United Nations

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Gene Raises AIDS Risk in Africa
 Gene Raises AIDS Risk in Africa 
Jul 16, 2008 10:14 PM CDT

Gene Raises AIDS Risk in Africa

Africans 40% more likely to contract HIV

(Newser) - A gene extremely common among Africans but almost unknown other ethnic groups may be rendering people of sub-Saharan Africa more susceptible to HIV and AIDS, the Times of London reports. The gene variant—common because it provides malaria protection—makes carriers 40% more likely to contract HIV and could be...

So-Called 'New Powers' Are Acting Spineless
So-Called 'New Powers' Are Acting Spineless
OPINION
Jul 16, 2008 10:03 AM CDT

So-Called 'New Powers' Are Acting Spineless

Time to show some leadership and stop coddling Mugabe

(Newser) - Critics of unchecked and amoral American power should be wary of prospective new world hegemons—especially China, Russia, and South Africa, Thomas Friedman warns in the New York Times. America's international popularity has plummeted under President Bush, but it's the more popular countries that have been acting unconscionably on the...

Sudan President Accused of War Crimes

Court could arrest al-Bashir over Darfur genocide

(Newser) - Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir was officially accused of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity today in International Criminal Court, the BBC reports. The court must now decide whether to issue a warrant for Bashir’s arrest. If it does, Sudan’s government says it will disrupt the peace process...

Russia, China Nix UN Embargo on Zimbabwe

US-led resolution would have imposed sanctions, restrictions on Mugabe

(Newser) - Russia and China today threw out a UN resolution to impose sanctions on Zimbabwe for its violent presidential election, Reuters reports. Nine countries supported the US-backed sanctions, which would levied an arms embargo and restricted the travel and finances of officials, including President Mugabe. But five nations voted against it,...

Sudan's President to Face Genocide Charge

Some fear move out of the Hague could fuel instability in region

(Newser) - The International Criminals Court will charge Sudan leader Omar Hassan al-Bashir with genocide Monday in the wake of a five-year campaign of violence that has left hundreds of thousands dead, the Washington Post reports. It will be the first time the court has charged a sitting head of state. But...

China's Economy Will Dwarf US
 China's Economy Will Dwarf US 
Jul 9, 2008 7:33 AM CDT

China's Economy Will Dwarf US

Twice the size of the US economy by 2050: report

(Newser) - China is the world's economic superpower of the future and will dwarf the financial might of the US, according to a new study by an American research organization. China's economy will surpass the US economy by 2035—and be more than double its size by 2050, predicts the report by...

Big US Food Shipment Marks Korea Progress

UN food program expects to feed 5M in North, gain access

(Newser) - After a major US food shipment arrived yesterday, North Korea has approved a plan for the UN's World Food Program to expand aid delivered to the country, and has agreed to allow UN monitors more access to track where the food ends up, the Washington Post reports. "This marks...

Bush Demands Action Against Zimbabwe

Calls election a 'sham,' orders sanctions; Rice vows UN resolution

(Newser) - Washington is seeking ways to punish Robert Mugabe for his violent "sham" of an election, President Bush said today. Bush has ordered Condoleezza Rice and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to work up sanctions against Zimbabwe, which ran a runoff ballot yesterday with Mugabe the sole candidate. Rice vowed to...

Tsvangirai: Why I Dropped Out
 Tsvangirai: Why I Dropped Out  
Opinion
Jun 25, 2008 5:58 AM CDT

Tsvangirai: Why I Dropped Out

MDC leader explains refusal to contest Zimbabwe election

(Newser) - ZImbabwe's opposition leader tells the Guardian that he dropped out of Friday's run-off election because he "can no longer allow Zimbabwe's people to suffer this torture." Morgan Tsvangirai explains that ending his campaign was "not a political decision" but an attempt to stop the violence inflicted by...

South African Prez to Plead With Mugabe to Save Race

Results of uncontested race should be ignored, Britain insists

(Newser) - The president of South Africa is is flying today to Zimbabwe to plead with strongman Robert Mugabe to save this week's presidential election after Morgan Tsvangirai withdrew to protest government violence. Britain’s foreign secretary said an uncontested race would be “the most rigged election in African history" and...

Saudis Bumping Oil Flow 2% to Slow Soaring Prices

July increase adds 200,000 barrels a day to pipeline

(Newser) - Saudi Arabia, worried soaring prices could weaken the world's appetite for oil, will increase production by 200,000 barrels a day, beginning next month, the Saudi oil minister told UN chief Ban Ki-moon in a meeting yesterday. The move follows a May increase of 300,000 barrels, the AP notes.

Ping-Pong Got Ball Rolling to Beijing Games

Two players braved Sino-US frost with landmark '71 visit

(Newser) - It wasn't statesmen who broke China's 22 years of isolation from the West in 1971, but rather, Sports Illustrated notes, grown men with paddles. When Glenn Cowan accidentally jumped on the Chinese team bus during world table-tennis championships in Japan, star Zhuang Zedong brushed aside Mao's anti-capitalist harangues to greet...

Amid Pressure, Helping Iran on Nuke Power More Popular

Diplomats, legislators back idea of international enrichment; Bush again lashes out

(Newser) - Even as US and European leaders warned today of new sanctions, a controversial plan to help Iran build an internationally run nuclear enrichment facility is gaining traction in Washington, the Boston Globe reports. The Bush administration rejected the proposal from MIT scientists 3 years ago, but now legislators from both...

Food vs. Fuel Battle Flares at UN Summit

Egypt's Mubarak asks, should we be feeding people or cars?

(Newser) - The battle over biofuels is raging at the UN’s food summit in Rome, with nations bitterly divided over whether growing corn and sugar cane for ethanol production is pushing food prices up and helping create disastrous global food shortages. On one side: Food experts who call diversion of crops...

UN Boosts Members' Powers to Fight Africa Piracy

Navy vessels can follow hijackers into Somali waters

(Newser) - With piracy a growing problem off the Horn of Africa, the UN will allow its members to combat pirates using “all necessary means,” including chasing them into Somali waters, CNN reports. Somalia’s transitional government supports the move. More than two dozen pirate attacks have been reported in...

UN Chief Urges 50% Boost in Food Production

Ban warns of further riots, starvation if high prices aren't contained

(Newser) - UN chief Ban Ki-Moon today called for a 50% rise in world food production by 2030 to fight starvation and civil unrest as the population grows. He spoke at the World Food Security conference in Rome, where world leaders are working to address the highest commodity prices in decades. Such...

Leaders Rip Mugabe's 'Obscene' Trip to Food Talks

President accused of presiding over starvation of his nation

(Newser) - British and Australian ministers have blasted Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe's attendance at a world food summit in Rome, charging him with turning his nation from the breadbasket of Africa into a country plagued by food shortages, reports the BBC. They also criticized him for using food aid given to ZImbabwe...

UN Head: Drop Policies That Up Food Prices

Ban urges global response to avert mass starvation

(Newser) - UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will plead with world leaders at a food summit in Rome tomorrow to suspend trade restrictions, agricultural taxes, and other price controls that have helped create the highest food prices in 30 years, reports the Washington Post. Ban will also urge the US and other...

World Bank Offers $1.2B in Food Aid

Millions at risk of starvation

(Newser) - The World Bank is offering an emergency $1.2 billion in aid to several nations in a desperate bid to stave off starvation for millions of people, reports the BBC. The money is being offered to Haiti, Liberia, Djibouti, Togo, Yemen and other nations identified as at immediate risk from...

Germany Pledges Billions for Rainforest Protection

Funds tripled by 2012, add $785M a year after

(Newser) - Germany will spend billions of euros protecting tropical rainforests in an effort to halt global warming. Chancellor Angela Merkel said today at the United Nations' biodiversity conference that Germany will increase its funding for the conservation of rainforests from $330 million to $1.1 billion in the next three years...

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