Author Matthew Cordell

Romney dropped out of the Republican process. Yusuf al-Qaradawi was refused a UK visa, while Amy Winehouse was denied a U.S. one. The latter will not be able to perform at the Grammy awards.

>>Smoking - A WHO report, financed by Michael Bloomberg's foundation, has found that a billion people could be killed by cigarettes in the 21st century. Poorer countries, where cigarette sales continue to climb, collect 5,000 times as much revenue from tobacco as they use to fight its use. And, only 5 percent of the world has no smoking laws similar to those in New York.

>>Pakistan - Detectives from Scotland Yard have determined that Benazir Bhutto was killed by a bomb blast, not gunfire. The Pakistan People's Party maintains that she was shot by an assassin, and that there was a cover-up. There was no post-mortem performed on Bhutto and the scene was scrubbed soon after the event.

>>Afghanistan - Responding to a Canadian ultimatum and an unwillingness by other NATO members, France has agreed to send troops to southern Afghanistan. Meanwhile, the relationship between Afghanistan and Britain has reached a new low.

>>India and China - The economies of both India and China are showing signs of long-term slowing. India's growth rate for 2008 to this point is 8.7 percent, down from 9.6 percent last year. Forecasters see more of the same coming. Likewise, both Chinese and World Bank Economists have predicted something in the range of 9.4 percent growth for China this year and suggest that last year's 11.4 percent growth might represent China's peak.

• "The W.H.O. is described by the tobacco industry as its biggest enemy. Today we intend to enhance that reputation."
  - Dr. Margaret Chan, WHO director general.

• Viagra renders fighter pilots a potent force - Times

• Peacekeeping Budget and the Pentagon - by Mark Leon Goldberg
• Third DRC Suspect in ICC Custody - by Mark Leon Goldberg

>>Serbia - Nationalist Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica has blocked plans for a Serbian-European political and economic agreement, suggesting that it was an attempt to make Serbia concede the independence of Kosovo. Boris Tadic, a pro-European moderate who was elected President of Serbia on Sunday, is part of Serbia's governing coalition. The rift between Kostunica and Tadic threatens to dissolve that coaltion.

>>Zimbabwe - The war veterans' association, a militant group in Zimbabwe's ruling party, Zanu-PF, has threatened former Finance Minister Simba Makoni, who is running for president against Robert Mugabe, by saying, "traitors should know Zanu-PF has a history of dealing harshly with their kind." Makoni was also expelled from Zanu-PF yesterday.

>>Food - The global commodities boom has significantly raised the price of food, straining both the budgets of the poor and the programs of those trying to help feed them. The World Food Programme's costs by 70 percent over the last five years. The boom is also rekindling the debate over whether donor nations should continue to provide surplus food or simply provide funding to be used on the open market.

>>Eritrea-Ethiopia - The UN fears that conflict could reignite between Ethiopia and Eritrea if 1,400 UN peacekeepers are forced to withdraw because the Eritrean government cut fuel supplies. Eritrea is attempting to apply pressure on the international community to force Ethiopian to withdraw from the border town of Badme. From 1998 to 2000, tens of thousands died in conflict between Eritrea and Ethiopia.

"With this blockage, certain politicians are in a way filing for a divorce before the marriage has yet even been agreed. I find that...rather regrettable."
- EU Commissioner Olli Rehn

• Why it's better to be Idriss Deby than a Darfurian civilian - by John Boonstra
• Opium and the Insurgency - by Mark Leon Goldberg

Obama won more states, but Clinton claimed more delegates, and the battle continues. McCain solidified his frontrunner status in the Republican primary (even though Huckabee wasn't too shabby).

>>Chad - Rebel attacks have ceased in Ndjamena in the wake of France's declaration that it would get involved if necessary and the dispatch of troops by a Darfur rebel group in order to bolster Chad's president. France's Defense Minister, Herve Morin, is in town.

>>Afghanistan - The UN Office on Drugs and Crime has reported that opium cultivation increased by 14 percent in 2007 in southern and southwestern Afghanistan, bolstering the insurgency with up to $100 million. Marijuana production is also on the rise. Outside of rebel strongholds, production decreased.

>>Pakistan - Taliban fighters in Pakistan have declared a ceasefire after months of fighting that has left hundreds dead.

>>Counting the Dead - The BBC reports on the work of the International Rescue Committee, who has taken on the responsibility of counting the dead in difficult to reach places. By their estimates, 45,000 people a month are dying in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

• "Indeed, it is the insurgents, the Taliban, that are deriving an enormous funding for their war by imposing ... a 10 percent tax on production"
  - Antonio Maria Costa, executive director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime
• "People aren't dying dramatically. They're dying quietly and anonymously ... In the eyes of Western powers, Congo doesn't represent major political or economic interest."
  - Richard Brennan of aid agency International Rescue Committee

• President Bush's budget beefs up defense spending, shortchanges UN peacekeeping - by John Boonstra
• How a Peacekeeping Mission Fails...And Can be Rescued - by Mark Leon Goldberg

America votes and spends.

>>Zimbabwe - Robert Mugabe's reign as president will be challenged for the first time in 20 years by Simba Makoni, a "reform-minded technocrat" and a senior member of the ruling ZANU-PF party. Opposition parties have proven unable to reunify under a consensus candidate, presumably now splitting the anti-ruling party vote.

>>Italy - An attempt to avoid snap election in Italy seems to have failed, as Senate president Franco Marini has failed to build a workable interim governing coalition. Former PM Silvio Berlusconi appears to be the frontrunner. President Giorgio Napolitano, and others, worry that, if the nation's unique electoral laws are not reformed before the next government is elected, it will be as unstable as the former. Italy has had more than 60 governments since WWII.

>>Chad - Chadian rebels continue to attack Ndjamena, as France has threatened intervention if the seige continues. The 1,400-strong French force has already defended the airport form attack. In an emergency session, the UN Security Council condemned the rebel attacks and authorized member states to provide support for the Chadian government. UN relief workers are attempting to reopen a camp to administer food and shelter to those who have fled to Cameroon; two airlift flights are planned for this week.

>>East Timor - The United Nations has begun transferring power back to East Timor's police force. In 2006, the UN stepped in to end warring between the nation's police force and miltary, sparked when a third of the army was dismissed for desertion.

• Clooneymania at the UN - Mark Leon Goldberg
• Security Council holds emergency session on Chad - Mark Leon Goldberg

The NY Giants pulled off one of the greatest upsets in American football history by beating the undefeated (and record-breaking) New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII. Nearly 750,000 have flocked to Carnival (video). And Sarko-Bruni is official (or as some are saying BRUNI-sarko).

>>Chad - The government is reporting that they have pushed rebels, who overran Ndjamena on Saturday, to the eastern outskirts of the capital. The rebels retorted that they were allowing civilians safe passage before launching another attack. UNHCR has said that thousands fled to Cameroon during the fighting. There are reports of Sudanese involvement in attacks on border towns, and analysts fear an all-out war between Chad and the Sudan. Contributors to StopGenocideNow.org had been blogging on the ground until they were evacuated.

>>Kenya, DRC, and Rwanda - Kofi Annan brokered a deal on Friday to set up a framework for negotiations between Kenya's ruling party and the opposition led by Raila Odinga. However, violence continued over the weekend (NY Times in pictures), and Mr. Odinga has called for AU peacekeepers. Meanwhile, in the Western Rift Valley, at least 40 were killed by two magnitude 6 earthquakes.

>>Serbia - Serbia's President Boris Thadic, generally considered pro-western, was reelected on Sunday, defeating nationalist Tomislav Nikolic, an ally of Slobodan Milosevic. Tadic has said that he will not use force should Kosovo choose to succede, which it may do at any time.

• CEDAW V. Saudi Arabia - by Mark Leon Goldberg

Hillary and Barack debated in Hollywood to a crowd you usually see at a Lakers game. The candidates are releasing their 2007 fundraising numbers. Obama has raised $32 million so far in 2008.

>>Malaria - The WHO is reporting that the widespread use of anti-malarial bed nets and artemisinin, a new drug, has sharply reduced malaria deaths in some African countries. Malaria still kills over a million people a year, most of them children, and is crippling the African economy. Send a net, save a life.

>>Chad - Rebels representing the Union of Forces for Democracy from eastern Chad and seeking to drive the president from power, are advancing on N'Djamena. Government troops have been dispatched to confront the 300 vehicle column less than 50 miles from the capital. Five UNHCR vehicles have been hijacked and their offices to the east have twice been entered by armed gunmen. France is deploying 150 additional troops to provide additional protection for French nationals. Rebel groups believe that French troops helped thwart their assault on N'Djamena in 2006. A 3,700-strong EU peacekeeping force, which the rebels also oppose, is set to deploy to the refugee camps in eastern Chad in the next few weeks.

>>Afghanistan - Senior al-Qaeda leader in Afghanistan and star of several al-Qaeda videos, Abu Laith al-Libi, was killed by a U.S. airstrike in Northern Waziristan. Sources indicate that the missle was fired by a drone. Following Canada's declaration that it would withdraw its 2,500 troops from Afghanistan if NATO doesn't deploy 1,000 more troops to Afghanistan, US Sec. of Defense Robert Gates pushed Germany to do so, in what is being reported as an "unusually blunt" exchange. Reportedly, German Minister of Defense Franz Jung plans to announce at NATO defense ministers at the next meeting in Vilnius next Thursday that Germany plans to send a 250-strong "Quick Reaction Force." Germany's rules of engagement, out of step with the rest of the NATO mission, will also alledgedly be part of the discussion.

>>The Internet - Apparently a distressed ship attempting to moor off the coast of Egypt cut the line that has left 75 million with diminished internet services, mainly in the Middle East and India. If you're interested in the cable network that crisscrosses the ocean floor, this is a really cool map.

>>Kenya - Ban Ki-moon is in Kenya to help revitalize the fledgling peace process initiated by Kofi Annan. Four, accused of looting and burning residences and businesses, were killed by police in Eldoret in western Kenya in the wake of the murder of opposition MP David Too. Although the opposition claims that it was a political assasination, evidence points more convincingly to a love triangle

>>Whaling - Japanese ships have resumed whaling in antarctic waters as anti-whaling activists were forced to leave to refuel.

>>Trash - The EU ordered Italy to take out the garbage in Naples. Nearly 250,000 tons of garbage has piled up on the streats. Collectors have stopped because there is no more room at the regional dumps.

• Somalia's Crisis Continues In the Shadow of Darfur - Matthew Cordell
• Secretary General to Visit Kenya - Mark Leon Goldberg

The last Republican debate before Super Tuesday was held last night at the Reagan Library in California as Guiliani and Edwards drop out. Serbia also held it's last televised debate before the presidential run-off on Sunday between incumbent and supporter of EU membership Boris Tadic and nationalist Tomislav Nikolic, who supports closer ties with Russia. Both oppose Kosovo's independence.

• 50 million sinks without trace as Rudy Guiliani is knocked out without landing a punch

• About those helicopters... - Mark Goldberg

John McCain won a close Florida primary last night, solidifying his status as the frontrunner in the race to be the Republican nominee.  Rumors suggest that Rudy Guiliani, who finished a distant third, will endorse McCain today in advance of the last Republican debate in the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. And Russia, apparently, is beautiful from the hard court to the barracks.

>>An internal report on Israeli leadership during the 2006 war in Lebanon is set to be released today, both threatening the government of PM Olmert and putting Defense Minister Ehud Barak in a tight spot. Barak has pledged to pull the Labor Party out of the government coalition when the report is release, which would bring down the government at a time when the right-wing Likud Party is riding high in public opinion. 

>>The IMF has lowered its global forecast for economic growth this year, but stopped short of predicting a global recession. The forecast for the U.S. is depressing, but for Africa -- not too bad.  The IMF also smirked at the idea of "de-coupling."  Meanwhile the House passed the President's stimulus plan, now on its way to the Senate.

>>Be careful what you post on YouTube. The White House slapped U.S. Ambassador to the UN Zalmay Khalilzad on the wrist today for sitting next to Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki at Davos.

• PSA - Mark Goldberg
• Superbowl 2007 Flashback - Mark Goldberg
• As Kenya Falls Apart, the Diaspora Responds - Mark Goldberg

President Bush delivered his last State of the Union last night, but most attention is focused on today's Republican primary in Florida.  A West Virginia major used a magazine containing  his photo as an ID at airport security, and a New Jersey cop left his fellow officers a few going away presents.

Public health workers in Europe have found significant resistance to Tamiflu, as the number of bird flu deaths in Indonesia eclipses 100. Roche, the company that manufactures Tamiflu, has sold 220,000,000 treatments for stockpiles in 85 countries.

Gorbachev has openly criticized the state of the Russian electoral system, while Putin's chosen successor, Medvedev, has ruled out TV debates with his remaining opponents. The Kremlin also warned the U.S. and EU that it would take unidentified measures if Kosovo declares independence.

The worst snowstorm in a half century has paralyzed large swaths of China as many are travelling for the Lunar New Year celebration. Twenty four have died, and as many of 600,000 train passengers are stranded in Guangzhou.

An opposition MP, Melitus Were, was killed yesterday, sparking yet another wave of violence through a Nairobi slum. Fighting continued in the Rift Valley.  Reports suggest that helicopters firing rubber bullets, made an attempt to curb attacking Kikuyu in Naivasha.

• Gabbing on Law of the Sea - Mark Goldberg
• Holocaust remembrance day at the UN - Mark Goldberg