One in seven girls in developing countries is married before their 15th birthday, usually against her will. Across the globe, more than 60 million girls find themselves innocent victims as child brides, despite the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child stipulation that 18 is the minimum age for marriage. While many countries have adhered […]
In a follow up to yesterday’s post, I have come across a piece in Time Magazine by Eben Harrell of Harvard’s Belfer Center. In it, Harrell discusses the thriving nuclear export business Kim John Il established during his reign in which he allegedly provided equipment for fissile materials production and missile technology to countries such […]
It is that time of year again; for many the chill of winter has set in, and as we bundle-up with something hot by the fire, we think about giving to others. Regardless of your religious beliefs, the holiday season reminds us to give back to our communities and others in need, especially children. I […]
With the sudden demise of “Dear Leader” and cult personality/despot Kim Jong Il several days ago, all eyes have turned to his hand-picked successor, Kim Jong Un. While his father had the benefit of nearly twenty years of preparation for his role as megalomaniacal leader, Kim Jong Un has not. This has troubled analysts who […]
Aid agencies are sounding the alarm about an impending drought in the countries of the Sahel region of Western Africa, threatening 12 million people with severe malnutrition, including 1 million children. Production of cereals has been hampered by poor rainfall throughout 2011, raising prices of food across the region. The coming crisis is expected to […]
This is the first in a 3-part year in review series on war crimes around the world in 2011. Ratko Mladic – Europe’s Most Wanted War Criminal In early April Bosiljka Mladic, Ratko Mladic’s wife told the media that her husband was dead. Less than two months later he was arrested in Lazarevo in […]
In the wake of recent shocking cases of child abuse and neglect such as the Penn State cover-up scandal, the infamous Casey Anthony murder trial and the ongoing global abuse investigations of Catholic Priests, the issue has become headline news. Sadly, most cases of abuse both across the globe and in the United States go unreported, or are reported […]
The online world has been all aflutter in recent weeks over the introduction of two pieces of legislation in Congress: the PROTECT IP Act in the Senate and the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the House of Representatives. As PROTECT IP already passed in the Senate, last week the focus shifted to the hearings […]
The debt dynamics equation was in the past of interest only to sovereign credit analysts (such as this blogger) and macro policy wonks. Now, more people want to know about it. You can generate such an equation that is elaborate or not, but the gist is the following: The primary budget surplus, that is, government revenues minus expenditures — not […]
The final paper assignment for my class on energy and the environment at NYU’s MS in Global Affairs program this semester was to “…provide for all the energy needs of the world in the year 2050.” I said “In the next 40 years, we will need to transition to safe, secure, affordable, clean and abundant […]
Family planning efforts in Pakistan Efforts to promote family planning in Pakistan are struggling against the reality that many women are simply not in a position to make such decisions. Pakistan has the regions highest fertility rate with an average of four children per woman. Korean “comfort women” in landmark protest against Japan Korean women […]
Imagine having no country to call your own. For an estimated 12 million people around the world, that is a daily fact. Individuals who are not considered nationals of any country have no written rights. This means no access to health care, no chance to vote, no property of your own, and often no education. […]
The crisis in Syria continues to deteriorate. Recently, the U.N. reported that more than 5,000 people have died in Syria. Yesterday, Human Rights Watch published a report providing firm documentation that the very highest levels of Syria’s government regime gave security forces “shoot to kill” orders. And today, security forces are “clashing” with protestors in […]
Every 90 seconds a woman dies during pregnancy or childbirth. That’s 1,000 girls and women a day, more than half a million women every year. Additionally, more than 1 million babies are stillborn each year because their mothers could not access the proper medical care. And yet experts say more than 80 percent of these […]
The issue of exclusive breast-feeding for the first year has been an area of confusion for many mothers in developing nations, especially following the marketing practices of many formula companies to push products in a misleading manner, an issue about which I have previously written. However, for mothers who are HIV-positive, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, exclusive breastfeeding […]