CaMUN 2008: Del 06 al 08 de Abril

Construyendo Puentes de Justicia y Paz a través de las Naciones

Del 06 al 08 de Abril se realizará en la sede del Liceo "Moral y Luces Herzl-Bialik" la séptima edición del Caracas Model United Nations (CaMUN) donde esperamos reunir a más de quinientos estudiantes procedentes de una treintena de liceos y colegios de la ciudad de Caracas.

En su nueva edición, el modelo se expande en un mayor número de comités en inglés y español. El comité CaMUN 2008, actualmente trabajando por ustedes (profesores y estudiantes) protagonistas de esta maravillosa experiencia que son los modelos de la Organización de las Naciones Unidas, ha decidido dar mayor peso e importancia a los denominados "comités de crisis" los cuales permiten un mejor desempeño de los estudiantes, un aprendizaje más efectivo y el conocimiento de determinada realidad que exige gerencia compartida, trabajo en equipo, solución de conflictos y el poner en práctica, como una enseñanza por y para la vida, de valores como la tolerancia, respeto, justicia, libertad, aceptación y comunicación.

En los próximos días informaremos sobre los comités y tópicos del modelo CaMUN 2008.

ESPERAMOS CONTAR CON VUESTRA PRESENCIA! BIENVENIDOS A CaMUN 2008

CaMUNews - Anti-domestic violence campaign in Venezuela targets men

A new anti-domestic violence advertising campaign in Venezuela is directed at male aggressors. The campaign, which encourages men to reflect on violence against women, is supported by the state Institute for Women, United Nations agencies in Venezuela, NGOs and a Venezuelan bank.

Breaking News: Situation in Myanmar - Part I

The United Nations' Human Rights Council said Friday it will hold a special emergency session to discuss the violent crackdown on protesters in Myanmar. The meeting, which is scheduled for Tuesday in Geneva, comes as Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has dispatched a special envoy to the troubled Southeast Asian

Breaking News: Situation in Myanmar

Myanmar's neighbors stay cautious: While Europe and the U.S. have clearly condemned Myanmar's military junta's violence against protesters and its history of human rights abuse, the country's Asian neighbors have taken a much more careful approach. The unwillingness of such countries as China and Thailand to speak up for Myanmar's people against their repressive rulers reflects the neighbors' own self-interests, The Washington Post reports. The Washington Post

Special Report CaMUNews: Britain struggles to clarify stance on Security Council reform

Britain has been on the defensive this week since its foreign secretary, David Miliband, identified Brazil, India, Japan and South Africa as four "very clear" candidates for permanent membership on a potentially enlarged Security Council. Germany, Egypt and Nigeria were reportedly upset, as his comments during an interview Tuesday strayed from the U.K.'s earlier policy of backing Germany and not identifying a specific African country that ought to represent that continent. Miliband backtracked during his speech to the UN General Assembly Wednesday, embracing Britain's original position. The Independent (London)

CaMUNews - UN envoy to visit Myanmar to urge calm

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Wednesday said he is sending his special envoy on Myanmar to the Southeast Asian country to urge the military regime there to exercise restraint, a move that comes as police have started to violently crack down on monks and other protesters. Ban's office urged the regime to refrain from harming peaceful demonstrators and to cooperate with the envoy, Ibrahim Gambari. Meanwhile, China blocked efforts in the UN Security Council to condemn the military junta's crackdown on the protests. CNN (9/27) , The Washington Times (9/27) , The New York Times (9/27)

CaMUNews - For this soccer star, malaria campaign is worthy goal

As the national spokesman for Nothing But Nets, Chicago Fire's midfielder Diego Gutierrez is spreading the word that for a contribution of only $10, the United Nations Foundation-backed charity can buy and distribute a life-saving mosquito net in Africa. "Ideally, five or 10 years from now, I will be on to another charity and we won't be talking about malaria because I envision that it won't be a problem by then," the soccer veteran said. ESPN.com

CaMUNews - Senegal's president: A prosperous time ahead for Africa?

This is a promising time for Africa, with both development and civil rights improving sharply in many countries, Senegal's president writes in The Boston Globe. African-Americans, many of whom feel a special connection to the continent of their ancestors, now "have unprecedented opportunities to buy African products and services, visit the national treasures, cities, beaches, and mountains of their lands of origin, cultivate foreign investment agencies, and tap Africa's boundless potential to produce green energy and abundant food supplies," Abdoulaye Wade writes.

CaMUNews - Commentary: As populations grow, so do problems

While several industrialized countries are worried about their stalled population growth, a much larger problem globally is the soaring number of people in developing countries, this commentary in the Los Angeles Times argues. The world needs "bold international formulas" for addressing the growing problem of migration, which is at least partly a direct result of soaring populations in poor countries, says Barbara Crossette, former chief of The New York Times' UN bureau. Los Angeles Times

CaMUNews - Boat schools ensure education in wet Bangladesh

Increasingly flood-prone Bangladesh has started offering more students education on boats. "For Bangladesh, boats are the future," said architect Abul Hasanat Mohammed Rezwan, reflecting the scientific consensus that the Himalayas' melting glaciers are expected to flood no less than one-fifth of the country in the next couple of decades. The Washington Post (9/27)

CaMUNews - World Bank concerned poor countries may face new tariffs

Europe should extend a deadline that at the end of the year threatens to hike tariffs on goods imported from countries in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific, World Bank officials have urged. Europe has warned that the countries must agree to free-trade agreements by Dec. 31 or face significantly higher tariffs on their exports. Inter Press Service News Agency (9/27)

CaMUNews - Bush meeting on climate to focus on voluntary efforts

The special two-day meeting on climate change that began Thursday in Washington, hosted by U.S. President George W. Bush, will focus on promoting various ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions without imposing mandates. China, India and several other major polluters are participating in the summit. Environmental News Network/Associated Press

CaMUNews - Iran Strengthens Ties With South America

Iran Strengthens Ties With South America
By IAN JAMES, Associated Press Writer 1:06 AM PDT, September 28, 2007

CARACAS, Venezuela -- The leaders of Iran and Venezuela cemented an alliance aimed at countering the United States while the Iranian president reached out to a new ally in Bolivia and declared that together, "no one can defeat us." After being vilified during his U.N. visit this week, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad traveled on to friendlier territory Thursday, first stopping in Bolivia -- where he pledged $1 billion in investment -- and then visiting Venezuela to meet President Hugo Chavez. "Together we are surely growing stronger, and in truth no one can defeat us," the Iranian leader said through an interpreter. Apparently referring to the U.S., he said, "Imperialism has no other option: Respect the peoples (of the world) or accept defeat." Chavez greeted the Iranian leader warmly on a red carpet in front of the presidential palace, where they both stood before microphones and let loose with rhetoric challenging Washington. "We will continue resisting to the end in the face of imperialism," Ahmadinejad said. "And the age of imperialism has ended."

Chavez embraced the Iranian leader, calling him "one of the greatest anti-imperialist fighters" and "one of the great fighters for true peace." In his defiant speech to the U.N. General Assembly this week, Ahmadinejad rebuked "arrogant powers" seeking to curb Iran's nuclear program. Chavez also strongly defends Iran's nuclear research, insisting it is for peaceful energy uses despite U.S. charges it is aimed at making nuclear weapons. The Venezuelan leader also says his country plans to eventually develop a nuclear energy program. Chavez said he was proud of Ahmadinejad's courage while under hostile questioning at New York's Columbia University. "An imperial spokesman tried to disrespect you, calling you a cruel little tyrant. You responded with the greatness of a revolutionary."

In Bolivia, the Iranian leader pledged investment over the next five years to help the poor Andean nation tap its vast natural gas reserves, extract minerals, generate more electricity and fund agricultural and construction projects. Bolivian President Evo Morales, who joins Chavez as one of Iran's key allies, called Ahmadinejad's visit historic as the two nations established diplomatic relations for the first time. Morales brushed off concerns about close ties to a country that the Bush administration says is a sponsor of terrorism, declaring that the "international community can rest assured that Bolivia's foreign policy is dedicated to peace with equality and social justice." Ahmadinejad's trip underscored his growing ties to Latin American nations, including Nicaragua and Ecuador, even as the U.S. tries to isolate him internationally. The closer relationship is viewed with alarm by the opposition in Venezuela and Bolivia, and by Washington. U.S. Rep. Connie Mack, a Florida Republican, said they remind him "of the relationship that Fidel Castro had with Russia." He urged Washington to reach out more to a region analysts say it has largely ignored since the Sept. 11 attacks. Toward that aim, a bipartisan bill is being introduced in Congress on Friday that would establish a 10-year, $2.5 billion program aimed at reducing poverty and expanding the middle class in Latin America. It would require recipient countries to contribute and encourage matching funds from businesses and non-governmental organizations. The program would bring more stability in the long run and help the United States "re-establish leadership in the hemisphere" by increasing development assistance by more than a third, said bill co-sponsor Sen. Bob Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat.

Chavez's government, for its part, has promised more than $8.8 billion in aid, financing and energy funding to the region this year. Relations between Iran and Venezuela, meanwhile, have grown very close. Since 2001, they have signed trade agreements worth more than $20 billion in potential investment, according to Iran's official news agency, IRNA. They have teamed up to begin producing cars, tractors and plastic goods, and signed an agreement to help Venezuela build public housing. Iran Air began flights between Tehran and Caracas, with a stopover in Syria, earlier this year. Venezuelan Jewish leaders objected to the presence of Ahmadinejad, who has called for the end of Israel and questioned the history of the Holocaust. "We raise our voice to condemn these statements by the Iranian leader which incite hatred, becoming a threat to world peace," the Venezuelan Confederation of Israeli Associations said in a statement.

The country is home to a large Jewish population, including Holocaust survivors. It was Ahmadinejad's third visit to Caracas. Along with Nicaragua and Bolivia, Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa also wants closer ties with Tehran, and Iran's PressTV reported last month that Iran will for the first time open an embassy in Quito. * __ Associated Press writer Alan Clendenning contributed to this report from La Paz, Bolivia.

CaMUNews - WFP's food aid to get French protection against Somali pirates

WFP's food aid to get French protection against Somali pirates: The World Food Programme, whose food aid to destitute Somalia has been interrupted several times by pirates off the Horn of Africa country's coast, has accepted an offer from France for security protection for its ships. "We are grateful to the government of France for this generous offer, which would reduce the threat of piracy and allow WFP to feed more hungry people in Somalia," WFP Executive Director Josette Sheeran said

CaMUNews - Cote d'Ivoire on road to peace, president tells UN

The United Nations should ease a weapons embargo against Cote d'Ivoire, its president urged in his speech Wednesday to the UN General Assembly. Laurent Gbagbo, who said the West African country in recent months has been "taking great steps along the road to peace," also argued that the UN should end sanctions against three political leaders who have been accused of stalling the peace process.

CaMUNews - Poor countries: UN should guide global warming talks

The best way for the international community to tackle global warming is to work within the United Nations system to find a replacement for the Kyoto Treaty, which expires in 2012, developing countries said Wednesday. Representatives of developing countries also said that even more urgent than tackling global warming is providing such basic necessities as food and shelter to the poor world. International Herald Tribune/Associated Press

CaMUNews - Iran's leader tells UN nuclear matter is closed

In a fiery speech before the United Nations General Assembly Tuesday, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad argued that the matter of his country's nuclear program is "now closed" due to a deal reached last month with the International Atomic Energy Agency. Ahmadinejad said the UN nuclear watchdog has adopted the "correct approach," unlike the Security Council, which he said has been "influenced by some bullying powers and failed to uphold justice and protect the rights of the Iranian people." But a U.S. State Department official said it is "safe to say he is the only one who thinks the file on Iran's nuclear weapons program is closed."

CaMUNews - Security Council approves Chad, CAR force

The United Nations Security Council voted unanimously Tuesday to send a peacekeeping force into Chad and the Central African Republic to protect civilians from violence spilling over from Darfur. More than 400,000 Darfur refugees and displaced Chadians are estimated to be living in camps in Chad, with another 280,000 in the Central African Republic.

CaMUNews - New congressional envoy to UN starts busy job

As world leaders gathered at the United Nations headquarters this week, a U.S. congressman found himself very busy as he started his assignment as the Democrats' representative to the world body. Rep. William Delahunt, D-Mass. -- who will convey his party's foreign policy priorities to UN members, and vice versa -- began his first day by meeting with UN Foundation President Timothy Wirth, and later got advice from a group of former diplomats. Cape Cod Times (Mass.) (9/25)

CaMUNews - UN agencies urge countries to ramp up AIDS funding

UNICEF and UNAIDS on Tuesday emphasized the need for governments around the world to create more HIV/AIDS prevention programs and provide adequate medicines to HIV-positive children. The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria estimated that between $12 billion and $18 billion will be needed for the next three years to battle the diseases.

CaMUNews - Multinationals help drive corruption

Multinational companies and financial institutions that employ bribery and accept the use of illicit funds are helping fuel corruption in poor countries, which drains resources needed for education, health and infrastructure, Transparency International said Wednesday as it released its annual Corruptions Perceptions Index. "The bribe money that buys a champagne lifestyle for corrupt officials in the poorest countries often originates in multinational companies based in the world's richest countries," the group's chairwoman, Huguette Labelle, said.

CaMUNews - In South Africa, reaching out to AIDS orphans

Some 2 million South Africans have died from AIDS, leaving behind more orphans than any other country in the world. In this first part in an occasional series of articles, The Christian Science Monitor follows two families who have taken in AIDS orphans. The Christian Science Monitor (9/26)

CaMUNews - After the hurricane, Nicaraguan coast reeling

The Mosquito Coast, hammered by Hurricane Felix three weeks ago, now suffers from growing hunger and disease as residents struggle amid the destruction. Up to 160,000 Nicaraguans may face a pending humanitarian disaster, officials warn. The Guardian (London) (9/26)

CaMUNews - Europe, U.S. eye Iran sanctions outside UN

As support within the United Nations may be weakening for more sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program, the U.S. and Europe may work together to pressure the regime outside the world body's system, The Wall Street Journal reports. France, especially, seems willing to impose its own sanctions against Iran, with President Nicolas Sarkozy starting to ask French companies to refrain from doing business with Iran. The Wall Street Journal

CaMUNews - Rights groups: Iran does not ignore gays, it abuses them

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad garnered headlines and not a little scorn Monday when he claimed in a speech that Iran has no homosexuals, but human rights groups say the regime in Tehran does worse than ignoring gays: it systematically persecutes them. Harassment and torture of homosexuals in Iran is routine, groups say, and up to 400 people are believed to have been executed because of their sexual orientation. FOXNews.com (9/25)

CaMUNews - Toxic statues pollute India waterways

Water pollution threats in India are rising as increasing numbers of Hindu God statues containing toxic chemicals are immersed in the country's waterways as part of religious festivals. Environmentalists worry that the increased commercialization of festivals also leads to more statues containing cement, plastic and toxic dyes, and a shifting away from traditional statues made of mud, clay and other eco-friendly materials. Environmental News Network/Reuters (9/25)

CaMUNews - China faces environmental woes over hydropower project

National officials and environmental experts warn that China's huge Three Gorges Dam hydropower project is creating environmental damage and could cause a massive catastrophe if steps are not taken to address the problems. Erosion, landslides, damaged local ecosystems and conflict over land shortages are just some of the issues facing the $25 billion project. AlertNet.org/Reuters (9/26)

CaMUNews - Rice: World needs energy revolution

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called on the world to work together to embrace an energy revolution to shift away from the use of coal, oil and gas. "How we forge this integrated response has major consequences, not only for our future, but also for our present and especially for the millions of men, women and children in the developing world whose efforts to escape poverty require broad and sustained economic growth and the energy to fuel it," Rice said. Environmental News Network/Reuters (9/25)

Special Report: UN: Israel has added dozens of new roadblocks in West Bank

Last update - 09:33 21/09/2007

UN: Israel has added dozens of new roadblocks in West Bank
By Avi Issacharoff, Haaretz Correspondent

Despite repeated promises to reduce the number of roadblocks in the West Bank, Israel has in fact added dozens of new ones, according to the United Nations. Defense Minister Ehud Barak promised U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice this week to remove 24 roadblocks and consider additional alleviations of movement restrictions on the Palestinians. This followed a similar promise to alleviate movement restrictions that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert made to Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. However, the number of roadblocks has now reached 572, an increase of 52 percent compared to 376 in August 2005, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). In the past two months alone, Israel put up 40 new roadblocks, OCHA said.

Israel did remove a small fence along Road 317, in the Southern Mount Hebron region, doing away with 29 barricades. But OCHA found that 48 new roadblocks, mostly embankments preventing access to various roads, were put up. Altogether, there are 476 unmanned roadblocks in the West Bank, consisting of concrete cubes, earthen embankments and other barricades blocking roads and exits from villages and towns. The number of manned roadblocks has also increased, from 86 in July to 96 today, the UN found.

Most of them are manned by soldiers round the clock, but some are manned only a few hours a day. Since April, the defense establishment has refused to provide data about the number of roadblocks. In the past, defense officials said that many of the roadblocks were added to protect settlers, and not only to prevent terror attacks in Israel. The UN figures do not include checkpoints set up along the Green Line

Special Report: How much can U.N. achieve in Iraq?

UNITED NATIONS, N.Y. - The United States wants the United Nations playing a larger role in Iraq. And the UN – with a new mandate in hand that calls for bulking up its presence on the ground and tackling a wider range of political and social issues – seems willing to try.

But even as UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon co-chairs a high-level meeting here Saturday with embattled Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, experts are cautious about how much the UN can do. Even UN officials are saying that the kind of progress now crucial – moves toward political compromise and national reconciliation – largely depends on the Iraqis themselves.

"The last thing I'm going to do is pretend we have some magic formula to make this work," says Lynn Pascoe, the UN's undersecretary-general for political affairs. The UN has the expertise to help in Iraq if the conditions are right, he says, sending what might be seen as a premeeting signal: "We're going to work at it if we're invited."

Yet Mr. Pascoe warns against expectations of a fix-it-fast UN role, saying, "In terms of the relations between a Shiite majority government and the minority Sunni population, it's going to be a process taking a good long while. It's not like we're going to jump in and solve what the Americans couldn't get done in the last several years."

The US, which hasn't always been enthusiastic about a greater UN role in Iraq, has significantly rewritten its tune. That message was clear in President Bush's address on Iraq last week, and it is echoed by officials here. "We're asking the UN to step up and do quite a few different things focused in three areas," says Richard Grenell, spokesman for the US mission to the UN in New York. "A greater political role with the neighbors … an increase in numbers [of UN personnel in Iraq] from about 50 to about 90 … and to promote an internal dialogue among the political factions."

Saturday's meeting is focused on the International Compact With Iraq, a document signed at an international forum on Iraq in Egypt in May. The ICI calls for increased international involvement and financial assistance, largely by Iraq's neighbors, in exchange for Iraqi action on political and economic challenges. Those challenges include some of the same "benchmarks" the US has called on the Iraqi government to meet, such as how revenues from Iraq's oil wealth will be shared.

Indeed, on Saturday, eyes will be focused not just on Mr. Maliki, who is mistrusted by many of Iraq's Sunni neighbors, but on the entourage he brings with him to New York. Having just suffered an image beating as an ineffectual and sectarian leader in Washington's review of Iraq policy, Maliki will be watched for signs that he understands the need for national reconciliation – and that he has the support of other political factions to work toward it.

In addition to the compact with Iraq, the UN also has a new "mandate" for action in Iraq approved by the Security Council in August. The mandate, vigorously sought by the Bush administration, calls for the UN to increase its number of officials and specialists on the ground, and to expand its work program to new areas including the promotion of national dialogue and economic reforms.

Yet the big question hanging over plans for an expanded physical presence of the UN is security. After the UN compound in Baghdad was blown up by a truck bomb in August 2003, killing 22 people including mission director Sergio Vieira de Mello, the safety issue has some UN officials sounding very cautious about the expanded mandate.

"Who's going to provide the security for additional people we'd send in?" asks one UN official with close knowledge of the Security Council's action on Iraq, speaking on condition of anonymity. "It's a dicey problem that could end up limiting how much more we can do."

The official notes, for example, that one level of security that the UN's small delegation has now on the ground is provided by Georgian troops. But Georgia has said it will reduce the 2,000 troops it has in Iraq to about 300 by next summer. "We don't see the number of multinational forces who can provide security for a larger UN presence increasing," says the official.

Even if the security issue is addressed, some experts say that what the UN really needs in Iraq is a "big name" who can raise the profile on the UN and the international community's commitment and get Iraqi leaders to focus on the compromises they have to make.

"The question is, can there be a political process to, in fact, actually start to make these trade-offs? That is where I have argued that the UN needs to be able to play this role – not a business-as-usual UN, but at a very senior, extraordinary level," says Carlos Pascual, director of foreign-policy studies at the Brookings Institution in Washington and until recently director of the State Department's Office of Reconstruction and Stabilization.

Mr. Pascual even has his preferred "shock" candidate for the job, France's new "tough guy" foreign minister, Bernard Kouchner. Noting Mr. Kouchner's previous experience in Kosovo, as a founder of the nongovernmental group Médecins Sans Frontières, and as the intellectual author of a so-called international "right to intervene," Pascual says it will take such an individual if political progress is yet possible. "That is the kind of individual who might be able to get some traction on this, " he says.

Not everyone supports the "big name" idea, however, with the US saying it is not what the Iraqis say they need most. "If there needs to be a bigger name later on who can shake the funding tree, we can do that," says Mr. Grenell of the US mission. "What the Iraqis said they wanted was less of a big name, but someone who would work and live there … coordinating and interacting [with them] on a daily basis."

Still, the US is noticeably more comfortable with the UN's new "can do" approach to Iraq. It wasn't so long ago that former Secretary-General Kofi Annan described the US war in Iraq as "illegal."

Setting a new tone, Secretary-General Ban, who took office in January, "came in with the idea that whether you liked what had transpired [in Iraq] or not, whatever you thought of how things before the invasion or after were handled, we now have a large problem on our hands," says Pascoe, the undersecretary-general. "And so what can the United Nations do to help?"

Source: http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0921/p02s02-wogi.html?page=2

CaMUNews - Female circumcisions in Burkina Faso lead to death, hospitalizations

One young girl died and seven others were hospitalized during a female circumcision rite in Burkina Faso last week, according to a group that opposes the practice. The country banned female circumcision in 1996, but many young girls continue to be forced to undergone the painful ritual in secret.

CaMUNews - Envoys: More countries must participate in Darfur peacekeeping

Leaders from 26 countries were invited to meet Friday to talk about plans for a joint United Nations-African Union peacekeeping force in Darfur and getting aid to people who have fled from their homes there. Some UN officials said other countries will have to provide more soldiers and other support due to the lack of proper equipment for African troops. AlertNet.org/Reuters

CaMUNews - Political hope emerges in Zimbabwe's crisis

Constitutional changes approved by legislators from Zimbabwe's ruling ZANU-PF party and its political opposition will allow the country to hold presidential and parliamentary elections together next year. The vote signals that the two sides are moving toward a compromise that could ease Zimbabwe's political and economic crisis. The New York Times

CaMUNews - Ebola outbreak spurs Congolese to change social behavior

The spread of the Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo has prompted residents of one province to stop shaking hands and kissing when they meet. Health workers say residents have little information about Ebola, which spreads through direct contact with blood, body fluids and tissue. AlertNet.org/Reuters

CaMUNews - UNICEF, WHO data questioned

A leading medical journal on Thursday questioned the way UNICEF and the World Health Organization have presented some of their health data. The Lancet said UNICEF's release last week on global child mortality was skewed and that a WHO malaria study ignored certain important factors. UNICEF defended the way it had released its child mortality study. AlertNet.org/Reuters

CaMUNews - Soy sows new beginning for Brazil's Cerrado region

Soy has transformed the economy of Brazil's Cerrado region into the scene of the country's greatest agribusiness expansion. Rotating soy, which was introduced to the region in the late 1960s, with other crops has boosted fertility of the region's soil and led to record harvests. Inter Press Service News Agency

CaMUNews - Kenya study: Malaria bednets key to saving children

The risk for children under age 5 of dying from malaria can be cut nearly in half if they sleep under insecticide-treated bednets, a new study in Kenya shows. Kenya over the last three years has expanded distribution of bednets and, as a result, fewer children are dying, KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Programme said in the journal Lancet. Yahoo!/Agence France-Presse

CaMUNews - UN will scale back Liberia peacekeeping forces

The United Nations Security Council on Thursday said peacekeeping forces will remain in Liberia for another year but their number will be reduced. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Liberia's new government is stabilizing the country's security and promoting peace, but he said it is too early to know when the UN will withdraw its entire peacekeeping force. Seattle Post-Intelligencer/Associated Press (9/20) , AlertNet.org/Reuters

CaMUNews - Floods in Africa prompt urgent aid appeal

Several aid organizations, including some United Nations agencies, Thursday appealed to donors to help the 1.5 million Africans badly affected by the massive floods that have hit several countries on the continent. The World Food Programme said many inundated areas will need months of food aid before they can subsist on their own. The Guardian (London)

CaMUNews - Talks to resolve Darfur conflict to move forward

Talks to resolve Darfur conflict to move forward

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir announced Thursday talks aimed at bringing peace to conflict-ravaged Darfur will resume Oct. 27 in Libya. "We have taken a big step toward our shared goal of bringing peace to Darfur and are looking forward to the long-term development of Sudan. We are at a new beginning. Let us seize this moment together," Ban said. Rebel factions viewed as key to the process were divided in their reaction to the announcement. The Boston Globe/Associated Press

CaMUNews - China, U.S. line up against Taiwan UN bid

China, U.S. line up against Taiwan UN bid

Chinese and American officials warned Taiwan Thursday against pursuing a referendum in support of its bid for membership in the United Nations. "We don't want to see anyone provoked by the actions of the Taiwanese, so for the moment we're going to stay with our position and continue to exert our good influence on the Taiwanese to see if we can change their position," James Jeffrey, deputy national security adviser to U.S. President George W. Bush, said. Taiwanese officials responded with vows to proceed with their referendum plans. The Washington Times

CaMUNews - Report: U.S., China should focus on preventing pollution

Report: U.S., China should focus on preventing pollution

Both the U.S. and China need to do more to combat pollution and increase energy efficiency, U.S. and Chinese scientists said in a joint study released Thursday. The U.S. has cut risks from lead in gasoline, sulfur dioxide and some soot pollution. Meanwhile, China leads in research on using coal more efficiently. USA TODAY/Associated Press

CaMUNews - Refugees flee Myanmar for camps in Thailand

Refugees flee Myanmar for camps in Thailand

The number of people at Thailand's largest camp for Myanmar refugees grows each day, Der Spiegel notes in this special report. The refugees, who fled to escape ethnic cleansing by Myanmar's military junta, receive food and shelter and are permitted to leave the camps once a year. Spiegel Online

CaMUNews - Severe human rights abuse persists in Somalia, experts say

Severe human rights abuse persists in Somalia, experts say

Displacements and human rights abuses in Somalia are among the worst in the world, Leslie Lefkow, co-author of a Human Rights Watch report, said Wednesday. Lefkow, who spoke with other experts at a panel discussion at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, cited the shelling of Mogadishu neighborhoods by the Ethiopian military earlier this year as an example. AllAfrica Global Media

CaMUNews - Challenger seeks to outwit Pakistan's Musharraf

Challenger seeks to outwit Pakistan's Musharraf

Pakistan's political drama continued Friday as former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif made reservations on five flights for his scheduled return home on Monday. Sharif, who was sent into exile by current leader Pervez Musharraf in 2000, has vowed to challenge the President-General in upcoming elections. A court in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore issued an arrest warrant for Sharif's brother, also a prominent politician, in an effort to prevent him returning alongside the former prime minister. The Guardian (London)

CaMUNews - Violence taints Guatemala's election season

Violence taints Guatemala's election season

Recent political violence in Guatemala demonstrates instability present throughout the country, says this special report from the Christian Science Monitor. Almost 50 candidates, political activists and leaders have been killed this election season. "The killings during the election is not just a struggle between the parties; it is a reflection of the situation that Guatemalans live each day," Anders Kompass, head of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Guatemala, told the paper. The Christian Science Monitor

CaMUNews - International community must help solve conflict in Somalia

International community must help solve conflict in Somalia

The international community must help solve persistent violence and displacement in Somalia, writes Anna Husarska, a senior policy adviser at the International Rescue Committee. The situation could have dire humanitarian consequences because people have nowhere to flee and Somalia does not have basic infrastructure to fall back on, says Husarska. MSNBC

CaMUNews - Ban visits Darfur, pushes for conflict solution

Ban visits Darfur, pushes for conflict solution

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon visited Darfur Wednesday, saying he will pressure Sudan's government and rebel groups to find a solution to the stubborn conflict in the region. Ban, who's on a week-long African trip, is laying the groundwork for a hybrid UN-African Union peace force for the strife-torn region. Reuters (9/5) , The New York Times

CaMUNews - Israel court: Redraw route of barrier

Israel court: Redraw route of barrier

BILIN, West Bank (AP) — In an embarrassing blow, Israel's Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered the state to redraw the route of its West Bank separation barrier near this Palestinian village that has come to symbolize opposition to the enclosure.
Pressure mounted, meanwhile, on Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to strike hard in Gaza after a rocket hit near a nursery school, and scenes of screaming children and terrified parents were broadcast nationwide. On Tuesday, Vice Premier Haim Ramon, an Olmert confidant, proposed cutting off electricity, fuel and water to the coastal strip.

The Defense Ministry is considering the possibility of limiting water and electricity to Gaza, officials said. Also, the ministry declared a state of emergency in Israeli communities near Gaza, but the effects of that were unclear.
Residents of the village of Bilin went to court arguing that the current route of the separation barrier kept them from reaching their fields and orchards. Villagers and their Israeli and foreign supporters have protested at the barrier every Friday for the past 2 1/2 years, routinely sparring with police in clashes that have wounded dozens.
The Israeli government argued that the route was necessary to protect residents of the nearby settlement of Modiin Illit, and completed the section near Bilin.
A three-judge Supreme Court panel unanimously rejected the government's argument Tuesday, ordering defense planners to change the barrier's route to cause less harm to village residents.
"We were not convinced that it is necessary for security-military reasons to retain the current route that passes on Bilin's lands," Chief Justice Dorit Beinish wrote.
The judges ordered the government to come up with a new route in a "reasonable period of time."
"We went to court, hired the best lawyers in Israel and we won," said Abdullah Abu Rahma, one of the leaders of the weekly protest. He vowed that villagers would keep fighting until the fence was moved entirely off Bilin's land.
Elated villagers poured out of homes and schools and headed toward the fence, where several army jeeps gathered as the crowd began to swell. "They demolished the Berlin Wall, we want to demolish the Bilin wall," they chanted. Men waving Palestinian flags burst into a traditional Arab dance. "Soldiers, go home," shouted several who were ordered to climb down from a gate in the barrier.
The Israeli Defense Ministry, which has overseen construction of the barrier, said in a statement that it would "study the ruling and respect it."
Israel's Supreme Court has made several such rulings in the past, ordering authorities to move the fence in several parts of the West Bank.
Israel began building the 425-mile barrier — a combination of concrete walls, fences, trenches and patrol roads — along the West Bank in 2002, saying it was a necessary weapon in its war against Palestinian suicide bombers. But the barrier juts into West Bank territory, provoking Palestinian claims that Israel is using security arguments to take land they want for an independent state.
Just under two-thirds of the barrier's planned final length of 490 miles has so far been completed, according to Israel's Defense Ministry. About 8% of West Bank territory would lie on the "Israeli" side.
In the West Bank, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas denounced militant rocket attacks on southern Israel from Gaza, where Islamic Hamas militants are in control.
"We condemn the launching of rockets from Gaza and other places because these actions harm peace and the peace process," he said at a news conference.
Ramon, the Israeli vice premier, said severing water, fuel and electrical supplies to impoverished Gaza would force Hamas to stop the daily rocket fire.
"We won't continue to supply oxygen (to Gaza) in the form of electricity, fuel and water when they are trying to kill our children," he told Army Radio.
Cutoffs would greatly disrupt life in Gaza, which relies heavily on Israel for electricity and water. But it would likely draw heavy international condemnation.
While Ramon is close to Olmert, government spokesman David Baker said the vice premier was voicing his own opinion.
On Monday, Olmert said he instructed the army "to destroy every Qassam rocket launcher and anyone who is involved in their launching." He is to convene his security Cabinet on Wednesday to discuss a response to the rocket attacks.
Tzahi Hanegbi, chairman of parliament's influential foreign affairs and defense committee, said Israel had "no choice" but to launch a broad military operation in Gaza "at some stage." But military officials said a large-scale operation wasn't expected soon because the army's top command opposes it.
Military leaders are reluctant to divert resources from the northern front in case tensions with Syria and Lebanese guerrillas reignite, they said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss sensitive security matters with the press.
What's more, past fighting in crowded Gaza has resulted in heavy Israeli and Palestinian civilian casualties.
Israel is likely to continue with its frequent airstrikes and brief ground incursions against rocket launchers. Last week, Israeli fire killed three Palestinian children playing in an area used by rocket squads.
Also Tuesday, Israel let more than 150 Palestinians stranded in Gaza cross through Israeli territory to reach jobs and studies in Egypt and other countries. It was the largest group of people to be allowed out since Israel sealed Gaza's borders in response to the Hamas takeover.
In the West Bank, Israeli forces shot an 8-year-old Palestinian boy in the head with a rubber-coated bullet, seriously wounding him, Palestinian hospital officials said. The army said troops operating in the area encountered rioters throwing rocks and fired rubber-coated bullets in response.
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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