that Indonesian army gets only half of its budget from the government means that it has to find the other half elsewhere. One way it raises funds is providing private security services, in arrangements that can lead to rights abuse and corruption, according to Human Rights Watch. Full article
No end in sight for Africa's suffering masses
Source: CNN.com
Long-standing CNN reporter Jeff Koinange recounts his years of reporting about Africa, "a continent where misery and hardship are an every day occurrence". Full article
Source: CNN.com
Long-standing CNN reporter Jeff Koinange recounts his years of reporting about Africa, "a continent where misery and hardship are an every day occurrence". Full article
Troubling storm clouds linger over the Balkans
Source: Daily Star (Lebanon)
We may regret that Serb strongman Slobodan Milosevic's trial ended without conclusion when he died, but a conviction of Milosevic alone, however justified, would hardly have contributed to serious self-reflection within the post-Yugoslav nations unless there were parallel penalties for his Croat, Bosnian Muslim, and Kosovo-Albanian counterparts, writes Jiri Dienstbier, former foreign minister of Czechoslovakia and special rapporteur for the Office of the U.N. High Commission for Refugees in the Balkans. Full article
Source: Daily Star (Lebanon)
We may regret that Serb strongman Slobodan Milosevic's trial ended without conclusion when he died, but a conviction of Milosevic alone, however justified, would hardly have contributed to serious self-reflection within the post-Yugoslav nations unless there were parallel penalties for his Croat, Bosnian Muslim, and Kosovo-Albanian counterparts, writes Jiri Dienstbier, former foreign minister of Czechoslovakia and special rapporteur for the Office of the U.N. High Commission for Refugees in the Balkans. Full article
A return to bloodshed
Source: Spiegel Online
When is a ceasefire no longer a ceasefire? That is the question hanging over Sri Lanka. Full article
Source: Spiegel Online
When is a ceasefire no longer a ceasefire? That is the question hanging over Sri Lanka. Full article
Nepal makes way for the comrades
Source: Asia Times
Various landmark participants in the Nepalese political landscape are starting to think that the coalition of opposition parties might have yielded too much to Maoist rebels without obtaining even an assurance that they would renounce violence or hand over their weapons before they could be invited to join a new interim government. Full article
Source: Asia Times
Various landmark participants in the Nepalese political landscape are starting to think that the coalition of opposition parties might have yielded too much to Maoist rebels without obtaining even an assurance that they would renounce violence or hand over their weapons before they could be invited to join a new interim government. Full article
Pakistan's other war
Source: Time Asia
An insurgency in Pakistan's Baluchistan appears to be a battle for the control of resources in the ragged province. Full article
Source: Time Asia
An insurgency in Pakistan's Baluchistan appears to be a battle for the control of resources in the ragged province. Full article
Foreign intervention in Somalia?
Source: Christian Science Monitor
Deployment of peacekeeping troops in Somalia could upset the Islamist militia now in control of the capital, which has everything to lose by foreign intervention. Full article
Source: Christian Science Monitor
Deployment of peacekeeping troops in Somalia could upset the Islamist militia now in control of the capital, which has everything to lose by foreign intervention. Full article
Somali militias turn to culture wars
Source: International Herald Tribune
Mogadishu may be safer, but a new, more silent battle is under way - this one for control of the Islamic movement in Somalia. Full article
Source: International Herald Tribune
Mogadishu may be safer, but a new, more silent battle is under way - this one for control of the Islamic movement in Somalia. Full article
Serbia genocide case survives Milosevic
Source: New York Times on International Herald Tribune
While Milosevic's death brought a sudden end to his trial at the U.N. war crimes tribunal, the question of whether he carried out genocide in Bosnia is very much alive and could be answered by the International Court of Justice within a year. Full article
Source: New York Times on International Herald Tribune
While Milosevic's death brought a sudden end to his trial at the U.N. war crimes tribunal, the question of whether he carried out genocide in Bosnia is very much alive and could be answered by the International Court of Justice within a year. Full article
Dealing with the devil in Darfur
Source: New York Times on International Herald Tribune
If the Darfur peace accord is to have any hope of succeeding, the U.S. must stop empowering those who use abusive force, including rebel leader Minni Arcua Minnawi, and antagonising those who remain unconvinced, writes Julie Flint, author of "Darfur: A Short History of a Long War". Full article
Source: New York Times on International Herald Tribune
If the Darfur peace accord is to have any hope of succeeding, the U.S. must stop empowering those who use abusive force, including rebel leader Minni Arcua Minnawi, and antagonising those who remain unconvinced, writes Julie Flint, author of "Darfur: A Short History of a Long War". Full article
In oil-rich Angola, cholera preys upon poorest
Source: New York Times
Angola's oil boom hasn't helped improve access to water. In Luanda, residents depend on the polluted Bengo river, which is the main source of the recent cholera outbreak in the capital's slums. Full article
Source: New York Times
Angola's oil boom hasn't helped improve access to water. In Luanda, residents depend on the polluted Bengo river, which is the main source of the recent cholera outbreak in the capital's slums. Full article
Can UN stem flow of small arms?
Source: Christian Science Monitor
No one seems to know what's happened to thousands of AK-47s and millions of ammunition rounds transferred from Bosnian wartime stockpiles to Iraq. Full article
Source: Christian Science Monitor
No one seems to know what's happened to thousands of AK-47s and millions of ammunition rounds transferred from Bosnian wartime stockpiles to Iraq. Full article
South Africa: A scary picture of childhood
Source: Business Day (Johannesburg) on www.allafrica.com
Children should not be on the receiving end of violence or abuse, and must feel safe in their schools, homes and communities, writes a UNICEF representative in South Africa. Full article
Source: Business Day (Johannesburg) on www.allafrica.com
Children should not be on the receiving end of violence or abuse, and must feel safe in their schools, homes and communities, writes a UNICEF representative in South Africa. Full article
Life under Burma's military regime
Source: BBC News Online
"In some parts of the country, the situation is as bad as we've seen in sub-Saharan Africa," says Save the Children's Andrew Kirkwood speaking about malnutrition in Burma, in a BBC special series from inside the country. Full article
Source: BBC News Online
"In some parts of the country, the situation is as bad as we've seen in sub-Saharan Africa," says Save the Children's Andrew Kirkwood speaking about malnutrition in Burma, in a BBC special series from inside the country. Full article
Post-traumatic stress disorder plagues German peacekeepers
Source: Spiegel Online
As it prepares for a new foreign deployment in Congo, Germany's soldiers are still suffering from traumatic experiences in Somalia, Kosovo and Afghanistan. Full article
Source: Spiegel Online
As it prepares for a new foreign deployment in Congo, Germany's soldiers are still suffering from traumatic experiences in Somalia, Kosovo and Afghanistan. Full article
The challenges facing an urban world
Source: BBC News
Failing crops, natural disasters and conflicts are increasingly forcing people into towns and cities in sub-Saharan Africa. Full article
Source: BBC News
Failing crops, natural disasters and conflicts are increasingly forcing people into towns and cities in sub-Saharan Africa. Full article
Aid fails to reach the poorest in war-torn Somalia
Source: The Independent
People living in Somalia's sprawling refugee camps have seen very little aid for months as relief organisations stay away from the conflict-ridden country. Full article
Source: The Independent
People living in Somalia's sprawling refugee camps have seen very little aid for months as relief organisations stay away from the conflict-ridden country. Full article
An African war the U.N. must stop
Source: San Francisco Chronicle
It's time to end the delay game in Darfur - the conflict is spreading despite the peace agreement, and the United Nations needs to act now, argues this editorial. Full article
Source: San Francisco Chronicle
It's time to end the delay game in Darfur - the conflict is spreading despite the peace agreement, and the United Nations needs to act now, argues this editorial. Full article
Remember Asia's Nelson Mandela
Source: The Guardian
Forgetting about Burma and its dissident leader Aung San Suu Kyi is just what its military rulers want us to do, says Timothy Garton Ash. Full article
Source: The Guardian
Forgetting about Burma and its dissident leader Aung San Suu Kyi is just what its military rulers want us to do, says Timothy Garton Ash. Full article
HIV still devastates Lake Victoria after 25 years of suffering
Source: Daily Telegraph
Anti-retroviral drugs are almost unheard of in the Kenyan hinterland despite a promise from the West that every AIDS victim should have treatment by 2010. Full article
Source: Daily Telegraph
Anti-retroviral drugs are almost unheard of in the Kenyan hinterland despite a promise from the West that every AIDS victim should have treatment by 2010. Full article
Zambia: Difficulties of the Aids Policy
Source: The Post (Lusaka)
Privatisation and pharmaceutical greed, not Thabo Mbeki's much-debated statements on the science behind HIV/AIDS, are to blame for deaths from the disease in Africa, says this article. Full article
Source: The Post (Lusaka)
Privatisation and pharmaceutical greed, not Thabo Mbeki's much-debated statements on the science behind HIV/AIDS, are to blame for deaths from the disease in Africa, says this article. Full article
Goodbye AIDS. Celebs Move on to New Causes
Source: LA Times
AIDS once galvanised Hollywood attention but now has to share the limelight with new worthy causes, such as African debt relief, the plight of orphans, Darfur and Hurricane Katrina. Full article
Source: LA Times
AIDS once galvanised Hollywood attention but now has to share the limelight with new worthy causes, such as African debt relief, the plight of orphans, Darfur and Hurricane Katrina. Full article
Somalia's new Islamic leadership
Source: OpenDemocracy
The Islamic courts have established themselves as a major force in Somalia and are drawing upon widespread support within the country, says Harun Hassan. Full article
Source: OpenDemocracy
The Islamic courts have established themselves as a major force in Somalia and are drawing upon widespread support within the country, says Harun Hassan. Full article
Saving the planet and ourselves: the way to global security
Source: OpenDemocracy
An obsession with fighting terrorism is consuming resources that should be devoted to solving far more dangerous planetary threats such as climate change and global militarisation, argues John Sloboda. Full article
Source: OpenDemocracy
An obsession with fighting terrorism is consuming resources that should be devoted to solving far more dangerous planetary threats such as climate change and global militarisation, argues John Sloboda. Full article
The Abbas-Hamas problem
Source: LA Times
The looming civil war between Palestinian factions could turn into a geopolitical and a humanitarian disaster. Full article
Source: LA Times
The looming civil war between Palestinian factions could turn into a geopolitical and a humanitarian disaster. Full article
Despite the divisions, the national consensus holds
Source: The Guardian
Israeli and western attempts to divide the Palestinians by withholding aid and refusing to talk to their leadership are futile - peace will only come with the end of Israeli military rule over the Palestinians, argues Karma Nabulsi. Full article
Source: The Guardian
Israeli and western attempts to divide the Palestinians by withholding aid and refusing to talk to their leadership are futile - peace will only come with the end of Israeli military rule over the Palestinians, argues Karma Nabulsi. Full article
The deep hypocrisy in nitpicking Arab massacres
Source: Daily Star (Lebanon)
The majority Sunni Arab world is often all too reluctant to acknowledge the Shiite identity of victims of atrocities in the Middle East, argues Rayyan al-Shawaf. Full article
Source: Daily Star (Lebanon)
The majority Sunni Arab world is often all too reluctant to acknowledge the Shiite identity of victims of atrocities in the Middle East, argues Rayyan al-Shawaf. Full article
A pledge to Africa already faltering; has the G8 forgotten the continent in just a year's time?
Source: Minneapolis Star-Tribune
Westerners' despair over the sorry state of Africa easily turns into a self-fulfilling prophecy for those who don't want to help the continent. Full article
Source: Minneapolis Star-Tribune
Westerners' despair over the sorry state of Africa easily turns into a self-fulfilling prophecy for those who don't want to help the continent. Full article
Congo's roads paved with hope
Source: AP/Montreal Gazette
Internally displaced people are trickling back to their home villages on rebuilt roads in Democratic Republic of Congo's war-torn eastern regions. Full article
Source: AP/Montreal Gazette
Internally displaced people are trickling back to their home villages on rebuilt roads in Democratic Republic of Congo's war-torn eastern regions. Full article
How is South Ossetia different from Kosovo?
Source: RIA Novosti/Focus News
Georgia should admit that it lost control over South Ossetia and Abkhazia about 15 years ago, when the government triggered an independence movement by prohibiting the Ossetian language in official documents. Full article
Source: RIA Novosti/Focus News
Georgia should admit that it lost control over South Ossetia and Abkhazia about 15 years ago, when the government triggered an independence movement by prohibiting the Ossetian language in official documents. Full article
Missing child stirs memories of past horrors
Source: Sydney Morning Herald
East Timor's optimism about the future has evaporated with the recent fighting and families are yet again forced to flee their homes. Full article
Source: Sydney Morning Herald
East Timor's optimism about the future has evaporated with the recent fighting and families are yet again forced to flee their homes. Full article
A new G8 opportunity on AIDS
Source: St Petersburg Times
A simmering HIV epidemic in Russia, China and India should keep us from being complacent about some of the gains made in the struggle against AIDS. Full article
Source: St Petersburg Times
A simmering HIV epidemic in Russia, China and India should keep us from being complacent about some of the gains made in the struggle against AIDS. Full article
HIV vaccine still elusive
Source: The Monitor (Kampala) on www.allafrica.com
The Ugandan public remains anxious about HIV trials, and one of the biggest fears is that potential vaccines can expose trial candidates to the virus. Full article
Source: The Monitor (Kampala) on www.allafrica.com
The Ugandan public remains anxious about HIV trials, and one of the biggest fears is that potential vaccines can expose trial candidates to the virus. Full article
The main way to stop AIDS
Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Today's AIDS treatments are no panacea, and the simple truth is that AIDS can only be defeated by reducing the number of people who become infected. Full article
Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Today's AIDS treatments are no panacea, and the simple truth is that AIDS can only be defeated by reducing the number of people who become infected. Full article
Whether New Orleans or Sudan, storm zones pull this doctor in
Source: LA Times
Relief doctor Peter Reynaud cherishes a sense of adventure on the Sudan-Chad border - right in the middle of the Darfur conflict. Full article
Source: LA Times
Relief doctor Peter Reynaud cherishes a sense of adventure on the Sudan-Chad border - right in the middle of the Darfur conflict. Full article
Refugees can be engines of economic development
Source: The Times of Zambia on www.allafrica.com
Refugees are often looked upon as passive recipients of aid, but they can also make local economies more dynamic, argues the U.N. refugee agency's Kelvin Shimoh. Full article
Source: The Times of Zambia on www.allafrica.com
Refugees are often looked upon as passive recipients of aid, but they can also make local economies more dynamic, argues the U.N. refugee agency's Kelvin Shimoh. Full article
At the UN, how we envy the World Cup
Source: International Herald Tribune
The United Nations has a lot to learn from soccer's World Cup, writes U.N. chief Kofi Annan. Full article
Source: International Herald Tribune
The United Nations has a lot to learn from soccer's World Cup, writes U.N. chief Kofi Annan. Full article
Nation rebuilding
Source: International Herald Tribune
Recent bloody clashes in East Timor demonstrate just how tenuous peace is and how dependent the country is on international support, writes Jeff Kingston, director of Asian studies at Temple University in Tokyo. Full article
Source: International Herald Tribune
Recent bloody clashes in East Timor demonstrate just how tenuous peace is and how dependent the country is on international support, writes Jeff Kingston, director of Asian studies at Temple University in Tokyo. Full article
Spreading the diamond wealth
Source: International Herald Tribune
When the film "The Blood Diamond" is released this autumn, starring Leonardo DiCaprio as a diamond smuggler in Sierra Leone, mining giant De Beers will be ready with a publicity campaign aimed at positioning diamonds as a source of hope for Africa, not conflict. Full article
Source: International Herald Tribune
When the film "The Blood Diamond" is released this autumn, starring Leonardo DiCaprio as a diamond smuggler in Sierra Leone, mining giant De Beers will be ready with a publicity campaign aimed at positioning diamonds as a source of hope for Africa, not conflict. Full article
Promising move in Haitian politics
Source: Miami Herald on Toronto Star
Life expetancy for Zimbabwean men is 37 and 34 for women and behind these statistics is a grim tale of AIDS, financial hardship and stress. Full article
Source: Miami Herald on Toronto Star
Life expetancy for Zimbabwean men is 37 and 34 for women and behind these statistics is a grim tale of AIDS, financial hardship and stress. Full article
Japan fails the test on democracy and Burma
Source: Washington Post
Japan's siding with Russia and China at the U.N. Security Council over the question of Burma is a disappointing move for democratic forces in both countries, writes Michael J. Green, senior fellow and Japan Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Full article
Source: Washington Post
Japan's siding with Russia and China at the U.N. Security Council over the question of Burma is a disappointing move for democratic forces in both countries, writes Michael J. Green, senior fellow and Japan Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Full article
Short lives lead to short-term goals in Zimbabwe
Source: Christian Science Monitor
Life expetancy for Zimbabwean men is 37 and 34 for women and behind these statistics is a grim tale of AIDS, financial hardship and stress. Full article
Source: Christian Science Monitor
Life expetancy for Zimbabwean men is 37 and 34 for women and behind these statistics is a grim tale of AIDS, financial hardship and stress. Full article
Our failure in Somalia
Source: Washington Post
It is in the national security interests of the United States to engage more deeply and directly in state reconstruction efforts in Somalia, writes International Crisis Group adviser John Prendergast. Full article
Source: Washington Post
It is in the national security interests of the United States to engage more deeply and directly in state reconstruction efforts in Somalia, writes International Crisis Group adviser John Prendergast. Full article
Uganda: The ICC will leave no stone unturned to catch Kony
Source: New Vision (Kampala) on www.allafrica.com
Ugandan rebel leader Joseph Kony should be persuaded that, since the International Criminal Court won't back off, a tribunal at home rather than in The Hague could allow him to surrender with dignity, writes this newspaper. Full article
Source: New Vision (Kampala) on www.allafrica.com
Ugandan rebel leader Joseph Kony should be persuaded that, since the International Criminal Court won't back off, a tribunal at home rather than in The Hague could allow him to surrender with dignity, writes this newspaper. Full article
Stopping short of the goal on AIDS
Source: Miami Herald
The recent HIV/AIDS summit failed to set financial and treatment goals for combating the killer disease. The goal now must be getting nations to provide the resources they acknowledge are needed. Full article
Source: Miami Herald
The recent HIV/AIDS summit failed to set financial and treatment goals for combating the killer disease. The goal now must be getting nations to provide the resources they acknowledge are needed. Full article
East Timor unfinished
Source: Boston Globe on International Herald Tribune
Nation-building can rarely be accomplished quickly, easily or cheaply and East Timor is one good case in point. Full article
Source: Boston Globe on International Herald Tribune
Nation-building can rarely be accomplished quickly, easily or cheaply and East Timor is one good case in point. Full article
Many Afghans lost to hazards of childbirth
Source: Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/05/AR2006060501177.html Full article
Source: Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/05/AR2006060501177.html Full article
Somalia, revisited
Source: New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/07/opinion/07wed2.html Full article
Source: New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/07/opinion/07wed2.html Full article
The U.N. success story that wasn't
Source: Washington Post
Although things were hotting up in East Timor for months, the international community continued to promote the country as a success story. Full article
Source: Washington Post
Although things were hotting up in East Timor for months, the international community continued to promote the country as a success story. Full article
Myanmar's unturned page
Source: Boston Globe on International Herald Tribune
Myanmar's junta will not change its ways without sustained international pressure on a regime that has been condemned for its use of forced labour, the flight of thousands of refugees and allowing the export of methamphetamine, heroin and AIDS to neighbouring countries, writes this newspaper. Full article
Source: Boston Globe on International Herald Tribune
Myanmar's junta will not change its ways without sustained international pressure on a regime that has been condemned for its use of forced labour, the flight of thousands of refugees and allowing the export of methamphetamine, heroin and AIDS to neighbouring countries, writes this newspaper. Full article
Uganda: Act on Global Fund enquiry
Source: The East African (Nairobi) on www.allafrica.com
Corruption is especially tragic when it is at the expense of the poor and the sick who were supposed to benefit from the mismanaged Global Fund against Malaria, HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis, says this commentary. Full article
Source: The East African (Nairobi) on www.allafrica.com
Corruption is especially tragic when it is at the expense of the poor and the sick who were supposed to benefit from the mismanaged Global Fund against Malaria, HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis, says this commentary. Full article
The coming of the micro-states
Source: Christian Science Monitor
As Montenegro declares independence, will Kosovo, Transdniestria and South Ossetia be allowed to follow lead? Full article
Source: Christian Science Monitor
As Montenegro declares independence, will Kosovo, Transdniestria and South Ossetia be allowed to follow lead? Full article
Fight AIDS at a store near you
Source: Washington Post
The world's fight against the AIDS epidemic may be increasingly funded by the sale of mobile phones and airline tickets, by bigger investments from corporations working in AIDS-hit countries and by greater health spending by the most afflicted countries themselves. Full article
Source: Washington Post
The world's fight against the AIDS epidemic may be increasingly funded by the sale of mobile phones and airline tickets, by bigger investments from corporations working in AIDS-hit countries and by greater health spending by the most afflicted countries themselves. Full article
Uganda: Has AIDS become a lucrative business?
Source: New Vision (Kampala) on www.allafrica.com
The Global Fund scam in Uganda shows the difficulty the country is facing in channelling funds from the centre to grassroots communities. The AIDS problem is at the community and family level and that is where the money should be targeted, writes this newspaper. Full article
Source: New Vision (Kampala) on www.allafrica.com
The Global Fund scam in Uganda shows the difficulty the country is facing in channelling funds from the centre to grassroots communities. The AIDS problem is at the community and family level and that is where the money should be targeted, writes this newspaper. Full article
Telling it like it is
Source: The Guardian
Since education about prevention - condom use and clean needles - lies at the heart of any AIDS strategy, the refusal of conservatives in Africa, the Muslim world and elsewhere to acknowledge this reality at last week's U.N. conference on HIV is plain foolish, says this newspaper. Full article
Source: The Guardian
Since education about prevention - condom use and clean needles - lies at the heart of any AIDS strategy, the refusal of conservatives in Africa, the Muslim world and elsewhere to acknowledge this reality at last week's U.N. conference on HIV is plain foolish, says this newspaper. Full article
Eritrea: UN's failure to live up to its responsibility cannot be covered up by any resolution
Source: Shabait.com (Asmara) on www.allafrica.com
In a two-minute session on the Eritrea-Ethiopia conflict, the U.N. Security Council adopted a resolution that vividly demonstrates more than ever before the the failure of the U.N. mission and its fundamental principles regarding the two countries, says this commentary. Full article
Source: Shabait.com (Asmara) on www.allafrica.com
In a two-minute session on the Eritrea-Ethiopia conflict, the U.N. Security Council adopted a resolution that vividly demonstrates more than ever before the the failure of the U.N. mission and its fundamental principles regarding the two countries, says this commentary. Full article
Two important rulings on AIDS
Source: New York Times
Federal judges in New York and the District of Columbia have declared unconstitutional a 2003 rule that limits the way U.S. health groups spend their privately raised money if they want to get federal money for international AIDS work. This is welcome news as the decision removes at least one impediment for health groups trying to reach a high-risk community and save lives. Full article
Source: New York Times
Federal judges in New York and the District of Columbia have declared unconstitutional a 2003 rule that limits the way U.S. health groups spend their privately raised money if they want to get federal money for international AIDS work. This is welcome news as the decision removes at least one impediment for health groups trying to reach a high-risk community and save lives. Full article
Namibian widows suffer more than the loss of their spouses
Source: LA Times
When a Namibian woman's husband dies, her husband's family often takes his possessions and usually throws her and her children out of the house. This often results in severe poverty for the widow and her children, but the power of tribal laws seems too deep-rooted to be easily changed. Full article
Source: LA Times
When a Namibian woman's husband dies, her husband's family often takes his possessions and usually throws her and her children out of the house. This often results in severe poverty for the widow and her children, but the power of tribal laws seems too deep-rooted to be easily changed. Full article
Indonesia still learning to cope with quakes
Source: Christian Science Monitor
Aid workers and government agencies are taking their experiences from the 2004 tsunami and applying those lessons to Indonesia's latest calamity. Full article
Source: Christian Science Monitor
Aid workers and government agencies are taking their experiences from the 2004 tsunami and applying those lessons to Indonesia's latest calamity. Full article
Zambia: Drought preparedness
Source: The Post (Lusaka) on www.allafrica.com
It may seem strange to be talking about drought after a good rainfall and bumper harvests in many parts of Zambia. But it is appropriate because drought is a normal occurrence for most of the country. Full article
Source: The Post (Lusaka) on www.allafrica.com
It may seem strange to be talking about drought after a good rainfall and bumper harvests in many parts of Zambia. But it is appropriate because drought is a normal occurrence for most of the country. Full article
African graft stings donors
Source: Christian Science Monitor
Uganda, one of the first countries to receive a multimillion-dollar grant from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, recently revealed that tens of millions of dollars in funds has gone missing, much of it plundered by high-ranking public officials on personal phone bills, lavish "Christmas packages" and fancy four-wheel drive vehicles. Full article
Source: Christian Science Monitor
Uganda, one of the first countries to receive a multimillion-dollar grant from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, recently revealed that tens of millions of dollars in funds has gone missing, much of it plundered by high-ranking public officials on personal phone bills, lavish "Christmas packages" and fancy four-wheel drive vehicles. Full article
Keep fighting AIDS
Source: New York Times
The nations attending this week's AIDS conference are supposed to be reporting on whether their targets for fighting AIDS are being met and devising a plan of action for the next few years. Instead, they are watering down the original plan. Full article
Source: New York Times
The nations attending this week's AIDS conference are supposed to be reporting on whether their targets for fighting AIDS are being met and devising a plan of action for the next few years. Instead, they are watering down the original plan. Full article
The woman trying to heal a broken Liberia
Source: The Independent
"Even in the capital, electricity, water, road systems have completely deteriorated, bridges are destroyed," says Liberian president Ellen Sirleaf-Johnson during an official visit to London. Full article
Source: The Independent
"Even in the capital, electricity, water, road systems have completely deteriorated, bridges are destroyed," says Liberian president Ellen Sirleaf-Johnson during an official visit to London. Full article
Fighting in the shadows
Source: Newsweek
Somalia is erupting into violence again and Americans find themselves once more in the middle of battles they only dimly comprehend and may well be losing. Full article
Source: Newsweek
Somalia is erupting into violence again and Americans find themselves once more in the middle of battles they only dimly comprehend and may well be losing. Full article
June 2006
Sri Lanka's uncivil war
Source: Boston Globe on International Herald Tribune
In Sri Lanka, the memory of old atrocities both by the government forces and Tamil Tiger rebels seems to overwhelm a recognition of the need to accept compromises for the sake of peace. Full article
Source: Boston Globe on International Herald Tribune
In Sri Lanka, the memory of old atrocities both by the government forces and Tamil Tiger rebels seems to overwhelm a recognition of the need to accept compromises for the sake of peace. Full article
Africa must push on Darfur
Source: New York Times on International Herald Tribune
The African Union should reaffirm its own determination to end the genocide in Darfur and continue to urge other nations to back an armed U.N. presence. Full article
Source: New York Times on International Herald Tribune
The African Union should reaffirm its own determination to end the genocide in Darfur and continue to urge other nations to back an armed U.N. presence. Full article
Africa: Better off without us?
Source: New Statesman
Parts of Africa are making good progress, but it's no thanks to Western aid and debt relief, which often prop up the wrong kind of leader. Full article
Source: New Statesman
Parts of Africa are making good progress, but it's no thanks to Western aid and debt relief, which often prop up the wrong kind of leader. Full article
How to meet the Somalia challenge
Source: Christian Science Monitor
If the international community wants to help Somalia, it should stem arms trafficking into the country, call in the African Union or U.N. forces to protect humanitarian aid deliveries and lend political support to the transitional regime, writes John K. Cooley, author of "Baal, Christ and Mohammed, Religion and Revolution in North Africa." Full article
Source: Christian Science Monitor
If the international community wants to help Somalia, it should stem arms trafficking into the country, call in the African Union or U.N. forces to protect humanitarian aid deliveries and lend political support to the transitional regime, writes John K. Cooley, author of "Baal, Christ and Mohammed, Religion and Revolution in North Africa." Full article
East Timor reveals sobering truths
Source: Financial Times on Toronto Star
Two lessons to be learned from East Timor are that the international community shouldn't abandon newly-formed countries too soon and more attention should be focused on establishing a neutral police force and independent judiciary. Full article
Source: Financial Times on Toronto Star
Two lessons to be learned from East Timor are that the international community shouldn't abandon newly-formed countries too soon and more attention should be focused on establishing a neutral police force and independent judiciary. Full article
Abkhazia: A promising pariah on the Black Sea
Source: International Herald Tribune
Many citizens of Abkhazia - who regard it as a historically independent state - are inspired by the civilised divorce of Serbia and Montenegro and hopeful they will follow the same path with Georgia, writes Viktor Erofeyev, fiction author of "Life With An Idiot" and "Russian Beauty: a Novel." Full article
Source: International Herald Tribune
Many citizens of Abkhazia - who regard it as a historically independent state - are inspired by the civilised divorce of Serbia and Montenegro and hopeful they will follow the same path with Georgia, writes Viktor Erofeyev, fiction author of "Life With An Idiot" and "Russian Beauty: a Novel." Full article
Business joins African effort to cut malaria
Source: New York Times
When Billiton, one of the world's biggest aluminum producers, realised it was losing its employees in Mozambique to malaria, it decided to join forces with the governments of three countries and with other businesses for a systematic anti-malaria campaign across a broad region. Six years on, malaria is losing the battle. Full article
Source: New York Times
When Billiton, one of the world's biggest aluminum producers, realised it was losing its employees in Mozambique to malaria, it decided to join forces with the governments of three countries and with other businesses for a systematic anti-malaria campaign across a broad region. Six years on, malaria is losing the battle. Full article
I will use the Ten Commandments to liberate Uganda
Source: The Times
A Times correspondent ventures deep into the jungle for a rare interview with Ugandan rebel leader Joseph Kony and challenges him on the massacres, mutilations and mystical spirits that have made him Africa’s most wanted man. Full article
Source: The Times
A Times correspondent ventures deep into the jungle for a rare interview with Ugandan rebel leader Joseph Kony and challenges him on the massacres, mutilations and mystical spirits that have made him Africa’s most wanted man. Full article
Push for new tactics as war on malaria falters
Source: New York Times
Why do 800,000 young African children still die of malaria every year - more than from any other disease - when medicines can cure it for $0.55 a dose, mosquito nets would cost $1 a year per child, and indoor insecticide spraying costs about $10 annually for a household? Full article
Source: New York Times
Why do 800,000 young African children still die of malaria every year - more than from any other disease - when medicines can cure it for $0.55 a dose, mosquito nets would cost $1 a year per child, and indoor insecticide spraying costs about $10 annually for a household? Full article
Africa finds a new band-aid
Source: New Zealand Herald
Africa won't be saved by rock stars but rather Asia's appetite for raw materials. Full article
Source: New Zealand Herald
Africa won't be saved by rock stars but rather Asia's appetite for raw materials. Full article
Dangers in Dili
Source: The Guardian
Australia deserves credit for helping restore order in East Timor, but there's more than altruism at work - Canberra and Dili are to develop potentially lucrative oil and gas reserves in the tiny nation. Full article
Source: The Guardian
Australia deserves credit for helping restore order in East Timor, but there's more than altruism at work - Canberra and Dili are to develop potentially lucrative oil and gas reserves in the tiny nation. Full article
Demystifying Kony
Source: Institute for War & Peace Reporting (London) on www.allafrica.com
Following a recent interview with Ugandan rebel leader Joseph Kony, an image is emerging of a more conventional rebel leader than the man described by former followers as a prophet who talked to angels. Full article
Source: Institute for War & Peace Reporting (London) on www.allafrica.com
Following a recent interview with Ugandan rebel leader Joseph Kony, an image is emerging of a more conventional rebel leader than the man described by former followers as a prophet who talked to angels. Full article
Congolese hopeful ahead of July 30 vote
Source: Christian Science Monitor
Congo's first free elections since independence in 1960 could face many hurdles in the coming month. Full article
Source: Christian Science Monitor
Congo's first free elections since independence in 1960 could face many hurdles in the coming month. Full article
A glimmer of light at last?
Source: The Economist
At 5 percent economic growth, is Africa - often dubbed the continent with no hope - finally taking off? Full article
Source: The Economist
At 5 percent economic growth, is Africa - often dubbed the continent with no hope - finally taking off? Full article
'Breathtaking' waste and fraud in hurricane aid
Source: New York Times
Hurricane Katrina produced one of the most extraordinary displays of scams, schemes and stupefying bureaucratic bungles in modern history, costing taxpayers in the United States up to $2 billion. Full article
Source: New York Times
Hurricane Katrina produced one of the most extraordinary displays of scams, schemes and stupefying bureaucratic bungles in modern history, costing taxpayers in the United States up to $2 billion. Full article
In Thailand, an insurgency rooted in ethnicity
Source: International Herald Tribune
Thailand has become accustomed to the daily violence that has claimed more than 1,300 lives over the past two years, a startling death toll for a country that is better known for its beaches. Full article
Source: International Herald Tribune
Thailand has become accustomed to the daily violence that has claimed more than 1,300 lives over the past two years, a startling death toll for a country that is better known for its beaches. Full article
Haiti makes best of a tenuous peace
Source: LA Times
The post-election peace that has been holding in Haiti is as orchestrated as the violence that preceded it, says Paul Denis of the Struggling People's Organisation, a Haitian rival to the president, but one which has joined the governing coalition. Full article
Source: LA Times
The post-election peace that has been holding in Haiti is as orchestrated as the violence that preceded it, says Paul Denis of the Struggling People's Organisation, a Haitian rival to the president, but one which has joined the governing coalition. Full article
Former child soldier digs up mines he helped lay
Source: The Independent
The first time Aki Ra laid a land mine he was five years old, two years after Khmer Rouge took over Cambodia's capital Phnom Penh in 1975. Now he's back to dig them up. Full article
Source: The Independent
The first time Aki Ra laid a land mine he was five years old, two years after Khmer Rouge took over Cambodia's capital Phnom Penh in 1975. Now he's back to dig them up. Full article
Broad reach for Java quake
Source: Christian Science Monitor
A World Bank report says the damage from the recent Java quake is "much greater than initially believed". Full article
Source: Christian Science Monitor
A World Bank report says the damage from the recent Java quake is "much greater than initially believed". Full article
UN defends Rwanda tribunal
Source: The Daily Telegraph
The United Nations has taken 12 years and spent £550 million ($1 billion) to convict only 25 people so far for the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. Full article
Source: The Daily Telegraph
The United Nations has taken 12 years and spent £550 million ($1 billion) to convict only 25 people so far for the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. Full article
U.S. got it wrong on Somalia again
Source: The East African Standard (Nairobi) on www.allafrica.com
The United States must urgently abandon its mindless unilateralism when it comes to Somalia. Full article
Source: The East African Standard (Nairobi) on www.allafrica.com
The United States must urgently abandon its mindless unilateralism when it comes to Somalia. Full article
Fresh hope for peace in northern Uganda?
Source: Christian Science Monitor
South Sudan's role as peace mediator for Uganda is new, but local leaders know they need to remove Ugandan rebels from their territory in order to bring stability and development. Full article
Source: Christian Science Monitor
South Sudan's role as peace mediator for Uganda is new, but local leaders know they need to remove Ugandan rebels from their territory in order to bring stability and development. Full article
It's time for global control of small arms
Source: International Herald Tribune
http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/06/25/opinion/edsen.php Full article
Source: International Herald Tribune
http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/06/25/opinion/edsen.php Full article
We could never make poverty history overnight
Source: http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/article1096454.ece
Public opinion played a huge role in getting world leaders to agree steps towards making poverty history, so it must also ensure the international community delivers on its promises, write British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Finance Minister Gordon Brown and Minister of State for International Development Hilary Benn. Full article
Source: http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/article1096454.ece
Public opinion played a huge role in getting world leaders to agree steps towards making poverty history, so it must also ensure the international community delivers on its promises, write British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Finance Minister Gordon Brown and Minister of State for International Development Hilary Benn. Full article
In Congo's jungles, nowhere to hide
Source: New York Times on International Herald Tribune
Battles for villages in Congo's mineral-rich Ituri district illuminate the perilous road ahead as the country struggles towards peace and democracy. Full article
Source: New York Times on International Herald Tribune
Battles for villages in Congo's mineral-rich Ituri district illuminate the perilous road ahead as the country struggles towards peace and democracy. Full article
Chinese villages, poisoned by toxins, battle for justice
Source: Christian Science Monitor
Hand in hand with its overheated economy, China has developed vast environmental problems, which often cause illness. The countryside saw nearly 90,000 uprisings last year, 50,000 of which were related to pollution. Full article
Source: Christian Science Monitor
Hand in hand with its overheated economy, China has developed vast environmental problems, which often cause illness. The countryside saw nearly 90,000 uprisings last year, 50,000 of which were related to pollution. Full article
Gender-based violence galvanized warlords' foes
Source: Washington Post
It was guns not words that chased away the warlords from Somalia's capital Mogadishu, but intense public revulsion for them - especially among women protesting murders, robberies and rapes - provided crucial support for the Islamic militias. Full article
Source: Washington Post
It was guns not words that chased away the warlords from Somalia's capital Mogadishu, but intense public revulsion for them - especially among women protesting murders, robberies and rapes - provided crucial support for the Islamic militias. Full article
Nepal: the Maoist transformation's fuzzy logic
Source: Opendemocracy.net
Now that Nepal's Maoists are entering the political mainstream, to what extent will they change the terrain of Nepal's polity, and how much will they themselves will be transformed by engaging with society? Full article
Source: Opendemocracy.net
Now that Nepal's Maoists are entering the political mainstream, to what extent will they change the terrain of Nepal's polity, and how much will they themselves will be transformed by engaging with society? Full article
Monitoring human rights? Get a satellite
Source: Christian Science Monitor
Satellites can monitor volcanoes, map deforestation, and help sell property. But can they document human rights violations? Full article
Source: Christian Science Monitor
Satellites can monitor volcanoes, map deforestation, and help sell property. But can they document human rights violations? Full article
A moribund peace between war criminals
Source: Daily Star (Lebanon)
It's time to say it loud and clear: the newborn Darfur peace agreement is already on its death bed, writes Julie Flint, author of "Darfur: A Short History of A Long War". Full article
Source: Daily Star (Lebanon)
It's time to say it loud and clear: the newborn Darfur peace agreement is already on its death bed, writes Julie Flint, author of "Darfur: A Short History of A Long War". Full article
Military business interests fuel abuses
Source: Inter Press Service
The fact that Indonesian army gets only half of its budget from the government means that it has to find the other half elsewhere. One way it raises funds is providing private security services, in arrangements that can lead to rights abuse and corruption, according to Human Rights Watch. Full article
Source: Inter Press Service
The fact that Indonesian army gets only half of its budget from the government means that it has to find the other half elsewhere. One way it raises funds is providing private security services, in arrangements that can lead to rights abuse and corruption, according to Human Rights Watch. Full article
No end in sight for Africa's suffering masses
Source: CNN.com
Long-standing CNN reporter Jeff Koinange recounts his years of reporting about Africa, "a continent where misery and hardship are an every day occurrence". Full article
Source: CNN.com
Long-standing CNN reporter Jeff Koinange recounts his years of reporting about Africa, "a continent where misery and hardship are an every day occurrence". Full article
Troubling storm clouds linger over the Balkans
Source: Daily Star (Lebanon)
We may regret that Serb strongman Slobodan Milosevic's trial ended without conclusion when he died, but a conviction of Milosevic alone, however justified, would hardly have contributed to serious self-reflection within the post-Yugoslav nations unless there were parallel penalties for his Croat, Bosnian Muslim, and Kosovo-Albanian counterparts, writes Jiri Dienstbier, former foreign minister of Czechoslovakia and special rapporteur for the Office of the U.N. High Commission for Refugees in the Balkans. Full article
Source: Daily Star (Lebanon)
We may regret that Serb strongman Slobodan Milosevic's trial ended without conclusion when he died, but a conviction of Milosevic alone, however justified, would hardly have contributed to serious self-reflection within the post-Yugoslav nations unless there were parallel penalties for his Croat, Bosnian Muslim, and Kosovo-Albanian counterparts, writes Jiri Dienstbier, former foreign minister of Czechoslovakia and special rapporteur for the Office of the U.N. High Commission for Refugees in the Balkans. Full article
A return to bloodshed
Source: Spiegel Online
When is a ceasefire no longer a ceasefire? That is the question hanging over Sri Lanka. Full article
Source: Spiegel Online
When is a ceasefire no longer a ceasefire? That is the question hanging over Sri Lanka. Full article
Nepal makes way for the comrades
Source: Asia Times
Various landmark participants in the Nepalese political landscape are starting to think that the coalition of opposition parties might have yielded too much to Maoist rebels without obtaining even an assurance that they would renounce violence or hand over their weapons before they could be invited to join a new interim government. Full article
Source: Asia Times
Various landmark participants in the Nepalese political landscape are starting to think that the coalition of opposition parties might have yielded too much to Maoist rebels without obtaining even an assurance that they would renounce violence or hand over their weapons before they could be invited to join a new interim government. Full article
Pakistan's other war
Source: Time Asia
An insurgency in Pakistan's Baluchistan appears to be a battle for the control of resources in the ragged province. Full article
Source: Time Asia
An insurgency in Pakistan's Baluchistan appears to be a battle for the control of resources in the ragged province. Full article
Foreign intervention in Somalia?
Source: Christian Science Monitor
Deployment of peacekeeping troops in Somalia could upset the Islamist militia now in control of the capital, which has everything to lose by foreign intervention. Full article
Source: Christian Science Monitor
Deployment of peacekeeping troops in Somalia could upset the Islamist militia now in control of the capital, which has everything to lose by foreign intervention. Full article
Somali militias turn to culture wars
Source: International Herald Tribune
Mogadishu may be safer, but a new, more silent battle is under way - this one for control of the Islamic movement in Somalia. Full article
Source: International Herald Tribune
Mogadishu may be safer, but a new, more silent battle is under way - this one for control of the Islamic movement in Somalia. Full article
Serbia genocide case survives Milosevic
Source: New York Times on International Herald Tribune
While Milosevic's death brought a sudden end to his trial at the U.N. war crimes tribunal, the question of whether he carried out genocide in Bosnia is very much alive and could be answered by the International Court of Justice within a year. Full article
Source: New York Times on International Herald Tribune
While Milosevic's death brought a sudden end to his trial at the U.N. war crimes tribunal, the question of whether he carried out genocide in Bosnia is very much alive and could be answered by the International Court of Justice within a year. Full article
Dealing with the devil in Darfur
Source: New York Times on International Herald Tribune
If the Darfur peace accord is to have any hope of succeeding, the U.S. must stop empowering those who use abusive force, including rebel leader Minni Arcua Minnawi, and antagonising those who remain unconvinced, writes Julie Flint, author of "Darfur: A Short History of a Long War". Full article
Source: New York Times on International Herald Tribune
If the Darfur peace accord is to have any hope of succeeding, the U.S. must stop empowering those who use abusive force, including rebel leader Minni Arcua Minnawi, and antagonising those who remain unconvinced, writes Julie Flint, author of "Darfur: A Short History of a Long War". Full article
In oil-rich Angola, cholera preys upon poorest
Source: New York Times
Angola's oil boom hasn't helped improve access to water. In Luanda, residents depend on the polluted Bengo river, which is the main source of the recent cholera outbreak in the capital's slums. Full article
Source: New York Times
Angola's oil boom hasn't helped improve access to water. In Luanda, residents depend on the polluted Bengo river, which is the main source of the recent cholera outbreak in the capital's slums. Full article
Can UN stem flow of small arms?
Source: Christian Science Monitor
No one seems to know what's happened to thousands of AK-47s and millions of ammunition rounds transferred from Bosnian wartime stockpiles to Iraq. Full article
Source: Christian Science Monitor
No one seems to know what's happened to thousands of AK-47s and millions of ammunition rounds transferred from Bosnian wartime stockpiles to Iraq. Full article
South Africa: A scary picture of childhood
Source: Business Day (Johannesburg) on www.allafrica.com
Children should not be on the receiving end of violence or abuse, and must feel safe in their schools, homes and communities, writes a UNICEF representative in South Africa. Full article
Source: Business Day (Johannesburg) on www.allafrica.com
Children should not be on the receiving end of violence or abuse, and must feel safe in their schools, homes and communities, writes a UNICEF representative in South Africa. Full article
Life under Burma's military regime
Source: BBC News Online
"In some parts of the country, the situation is as bad as we've seen in sub-Saharan Africa," says Save the Children's Andrew Kirkwood speaking about malnutrition in Burma, in a BBC special series from inside the country. Full article
Source: BBC News Online
"In some parts of the country, the situation is as bad as we've seen in sub-Saharan Africa," says Save the Children's Andrew Kirkwood speaking about malnutrition in Burma, in a BBC special series from inside the country. Full article
Post-traumatic stress disorder plagues German peacekeepers
Source: Spiegel Online
As it prepares for a new foreign deployment in Congo, Germany's soldiers are still suffering from traumatic experiences in Somalia, Kosovo and Afghanistan. Full article
Source: Spiegel Online
As it prepares for a new foreign deployment in Congo, Germany's soldiers are still suffering from traumatic experiences in Somalia, Kosovo and Afghanistan. Full article
The challenges facing an urban world
Source: BBC News
Failing crops, natural disasters and conflicts are increasingly forcing people into towns and cities in sub-Saharan Africa. Full article
Source: BBC News
Failing crops, natural disasters and conflicts are increasingly forcing people into towns and cities in sub-Saharan Africa. Full article
Aid fails to reach the poorest in war-torn Somalia
Source: The Independent
People living in Somalia's sprawling refugee camps have seen very little aid for months as relief organisations stay away from the conflict-ridden country. Full article
Source: The Independent
People living in Somalia's sprawling refugee camps have seen very little aid for months as relief organisations stay away from the conflict-ridden country. Full article
An African war the U.N. must stop
Source: San Francisco Chronicle
It's time to end the delay game in Darfur - the conflict is spreading despite the peace agreement, and the United Nations needs to act now, argues this editorial. Full article
Source: San Francisco Chronicle
It's time to end the delay game in Darfur - the conflict is spreading despite the peace agreement, and the United Nations needs to act now, argues this editorial. Full article
Remember Asia's Nelson Mandela
Source: The Guardian
Forgetting about Burma and its dissident leader Aung San Suu Kyi is just what its military rulers want us to do, says Timothy Garton Ash. Full article
Source: The Guardian
Forgetting about Burma and its dissident leader Aung San Suu Kyi is just what its military rulers want us to do, says Timothy Garton Ash. Full article
HIV still devastates Lake Victoria after 25 years of suffering
Source: Daily Telegraph
Anti-retroviral drugs are almost unheard of in the Kenyan hinterland despite a promise from the West that every AIDS victim should have treatment by 2010. Full article
Source: Daily Telegraph
Anti-retroviral drugs are almost unheard of in the Kenyan hinterland despite a promise from the West that every AIDS victim should have treatment by 2010. Full article
Zambia: Difficulties of the Aids Policy
Source: The Post (Lusaka)
Privatisation and pharmaceutical greed, not Thabo Mbeki's much-debated statements on the science behind HIV/AIDS, are to blame for deaths from the disease in Africa, says this article. Full article
Source: The Post (Lusaka)
Privatisation and pharmaceutical greed, not Thabo Mbeki's much-debated statements on the science behind HIV/AIDS, are to blame for deaths from the disease in Africa, says this article. Full article
Goodbye AIDS. Celebs Move on to New Causes
Source: LA Times
AIDS once galvanised Hollywood attention but now has to share the limelight with new worthy causes, such as African debt relief, the plight of orphans, Darfur and Hurricane Katrina. Full article
Source: LA Times
AIDS once galvanised Hollywood attention but now has to share the limelight with new worthy causes, such as African debt relief, the plight of orphans, Darfur and Hurricane Katrina. Full article
Somalia's new Islamic leadership
Source: OpenDemocracy
The Islamic courts have established themselves as a major force in Somalia and are drawing upon widespread support within the country, says Harun Hassan. Full article
Source: OpenDemocracy
The Islamic courts have established themselves as a major force in Somalia and are drawing upon widespread support within the country, says Harun Hassan. Full article
Saving the planet and ourselves: the way to global security
Source: OpenDemocracy
An obsession with fighting terrorism is consuming resources that should be devoted to solving far more dangerous planetary threats such as climate change and global militarisation, argues John Sloboda. Full article
Source: OpenDemocracy
An obsession with fighting terrorism is consuming resources that should be devoted to solving far more dangerous planetary threats such as climate change and global militarisation, argues John Sloboda. Full article
The Abbas-Hamas problem
Source: LA Times
The looming civil war between Palestinian factions could turn into a geopolitical and a humanitarian disaster. Full article
Source: LA Times
The looming civil war between Palestinian factions could turn into a geopolitical and a humanitarian disaster. Full article
Despite the divisions, the national consensus holds
Source: The Guardian
Israeli and western attempts to divide the Palestinians by withholding aid and refusing to talk to their leadership are futile - peace will only come with the end of Israeli military rule over the Palestinians, argues Karma Nabulsi. Full article
Source: The Guardian
Israeli and western attempts to divide the Palestinians by withholding aid and refusing to talk to their leadership are futile - peace will only come with the end of Israeli military rule over the Palestinians, argues Karma Nabulsi. Full article
The deep hypocrisy in nitpicking Arab massacres
Source: Daily Star (Lebanon)
The majority Sunni Arab world is often all too reluctant to acknowledge the Shiite identity of victims of atrocities in the Middle East, argues Rayyan al-Shawaf. Full article
Source: Daily Star (Lebanon)
The majority Sunni Arab world is often all too reluctant to acknowledge the Shiite identity of victims of atrocities in the Middle East, argues Rayyan al-Shawaf. Full article
A pledge to Africa already faltering; has the G8 forgotten the continent in just a year's time?
Source: Minneapolis Star-Tribune
Westerners' despair over the sorry state of Africa easily turns into a self-fulfilling prophecy for those who don't want to help the continent. Full article
Source: Minneapolis Star-Tribune
Westerners' despair over the sorry state of Africa easily turns into a self-fulfilling prophecy for those who don't want to help the continent. Full article
Congo's roads paved with hope
Source: AP/Montreal Gazette
Internally displaced people are trickling back to their home villages on rebuilt roads in Democratic Republic of Congo's war-torn eastern regions. Full article
Source: AP/Montreal Gazette
Internally displaced people are trickling back to their home villages on rebuilt roads in Democratic Republic of Congo's war-torn eastern regions. Full article
How is South Ossetia different from Kosovo?
Source: RIA Novosti/Focus News
Georgia should admit that it lost control over South Ossetia and Abkhazia about 15 years ago, when the government triggered an independence movement by prohibiting the Ossetian language in official documents. Full article
Source: RIA Novosti/Focus News
Georgia should admit that it lost control over South Ossetia and Abkhazia about 15 years ago, when the government triggered an independence movement by prohibiting the Ossetian language in official documents. Full article
Missing child stirs memories of past horrors
Source: Sydney Morning Herald
East Timor's optimism about the future has evaporated with the recent fighting and families are yet again forced to flee their homes. Full article
Source: Sydney Morning Herald
East Timor's optimism about the future has evaporated with the recent fighting and families are yet again forced to flee their homes. Full article
A new G8 opportunity on AIDS
Source: St Petersburg Times
A simmering HIV epidemic in Russia, China and India should keep us from being complacent about some of the gains made in the struggle against AIDS. Full article
Source: St Petersburg Times
A simmering HIV epidemic in Russia, China and India should keep us from being complacent about some of the gains made in the struggle against AIDS. Full article
HIV vaccine still elusive
Source: The Monitor (Kampala) on www.allafrica.com
The Ugandan public remains anxious about HIV trials, and one of the biggest fears is that potential vaccines can expose trial candidates to the virus. Full article
Source: The Monitor (Kampala) on www.allafrica.com
The Ugandan public remains anxious about HIV trials, and one of the biggest fears is that potential vaccines can expose trial candidates to the virus. Full article
The main way to stop AIDS
Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Today's AIDS treatments are no panacea, and the simple truth is that AIDS can only be defeated by reducing the number of people who become infected. Full article
Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Today's AIDS treatments are no panacea, and the simple truth is that AIDS can only be defeated by reducing the number of people who become infected. Full article
Whether New Orleans or Sudan, storm zones pull this doctor in
Source: LA Times
Relief doctor Peter Reynaud cherishes a sense of adventure on the Sudan-Chad border - right in the middle of the Darfur conflict. Full article
Source: LA Times
Relief doctor Peter Reynaud cherishes a sense of adventure on the Sudan-Chad border - right in the middle of the Darfur conflict. Full article
Refugees can be engines of economic development
Source: The Times of Zambia on www.allafrica.com
Refugees are often looked upon as passive recipients of aid, but they can also make local economies more dynamic, argues the U.N. refugee agency's Kelvin Shimoh. Full article
Source: The Times of Zambia on www.allafrica.com
Refugees are often looked upon as passive recipients of aid, but they can also make local economies more dynamic, argues the U.N. refugee agency's Kelvin Shimoh. Full article
At the UN, how we envy the World Cup
Source: International Herald Tribune
The United Nations has a lot to learn from soccer's World Cup, writes U.N. chief Kofi Annan. Full article
Source: International Herald Tribune
The United Nations has a lot to learn from soccer's World Cup, writes U.N. chief Kofi Annan. Full article
Nation rebuilding
Source: International Herald Tribune
Recent bloody clashes in East Timor demonstrate just how tenuous peace is and how dependent the country is on international support, writes Jeff Kingston, director of Asian studies at Temple University in Tokyo. Full article
Source: International Herald Tribune
Recent bloody clashes in East Timor demonstrate just how tenuous peace is and how dependent the country is on international support, writes Jeff Kingston, director of Asian studies at Temple University in Tokyo. Full article
Spreading the diamond wealth
Source: International Herald Tribune
When the film "The Blood Diamond" is released this autumn, starring Leonardo DiCaprio as a diamond smuggler in Sierra Leone, mining giant De Beers will be ready with a publicity campaign aimed at positioning diamonds as a source of hope for Africa, not conflict. Full article
Source: International Herald Tribune
When the film "The Blood Diamond" is released this autumn, starring Leonardo DiCaprio as a diamond smuggler in Sierra Leone, mining giant De Beers will be ready with a publicity campaign aimed at positioning diamonds as a source of hope for Africa, not conflict. Full article
Promising move in Haitian politics
Source: Miami Herald on Toronto Star
Life expetancy for Zimbabwean men is 37 and 34 for women and behind these statistics is a grim tale of AIDS, financial hardship and stress. Full article
Source: Miami Herald on Toronto Star
Life expetancy for Zimbabwean men is 37 and 34 for women and behind these statistics is a grim tale of AIDS, financial hardship and stress. Full article
Japan fails the test on democracy and Burma
Source: Washington Post
Japan's siding with Russia and China at the U.N. Security Council over the question of Burma is a disappointing move for democratic forces in both countries, writes Michael J. Green, senior fellow and Japan Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Full article
Source: Washington Post
Japan's siding with Russia and China at the U.N. Security Council over the question of Burma is a disappointing move for democratic forces in both countries, writes Michael J. Green, senior fellow and Japan Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Full article
Short lives lead to short-term goals in Zimbabwe
Source: Christian Science Monitor
Life expetancy for Zimbabwean men is 37 and 34 for women and behind these statistics is a grim tale of AIDS, financial hardship and stress. Full article
Source: Christian Science Monitor
Life expetancy for Zimbabwean men is 37 and 34 for women and behind these statistics is a grim tale of AIDS, financial hardship and stress. Full article
Our failure in Somalia
Source: Washington Post
It is in the national security interests of the United States to engage more deeply and directly in state reconstruction efforts in Somalia, writes International Crisis Group adviser John Prendergast. Full article
Source: Washington Post
It is in the national security interests of the United States to engage more deeply and directly in state reconstruction efforts in Somalia, writes International Crisis Group adviser John Prendergast. Full article
Uganda: The ICC will leave no stone unturned to catch Kony
Source: New Vision (Kampala) on www.allafrica.com
Ugandan rebel leader Joseph Kony should be persuaded that, since the International Criminal Court won't back off, a tribunal at home rather than in The Hague could allow him to surrender with dignity, writes this newspaper. Full article
Source: New Vision (Kampala) on www.allafrica.com
Ugandan rebel leader Joseph Kony should be persuaded that, since the International Criminal Court won't back off, a tribunal at home rather than in The Hague could allow him to surrender with dignity, writes this newspaper. Full article
Stopping short of the goal on AIDS
Source: Miami Herald
The recent HIV/AIDS summit failed to set financial and treatment goals for combating the killer disease. The goal now must be getting nations to provide the resources they acknowledge are needed. Full article
Source: Miami Herald
The recent HIV/AIDS summit failed to set financial and treatment goals for combating the killer disease. The goal now must be getting nations to provide the resources they acknowledge are needed. Full article
East Timor unfinished
Source: Boston Globe on International Herald Tribune
Nation-building can rarely be accomplished quickly, easily or cheaply and East Timor is one good case in point. Full article
Source: Boston Globe on International Herald Tribune
Nation-building can rarely be accomplished quickly, easily or cheaply and East Timor is one good case in point. Full article
Many Afghans lost to hazards of childbirth
Source: Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/05/AR2006060501177.html Full article
Source: Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/05/AR2006060501177.html Full article
Somalia, revisited
Source: New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/07/opinion/07wed2.html Full article
Source: New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/07/opinion/07wed2.html Full article
The U.N. success story that wasn't
Source: Washington Post
Although things were hotting up in East Timor for months, the international community continued to promote the country as a success story. Full article
Source: Washington Post
Although things were hotting up in East Timor for months, the international community continued to promote the country as a success story. Full article
Myanmar's unturned page
Source: Boston Globe on International Herald Tribune
Myanmar's junta will not change its ways without sustained international pressure on a regime that has been condemned for its use of forced labour, the flight of thousands of refugees and allowing the export of methamphetamine, heroin and AIDS to neighbouring countries, writes this newspaper. Full article
Source: Boston Globe on International Herald Tribune
Myanmar's junta will not change its ways without sustained international pressure on a regime that has been condemned for its use of forced labour, the flight of thousands of refugees and allowing the export of methamphetamine, heroin and AIDS to neighbouring countries, writes this newspaper. Full article
Uganda: Act on Global Fund enquiry
Source: The East African (Nairobi) on www.allafrica.com
Corruption is especially tragic when it is at the expense of the poor and the sick who were supposed to benefit from the mismanaged Global Fund against Malaria, HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis, says this commentary. Full article
Source: The East African (Nairobi) on www.allafrica.com
Corruption is especially tragic when it is at the expense of the poor and the sick who were supposed to benefit from the mismanaged Global Fund against Malaria, HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis, says this commentary. Full article
The coming of the micro-states
Source: Christian Science Monitor
As Montenegro declares independence, will Kosovo, Transdniestria and South Ossetia be allowed to follow lead? Full article
Source: Christian Science Monitor
As Montenegro declares independence, will Kosovo, Transdniestria and South Ossetia be allowed to follow lead? Full article
Fight AIDS at a store near you
Source: Washington Post
The world's fight against the AIDS epidemic may be increasingly funded by the sale of mobile phones and airline tickets, by bigger investments from corporations working in AIDS-hit countries and by greater health spending by the most afflicted countries themselves. Full article
Source: Washington Post
The world's fight against the AIDS epidemic may be increasingly funded by the sale of mobile phones and airline tickets, by bigger investments from corporations working in AIDS-hit countries and by greater health spending by the most afflicted countries themselves. Full article
Uganda: Has AIDS become a lucrative business?
Source: New Vision (Kampala) on www.allafrica.com
The Global Fund scam in Uganda shows the difficulty the country is facing in channelling funds from the centre to grassroots communities. The AIDS problem is at the community and family level and that is where the money should be targeted, writes this newspaper. Full article
Source: New Vision (Kampala) on www.allafrica.com
The Global Fund scam in Uganda shows the difficulty the country is facing in channelling funds from the centre to grassroots communities. The AIDS problem is at the community and family level and that is where the money should be targeted, writes this newspaper. Full article
Telling it like it is
Source: The Guardian
Since education about prevention - condom use and clean needles - lies at the heart of any AIDS strategy, the refusal of conservatives in Africa, the Muslim world and elsewhere to acknowledge this reality at last week's U.N. conference on HIV is plain foolish, says this newspaper. Full article
Source: The Guardian
Since education about prevention - condom use and clean needles - lies at the heart of any AIDS strategy, the refusal of conservatives in Africa, the Muslim world and elsewhere to acknowledge this reality at last week's U.N. conference on HIV is plain foolish, says this newspaper. Full article
Eritrea: UN's failure to live up to its responsibility cannot be covered up by any resolution
Source: Shabait.com (Asmara) on www.allafrica.com
In a two-minute session on the Eritrea-Ethiopia conflict, the U.N. Security Council adopted a resolution that vividly demonstrates more than ever before the the failure of the U.N. mission and its fundamental principles regarding the two countries, says this commentary. Full article
Source: Shabait.com (Asmara) on www.allafrica.com
In a two-minute session on the Eritrea-Ethiopia conflict, the U.N. Security Council adopted a resolution that vividly demonstrates more than ever before the the failure of the U.N. mission and its fundamental principles regarding the two countries, says this commentary. Full article
Two important rulings on AIDS
Source: New York Times
Federal judges in New York and the District of Columbia have declared unconstitutional a 2003 rule that limits the way U.S. health groups spend their privately raised money if they want to get federal money for international AIDS work. This is welcome news as the decision removes at least one impediment for health groups trying to reach a high-risk community and save lives. Full article
Source: New York Times
Federal judges in New York and the District of Columbia have declared unconstitutional a 2003 rule that limits the way U.S. health groups spend their privately raised money if they want to get federal money for international AIDS work. This is welcome news as the decision removes at least one impediment for health groups trying to reach a high-risk community and save lives. Full article
Namibian widows suffer more than the loss of their spouses
Source: LA Times
When a Namibian woman's husband dies, her husband's family often takes his possessions and usually throws her and her children out of the house. This often results in severe poverty for the widow and her children, but the power of tribal laws seems too deep-rooted to be easily changed. Full article
Source: LA Times
When a Namibian woman's husband dies, her husband's family often takes his possessions and usually throws her and her children out of the house. This often results in severe poverty for the widow and her children, but the power of tribal laws seems too deep-rooted to be easily changed. Full article
Indonesia still learning to cope with quakes
Source: Christian Science Monitor
Aid workers and government agencies are taking their experiences from the 2004 tsunami and applying those lessons to Indonesia's latest calamity. Full article
Source: Christian Science Monitor
Aid workers and government agencies are taking their experiences from the 2004 tsunami and applying those lessons to Indonesia's latest calamity. Full article
Zambia: Drought preparedness
Source: The Post (Lusaka) on www.allafrica.com
It may seem strange to be talking about drought after a good rainfall and bumper harvests in many parts of Zambia. But it is appropriate because drought is a normal occurrence for most of the country. Full article
Source: The Post (Lusaka) on www.allafrica.com
It may seem strange to be talking about drought after a good rainfall and bumper harvests in many parts of Zambia. But it is appropriate because drought is a normal occurrence for most of the country. Full article
African graft stings donors
Source: Christian Science Monitor
Uganda, one of the first countries to receive a multimillion-dollar grant from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, recently revealed that tens of millions of dollars in funds has gone missing, much of it plundered by high-ranking public officials on personal phone bills, lavish "Christmas packages" and fancy four-wheel drive vehicles. Full article
Source: Christian Science Monitor
Uganda, one of the first countries to receive a multimillion-dollar grant from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, recently revealed that tens of millions of dollars in funds has gone missing, much of it plundered by high-ranking public officials on personal phone bills, lavish "Christmas packages" and fancy four-wheel drive vehicles. Full article
Keep fighting AIDS
Source: New York Times
The nations attending this week's AIDS conference are supposed to be reporting on whether their targets for fighting AIDS are being met and devising a plan of action for the next few years. Instead, they are watering down the original plan. Full article
Source: New York Times
The nations attending this week's AIDS conference are supposed to be reporting on whether their targets for fighting AIDS are being met and devising a plan of action for the next few years. Instead, they are watering down the original plan. Full article
The woman trying to heal a broken Liberia
Source: The Independent
"Even in the capital, electricity, water, road systems have completely deteriorated, bridges are destroyed," says Liberian president Ellen Sirleaf-Johnson during an official visit to London. Full article
Source: The Independent
"Even in the capital, electricity, water, road systems have completely deteriorated, bridges are destroyed," says Liberian president Ellen Sirleaf-Johnson during an official visit to London. Full article
Fighting in the shadows
Source: Newsweek
Somalia is erupting into violence again and Americans find themselves once more in the middle of battles they only dimly comprehend and may well be losing. Full article
Source: Newsweek
Somalia is erupting into violence again and Americans find themselves once more in the middle of battles they only dimly comprehend and may well be losing. Full article
May 2006
Strategic victimhood in Sudan
Source: New York Times
Darfur has never been the simplistic morality tale portrayed by the media and humanitarian organisations. Full article
Source: New York Times
Darfur has never been the simplistic morality tale portrayed by the media and humanitarian organisations. Full article
Riot in Kabul
Source: Boston Globe on International Herald Tribune
Most Afghans don't want the disorder of a failed state and don't want the Taliban back in Kabul. But they also don't want to be humiliated by foreigners. Afghanistan needs at least the current low level of military assistance it receives from U.S. and NATO forces, but those forces must be disciplined to avoid harming non-combatants. Full article
Source: Boston Globe on International Herald Tribune
Most Afghans don't want the disorder of a failed state and don't want the Taliban back in Kabul. But they also don't want to be humiliated by foreigners. Afghanistan needs at least the current low level of military assistance it receives from U.S. and NATO forces, but those forces must be disciplined to avoid harming non-combatants. Full article
Seeking justice for the killing fields
Source: International Herald Tribune
The international community and the United States in particular should do all that they can to ensure the success of the tribunal that will try former Khmer Rouge leaders. Full article
Source: International Herald Tribune
The international community and the United States in particular should do all that they can to ensure the success of the tribunal that will try former Khmer Rouge leaders. Full article
Trappings of state
Source: The Guardian
The outbreak of violence in East Timor should come as no surprise since U.N. forces have left. Full article
Source: The Guardian
The outbreak of violence in East Timor should come as no surprise since U.N. forces have left. Full article
Still a genocide
Source: Washington Post
Darfur may not be genocide by gas chamber or machete, but it is still a calculated policy of targeting ethnic groups and planning their elimination, writes this newspaper. Full article
Source: Washington Post
Darfur may not be genocide by gas chamber or machete, but it is still a calculated policy of targeting ethnic groups and planning their elimination, writes this newspaper. Full article
Billions in aid brought East Timor little
Source: New York Times
East Timor is now poorer than it was before independence and impatient foreign donors are partly to blame as they spend money on salaries and consultancy fees for foreign advisers. "They all had a time frame - one year, two years, four years. You can't build a country from nothing in that amount of time", says a senior manager at a local company. Full article
Source: New York Times
East Timor is now poorer than it was before independence and impatient foreign donors are partly to blame as they spend money on salaries and consultancy fees for foreign advisers. "They all had a time frame - one year, two years, four years. You can't build a country from nothing in that amount of time", says a senior manager at a local company. Full article
Fighting in the shadows
Source: Newsweek
Somalia is erupting into violence again and Americans find themselves once more in the middle of battles they only dimly comprehend and may well be losing. Full article
Source: Newsweek
Somalia is erupting into violence again and Americans find themselves once more in the middle of battles they only dimly comprehend and may well be losing. Full article
The deadliest war in the world
Source: Time
By conventional measures, the conflict in Congo is over, but the country remains as broken, volatile and dangerous as ever. Full article
Source: Time
By conventional measures, the conflict in Congo is over, but the country remains as broken, volatile and dangerous as ever. Full article
Conflict in Africa's horn
Source: Boston Globe on International Herald Tribune
While U.N. resources are limited, crises in Darfur, Congo and elsewhere need more peacekeepers. The Ethiopian-Eritrean border has been quiet since December 2000 precisely because of aggressive intervention by the international community, says this editorial. Full article
Source: Boston Globe on International Herald Tribune
While U.N. resources are limited, crises in Darfur, Congo and elsewhere need more peacekeepers. The Ethiopian-Eritrean border has been quiet since December 2000 precisely because of aggressive intervention by the international community, says this editorial. Full article
A tale of two Indias
Source: Newsweek
HIV experts call India a "next wave" country - ripe for the kind of devastation South Africa has experienced during the past decade, but also capable of the bold action that has helped countries like Thailand and Brazil contain their epidemics. Full article
Source: Newsweek
HIV experts call India a "next wave" country - ripe for the kind of devastation South Africa has experienced during the past decade, but also capable of the bold action that has helped countries like Thailand and Brazil contain their epidemics. Full article
In praise of ... Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf
Source: The Guardian
The Liberian president's biggest tasks are changing her country's warlord culture of killing and plundering public money, as well as tackling education, water, electricity and HIV/AIDS. In comparison, meeting the Queen of England during her state visit should be a piece of cake, writes this newspaper. Full article
Source: The Guardian
The Liberian president's biggest tasks are changing her country's warlord culture of killing and plundering public money, as well as tackling education, water, electricity and HIV/AIDS. In comparison, meeting the Queen of England during her state visit should be a piece of cake, writes this newspaper. Full article
The Ivory Coast's war of the elephants
Source: Spiegel Online
Many in strife-torn Ivory Coast believe the national soccer squad can help end the country's civil war. Full article
Source: Spiegel Online
Many in strife-torn Ivory Coast believe the national soccer squad can help end the country's civil war. Full article
In Somalia, 'No idea who is fighting who'
Source: New York Times on International Herald Tribune
"Even if one side wins, they will then fight among themselves," says one Mogadishu resident who fled recent fighting between warlords and Islamist forces in the city. Full article
Source: New York Times on International Herald Tribune
"Even if one side wins, they will then fight among themselves," says one Mogadishu resident who fled recent fighting between warlords and Islamist forces in the city. Full article
Growing in India: Food for the world
Source: International Herald Tribune
One tenth of humanity resides in rural India, in villages haunted by the perennial spectre of inadequate harvests. But a country that has long struggled to feed itself is now making preparations to feed the world. Full article
Source: International Herald Tribune
One tenth of humanity resides in rural India, in villages haunted by the perennial spectre of inadequate harvests. But a country that has long struggled to feed itself is now making preparations to feed the world. Full article
An African answer to fighting AIDS
Source: Boston Globe
It's critically important to recognise that antiretroviral treatment is only one element in combating HIV/AIDS, says Dr Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, South Africa's health minister. Full article
Source: Boston Globe
It's critically important to recognise that antiretroviral treatment is only one element in combating HIV/AIDS, says Dr Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, South Africa's health minister. Full article
Still dying of hunger
Source: Washington Post
It would cost around $5 billion a year to provide 100 million hungry children and their mothers with a basic package of food, nutrition and healthcare. It may sound like a lot, but it's about the same amount the United States has allocated to assist 7 million American mothers and children this fiscal year, writes James Morris, executive director of the U.N. World Food Programme. Full article
Source: Washington Post
It would cost around $5 billion a year to provide 100 million hungry children and their mothers with a basic package of food, nutrition and healthcare. It may sound like a lot, but it's about the same amount the United States has allocated to assist 7 million American mothers and children this fiscal year, writes James Morris, executive director of the U.N. World Food Programme. Full article
Africa: Tribalism lives, for better and for worse
Source: International Herald Tribune
Tribalism in Africa is the glue that holds society together, but also the gunpowder that can tear it apart. Full article
Source: International Herald Tribune
Tribalism in Africa is the glue that holds society together, but also the gunpowder that can tear it apart. Full article
Brothers at War
Source: Spiegel Online
In the Rajoub family, one brother is a minister in the Hamas government; another used to be Yasser Arafat's security adviser. In this family, the growing divide between Palestinians goes right through the living room. Full article
Source: Spiegel Online
In the Rajoub family, one brother is a minister in the Hamas government; another used to be Yasser Arafat's security adviser. In this family, the growing divide between Palestinians goes right through the living room. Full article
When giving birth means being damaged and shunned
Source: Globe and Mail
Fistula disappeared more than 100 years ago from North America and Europe thanks to better antenatal care. Today, it affects the poorest women in the most isolated places, attracting little attention and fewer resources. Full article
Source: Globe and Mail
Fistula disappeared more than 100 years ago from North America and Europe thanks to better antenatal care. Today, it affects the poorest women in the most isolated places, attracting little attention and fewer resources. Full article
Walls came tumbling down
Source: The New York Times on International Herald Tribune
The rains that have been pounding many areas of East Africa are too late to end the hunger crisis in northeastern Kenya. Full article
Source: The New York Times on International Herald Tribune
The rains that have been pounding many areas of East Africa are too late to end the hunger crisis in northeastern Kenya. Full article
Balkan ghosts awakened
Source: International Herald Tribune
The new Montenegro wants early European Union membership, but this won't happen because it could encourage separatism in other parts of former Yugoslavia, argues this commentary. Full article
Source: International Herald Tribune
The new Montenegro wants early European Union membership, but this won't happen because it could encourage separatism in other parts of former Yugoslavia, argues this commentary. Full article
The famine is a silent tsunami
Source: The East African (Nairobi) on www.allafrica.com
The rains that have been pounding many areas of East Africa are too late to end the hunger crisis in northeastern Kenya. Full article
Source: The East African (Nairobi) on www.allafrica.com
The rains that have been pounding many areas of East Africa are too late to end the hunger crisis in northeastern Kenya. Full article
Africa: the corrupt continent
Source: LA Times
There's hardly a country in Africa that has enough honest officials who can deliver aid, medicines or schoolbooks without paying or receiving bribes or exploiting that aid for political patronage, says Michael Holman, former Africa editor for the Financial Times. Full article
Source: LA Times
There's hardly a country in Africa that has enough honest officials who can deliver aid, medicines or schoolbooks without paying or receiving bribes or exploiting that aid for political patronage, says Michael Holman, former Africa editor for the Financial Times. Full article
Pursuing an illusion of peace in Darfur
Source: Daily Star
No substantial efforts are being made to even try convincing Abdul Wahid Mohammed al-Nur, representative of Darfur's largest tribe, to sign the recent peace agreement. This is a vital task when the alternative is the probable failure of the Darfur Peace Agreement, writes Julie Flint, co-author of "Darfur: A Short History of a Long War". Full article
Source: Daily Star
No substantial efforts are being made to even try convincing Abdul Wahid Mohammed al-Nur, representative of Darfur's largest tribe, to sign the recent peace agreement. This is a vital task when the alternative is the probable failure of the Darfur Peace Agreement, writes Julie Flint, co-author of "Darfur: A Short History of a Long War". Full article
A huge 'no' to Africa's big-man politics
Source: Christian Science Monitor
By denying its president a third term, Nigeria has defied the African tradition of bowing to the Big Man - the kind who takes power by bullet or ballot and never lets go. Full article
Source: Christian Science Monitor
By denying its president a third term, Nigeria has defied the African tradition of bowing to the Big Man - the kind who takes power by bullet or ballot and never lets go. Full article
The Burmese people can't wait much longer
Source: International Herald Tribune
The misery of the Burmese people is more than an embarrassment, it' s a disgrace. But the U.S. and EU have to understand that direct pressure on the regime could backfire, writes journalist Ludu Sein Win. Full article
Source: International Herald Tribune
The misery of the Burmese people is more than an embarrassment, it' s a disgrace. But the U.S. and EU have to understand that direct pressure on the regime could backfire, writes journalist Ludu Sein Win. Full article
Let's learn from global health failures
Source: International Herald Tribune
The World Health Organisation publicly admitted its "3 by 5" AIDS treatment programme failed, but that hasn't prevented the organisation from announcing a new "10 by 10" strategy. Should G-8 countries really be expected to continue footing the bill for proven failure, asks Dr Carol Adelman, director of the Centre for Science in Public Policy at the Hudson Institute in Washington. Full article
Source: International Herald Tribune
The World Health Organisation publicly admitted its "3 by 5" AIDS treatment programme failed, but that hasn't prevented the organisation from announcing a new "10 by 10" strategy. Should G-8 countries really be expected to continue footing the bill for proven failure, asks Dr Carol Adelman, director of the Centre for Science in Public Policy at the Hudson Institute in Washington. Full article
Hearts of darkness
Source: Sydney Morning Herald News
Thousands of Karen villagers have fled since the Burmese army's offensive, and have crossed into Thailand or are waiting in internally displaced people camps just inside the border. The Herald's reporter visits some of the camps. Full article
Source: Sydney Morning Herald News
Thousands of Karen villagers have fled since the Burmese army's offensive, and have crossed into Thailand or are waiting in internally displaced people camps just inside the border. The Herald's reporter visits some of the camps. Full article
Montenegro breaks free
Source: International Herald Tribune
There is little to be surprised at in the decision in Montenegro - a small mountain state - to break away from Serbia. Full article
Source: International Herald Tribune
There is little to be surprised at in the decision in Montenegro - a small mountain state - to break away from Serbia. Full article
A Palestinian lifeline
Source: Washington Post
Hamas has only benefited from the West's attempt to starve its government, says this newspaper. Full article
Source: Washington Post
Hamas has only benefited from the West's attempt to starve its government, says this newspaper. Full article
Debt relief works
Source: The Guardian
Even after 7 percent growth in the past two years, Tanzania is still desperately poor. But debt relief has worked in this country, just not fast enough, writes the Guardian's Larry Elliott. Full article
Source: The Guardian
Even after 7 percent growth in the past two years, Tanzania is still desperately poor. But debt relief has worked in this country, just not fast enough, writes the Guardian's Larry Elliott. Full article
Struggles of the South
Source: Newsday
"The poor man, the common citizen, he can't get $1 a day. What kind of government is that? And these are the people I fought for. I'm regretting it", says a former fighter of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army, blaming the southern Sudan government that he helped put in power for the situation in the country. Full article
Source: Newsday
"The poor man, the common citizen, he can't get $1 a day. What kind of government is that? And these are the people I fought for. I'm regretting it", says a former fighter of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army, blaming the southern Sudan government that he helped put in power for the situation in the country. Full article
Lives in limbo at Sudan camp
Source: Newsday
Southern Sudan has begun the staggering task of re-creating itself as a viable nation and its people have started restoring the towns to life, but their efforts are easily derailed by everything from landmines to rain, which turns the region's dirt roads into impassable sludge. Full article
Source: Newsday
Southern Sudan has begun the staggering task of re-creating itself as a viable nation and its people have started restoring the towns to life, but their efforts are easily derailed by everything from landmines to rain, which turns the region's dirt roads into impassable sludge. Full article
Darfur's fleeting moment
Source: New York Times
A failure of international will has allowed Darfur to bleed into another year of rape, slaughter and starvation, write Anthony Lake, former national security adviser to former President Bill Clinton, and Francis Fukuyama, professor of international political economy at Johns Hopkins University. Full article
Source: New York Times
A failure of international will has allowed Darfur to bleed into another year of rape, slaughter and starvation, write Anthony Lake, former national security adviser to former President Bill Clinton, and Francis Fukuyama, professor of international political economy at Johns Hopkins University. Full article
Famine in Kenya: The rains have finally come, but for many it's already too late
Source: The Independent
The worst drought in decades has brought the tribal peoples of northeastern Kenya to the brink of starvation. Full article
Source: The Independent
The worst drought in decades has brought the tribal peoples of northeastern Kenya to the brink of starvation. Full article
Homosexuality and HIV/AIDS in Uganda
Source: Pambazuka News
How can HIV/AIDS policy in Uganda be successful when homosexuality is illegal? Full article
Source: Pambazuka News
How can HIV/AIDS policy in Uganda be successful when homosexuality is illegal? Full article
Crimes against humanity: Anatomy of an arms dealer
Source: The Independent
Guus Kouwenhoven once enjoyed a glitzy life but is now facing a possible life sentence as the first arms dealer to be tried for crimes against humanity. Full article
Source: The Independent
Guus Kouwenhoven once enjoyed a glitzy life but is now facing a possible life sentence as the first arms dealer to be tried for crimes against humanity. Full article
Worth it
Source: Houston Chronicle
It's in America's interest to aid Palestinian citizens, bypassing the Hamas government they elected, writes this newspaper. Full article
Source: Houston Chronicle
It's in America's interest to aid Palestinian citizens, bypassing the Hamas government they elected, writes this newspaper. Full article
Darfur and beyond: We need permanent peacekeeping forces
Source: International Herald Tribune
Peacekeeping is as an international problem but states' refusal to get involved is guided by national-level interests - thus the solution is standing national peacekeeping armies, argues John Gledhill of Washington's Georgetown University. Full article
Source: International Herald Tribune
Peacekeeping is as an international problem but states' refusal to get involved is guided by national-level interests - thus the solution is standing national peacekeeping armies, argues John Gledhill of Washington's Georgetown University. Full article
Where AIDS galloped, lessons in applying the reins
Source: New York Times
Kenya, a nation where experts say the AIDS epidemic shows signs of easing, is a rarity in Africa. Full article
Source: New York Times
Kenya, a nation where experts say the AIDS epidemic shows signs of easing, is a rarity in Africa. Full article
Doing the daring in Darfur
Source: Christian Science Monitor
Darfur is the killing fields of this decade and the international community must help stop atrocities there. Full article
Source: Christian Science Monitor
Darfur is the killing fields of this decade and the international community must help stop atrocities there. Full article
Buttressing Ecowas' call
Source: The Inquirer (Monrovia) on www.allafrica.com
Former Liberian President Charles Taylor is gone yet Liberia is still under U.N. sanctions. It's time for them to go as well. Full article
Source: The Inquirer (Monrovia) on www.allafrica.com
Former Liberian President Charles Taylor is gone yet Liberia is still under U.N. sanctions. It's time for them to go as well. Full article
Uganda doesn't back Congo rebels
Source: New Vision (Kampala) on www.allafrica.com
If the U.N. has any evidence of Uganda arming groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo, why haven't they officially communicated that to the Ugandan government? Full article
Source: New Vision (Kampala) on www.allafrica.com
If the U.N. has any evidence of Uganda arming groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo, why haven't they officially communicated that to the Ugandan government? Full article
Doing the right thing in Nigeria
Source: New York Times
Three cheers to the Nigerian parliament for rejecting a constitutional change that would have allowed President Olusegun Obasanjo to run for a third term in 2007, says this newspaper. Full article
Source: New York Times
Three cheers to the Nigerian parliament for rejecting a constitutional change that would have allowed President Olusegun Obasanjo to run for a third term in 2007, says this newspaper. Full article
What does the Kremlin want?
Source: Le Monde Diplomatique
Does the Chechen conflict amount to genocide? Full article
Source: Le Monde Diplomatique
Does the Chechen conflict amount to genocide? Full article
Sudan: Help Darfur Now!
Source: United Nations (New York) on www.allafrica.com
This is not the moment for anyone involved in Darfur's peace accord to rest on their laurels. Darfur is still far from peace, says U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan. Full article
Source: United Nations (New York) on www.allafrica.com
This is not the moment for anyone involved in Darfur's peace accord to rest on their laurels. Darfur is still far from peace, says U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan. Full article
Serbia cannot escape curse of Mladic
Source: The Guardian
Far from burying the past, Montenegro's close-run referendum to form a separate state from Serbia may mark the beginning of a new cycle of uncertainty, writes Guardian columnist Simon Tisdall. Full article
Source: The Guardian
Far from burying the past, Montenegro's close-run referendum to form a separate state from Serbia may mark the beginning of a new cycle of uncertainty, writes Guardian columnist Simon Tisdall. Full article
Chechnya only seems normal
Source: Le Monde Diplomatique
The Chechen capital Grozny is bustling with activity in its bazaars, public transport, building sites and restaurants, but behind appearances war is on everyone's mind. Full article
Source: Le Monde Diplomatique
The Chechen capital Grozny is bustling with activity in its bazaars, public transport, building sites and restaurants, but behind appearances war is on everyone's mind. Full article
I am a witness. What can I do?
Source: The Independent
"I am as sick of messianic rock stars as the next man, woman and child", says Bono. Full article
Source: The Independent
"I am as sick of messianic rock stars as the next man, woman and child", says Bono. Full article
Starved for a solution
Source: Newsday
A Darfur peace accord signed on May 5 is not expected to lessen the needs of people in Darfur anytime soon. Full article
Source: Newsday
A Darfur peace accord signed on May 5 is not expected to lessen the needs of people in Darfur anytime soon. Full article
Using rape as a weapon of war
Source: Newsday
"In war, any tactic an aggressor can use to demoralise his enemy works in his favour. Rape does just that", says Janet Kerr, a psychologist and sexual violence expert who works in a displacement camp in Darfur, in this account of how rape is being used as a weapon in the Darfur conflict. Full article
Source: Newsday
"In war, any tactic an aggressor can use to demoralise his enemy works in his favour. Rape does just that", says Janet Kerr, a psychologist and sexual violence expert who works in a displacement camp in Darfur, in this account of how rape is being used as a weapon in the Darfur conflict. Full article
Bob Geldof: Aid isn't the answer. Africa must be allowed to trade its way out of poverty
Source: The Independent
Africa and its people must trade its way into the global market and sit where it rightfully belongs, negotiating as equals with the rest of us, says Bob Geldof. Full article
Source: The Independent
Africa and its people must trade its way into the global market and sit where it rightfully belongs, negotiating as equals with the rest of us, says Bob Geldof. Full article
Niall Fitzgerald: Not a burden, but a land of opportunity
Source: The Independent
Promoting growth is the only sustainable way to help Africa help itself, says Niall Fitzgerald, Reuters chairman. Full article
Source: The Independent
Promoting growth is the only sustainable way to help Africa help itself, says Niall Fitzgerald, Reuters chairman. Full article
A flawed peace pact
Source: Newsday
"Rape being used as a weapon, burning of villages is being used as a weapon, destroying commerce is being used as a weapon...If I were [Sudanese president] el-Bashir, I wouldn't want a bunch of international troops digging around Darfur looking for evidence of war crimes", says a Western diplomat in this analysis of the Darfur peace deal. Full article
Source: Newsday
"Rape being used as a weapon, burning of villages is being used as a weapon, destroying commerce is being used as a weapon...If I were [Sudanese president] el-Bashir, I wouldn't want a bunch of international troops digging around Darfur looking for evidence of war crimes", says a Western diplomat in this analysis of the Darfur peace deal. Full article
A pact with suspense
Source: Newsday
If the Darfur peace accord falters, the question is whether the world, which until now has failed to use tough tactics against Sudan's government, will do more to ensure the peace. Full article
Source: Newsday
If the Darfur peace accord falters, the question is whether the world, which until now has failed to use tough tactics against Sudan's government, will do more to ensure the peace. Full article
Raising their voices
Source: Newsday
"I was surprised I wasn't able to find about this serious topic in your newspaper...I don't know if you believe that this topic won't sell your papers or you are just not aware of the problems". This letter from a 14-year old high school girl goaded a Newsday editor into action on Darfur. Full article
Source: Newsday
"I was surprised I wasn't able to find about this serious topic in your newspaper...I don't know if you believe that this topic won't sell your papers or you are just not aware of the problems". This letter from a 14-year old high school girl goaded a Newsday editor into action on Darfur. Full article
Why insist on Mladic's arrest
Source: CNN
How important is it to arrest the general who led at Srebrenica, compared with integrating 8 million people in a region that badly needs stability? Full article
Source: CNN
How important is it to arrest the general who led at Srebrenica, compared with integrating 8 million people in a region that badly needs stability? Full article
Where is the global outcry at this continuing cruelty?
Source: The Guardian
Israel is celebrating its 58th birthday and so it should, for it's pulled off an amazing stunt: the creation of a state for one people on the land of another without incurring effective sanction, writes Dr Ghada Karmi, research fellow at the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, Exeter University, and a former consultant to the Palestinian Authority. Full article
Source: The Guardian
Israel is celebrating its 58th birthday and so it should, for it's pulled off an amazing stunt: the creation of a state for one people on the land of another without incurring effective sanction, writes Dr Ghada Karmi, research fellow at the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, Exeter University, and a former consultant to the Palestinian Authority. Full article
It's hell in Darfur, but is it genocide?
Source: LA Times
One of the many tragedies of Darfur is that it had to be mislabeled a genocide before politicians and activists were stirred to respond, writes Michael Clough, author of "Free at Last? United States Policy Toward Africa and the End of the Cold War." Full article
Source: LA Times
One of the many tragedies of Darfur is that it had to be mislabeled a genocide before politicians and activists were stirred to respond, writes Michael Clough, author of "Free at Last? United States Policy Toward Africa and the End of the Cold War." Full article
Ideology Only
Source: New York Times
President Bush deserves credit for a big increase in U.S. funding for AIDS prevention programmess abroad, but he also needs to shoulder part of the blame for letting ideology drive how the money is spent. Full article
Source: New York Times
President Bush deserves credit for a big increase in U.S. funding for AIDS prevention programmess abroad, but he also needs to shoulder part of the blame for letting ideology drive how the money is spent. Full article
For journalists, security the key issue to covering Darfur
Source: CNN
Dirt roads, angry rebels and government censorship make it hard and dangerous to cover what's going on in Darfur, CNN reporter Nic Robertson says. Full article
Source: CNN
Dirt roads, angry rebels and government censorship make it hard and dangerous to cover what's going on in Darfur, CNN reporter Nic Robertson says. Full article
Aid for Palestinians
Source: Toronto Star
EU officials are now trying to channel funds without going through the Hamas leadership, in a welcome development that Canada should consider supporting. Full article
Source: Toronto Star
EU officials are now trying to channel funds without going through the Hamas leadership, in a welcome development that Canada should consider supporting. Full article
Bridging Bosnia's Many Divides
Source: Washington Post
The bridge in Mostar has been rebuilt but the city is still dead, say survivors of the war in Bosnia. Full article
Source: Washington Post
The bridge in Mostar has been rebuilt but the city is still dead, say survivors of the war in Bosnia. Full article
By moderating, Hamas can absolve itself of blame for Palestinians' plight
Source: Daily Star
Hamas is presiding over a government that is on the brink of collapse and over a people who are suffering from collective punishment. Full article
Source: Daily Star
Hamas is presiding over a government that is on the brink of collapse and over a people who are suffering from collective punishment. Full article
Obstacles to peace
Source: The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Conditions in Darfur are even worse than they have been portrayed, and only the most credulous can be optimistic about the effectiveness of the peace agreement signed in Nigeria. Full article
Source: The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Conditions in Darfur are even worse than they have been portrayed, and only the most credulous can be optimistic about the effectiveness of the peace agreement signed in Nigeria. Full article
Stigmatization Worsens Effects of HIV/Aids
Source: AllAfrica.com
The brutal killing of an HIV-positive boy in Kenya shows that the AIDS stigma is still alive and well, Sunny Ntayombya says. Full article
Source: AllAfrica.com
The brutal killing of an HIV-positive boy in Kenya shows that the AIDS stigma is still alive and well, Sunny Ntayombya says. Full article
Lack of food adding to misery in Darfur
Source: San Antonio Express-News
The U.N. World Food Programme has only received one third of the cash it needs for relief work in Sudan, but where are the donors? Other rich nations should follow the U.S. lead and boost their contributions for Darfur. Full article
Source: San Antonio Express-News
The U.N. World Food Programme has only received one third of the cash it needs for relief work in Sudan, but where are the donors? Other rich nations should follow the U.S. lead and boost their contributions for Darfur. Full article
Toward hope in Darfur
Source: St. Petersburg Times
The new peace agreement offers a glimmer of hope for a region that has known nothing but despair and human misery, but any foot-dragging could unravel the accords. Full article
Source: St. Petersburg Times
The new peace agreement offers a glimmer of hope for a region that has known nothing but despair and human misery, but any foot-dragging could unravel the accords. Full article
Send in the clowns during serious times
Source: Orlando Sentinel
Clowns Without Borders bring laughter rather than medicine to children and parents hit by conflict and disaster in Kosovo, Nepal, Chiapas and Sudan. Full article
Source: Orlando Sentinel
Clowns Without Borders bring laughter rather than medicine to children and parents hit by conflict and disaster in Kosovo, Nepal, Chiapas and Sudan. Full article
Darfur: Enough is Enough
Source: Daily Champion
The Sudanese government has been called a serial contract breaker by peace negotiators around the globe, and fears remain about the Darfur peace accord. Full article
Source: Daily Champion
The Sudanese government has been called a serial contract breaker by peace negotiators around the globe, and fears remain about the Darfur peace accord. Full article
Don't ostracise Hamas
Source: Daily Telegraph
The U.S.-led effort to undermine the new Palestinian leadership has backfired and a humanitarian crisis is now imminent. Full article
Source: Daily Telegraph
The U.S.-led effort to undermine the new Palestinian leadership has backfired and a humanitarian crisis is now imminent. Full article
Emergency aid may be too little, too late for Palestinians trying to survive a crisis
Source: The Independent
The timetable for establishing an emergency fund for the Palestinian territories is far less clear than the scale of the crisis it will attempt to alleviate, says the Independent's Donald Macintyre. Full article
Source: The Independent
The timetable for establishing an emergency fund for the Palestinian territories is far less clear than the scale of the crisis it will attempt to alleviate, says the Independent's Donald Macintyre. Full article
Darfur Needs U.N. Peacekeepers Now
Source: New York Times
Now is the time for action in Darfur: with negotiations over and a peace deal in effect, a well-armed U.N. force from African and Arab countries should be deployed immediately. Full article
Source: New York Times
Now is the time for action in Darfur: with negotiations over and a peace deal in effect, a well-armed U.N. force from African and Arab countries should be deployed immediately. Full article
Darfur's slow burn
Source: OpenDemocracy
The Darfur peace agreement may only be the prelude to a regional conflict which could draw in Chad and the surrounding countries, argues Katharine Houreld. Full article
Source: OpenDemocracy
The Darfur peace agreement may only be the prelude to a regional conflict which could draw in Chad and the surrounding countries, argues Katharine Houreld. Full article
Feed the rich: Meet the United States, foreign-aid recipient
Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Poor countries' donations to Katrina victims should inspire gratitude and shame in the United States. It's as a bit like Bill Gates lining up for dinner at a food bank. Full article
Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Poor countries' donations to Katrina victims should inspire gratitude and shame in the United States. It's as a bit like Bill Gates lining up for dinner at a food bank. Full article
The U.N. sex-for-food scandal
Source: Washington Times
The abuse of young girls in Liberia is just the latest case in a growing tragedy played out in countries visited by peacekeepers, and the United Nations is not acting quickly enough. Full article
Source: Washington Times
The abuse of young girls in Liberia is just the latest case in a growing tragedy played out in countries visited by peacekeepers, and the United Nations is not acting quickly enough. Full article
Abkhazia's dream of freedom
Source: OpenDemocracy
Abkhazia's case for independence from Georgia echoes Kosovo's tug away from Serbia, and Abkhaz leaders are increasingly seeing double standards in the West's different treatment of the two territories. Full article
Source: OpenDemocracy
Abkhazia's case for independence from Georgia echoes Kosovo's tug away from Serbia, and Abkhaz leaders are increasingly seeing double standards in the West's different treatment of the two territories. Full article
Quick action can solidify tenuous peace agreement
Source: Miami Herald
The death of an African Union interpreter in Darfur -- stabbed to death by a crowd of displaced people angry at the international community's failure to protect them -- underscores the urgent need for all sides to put the terms of the peace agreement into concrete action. Full article
Source: Miami Herald
The death of an African Union interpreter in Darfur -- stabbed to death by a crowd of displaced people angry at the international community's failure to protect them -- underscores the urgent need for all sides to put the terms of the peace agreement into concrete action. Full article
Botched Kosovo intervention dims hopes for peace
Source: Baltimore Sun
Western leaders negotiating Kosovo's future status are panicking – and they still don't have a Plan B for Balkan peace. Full article
Source: Baltimore Sun
Western leaders negotiating Kosovo's future status are panicking – and they still don't have a Plan B for Balkan peace. Full article
Foreign aid is in everyone's interest
Source: Christian Science Monitor
Those who say foreign aid doesn't work are mistaken, argues Jeffrey Sachs of the Columbia University Earth Institute. Full article
Source: Christian Science Monitor
Those who say foreign aid doesn't work are mistaken, argues Jeffrey Sachs of the Columbia University Earth Institute. Full article
Hope, if not peace, in Darfur
Source: LA Times
The real benefit of last week's Darfur peace deal is that it might speed up the arrival of desperately needed U.N. troops. Full article
Source: LA Times
The real benefit of last week's Darfur peace deal is that it might speed up the arrival of desperately needed U.N. troops. Full article
A strange way to help Africa
Source: Toronto Star
Africans must find westerners odd: first they send missionaries to teach them their beliefs, then they send development experts and finally celebrities come to publicise the suffering of the continent. And what does it say about us when only a pretty pop star can make us care about ending the African scourge of fistula, asks Carol Goar. Full article
Source: Toronto Star
Africans must find westerners odd: first they send missionaries to teach them their beliefs, then they send development experts and finally celebrities come to publicise the suffering of the continent. And what does it say about us when only a pretty pop star can make us care about ending the African scourge of fistula, asks Carol Goar. Full article
In the end, it's the children who pay
Source: The Daily Star
Western governments' decision to cut financial assistance to the Palestinian Authority will bring more hardship to embattled children in the occupied territories who rely on functioning healthcare and water and sanitation services, argues Cesar Chelala. Full article
Source: The Daily Star
Western governments' decision to cut financial assistance to the Palestinian Authority will bring more hardship to embattled children in the occupied territories who rely on functioning healthcare and water and sanitation services, argues Cesar Chelala. Full article
What Ails Afghanistan?
Source: Wall Street Journal
Afghanistan will never be stable unless Pakistan's military government is replaced with a democracy, argues Chris Patten, the former EU commissioner for external relations. Full article
Source: Wall Street Journal
Afghanistan will never be stable unless Pakistan's military government is replaced with a democracy, argues Chris Patten, the former EU commissioner for external relations. Full article
Not the worst of accords on Darfur
Source: The Daily Star
If the peace agreement fails, it will be because of its process rather than its provisions, says author Julie Flint. Full article
Source: The Daily Star
If the peace agreement fails, it will be because of its process rather than its provisions, says author Julie Flint. Full article
Peacekeepers next priority for Darfur: Worth Repeating
Source: The Toronto Star
This edited version of an editorial from the Washington Post argues that, for the Darfur peace deal to last, the holdout rebel factions must sign up to the agreement and Khartoum must declare Darfur open to a U.N. peacekeeping force. Full article
Source: The Toronto Star
This edited version of an editorial from the Washington Post argues that, for the Darfur peace deal to last, the holdout rebel factions must sign up to the agreement and Khartoum must declare Darfur open to a U.N. peacekeeping force. Full article
Risks remain despite peace pact in Darfur
Source: The Advertiser
The Darfur peace agreement is meaningless unless accompanied by a real commitment to ending violence and a guarantee of unrestricted humanitarian access, say Robert Glasser, chief executive of CARE Australia, and Andrew Hewett, executive director of Oxfam Australia. Full article
Source: The Advertiser
The Darfur peace agreement is meaningless unless accompanied by a real commitment to ending violence and a guarantee of unrestricted humanitarian access, say Robert Glasser, chief executive of CARE Australia, and Andrew Hewett, executive director of Oxfam Australia. Full article
Sudan: the pitfalls of US foreign policy
Source: The Age
The Khartoum regime remains a threat to peace in Darfur, writes columnist and author Tom Porteous, formerly with the BBC and the British Foreign Office. Full article
Source: The Age
The Khartoum regime remains a threat to peace in Darfur, writes columnist and author Tom Porteous, formerly with the BBC and the British Foreign Office. Full article
Darfur: A small step in the desert
Source: The Guardian
The new Darfur peace agreement owes much to British and U.S. pressure but is unlikely to end the conflict. Full article
Source: The Guardian
The new Darfur peace agreement owes much to British and U.S. pressure but is unlikely to end the conflict. Full article
Darfur Gets a Fighting Chance
Source: New York Times
Only a well-armed U.N. peacekeeping force in Darfur can ensure that the agreement between the Sudanese government and rebels leads to genuine peace. Full article
Source: New York Times
Only a well-armed U.N. peacekeeping force in Darfur can ensure that the agreement between the Sudanese government and rebels leads to genuine peace. Full article
New coalition of the willing needed in Darfur
Source: The Australian
The last thing Darfur needs is more U.N. involvement, argues Mark Steyn. Full article
Source: The Australian
The last thing Darfur needs is more U.N. involvement, argues Mark Steyn. Full article
A 'grandfatherly' killer
Source: Toronto Star
Having lunch with ex-commanders and "mass killers" of the Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda is easy, writes the Toronto Star's John Goddard. Full article
Source: Toronto Star
Having lunch with ex-commanders and "mass killers" of the Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda is easy, writes the Toronto Star's John Goddard. Full article
Darfur deal raises bar for peace
Source: Chicago Tribune
Bringing peace to Darfur will be a tough job even if both sides feel pressure to comply with the new pact. Full article
Source: Chicago Tribune
Bringing peace to Darfur will be a tough job even if both sides feel pressure to comply with the new pact. Full article
World still oblivious to deadly Darfur crisis
Source: Ottawa Citizen
The best thing to happen to Darfur last week might have been when George Clooney joined a protest march in Washington. Full article
Source: Ottawa Citizen
The best thing to happen to Darfur last week might have been when George Clooney joined a protest march in Washington. Full article
Time for UN to address Burma
Source: The Nation (Thailand)
The U.N. should investigate possible war crimes and crimes against humanity committed since the Burmese military took power, but China and Russia keep blocking action against the junta. Full article
Source: The Nation (Thailand)
The U.N. should investigate possible war crimes and crimes against humanity committed since the Burmese military took power, but China and Russia keep blocking action against the junta. Full article
Much too long to wave goodbye
Source: Waikato Times
Confusion over a tsunami warning after an earthquake near Tonga raises questions about the pace of today's electronic media and the lack of communication between emergency services and journalists. Full article
Source: Waikato Times
Confusion over a tsunami warning after an earthquake near Tonga raises questions about the pace of today's electronic media and the lack of communication between emergency services and journalists. Full article
North Korea is heading towards another famine
Source: The Times
'Choongoong' which means 'spring food shortage' is well under way in North Korea. Full article
Source: The Times
'Choongoong' which means 'spring food shortage' is well under way in North Korea. Full article
Unity through autonomy
Source: New York Times on International Herald Tribune
Iraq should follow the Bosnian model for peace - keeping the country whole by decentralising it and dividing it into ethnic federations, says Joseph Biden Jr of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Leslie Gelb, president emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations. Full article
Source: New York Times on International Herald Tribune
Iraq should follow the Bosnian model for peace - keeping the country whole by decentralising it and dividing it into ethnic federations, says Joseph Biden Jr of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Leslie Gelb, president emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations. Full article
Lessons From Nepal
Source: Daily Trust (Abuja) on www.allafrica.com
Autocratic and corrupt regimes across Africa should learn some lessons from Nepal where the king has been forced to reinstate parliament after protests against his direct rule. Africans who have so far failed to rid themselves of incompetent or autocratic leaders could also take note of the successful revolutions in Georgia and Ukraine. Full article
Source: Daily Trust (Abuja) on www.allafrica.com
Autocratic and corrupt regimes across Africa should learn some lessons from Nepal where the king has been forced to reinstate parliament after protests against his direct rule. Africans who have so far failed to rid themselves of incompetent or autocratic leaders could also take note of the successful revolutions in Georgia and Ukraine. Full article
Got your conflict? Mr Ahtisaari is your man
Source: Christian Science Monitor,
This is a profile of Marti Ahtisaari whose past jobs include negotiating Nambia's independence and brokering an agreement between Indonesia and Aceh separatists. His current task is to get Serbs and ethnic Albanians to agree on the status of Kosovo. Full article
Source: Christian Science Monitor,
This is a profile of Marti Ahtisaari whose past jobs include negotiating Nambia's independence and brokering an agreement between Indonesia and Aceh separatists. His current task is to get Serbs and ethnic Albanians to agree on the status of Kosovo. Full article
Balkan betrayal
Source: The Times
How hard can it be to arrest a man whose face everyone knows, in a country the size of Scotland? Full article
Source: The Times
How hard can it be to arrest a man whose face everyone knows, in a country the size of Scotland? Full article
An Incomplete Peace: Sudan's Never-Ending War With Itself
Source: New York Times
The administration's effort to clinch a peace deal for Darfur comes at the end of a long string of confusing and seemingly contradictory U.S. stances on Sudan. Full article
Source: New York Times
The administration's effort to clinch a peace deal for Darfur comes at the end of a long string of confusing and seemingly contradictory U.S. stances on Sudan. Full article
The Myanmar test
Source: Boston Globe on International Herald Tribune
If the United States doesn't lead the way in pressing for a resolution on Myanmar, the junta's victims will continue to suffer and die, and a recently-passed U.N. resolution on protecting civilians in armed conflict won't mean a thing. Full article
Source: Boston Globe on International Herald Tribune
If the United States doesn't lead the way in pressing for a resolution on Myanmar, the junta's victims will continue to suffer and die, and a recently-passed U.N. resolution on protecting civilians in armed conflict won't mean a thing. Full article
International Triple Standards and the Plight of the Gambian People
Source: The Independent (Banjul) on www.allafrica.com
It is embarrassing that the United States -- one of the world's self-proclaimed champions of democracy, human rights and the rule of law -- should watch silently as the Gambian state ruthlessly bullies its own citizens simply because the head of state is a Washington ally. Full article
Source: The Independent (Banjul) on www.allafrica.com
It is embarrassing that the United States -- one of the world's self-proclaimed champions of democracy, human rights and the rule of law -- should watch silently as the Gambian state ruthlessly bullies its own citizens simply because the head of state is a Washington ally. Full article
Fighting the Malaria Menace
Source: Ghanaian Chronicle (Accra) on www.allafrica.com
Just like any other disease on the African continent, malaria deaths deprive nations of their best human resources, with devastating knock-on effects like poverty. Full article
Source: Ghanaian Chronicle (Accra) on www.allafrica.com
Just like any other disease on the African continent, malaria deaths deprive nations of their best human resources, with devastating knock-on effects like poverty. Full article
Insuring against disaster
Source: New York Times on International Herald Tribune
Ethiopia's drought insurance could blaze the trail towards a solution to one of the most vexing problems in aid. Full article
Source: New York Times on International Herald Tribune
Ethiopia's drought insurance could blaze the trail towards a solution to one of the most vexing problems in aid. Full article
Impunity on Trial in Africa
Source: Washington Post
The arrest of former Liberian president Charles Taylor is the latest attempt to hold African politicians to account for their crimes. Full article
Source: Washington Post
The arrest of former Liberian president Charles Taylor is the latest attempt to hold African politicians to account for their crimes. Full article
Nets for Africa: A practical way to defeat despair
Source: New York Times on International Herald Tribune
"We Americans have a perfect retort to Osama bin Laden's call for expanding the terrorism war to Sudan. We should respond by showing our abiding concern for the plight of Africans by helping to save millions of children who are at risk of death from disease", says Jeffrey Sachs, author of "The End of Poverty" and director of Columbia University's Earth Institute. Full article
Source: New York Times on International Herald Tribune
"We Americans have a perfect retort to Osama bin Laden's call for expanding the terrorism war to Sudan. We should respond by showing our abiding concern for the plight of Africans by helping to save millions of children who are at risk of death from disease", says Jeffrey Sachs, author of "The End of Poverty" and director of Columbia University's Earth Institute. Full article
Peace and reconstruction in Aceh
Source: Christian Science Monitor
Peace in Indonesia's Aceh is not yet irreversible and reconstruction has a long way to go. But in sharp contrast to Sri Lanka, which has seen a deepening of its civil war divide, Aceh has the potential to become a success story, says Michael Renner, director of the Global Security Project at the Worldwatch Institute, a research and policy organisation based in Washington. Full article
Source: Christian Science Monitor
Peace in Indonesia's Aceh is not yet irreversible and reconstruction has a long way to go. But in sharp contrast to Sri Lanka, which has seen a deepening of its civil war divide, Aceh has the potential to become a success story, says Michael Renner, director of the Global Security Project at the Worldwatch Institute, a research and policy organisation based in Washington. Full article
