Humanitarian need grows in Japan
More than 450,000 Japanese are seeking help at shelters in the aftermath of the deadly earthquake and tsunami as aid providers struggle with dwindling medical, food and other supplies. Japanese authorities have confirmed more than 5,690 deaths with almost 10,000 people still missing.
Yemeni soldiers fire on protesters
A reported 35 people — possibly many more — were killed as Yemeni troops opened fire on protesters demanding the ouster of President Ali Abdullah Saleh. The use of live rounds marks an escalation in the protests — thus far authorities had tried to disperse protesters by using tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannons.
Global Fund launches review panel
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has chosen former Botswana President Festus Mogae and former U.S. Health & Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt to lead an independent investigation panel. Internal investigations by the Geneva-based fund found millions of dollars in donor funds have been diverted by corruption in recipient countries, and the fund hopes the panel will reassure donors.
India seeks polio eradication
Health workers, vaccines, unusual transportation methods and villages feature in this photo essay chronicling India’s massive January polio vaccination campaign. Officials hope the campaign – which vaccinated 172 million children — will result in the eradication of the disease from the country.
Cholera epidemic in Haiti could double
The effects of the deadly cholera outbreak in Haiti have been severely underestimated, with numbers of those affected by the disease likely to be about 779,000, or double the initial estimates, according to U.S. researchers. The adjusted numbers also predict 11,100 deaths by the end of next fall.
Down economy threatens AIDS efforts
UN agencies fear for the future of successful HIV/AIDS treatment programs as donor countries, under economic strain, scale back funding. Some 5.2 million people in developing countries take the anti-retroviral medication that suppresses the disease and allows them to live normal lives, but they represent only a third of the estimated 15 million in need of the drugs.
Debt turns impoverished workers into slaves
Tens of thousands of impoverished Afghans and Pakistanis have been driven into indentured servitude as they struggle to feed their families. Workers borrow from their employers to meet immediate needs only to find themselves trapped in a cycle of permanent debt.
OPT: Blockade frustrates Gaza students
The next generation in the Gaza Strip may be less educated, less professional and perhaps more radical because an Israeli blockade has restricted educational and employment opportunities, say UN and other sources. The four-year blockade has particularly affected youths aged 18-24, limiting access to higher education, academic exchanges and professional development, says Gaza’s education ministry. About 65 percent of Gaza’s 1.6 million people are under 25, according to UN estimates.
Iran ‘using child soldiers’ to suppress Tehran protests
AP Iran’s Islamic regime is using “child soldiers” to suppress anti-government demonstrations, a tactic that could breach international law forbidding the use of underage combatants, human rights activists have told the Observer.
Groups complain over “Miral” viewing at UN
The American Jewish Committee and Anti-Defamation League joined with the Israeli delegation to the United Nations to protest the screening of “Miral” at the world body. The movie tells the story of a Palestinian girl living in the wake of Israel’s 1948 war for independence.
UN says reports of child soldiers being recruited in Libya
UN officials say they are getting reports that child soldiers are being recruited to fight for Moammar Gadhafi loyalists in Libya — which would be a war crime. UNICEF spokeswoman Marixie Mercado told The Associated Press.
Liberian women are reversing legacy of rape, inequality
In Liberia, where rape surpasses even armed robbery as the most reported crime — and some 40% of all victims are under the age of 12 — women are attempting to reverse a legacy of discrimination and abuse, in part, with the assistance of UN Women. “The biggest challenge is education for women and it is the biggest tool for empowerment, and that’s what we are trying to address,” said Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, the first woman to be elected president in an African country.
