Global warming means melting glaciers. And in the small mountain kingdom of Bhutan, this means that glacial lakes are filling to capacity. For the farmers who live and work in the valleys below, this means sudden, unpredictable, and potentially deadly flooding. Here is a video from the UN about an effort by Bhutanese to adapt to this scary new reality.
The UN Development Program held a panel discussion in the Millennium Development Goals at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, DC this afternoon. What made this gathering particularly interesting was the presence of two representatives from the USAID, Thomas Beck and Leonardo Martinez-Diaz, who in their opening remarks gave the audience a peek inside the yet-to-be-released Obama administration strategy for meeting the MDGS by 2015.
An in depth interview with Haitian president Rene Preval, conducted by Ray Suarez of PBS. Not surprisingly, Preval laments the pace of reconstruction funding, particularly the slow pace of rubble removal. Preval also raises concerns that too much funding is by-passing the government and going directly to NGOs. This is similar criticism that UN skeptical envoy Bill Clinton has leveled at the reconstruction effort. Watch.
I chat with Dana Goldstein of The Daily Beast about her article on US - Congo policy. We also chat about Sri Lanka and the creation of UN WOMEN. Enjoy!
The International Criminal Court yesterday issued an arrest warrant for the crime of genocide for Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir. Now, you might be asking yourself: "wasn't he already under indictment." The answer is yes. But when the prosecutor applied for an arrest warrant in spring 2009, the judges did not sign the warrant for "genocide"--only for war crimes and crimes against humanity. At the time, the judges ruled there to be insufficient evidence to support a genocide charge. An appellate chamber reversed that ruling.
Via Spencer Ackerman, I see that White House National Security Council aid Samantha Power is part of an American delegation to Bosnia for the 15th anniversary of the Srebrenica massacre. Spencer highlights an excellent interview that Power gave to a Bosnian publication in which she discusses why justice and accountability are crucial underpinnings to any lasting peace.
Today marks the six month anniversary of the massive Haiti earthquake. Where do we stand? Last month, the UN OCHA released these facts and figures about the status of Haiti's recovery.
Kampala, Uganda became the target of twin bombings as crowds gathered to watch the World Cup earlier today. Details are still emerging, but the bombs seemed to target crowds gathered at an Ethiopian restaurant and a rugby club, both of which were places where soccer fans gathered to watch the Spain-Netherlands World Cup final. The death toll seems to be upwards of 50 people, and the government seems to blaming the Somali insurgent group, al-Shabaab.
The Security Council just passed a "presidential statement" condemning an attack that sunk the South Korean naval ship The Cheonan, killing 46 seamen. To secure the support of China, though, the statement did not directly lay blame on North Korea for the incident. From the UN News Service: