MediaWatch
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April 2006 I
May 2006 I
July/August 2006
France Finally Steps Up
Source: LA Times
France's boosted pledge of a total of 2,000 soldiers for the U.N. force in Lebanon is still a stingy commitment but could help galvanise other European nations to follow suit, says this newspaper. Full article
Source: LA Times
France's boosted pledge of a total of 2,000 soldiers for the U.N. force in Lebanon is still a stingy commitment but could help galvanise other European nations to follow suit, says this newspaper. Full article
Airplane Terrorism Case Prompts Questions About the Work of Islamic Charities in Britain
Source: New York Times
With another charity under the spotlight for a possible connection to an alleged terror plot, Ian Fisher investigates to what extent Islamic charities ever mask fundraising for extremist groups. Full article
Source: New York Times
With another charity under the spotlight for a possible connection to an alleged terror plot, Ian Fisher investigates to what extent Islamic charities ever mask fundraising for extremist groups. Full article
A Strange Battle in Congo
Source: The Nation
Analysts are disoriented and the Congolese people deeply disappointed about the outbreak of violence after the elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo, says Juakali Kambale. Full article
Source: The Nation
Analysts are disoriented and the Congolese people deeply disappointed about the outbreak of violence after the elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo, says Juakali Kambale. Full article
Lebanon: A greater folly than '82 war
Source: Toronto Star
The latest Lebanon war is a greater political and moral disaster than the one of 1982, since Hizbollah has emerged politically strengthened and a renewal of conflict looks more, not less, likely, says Haroon Siddiqui. Full article
Source: Toronto Star
The latest Lebanon war is a greater political and moral disaster than the one of 1982, since Hizbollah has emerged politically strengthened and a renewal of conflict looks more, not less, likely, says Haroon Siddiqui. Full article
The Bosnia Excuse
Source: LA Times
The ceasefire in Lebanon is at risk because Western nations can't get over past peacekeeping failures, argues James Traub. Full article
Source: LA Times
The ceasefire in Lebanon is at risk because Western nations can't get over past peacekeeping failures, argues James Traub. Full article
For some in Africa, it's 'magic' over pills
Source: Baltimore Sun
Doctors say that "mystery" HIV potions made of herbs do more harm than good - but still untested and unregulated traditional therapies are flourishing across Africa. Full article
Source: Baltimore Sun
Doctors say that "mystery" HIV potions made of herbs do more harm than good - but still untested and unregulated traditional therapies are flourishing across Africa. Full article
Losing Afghanistan
Source: New York Times
Nearly five years after the U.S. toppled the Taliban government, there is no victory in the war in Afghanistan, partly because of the Bush administration's reckless haste to move on to Iraq and its meagre spending on reconstruction, argues this newspaper. Full article
Source: New York Times
Nearly five years after the U.S. toppled the Taliban government, there is no victory in the war in Afghanistan, partly because of the Bush administration's reckless haste to move on to Iraq and its meagre spending on reconstruction, argues this newspaper. Full article
A Congo Comeback
Source: LA Times
Despite violence, the elections offer a tenuous hope that democracy has a chance in the ravaged nation. Full article
Source: LA Times
Despite violence, the elections offer a tenuous hope that democracy has a chance in the ravaged nation. Full article
The global Aids campaign: a generation's struggle
Source: OpenDemocracy
The lesson of last week's international conference in Toronto is that the global AIDS industry needs to think strategically to meet the challenges of the next 25 years, argues Thomas de Waal. Full article
Source: OpenDemocracy
The lesson of last week's international conference in Toronto is that the global AIDS industry needs to think strategically to meet the challenges of the next 25 years, argues Thomas de Waal. Full article
In Lebanon, Even Peace Is a Battle
Source: New York Times
Victory in the latest war in Lebanon will not be won on the battlefield, but in the race between Hizbollah and the Lebanese government to rebuild homes and lives, say Carlos Pascual and Martin Indyk of the Brookings Institution. Full article
Source: New York Times
Victory in the latest war in Lebanon will not be won on the battlefield, but in the race between Hizbollah and the Lebanese government to rebuild homes and lives, say Carlos Pascual and Martin Indyk of the Brookings Institution. Full article
The big loser after Lebanon: democracy
Source: Daily Star
In the wake of Israel's attacks on Lebanon, the death of hundreds of civilians and the complicity of major powers, Arab citizens are being pushed from domestic democratic concerns into the polarising dichotomy of resistance versus surrender, argues Amr Hamwazy of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington. Full article
Source: Daily Star
In the wake of Israel's attacks on Lebanon, the death of hundreds of civilians and the complicity of major powers, Arab citizens are being pushed from domestic democratic concerns into the polarising dichotomy of resistance versus surrender, argues Amr Hamwazy of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington. Full article
Dancing around the ceasefire motion
Source: Globe and Mail
The United Nations has a bad record on enforcing resolutions and could restore a lot of credibility if it could see the Lebanese one through to the elimination of Hizbollah as a military force, argues this newspaper. Full article
Source: Globe and Mail
The United Nations has a bad record on enforcing resolutions and could restore a lot of credibility if it could see the Lebanese one through to the elimination of Hizbollah as a military force, argues this newspaper. Full article
UN must speed help to Lebanon
Source: Toronto Star
Concerted international action is needed to consolidate the ceasefire, and the United Nations must deploy peacekeepers to southern Lebanon as quickly as possible, the newspaper says. Full article
Source: Toronto Star
Concerted international action is needed to consolidate the ceasefire, and the United Nations must deploy peacekeepers to southern Lebanon as quickly as possible, the newspaper says. Full article
Lebanon war is over, but just for now
Source: Gulf News
The war in Lebanon is nominally over, but only political ideologues could find cause to celebrate the end of the conflict, argues Dr James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute in Washington. Full article
Source: Gulf News
The war in Lebanon is nominally over, but only political ideologues could find cause to celebrate the end of the conflict, argues Dr James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute in Washington. Full article
Return to Kandahar: The Taliban threat
Source: The Independent
The journalist who starred in the film "Kandahar" has gone back to the southern Afghan city for the first time in four years, where she finds residents living in fear as Islamic insurgents extend their reach still deeper into the country. Full article
Source: The Independent
The journalist who starred in the film "Kandahar" has gone back to the southern Afghan city for the first time in four years, where she finds residents living in fear as Islamic insurgents extend their reach still deeper into the country. Full article
Important test for peacekeeping
Source: Bangkok Post
The international force in Lebanon has two vital tasks - it must keep the lid on a very hot and complicated confrontation, and must also prove that U.N. peacekeeping is a valid alternative to brutish warfare in the Middle East. Full article
Source: Bangkok Post
The international force in Lebanon has two vital tasks - it must keep the lid on a very hot and complicated confrontation, and must also prove that U.N. peacekeeping is a valid alternative to brutish warfare in the Middle East. Full article
Enforcing the ceasefire
Source: The Guardian
The risk in Lebanon is that the U.N., France and Germany may try to restrain Israel from any further ceasefire violations while Britain and the United States remain silent, argues this newspaper. Full article
Source: The Guardian
The risk in Lebanon is that the U.N., France and Germany may try to restrain Israel from any further ceasefire violations while Britain and the United States remain silent, argues this newspaper. Full article
United Nations: The World's Scapegoat
Source: LA Times
The Middle East ceasefire will evaporate if great powers hide their failures behind the U.N., argues Paul Kennedy, professor of history at Yale University and author of "The Parliament of Man: The Past, Present and Future of the United Nations". Full article
Source: LA Times
The Middle East ceasefire will evaporate if great powers hide their failures behind the U.N., argues Paul Kennedy, professor of history at Yale University and author of "The Parliament of Man: The Past, Present and Future of the United Nations". Full article
A new target in the AIDS war
Source: San Francisco Chronicle
To combat HIV/AIDS, we need better and cheaper medicines, faster delivery and treatments tailored for specific countries, populations and ages. It will cost tens of billions of dollars for years to come, but what choice do we have, asks the Chronicle. Full article
Source: San Francisco Chronicle
To combat HIV/AIDS, we need better and cheaper medicines, faster delivery and treatments tailored for specific countries, populations and ages. It will cost tens of billions of dollars for years to come, but what choice do we have, asks the Chronicle. Full article
UN to the rescue in Lebanon?
Source: Christian Science Monitor
The world keeps turning to U.N. peacekeepers for ever bigger missions, but are they up to the job in Lebanon? Full article
Source: Christian Science Monitor
The world keeps turning to U.N. peacekeepers for ever bigger missions, but are they up to the job in Lebanon? Full article
A phoenix from Lebanon's ruins
Source: OpenDemocracy
Hizbollah sees reconstruction and refugee flows in southern Lebanon as its latest quick win over Israel, writes Paul Rogers on OpenDemocracy. Full article
Source: OpenDemocracy
Hizbollah sees reconstruction and refugee flows in southern Lebanon as its latest quick win over Israel, writes Paul Rogers on OpenDemocracy. Full article
The orphan epidemic
Source: Toronto Star
For all the talk at this week's Toronto AIDS conference, there's little focus on the plight of the disease's forgotten orphans. Full article
Source: Toronto Star
For all the talk at this week's Toronto AIDS conference, there's little focus on the plight of the disease's forgotten orphans. Full article
To empower women in the war on AIDS
Source: Globe and Mail
Given the tools and the education, women could radically change the course of HIV/AIDS and help prevent infection among future generations. Full article
Source: Globe and Mail
Given the tools and the education, women could radically change the course of HIV/AIDS and help prevent infection among future generations. Full article
A Defiant Hezbollah Rises From the Rubble
Source: LA Times
Israel aimed to break the militant organisation with its month-long offensive, but instead it has been strengthened politically in Lebanon. Full article
Source: LA Times
Israel aimed to break the militant organisation with its month-long offensive, but instead it has been strengthened politically in Lebanon. Full article
U.S. treachery and U.N. apathy
Source: Gulf News
The U.N. ceasefire resolution for Lebanon is heavily weighted in Israel's favour and provides little incentive for Hizbollah to lay down its weapons, argues Linda S. Heard in Gulf News. Full article
Source: Gulf News
The U.N. ceasefire resolution for Lebanon is heavily weighted in Israel's favour and provides little incentive for Hizbollah to lay down its weapons, argues Linda S. Heard in Gulf News. Full article
Peace in Aceh: Where there is a will, there is a way
Source: The Jakarta Post
The Indian Ocean tsunami brought the political will to leave old grievances behind and boosted the peace process in Indonesia’s Aceh province, say Martti Ahtisaari, chairman of the Crisis Management Initiative, and Pieter Feith, head of the Aceh Monitoring Mission, on the anniversary of the Helsinki accords. Full article
Source: The Jakarta Post
The Indian Ocean tsunami brought the political will to leave old grievances behind and boosted the peace process in Indonesia’s Aceh province, say Martti Ahtisaari, chairman of the Crisis Management Initiative, and Pieter Feith, head of the Aceh Monitoring Mission, on the anniversary of the Helsinki accords. Full article
Cease-fire? Make it work
Source: Newsday
Only a robust U.N. force can ensure that Hizbollah will not be a threat again, says this editorial. Full article
Source: Newsday
Only a robust U.N. force can ensure that Hizbollah will not be a threat again, says this editorial. Full article
Amid unrest, Haiti gains in fight on AIDS
Source: Miami Herald
The fate of Haiti's AIDS patients has begun to improve despite the country's unstable government, warring gangs and frequent kidnappings. Full article
Source: Miami Herald
The fate of Haiti's AIDS patients has begun to improve despite the country's unstable government, warring gangs and frequent kidnappings. Full article
Put children at the centre
Source: Toronto Star
HIV/AIDS is not widely regarded as as a children's issue but, to halt and begin to reverse its spead, children need to be put at the centre of the agenda, writes Nigel Fisher, president and CEO of UNICEF Canada. Full article
Source: Toronto Star
HIV/AIDS is not widely regarded as as a children's issue but, to halt and begin to reverse its spead, children need to be put at the centre of the agenda, writes Nigel Fisher, president and CEO of UNICEF Canada. Full article
Abstinence-only message misguided
Source: Toronto Star
The United States isn't getting the job done on AIDS, partly because of an ideological focus on abstinence, according to the former U.S. directors of national AIDS policy under Bill Clinton and George Bush. Full article
Source: Toronto Star
The United States isn't getting the job done on AIDS, partly because of an ideological focus on abstinence, according to the former U.S. directors of national AIDS policy under Bill Clinton and George Bush. Full article
Africa's heroic grandmothers
Source: Toronto Star
Wealthy philanthropists and prominent scientists can be expected to steal the limelight at the Toronto AIDS conference this week, but the unsung heroes are the grandmothers who nurse and bury their children, and support their extended families. Full article
Source: Toronto Star
Wealthy philanthropists and prominent scientists can be expected to steal the limelight at the Toronto AIDS conference this week, but the unsung heroes are the grandmothers who nurse and bury their children, and support their extended families. Full article
Where AIDS drugs work
Source: LA Times
People in poor countries may actually work harder to stay on their HIV medication because they realise they have little access to other medical care if they don't, according to new research. Full article
Source: LA Times
People in poor countries may actually work harder to stay on their HIV medication because they realise they have little access to other medical care if they don't, according to new research. Full article
Everyone lost in the Lebanon war
Source: Daily Telegraph
The biggest losers in the Israel-Hizbollah conflict are the Lebanese, as the country wakes up to find more than 1,000 dead, its infrastructure in ruins and the south once again under occupation, says this comment piece. Full article
Source: Daily Telegraph
The biggest losers in the Israel-Hizbollah conflict are the Lebanese, as the country wakes up to find more than 1,000 dead, its infrastructure in ruins and the south once again under occupation, says this comment piece. Full article
All the news that fits: Liberia’s blackboard headlines
Source: New York Times
In a country where wheelbarrows fill in for pick-up trucks and water is carried on little girls’ heads instead of in pipes, it's perhaps no wonder that a battered blackboard serves as newspaper and newsreel all in one. Full article
Source: New York Times
In a country where wheelbarrows fill in for pick-up trucks and water is carried on little girls’ heads instead of in pipes, it's perhaps no wonder that a battered blackboard serves as newspaper and newsreel all in one. Full article
Lull in violence helps Uganda's young 'night commuters'
Source: Washington Times
The number of barefoot children in northern Uganda leaving home by the thousands each night for the safety of nearby towns has fallen sharply amid a lull in fighting and peace talks to end a two-decade-old insurgency. Full article
Source: Washington Times
The number of barefoot children in northern Uganda leaving home by the thousands each night for the safety of nearby towns has fallen sharply amid a lull in fighting and peace talks to end a two-decade-old insurgency. Full article
Aid can be an obstacle to making poverty history
Source: The Daily Telegraph
Aid often does more harm than good by propping up corrupt regimes, creating dependency and holding back reforms that could help business thrive. What's really needed to start making poverty history is a business-friendly environment, says Ruth Lea, director of the Centre for Policy Studies. Full article
Source: The Daily Telegraph
Aid often does more harm than good by propping up corrupt regimes, creating dependency and holding back reforms that could help business thrive. What's really needed to start making poverty history is a business-friendly environment, says Ruth Lea, director of the Centre for Policy Studies. Full article
Gloom over Karabakh peace process
Source: IWPR
The appointment of Matthew Bryza as the U.S. co-chair of the OSCE’s Minsk Group on Karabakh, and his recent visit to the region, could be a sign that Washington is determined to move the peace process along despite recent setbacks. Full article
Source: IWPR
The appointment of Matthew Bryza as the U.S. co-chair of the OSCE’s Minsk Group on Karabakh, and his recent visit to the region, could be a sign that Washington is determined to move the peace process along despite recent setbacks. Full article
The Sri Lankan town that rarely smiles
Source: The Times
If Sri Lanka staggers back into open war, it will probably begin in the government-controlled port city of Trincomalee, which has reprised its role as a primary flashpoint. Full article
Source: The Times
If Sri Lanka staggers back into open war, it will probably begin in the government-controlled port city of Trincomalee, which has reprised its role as a primary flashpoint. Full article
Africa still struggles for democracy
Source: Associated Press on Boston Globe
Whether Congo faces new peace or more violence, its people have embraced the chance to join fellow Africans who are increasingly finding their voices through the ballot box. Full article
Source: Associated Press on Boston Globe
Whether Congo faces new peace or more violence, its people have embraced the chance to join fellow Africans who are increasingly finding their voices through the ballot box. Full article
Maoist guerrillas and tribal rebels threaten India's industrial boom
Source: The Guardian
An armed group of left-wing guerrillas who see industrialisation as an unwanted intrusion hold sway over a vast area of India . Full article
Source: The Guardian
An armed group of left-wing guerrillas who see industrialisation as an unwanted intrusion hold sway over a vast area of India . Full article
Did Israel really need to savage the beauty of Beirut?
Source: USA Today
Until recently, Israel faced hostility in Lebanon mainly from the Shi'ites, who suffered most from Israel's lengthy occupation of the south. Now it is stirring the enmity of countless other Lebanese, writes George E. Bisharat, professor at Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco. Full article
Source: USA Today
Until recently, Israel faced hostility in Lebanon mainly from the Shi'ites, who suffered most from Israel's lengthy occupation of the south. Now it is stirring the enmity of countless other Lebanese, writes George E. Bisharat, professor at Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco. Full article
Pakistan turns to its people, not aid groups, in disaster relief
Source: Christian Science Monitor
Rebuilding in post-quake Pakistan has begun at an admirable pace, thanks to a government strategy of paying survivors to do the work themselves. Full article
Source: Christian Science Monitor
Rebuilding in post-quake Pakistan has begun at an admirable pace, thanks to a government strategy of paying survivors to do the work themselves. Full article
A scramble in India to limit polio
Source: International Herald Tribune
India could reinfect the rest of the world with polio if a new outbreak is not brought under control rapidly, warns the head of the World Health Organization's polio eradication team. Full article
Source: International Herald Tribune
India could reinfect the rest of the world with polio if a new outbreak is not brought under control rapidly, warns the head of the World Health Organization's polio eradication team. Full article
The real problem is getting to a solution
Source: Daily Star (Lebanon)
The paradox of the violence in Israel, Gaza, and Lebanon is that a majority of Israelis and Palestinians favour a two-state solution. The problem lies with powerful and often violent minorities that don't agree, writes Jeffrey Sachs, professor of economics at Columbia University. Full article
Source: Daily Star (Lebanon)
The paradox of the violence in Israel, Gaza, and Lebanon is that a majority of Israelis and Palestinians favour a two-state solution. The problem lies with powerful and often violent minorities that don't agree, writes Jeffrey Sachs, professor of economics at Columbia University. Full article
Poverty-stricken Rwanda puts its faith and future into the wide wired world
Source: The Guardian
More "mobile in every pocket" than "chicken in every pot", Rwanda's Vision 2020 project aims to transform its depressed agricultural economy into one driven by communications and technology. Full article
Source: The Guardian
More "mobile in every pocket" than "chicken in every pot", Rwanda's Vision 2020 project aims to transform its depressed agricultural economy into one driven by communications and technology. Full article
The real problem is getting to a solution
Source: Daily Star (Lebanon)
The paradox of the violence in Israel, Gaza, and Lebanon is that a majority of Israelis and Palestinians favour a two-state solution. The problem lies with powerful and often violent minorities that don't agree, writes Jeffrey Sachs, professor of economics at Columbia University. Full article
Source: Daily Star (Lebanon)
The paradox of the violence in Israel, Gaza, and Lebanon is that a majority of Israelis and Palestinians favour a two-state solution. The problem lies with powerful and often violent minorities that don't agree, writes Jeffrey Sachs, professor of economics at Columbia University. Full article
Have you thought of Darfur lately?
Source: Washington Times
Is there nothing meaningful the United States can do about the situation in Darfur? Full article
Source: Washington Times
Is there nothing meaningful the United States can do about the situation in Darfur? Full article
A small charity takes lead in fighting a disease
Source: New York Times
A drug that could have cured black fever through cheap injections was identified decades ago, but died in the research pipeline because it wasn't profitable. Now a small charity is on the verge of getting the drug approved by the Indian government. Full article
Source: New York Times
A drug that could have cured black fever through cheap injections was identified decades ago, but died in the research pipeline because it wasn't profitable. Now a small charity is on the verge of getting the drug approved by the Indian government. Full article
This time, let there be more than promises
Source: Miami Herald
Foreign donors have pledged $750 million in aid to Haiti, well above the $500 million the country had requested to jump start its economy. It's a cause for optimism but we should hold the applause, says this newspaper. Full article
Source: Miami Herald
Foreign donors have pledged $750 million in aid to Haiti, well above the $500 million the country had requested to jump start its economy. It's a cause for optimism but we should hold the applause, says this newspaper. Full article
Chaos in Congo still taking toll on children
Source: New York Times on International Herald Tribune
Children in Congo die from the same diseases that needlessly kill children all over Africa, such as malaria, diarrhoea and measles, but on a vast and cataclysmic scale. Full article
Source: New York Times on International Herald Tribune
Children in Congo die from the same diseases that needlessly kill children all over Africa, such as malaria, diarrhoea and measles, but on a vast and cataclysmic scale. Full article
Lebanon: Room for diplomacy
Source: Boston Globe on International Herald Tribune
An outcome that benefits moderates could still be achieved but this will require imaginative, energetic and sustained diplomacy, led by the United States, writes Democrat Joseph Biden Jr. Full article
Source: Boston Globe on International Herald Tribune
An outcome that benefits moderates could still be achieved but this will require imaginative, energetic and sustained diplomacy, led by the United States, writes Democrat Joseph Biden Jr. Full article
Afghanistan in Africa
Source: LA Times
While the world's attention is focused on conflict in the Middle East, Somalia may be collapsing into a terrorist haven comparable to Afghanistan under the Taliban, says this editorial. Full article
Source: LA Times
While the world's attention is focused on conflict in the Middle East, Somalia may be collapsing into a terrorist haven comparable to Afghanistan under the Taliban, says this editorial. Full article
A continent-sized vote
Source: Washington Post
Many in Congo suspect that the international community is using historic elections to ratify the rule of the current president, Joseph Kabila. In fact, most diplomats see little alternative. Full article
Source: Washington Post
Many in Congo suspect that the international community is using historic elections to ratify the rule of the current president, Joseph Kabila. In fact, most diplomats see little alternative. Full article
The list: The world’s forgotten territorial disputes
Source: Foreign Policy
Foreign Policy takes a look at some of the border conflicts the world has forgotten about. Full article
Source: Foreign Policy
Foreign Policy takes a look at some of the border conflicts the world has forgotten about. Full article
Rough beast?
Source: Newsweek
Humanitarian intervention succeeds only when circumstances are right, says Michael Meyer, who served for two years with the United Nations mission in Kosovo. Full article
Source: Newsweek
Humanitarian intervention succeeds only when circumstances are right, says Michael Meyer, who served for two years with the United Nations mission in Kosovo. Full article
Israel has a long history of abusing the United Nations
Source: Daily Star (Lebanon)
Last week's Israeli attack on U.N. observers in Lebanon was just the latest in a long line of incidents that have poisoned relations between Israel and the United Nations since the beginning of their relationship. Full article
Source: Daily Star (Lebanon)
Last week's Israeli attack on U.N. observers in Lebanon was just the latest in a long line of incidents that have poisoned relations between Israel and the United Nations since the beginning of their relationship. Full article
Brutal peacekeepers: Congo's election, the UN's massacre
Source: New York Times on International Herald Tribune
In eastern Congo many people would have been unable to vote because of violence that the U.N. has not only failed to stop but has even been party to, the newspaper says. Full article
Source: New York Times on International Herald Tribune
In eastern Congo many people would have been unable to vote because of violence that the U.N. has not only failed to stop but has even been party to, the newspaper says. Full article
One new light in Liberia, an inch back from abyss
Source: One new light in Liberia, an inch back from abyss
For more than 14 years, Liberia has lived in darkness, litterally and figuratively. Full article
Source: One new light in Liberia, an inch back from abyss
For more than 14 years, Liberia has lived in darkness, litterally and figuratively. Full article
Partying in Israel's war zone
Source: Spiegel Online
Hundreds of thousands who have fled northern Israel are now living in tents along the coast in an almost holiday-like atmosphere. Full article
Source: Spiegel Online
Hundreds of thousands who have fled northern Israel are now living in tents along the coast in an almost holiday-like atmosphere. Full article
Africa's health shortage
Source: Boston Globe on International Herald Tribune
Providing AIDS drugs is a great step forward, but industrialised countries will fail to address the pandemic fully if they don't help Africa build a stronger corps of trained health workers. Full article
Source: Boston Globe on International Herald Tribune
Providing AIDS drugs is a great step forward, but industrialised countries will fail to address the pandemic fully if they don't help Africa build a stronger corps of trained health workers. Full article
Aid groups are criticized over tsunami reconstruction
Source: New York Times
In tsunami-affected areas in Aceh, there is a veil of disenchantment with international aid agencies, due to the feeling that extravagant promises backed by unprecedented global donations have yet to materialise. Full article
Source: New York Times
In tsunami-affected areas in Aceh, there is a veil of disenchantment with international aid agencies, due to the feeling that extravagant promises backed by unprecedented global donations have yet to materialise. Full article
Israel is within its rights
Source: Washington Post
Israel's conduct in Lebanon has been fully compliant with the applicable norms of international law, say David Rivkin and Lee Casey, Washington lawyers who served in the Justice Department under presidents Ronald Reagan and George Bush senior. Full article
Source: Washington Post
Israel's conduct in Lebanon has been fully compliant with the applicable norms of international law, say David Rivkin and Lee Casey, Washington lawyers who served in the Justice Department under presidents Ronald Reagan and George Bush senior. Full article
Democracy versus chaos in Congo
Source: Spiegel Online
If Congo can pull off Sunday's election successfully, it would be an enormous step forward for this troubled country. Full article
Source: Spiegel Online
If Congo can pull off Sunday's election successfully, it would be an enormous step forward for this troubled country. Full article
In Sudan and Congo, Rwanda's ugly legacy
Source: New York Times on International Herald Tribune
Darfur holds the world's gaze because of the magic word 'genocide'. In contrast to Darfur's apparent moral clarity, the conflict in Congo offers a mind- numbing collection of combatants known by a jumble of acronyms. Full article
Source: New York Times on International Herald Tribune
Darfur holds the world's gaze because of the magic word 'genocide'. In contrast to Darfur's apparent moral clarity, the conflict in Congo offers a mind- numbing collection of combatants known by a jumble of acronyms. Full article
Shattered country on the cusp of a brighter future - or return to chaos
Source: The Guardian
For a country with an unelected hereditary leader, there's a blunt irony in calling itself the Democratic Republic of Congo. This vast swath of central Africa is many things - a failed state, a humanitarian crisis, a natural resource bounty - but a representative democracy it is not. Full article
Source: The Guardian
For a country with an unelected hereditary leader, there's a blunt irony in calling itself the Democratic Republic of Congo. This vast swath of central Africa is many things - a failed state, a humanitarian crisis, a natural resource bounty - but a representative democracy it is not. Full article
World must not turn away from Darfur's desperation
Source: Chicago Tribune
Mia Farrow, actress and UNICEF goodwill ambassador, makes a plea to the international community not "to let genocide take its course" in Darfur. Full article
Source: Chicago Tribune
Mia Farrow, actress and UNICEF goodwill ambassador, makes a plea to the international community not "to let genocide take its course" in Darfur. Full article
6 keys to peace
Source: Time
This analysis from Time magazine sets out six crucial steps that need to be taken to bring peace and stability to the Middle East. Full article
Source: Time
This analysis from Time magazine sets out six crucial steps that need to be taken to bring peace and stability to the Middle East. Full article
Congo’s abandoned miners
Source: Le Monde Diplomatique
The European Union's willingness to send troops to oversee Congo's coming election is an indication of the value the world puts on the country's mineral resources, which have been the object of international looting. Full article
Source: Le Monde Diplomatique
The European Union's willingness to send troops to oversee Congo's coming election is an indication of the value the world puts on the country's mineral resources, which have been the object of international looting. Full article
'Civilians bearing brunt of conflict'
Source: Al-jazeera.net
Nadia Doumani, Middle East spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross, tells Aljazeera that, according to international humanitarian law, the blockade imposed on Lebanon must not prevent food and other essential supplies from reaching the civilian population. Full article
Source: Al-jazeera.net
Nadia Doumani, Middle East spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross, tells Aljazeera that, according to international humanitarian law, the blockade imposed on Lebanon must not prevent food and other essential supplies from reaching the civilian population. Full article
Wave of kidnappings leaves Haiti shaken
Source: Miami Herald
A new rash of kidnappings in Haiti has raised fears that well-armed, politically aligned street gangs are seeking to destabilise the new government, while others argue their activities are mainly criminal. Full article
Source: Miami Herald
A new rash of kidnappings in Haiti has raised fears that well-armed, politically aligned street gangs are seeking to destabilise the new government, while others argue their activities are mainly criminal. Full article
Losing ground in Afghanistan
Source: New York Times on International Herald Tribune
Building a stable Afghanistan that can stand up to the Taliban once Western soldiers leave will take many years, many billions of dollars and more foreign troops for longer than most Western governments are now prepared to contemplate. Full article
Source: New York Times on International Herald Tribune
Building a stable Afghanistan that can stand up to the Taliban once Western soldiers leave will take many years, many billions of dollars and more foreign troops for longer than most Western governments are now prepared to contemplate. Full article
Quest for the Cure
Source: Foreign Policy
More than a third of the world’s population doesn’t have access to essential medications, with greedy drugs companies, government bureaucracies and apathy all getting in the way. But some frustrated scientists are now finding ways to buck the system. Full article
Source: Foreign Policy
More than a third of the world’s population doesn’t have access to essential medications, with greedy drugs companies, government bureaucracies and apathy all getting in the way. But some frustrated scientists are now finding ways to buck the system. Full article
Lebanon: The other Palestinians
Source: Le Monde Diplomatique
As the world focuses on the crisis in Lebanon and Gaza, which risks turning into a regional conflict, it is time to listen to the Palestinians in Lebanon, in particular those still living in refugee camps. Full article
Source: Le Monde Diplomatique
As the world focuses on the crisis in Lebanon and Gaza, which risks turning into a regional conflict, it is time to listen to the Palestinians in Lebanon, in particular those still living in refugee camps. Full article
Lebanon and Israel: The war from where I stand
Source: International Herald Tribune
While ultimately it is the United States that must broker the final deal, there is a role for Germany, a country with a special relationship with Israel and which has also maintained close and friendly relations throughout the Middle East, says Margarita Mathiopoulos, professor of U.S. foreign policy at the University of Potsdam. Full article
Source: International Herald Tribune
While ultimately it is the United States that must broker the final deal, there is a role for Germany, a country with a special relationship with Israel and which has also maintained close and friendly relations throughout the Middle East, says Margarita Mathiopoulos, professor of U.S. foreign policy at the University of Potsdam. Full article
Tsunami responders primed by recent calamities
Source: Christian Science Monitor
Survivors of the Java tsunami are getting enough aid, at least in the emergency's initial stages, according to relief groups. Full article
Source: Christian Science Monitor
Survivors of the Java tsunami are getting enough aid, at least in the emergency's initial stages, according to relief groups. Full article
Big changes in poor villages
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer
This newspaper visits a Millennium Village in Malawi, a brainchild of Jeffrey Sachs, whose model is simple: Ensure that people are nourished and healthy, upgrade their children's education, get full participation by women and girls, and help some people switch to better jobs than subsistence farming. Funds are coming from philanthropists, foundations, corporations and Japan. Full article
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer
This newspaper visits a Millennium Village in Malawi, a brainchild of Jeffrey Sachs, whose model is simple: Ensure that people are nourished and healthy, upgrade their children's education, get full participation by women and girls, and help some people switch to better jobs than subsistence farming. Funds are coming from philanthropists, foundations, corporations and Japan. Full article
The man who tracked Cambodia's war crimes
Source: Christian Science Monitor
The Monitor profiles a man whose extensive research helped bring Khmer Rouge leaders to court. Full article
Source: Christian Science Monitor
The Monitor profiles a man whose extensive research helped bring Khmer Rouge leaders to court. Full article
Sidon overflows with desperate evacuees
Source: Daily Star (Lebanon)
The Lebanese town of Sidon is now home to 35,000 refugees, with more displaced and wounded pouring in as medical stocks run low. Full article
Source: Daily Star (Lebanon)
The Lebanese town of Sidon is now home to 35,000 refugees, with more displaced and wounded pouring in as medical stocks run low. Full article
With supplies already low, evacuees settled outside Jbeil hope to wait it out
Source: Daily Star (Lebanon)
Civil society groups in the Lebanese town of Jbeil are struggling to confront a growing humanitarian disaster with limited resources. Full article
Source: Daily Star (Lebanon)
Civil society groups in the Lebanese town of Jbeil are struggling to confront a growing humanitarian disaster with limited resources. Full article
Lebanon needs more than a ceasefire
Source: New York Times on International Herald Tribune
Ending the conflict requires not only a ceasefire and peacekeepers, but a guarantee that Hizbollah will halt its attacks on Israel permanently and disband its militia, says this editorial. Full article
Source: New York Times on International Herald Tribune
Ending the conflict requires not only a ceasefire and peacekeepers, but a guarantee that Hizbollah will halt its attacks on Israel permanently and disband its militia, says this editorial. Full article
The road to Damascus is paved with risk
Source: Daily Star (Lebanon)
"You need a lot of everything if you are heading to or from Syria," was one taxi driver's advice to the tens of thousands of evacuees of various nationalities clogging the Lebanese-Syrian border. Full article
Source: Daily Star (Lebanon)
"You need a lot of everything if you are heading to or from Syria," was one taxi driver's advice to the tens of thousands of evacuees of various nationalities clogging the Lebanese-Syrian border. Full article
Desolation won't bring any peace
Source: Daily Star (Lebanon)
Unable to see its enemy clearly, the Israeli armed forces are flattening, quite literally, a wide swathe of southern Lebanon. Full article
Source: Daily Star (Lebanon)
Unable to see its enemy clearly, the Israeli armed forces are flattening, quite literally, a wide swathe of southern Lebanon. Full article
City attacked for first time as refugees flood in from south
Source: The Guardian
Sidon is only one face of the mounting humanitarian crisis across Lebanon: electricity is cut because of fuel rationing, vegetable markets open for several hours before supplies run out, and hospitals are running short of medicines for chronic diseases. Full article
Source: The Guardian
Sidon is only one face of the mounting humanitarian crisis across Lebanon: electricity is cut because of fuel rationing, vegetable markets open for several hours before supplies run out, and hospitals are running short of medicines for chronic diseases. Full article
To flee or to stay? Family chooses too late and pays dearly
Source: New York Times
One family who held out for days in their village of Tireh in southern Lebanon, terrified of what might happen if they left, finally headed north, but became another casualty of Israeli bombing within minutes. Full article
Source: New York Times
One family who held out for days in their village of Tireh in southern Lebanon, terrified of what might happen if they left, finally headed north, but became another casualty of Israeli bombing within minutes. Full article
Fleeing for their lives into the grim unknown
Source: LA Times
In the Lebanese town of Tyre, civil structures appear to have broken down almost completely. Ambulances can't operate, the dead are rotting in the rubble of smashed homes, and food and clean drinking water are running out. Full article
Source: LA Times
In the Lebanese town of Tyre, civil structures appear to have broken down almost completely. Ambulances can't operate, the dead are rotting in the rubble of smashed homes, and food and clean drinking water are running out. Full article
At Lebanon port, war’s displaced wait for boat that doesn’t come
Source: New York Times
Tyre, a Lebanese seaside town in the thick of the combat zone, has become the port of last hope for those fleeing the conflict. Full article
Source: New York Times
Tyre, a Lebanese seaside town in the thick of the combat zone, has become the port of last hope for those fleeing the conflict. Full article
Dazed refugees flood Beirut
Source: LA Times
Tens of thousands of Israelis also have fled their homes, to escape Hizbollah rocket attacks, but they haven't suffered the food, water and medical shortages facing Lebanese refugees. Full article
Source: LA Times
Tens of thousands of Israelis also have fled their homes, to escape Hizbollah rocket attacks, but they haven't suffered the food, water and medical shortages facing Lebanese refugees. Full article
An unsatisfying G-8 summit
Source: LA Times
The world's poor come away disappointed from yet another G8 summit. Full article
Source: LA Times
The world's poor come away disappointed from yet another G8 summit. Full article
Uganda: Unexplored options in northern conflict
Source: New Vision (Kampala) on www.allafrica.com
As Ugandan government representatives and rebel leaders meet in south Sudan in an historic effort to bring an end to the 20-year-old conflict in northern Uganda, let's hope they're thinking about the potential for using traditional justice mechanisms, write Erin Baines and Boniface Ojok, researchers with the Justice and Reconciliation Project in Uganda. Full article
Source: New Vision (Kampala) on www.allafrica.com
As Ugandan government representatives and rebel leaders meet in south Sudan in an historic effort to bring an end to the 20-year-old conflict in northern Uganda, let's hope they're thinking about the potential for using traditional justice mechanisms, write Erin Baines and Boniface Ojok, researchers with the Justice and Reconciliation Project in Uganda. Full article
Nigeria: Africa's oil, minerals and conflicts
Source: Daily Champion (Lagos) on www.allafrica.com
With all its riches, Africa should be one of the most developed continents in the world and instead it's the one most marred by conflicts and contradictions. Full article
Source: Daily Champion (Lagos) on www.allafrica.com
With all its riches, Africa should be one of the most developed continents in the world and instead it's the one most marred by conflicts and contradictions. Full article
Uganda: Aid - the 'tsunami' wrecking Africa
Source: The Monitor (Kampala) on www.allafrica.com
The British government has just announced further aid cuts for Uganda. James Shikwati, director of the Inter Region Economic Network and a top critic of foreign aid, argues in this interview that Britain and the rest of the international community should cut aid altogether. Full article
Source: The Monitor (Kampala) on www.allafrica.com
The British government has just announced further aid cuts for Uganda. James Shikwati, director of the Inter Region Economic Network and a top critic of foreign aid, argues in this interview that Britain and the rest of the international community should cut aid altogether. Full article
Israel must beware the cost
Source: The Age
Both in Lebannon and in Gaza, it is not Israel's right to protect its civilian population from terrorist aggression that is at issue, but the way Israel goes about exercising that right, says Henry Siegman, senior fellow on the Middle East at the Council on Foreign Relations. Full article
Source: The Age
Both in Lebannon and in Gaza, it is not Israel's right to protect its civilian population from terrorist aggression that is at issue, but the way Israel goes about exercising that right, says Henry Siegman, senior fellow on the Middle East at the Council on Foreign Relations. Full article
Massacre of Haiti innocents
Source: The Observer
'It's very difficult to nail down the motives behind actions in Haiti and there's often a mix of political, economic and territorial motives at play', says Desmond Molloy, who heads the U.N.disarmament, demobilisation and re-integration programme in the country, commenting on a massacre of civilians by unknown gunmen. Full article
Source: The Observer
'It's very difficult to nail down the motives behind actions in Haiti and there's often a mix of political, economic and territorial motives at play', says Desmond Molloy, who heads the U.N.disarmament, demobilisation and re-integration programme in the country, commenting on a massacre of civilians by unknown gunmen. Full article
Diplomacy's turn in Lebanon
Source: New York Times
Stopping the fighting in the Middle East won’t be easy, but the dangers of escalation are too great to permit the major powers or anxious Arab leaders to turn away, says this editorial. Full article
Source: New York Times
Stopping the fighting in the Middle East won’t be easy, but the dangers of escalation are too great to permit the major powers or anxious Arab leaders to turn away, says this editorial. Full article
Symbolic slugfest wins Israel nothing
Source: Spiegel Online
Peter Eigen, Africa expert and founder of Transparency International, discusses the G8's unfulfilled promises to eradicate poverty in Africa and talks about his personal, decades-long battle against corruption. Full article
Source: Spiegel Online
Peter Eigen, Africa expert and founder of Transparency International, discusses the G8's unfulfilled promises to eradicate poverty in Africa and talks about his personal, decades-long battle against corruption. Full article
Kosovo tensions rise as pressure increases
Source: Christian Science Monitor
Kosovo Albanian and Serb officials are due to meet for talks about Kosovo's final status, but the process is further complicated by the West's insistance on reaching a solution by the end of the year and Russia's concern that an independent Kosovo could set an unwelcome precedent for its own breakaway republics. Full article
Source: Christian Science Monitor
Kosovo Albanian and Serb officials are due to meet for talks about Kosovo's final status, but the process is further complicated by the West's insistance on reaching a solution by the end of the year and Russia's concern that an independent Kosovo could set an unwelcome precedent for its own breakaway republics. Full article
Symbolic slugfest wins Israel nothing
Source: LA Times on Newsday
Israel is not solely to blame for the escalating violence, but as a sovereign state with a major army, it has to be the most responsible party, writes David N. Myers, professor in Jewish history at the University of California Los Angeles. Full article
Source: LA Times on Newsday
Israel is not solely to blame for the escalating violence, but as a sovereign state with a major army, it has to be the most responsible party, writes David N. Myers, professor in Jewish history at the University of California Los Angeles. Full article
Response and responsibility
Source: LA Times
Responsibility for the escalating carnage in Lebanon and northern Israel lies with one side only and that is Islamist militant party Hizbollah, along with its Syrian and Iranian backers, says this editorial. Full article
Source: LA Times
Responsibility for the escalating carnage in Lebanon and northern Israel lies with one side only and that is Islamist militant party Hizbollah, along with its Syrian and Iranian backers, says this editorial. Full article
Sparks flying along the pipeline
Source: Spiegel Online
The sparks flying between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh could easily turn into a full-blown conflagration along the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, a new billion-dollar conduit for Caspian oil. Full article
Source: Spiegel Online
The sparks flying between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh could easily turn into a full-blown conflagration along the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, a new billion-dollar conduit for Caspian oil. Full article
A rocky road to post-conflict democracy
Source: Daily Yomiuri
The United Nations should focus on institution-building in post-conflict situations, not simply holding elections. But the problem is that while holding an election is an event that organisers can paint as a "success" and leave, establishing deep-rooted rule of law is a slow process that doesn't lend itself easily to instant celebrations and photo ops, say Ramesh Thakur, senior vice rector of the U.N. University in Tokyo and William Maley, author of "Rescuing Afghanistan". Full article
Source: Daily Yomiuri
The United Nations should focus on institution-building in post-conflict situations, not simply holding elections. But the problem is that while holding an election is an event that organisers can paint as a "success" and leave, establishing deep-rooted rule of law is a slow process that doesn't lend itself easily to instant celebrations and photo ops, say Ramesh Thakur, senior vice rector of the U.N. University in Tokyo and William Maley, author of "Rescuing Afghanistan". Full article
After Mumbai
Source: Boston Globe on International Herald Tribune
If Al Qaeda turns out to be behind the Mumbai bombs, it should prompt both India and Pakistan to try and resolve their 60-year quarrel. Full article
Source: Boston Globe on International Herald Tribune
If Al Qaeda turns out to be behind the Mumbai bombs, it should prompt both India and Pakistan to try and resolve their 60-year quarrel. Full article
Trial over massacre at Srebrenica begins
Source: New York Times on International Herald Tribune
If the trial of seven former Bosnian Serb officers for their role in the Srebrenica massacre reaches a verdict, it would be the most far-reaching judgment yet involving Srebrenica. The only thing that could top it would be if General Ratko Mladic and political leader Radovan Karadzic - fugitives from charges of masterminding the massacre - were delivered to the court. Full article
Source: New York Times on International Herald Tribune
If the trial of seven former Bosnian Serb officers for their role in the Srebrenica massacre reaches a verdict, it would be the most far-reaching judgment yet involving Srebrenica. The only thing that could top it would be if General Ratko Mladic and political leader Radovan Karadzic - fugitives from charges of masterminding the massacre - were delivered to the court. Full article
The way in - and out - of Israel's wars
Source: Christian Science Monitor
Often it's difficult to sort out who started what in a Middle East conflict, but that's not the case this time: militant Islamists like Hamas in the Gaza strip and Hizbullah in Lebanon provoked this by incursions into Israel. Full article
Source: Christian Science Monitor
Often it's difficult to sort out who started what in a Middle East conflict, but that's not the case this time: militant Islamists like Hamas in the Gaza strip and Hizbullah in Lebanon provoked this by incursions into Israel. Full article
Only sanctions will stop this brutal campaign
Source: The Guardian
The world is watching, and we are all made complicit by the failure of our governments to end Palestinian anguish, says fiction author Ahdaf Soueif, whose latest book is "Mezzaterra: Fragments from the Common Ground". Full article
Source: The Guardian
The world is watching, and we are all made complicit by the failure of our governments to end Palestinian anguish, says fiction author Ahdaf Soueif, whose latest book is "Mezzaterra: Fragments from the Common Ground". Full article
Darfur security in freefall: Humanitarian collapse may occur any moment
Source: Sudan Tribune
As the rainy season deepens in Darfur and eastern Chad, it's making already difficult relief logistics even harder, and massive human suffering on an unprecedented scale is impending throughout Darfur, says Eric Reeves of Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, who has worked on Sudan for the past seven years. Full article
Source: Sudan Tribune
As the rainy season deepens in Darfur and eastern Chad, it's making already difficult relief logistics even harder, and massive human suffering on an unprecedented scale is impending throughout Darfur, says Eric Reeves of Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, who has worked on Sudan for the past seven years. Full article