I chat with John McArthur of Millennium Promise for BloggingHeads. John does an excellent job explaining the Millennium Development Goals in a way that ought to satisfy wonks and newcomers alike.
New skin. Same great content. We hope you like the new design, completed just in time for a busy week of UN related events in New York City. Here is what to expect from our coverage of UN Week.
President Obama's official agenda for the UN Summit will be released sometime on Friday. On Wednesday, at an address at Johns Hopkins School, Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs Esther Brimmer gave a thematic overview of the issues and messages that the United States will be pushing next week.
SG: Briefing the press today, the SG provided an update on preparations for the upcoming MDG Summit, saying 139 Heads of State are expected to attend and agreement has been reached on the outcome document.
Middle East: the SG condemned the killing of four Israelis today in the West Bank, calling it a “cynical and blatant attempt to undermine the direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations starting tomorrow”.
OCHA: Baroness Valerie Amos (UK), the incoming USG for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, will begin her term on September 6. She replaces Sir John Holmes, also from the UK, whose term ended today
IPCC Review: this morning the InterAcademy Council (IAC) released its independent review of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (commissioned by the SG & IPCC Chair in March).
