Violence Spurs Somali aid groups to cut back
Less than half of the four million Somalis requiring aid to avoid starvation have proper access to it, according to the United Nations. Famine was first identified in the Horn of Africa six months ago, but security fears tied to anti-government al Shabab fighters, who still control large swaths of south-central Somalia, have led many aid organisations to scale back their efforts.
(The following three were reported from Haiti)
UN Likely Cause of Cholera Outbreak
Several scientific studies point to a UN base in Haiti as the place where cholera was introduced into the country in October 2010. A UN-commissioned scientist has also said that the world body itself is most likely to blame for the outbreak. The UN has never accepted responsibility for the cholera epidemic, even though its own investigation found the outbreak stemmed from contamination in a river,right next to its own base, which was not disposing of sewage properly. The investigation found that Haiti’s lack of effective water treatment facilities, made worse by a devastating earthquake, led to the rapid spread of the disease, which has killed about 7,000 people in the country.
UN Denies blame for Cholera Outbreak
Challenges to UN mandate in Haiti
Members of the UN Security Council have been visiting Haiti, home to one of the organisation’s most controversial peacekeeping missions. The UN mission, known as Minustah, consists of 11,000 peacekeepers who were sent to provide security and build government institutions in a country plagued by corruption, poverty and violence. But after eight years, the mission’s popularity is at an all-time low due to a series of scandals, from allegations of sexual abuse to accusations of spreading cholera. The UN says it will take four more years to bolster Haiti’s security forces, in order for it to become fully independent.
US Companies increase insourcing of jobs
The United States unemployment rate fell to 8.3 per cent in January, its lowest level in nearly three years, due to an unexpected surge in hiring, according to published government data. The economy added 243,00 net jobs in December, the US Labour Department reported on Friday, much better than the average analyst forecast of 155,000. According to the Labour Department, US businesses increased hiring, adding 257,000 jobs. In President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address, he proposed incentives for US businesses to increase the insourcing of jobs.
Detroit on brink of bankruptcy
Detroit was once one of America’s biggest and most productive cities. Millions of people had jobs in the automobile industry, and the city also attracted other big business. But for years the industry has been suffering and this week it hit a new low.
Hundreds arrested in Occupy Wall Street protests
More than 300 people were arrested across the United States on Thursday in a series of protests marking the two months since the start of the Occupy Wall Street movement. In New York, which was again the focus of the now global movement, tens of thousands of protesters, including thousands of union members, walked across the iconic Brooklyn Bridge in a show of solidarity.
More Occupy Wall Street… Here ; Here ; Here ; Here
Lady Liberty celebrates 125 years
The Statue of Liberty, France’s tribute to America’s democracy, freedom; celebrates her 125th birthday on Friday. The effigy became known as symbol of hope for millions – thanks to her home in the New York Harbor, just next to Ellis Island where immigrants were processed for 62 years.
Fears of fracking cause earthquakes in Ohio
A town in the US state of Ohio, far from any seismic activity, has experienced a string of earthquakes. Residents of Youngstown, as well as scientists, are pointing the finger at a controversial form of natural gas extraction, known as fracking.
US privation on the rise
A growing number of families in the United States are struggling to put food on the table. A survey of 29 cities found that all but four of them reported an increase in requests for emergency food aid over the past year.
Budget cuts may hit needy Americans
Advocates for the poor and often hungry in the US say that problems for the nation’s needy could intensify if the agriculture department bows to pressure from congress to reduce food-assistance schemes.
Ban Ki-Moon: Palestine UN bid ‘understandable’
Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations secretary general, has said that the Palestinian bid for recognition by the UN is understandable. As he prepares to open the 66th annual General Assembly on September 19, Ban told Al Jazeera that both sides must engage in dialogue, regardless of the outcome of the vote.
Is recognition the road to a republic? (Dec. 2010)
With direct talks derailed, Palestinians are looking to the UN as a means to establish statehood. Brazil and Argentina announced this month that they recognise Palestine as an independent state, and other Latin American countries have signalled they will follow suite in the coming months. Now Palestinian leaders are looking to the United Nations for an official declaration recognising Palestine along its 1967 borders.
Bosnia in political crisis
Bosnia-Herzegovina is facing its most serious crisis since it was established as a state 15 years ago, the international representative for the country has warned, accusing Bosnian Serb officials of threatening its viability.
Hart Island Cemetery: Hidden in plain sight
A little-known island just offshore from the Bronx in New York City serves a massive cemetery, where around 800,000 bodies have been buried over the past 150 years. Those laid to rest at Hart Island typically are the poor, those without next of kin or the unknown. But thousands are still buried in mass graves there every year, and some have been buried there as a result of bungled paperwork. Only those who can prove they have relatives buried there are allowed to visit the cemetery, and a foundation founded by an artist is helping families locate loved ones on Hart Island.
UN admits to failing DR Congo rape victims
A senior United Nations official has admitted that UN troops failed to protect women and children in the Democratic Republic of Congo. More than 500 rapes have now been reported there in the past month alone, including 242 women and children who were raped over several days just 30 kilometers away from a base used by UN peacekeepers.
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June 2011
An Internews assessment of information flows in Libya this June explored the ambitions and needs of new media outlets in Benghazi. After 42 years of authoritarian rule, enthusiasm for journalism and free expression runs high in rebel-held Libya. Most new journalists are former engineers or professionals with little experience in journalism, but with strong ambitions to contribute to a new, democratic Libya. Produced, filmed, voiced, and edited by Benedict Moran.
May 2011
Internews features three young people from Benghazi, Libya, who are estatic to have a voice after 42 years under an authoritarian government. Produced by Benedict Moran.
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(INDEPENDENT)
December 2009
Jackson Heights is the birthplace of the popular board game Scrabble – did you know that?
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August 2009
Every night, a group of men spend hours playing the traditional game of bocci ball in Spaghetti Park. The event has become a place where community members share news and relax near the popular Queens landmark, The Lemon Ice King of Corona.