The United Nations on Thursday condemned an attack on civilians in West Darfur by forces backed by the Sudanese government. The U.N. report said aerial attacks accompanied ground forces on raids on several villages, resulting in over 100 dead and several thousand displaced. The United Nations is only as strong as its member states; very […]
-Ray L. Wilbur, third president of Stanford University © UNICEF/Giacomo Pirozzi All children are born into this world full of endless possibility, sadly many will face hardship and struggle for the entire duration of their childhood. The majority of children's struggles are preventable, disease, poor education, hunger, lack of proper sanitation and clean drinking water. […]
In a statement issued by UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon's message on World Water Day targeted a lack of political will as the main reason for failure to achieve basic sanitation. However with today is marked to bring awareness to the plight of some 2.6 billion people world wide who are without proper sanitation facilities and […]
Under the shadow of the fifth anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, leaders of many Arab nations gathered in the tiny African nation of Senegal for the Organization of the Islamic Conference meeting. While the leaders of the impoverished nation wonder if hosting such an event will ultimately generate good graces from the wealthy […]
“Today 2.6 billion people, including almost one billion children, live without even basic sanitation. Every 20 seconds, a child dies as a result of poor sanitation. That's 1.5 million preventable deaths each year.” Children around the globe continue to endure needless suffering due to diseases brought on by a lack of access to clean drinking […]
Internally displaced persons (IDPs) at the Jamhuri grounds, Nairobi, Kenya. January 2008 © Julius Mwelu/IRIN The battle for a peaceful Kenya is far from over as a semblance of everyday life remains a distant dream for most Kenyans. While this month saw the signing of a power-sharing deal, the fight for peace and stability in […]
March 16 marked the 20th anniversary of a chemical weapons attack against a Kurdish uprising by the regime of Saddam Hussein in Iraq in 1988. The international community is just coming to terms with the events. With the U.S. pre-occupied with backing Saddam in his conflict with fever of Islamic nationalism gripping the Iranians, the […]
On this day around the world people drink, dance and celebrate the Irish, their culture and spirit. While the holiday has lost much of its meaning and the non-Irish join in the festivities often far more than do many Irish at times. I want to remind you that the day for the Irish is a […]
In speaking with friends who are all parents about teaching young children about the world and the world issues, we then ended up talking about books. While there is undoubtedly a plethora of books availible for children, its actually almost daunting how many books there are, and while most are good books few seem to […]
HIV major factor in rising child deaths in South Africa as “every year 20,000 babies are stillborn and another 22,000 die within the first month of their lives. In total, at least 75,000 children die before their fifth birthday, while 1,600 mothers die due to pregnancy or childbirth complications, according to a report on infant, […]
The words of Martin Luther King, Jr., ring as true today as they did they did then. It is our silence that allows suffering to continue. As a society we cannot remain silent about the injustices that plague our world, the injustices that children face daily, for if we speak then we can hear not […]
THE HAGUE (AFP) ‚ The International Criminal Court said Thursday that its first war crimes trial, involving former Congolese militia chief Thomas Lubanga Dyilo, would open on June 23.Lubanga, 46, is accused of abducting children under the age of 15 and forcing them to participate in attacks by the armed wing of his political Union […]
As spring peeked its sleep head though the last days of winter, the sun shown on the steps of the Senate Building as a group converged to demand that America fight to end slavery in its fields. Today Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin from Illinois, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John […]
The man describing himself as the chief of operations for former Liberian President Charles Taylor, Joseph Marzah, or "Zigzag," told the United Nations-backed Special Court for the Sierra Leone that Taylor encouraged his fighters to "play with human blood." Marzah told the court about roving bands of death squads terrorizing the civilian population at checkpoints […]
America is many things, as are Americans, and our culture is as diverse as they come and when one thinks of America and our modern culture one of the things that pops into your mind is inevitably fast food. We are all touched by the reach of the fast food industry. While for some of […]