January 2011
31 posts
Monday 31st January 2011
A good thing: A small Colombian community could hold one of the keys to finding treatments for Alzheimer’s disease. Sadly the community has experienced early onset alzheimers for generations, however researchers think it could be linked to a gene, which could be the key to unlocking the disease. See: http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/americas/01/27/alzheimer.filling.blank/index.html A bad...
Jan 31st
Sunday 30th January 2011
A good thing: As part of an initiative to protect children from sexual predators, including those who travel overseas, special US agents operating in South East Asia have brought more than 80 alleged child sex tourists back to America to face justice. See: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-12298870 A bad thing: A train crash and ferry fire in Indonesia killed at least 14 people in ...
Jan 30th
Saturday 29th January 2011
A good thing: Former South African President Nelson Mandela was discharged from the hospital on Friday. He suffering an acute respiratory infection but responded well to treatment. See: http://www.portalangop.co.ao/motix/en_us/noticias/africa/2011/0/4/Mandela-discharged-from-African-hospital,90ac6761-cf93-43c7-9099-471eeaa66924.html A bad thing: Via UNWire: The Egyptian government severed...
Jan 29th
Friday 28th January 2011
 A good thing: The Ugandan army has thwarted a planned grenade attack on a military base in the capital Kampala. Kampala was hit by twin suicide blasts in July last year that killed 79 people watching the World  Cup final on television. See: http://www.portalangop.co.ao/motix/en_us/noticias/africa/2011/0/4/Uganda-says-foiled-attack-military-capital,5d07f076-902c-43e5-9372-7253f473e518.html A...
Jan 27th
Thursday 27th January 2011
 A good thing: World Vision, through its microfinance subsidiary AgroInvest, has provided extensive construction works and made a school building safe again following an earthquake in Serbia two months ago. See: http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/new-beginning-for-village-schools-after-earthquake-thanks-to-agroinvest/ A bad thing: The crisis in Pakistan is far from over and could get worse,...
Jan 27th
Wednesday 26th January 2011
 A good thing: The United Nations Foundation’s Nothing But Nets campaign, PSI (Population Services International), and UNICEF announced the successful delivery of nearly 1 million anti-malaria mosquito nets in the Central African Republic -providing one net  to each family in the country. See:...
Jan 26th
Tuesday 25th January 2011
A good thing: Via UNWire: More than half a million lives could be saved each year by a new pneumonia vaccine that is being distributed to 19 countries, primarily in Africa and Latin America, as part of efforts by the Gavi Alliance. The vaccine is intended to stop severe pneumonia among children, as well as inhibit blood poisoning and a form of meningitis. See:...
Jan 25th
Monday 24th January 2011
A good thing: Drugs used to treat breast cancer may also be useful in tackling lung cancer, according to research in Switzerland. The study showed that anti-oestrogens reduced the number of deaths from lung cancer. See: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-12243206 A bad thing: Over the next 100 years, many scientists predict, 20 percent to 30 percent of species could be lost if the temperature...
Jan 24th
Sunday 23rd January 2011
A good thing: In Bangladesh, which has the highest per capita rate of human deaths from rabies - one in every 30,000 people, the government and NGOs have undertaken the country’s first national dog census to prepare a mass vaccination and neutering campaign. See: http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportID=91534 A bad thing: Thousands of German protesters marched in Berlin on Saturday to...
Jan 23rd
Saturday 22nd January 2011
A good thing: Mobile technology, the open-source community and other Internet-based services will play increasingly vital roles in humanitarian relief missions, according to the initial findings of a study commissioned in part by the UN Foundation.(Via UNWire) See: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/217206/un_mobile_tech_web_services_to_aid_in_disaster_relief.html A bad thing: ...
Jan 22nd
Friday 21st January 2011
A good thing: Thailand is closing dozens of dive sites to tourists after unusually warm seas caused severe damage to coral reefs in the Andaman Sea, in an effort to reduce damage and to restore the ecosystems. See: http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/thailand-closes-dive-sites-to-halt-damage-to-reefs/ A bad thing: A powerful earthquake of magnitude 7.2 shook southwestern Pakistan on ...
Jan 20th
Thursday 20th January 2011
A good thing: Switzerland says it has frozen all the assets held there by Ivory Coast’s disputed leader Laurent Gbagbo. Mr Gbagbo is refusing to hand over power to Alassane Ouattara, widely seen as the winner of November’s elections. See:...
Jan 20th
Wednesday 19th January 2011
A good thing: Male circumcision, which has been shown to decrease a man’s risk of contracting the virus that causes AIDS, also appears to help protect his sexual partners against cervical cancer.  See: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/18/health/18global.html?_r=1&ref=world A bad thing: Widespread flooding in Sri Lanka has grabbed the headlines recently, but in the north of the country a...
Jan 19th
Tuesday 18th January 2011
A good thing: Yesterday was Martin Luther King day. Many of Americans spent the day volunteering on various projects across the country. To read about some: See: http://www.dcourier.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=89668 A bad thing: The Kenya Red Cross has appealed for $19 million to provide aid to 1.9 millon people hit by the early stages of drought, warning the...
Jan 18th
Monday 17th January 2011
A good thing: Obama issued an executive order on Friday loosening limits on U.S. travel and money remittances to Cuba, extending his efforts to reach out to its people. See: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE70G0HG20110117 A bad thing: The government of South Africa is set to declare parts of the country disaster areas, after 40 people died in floods in a month. See:...
Jan 17th
Sunday 16th January 2011
A good thing: Scientists have produced genetically modified chickens that appear to prevent the spread of avian influenza (Bird Flu). Though the chickens can themselves become infected with flu viruses such as H5N1, say the researchers, they cannot pass on the virus to any other birds with which they come into contact. See:...
Jan 16th
Saturday 15th January 2011
A good thing: Tunisia’s president, Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali fled his country on Friday night, capitulating after a month of mounting protests calling for an end to his 23 years of authoritarian rule. See: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/15/world/africa/15tunis.html?_r=1&emc=na A bad thing: More than 500 people are now known to have died in floods in south-eastern Brazil, the...
Jan 15th
Friday 14th January 2011
A good thing: African nations can break dependence on food imports and produce enough to feed a growing population within a generation despite extra strains from climate change, a study has said. See: http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/africa-can-be-food-self-sufficient-study/ A bad thing: Gunmen opened fire on police guarding Christian worshippers at a church in northern Nigeria, killing...
Jan 13th
Thursday 13th January 2011
 A good thing: Representatives from the 48 poorest countries in the world and rich donor nations are meeting at the United Nations this week ahead of the Fourth U.N. Conference on the Least Developed Countries in Istanbul from May 9-13. The last such conference was in Brussels in May 2001. See: http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9KM92N83.htm A bad thing: In a Mexcian Town near...
Jan 13th
Wednesday 12th January 2011
A good thing: To mark the anniversary of the Haitian earthquake a group of young male amputees played soccer on a dusty field outside a slum in Haiti served as an inspirational display “Everything can’t get fixed after the earthquake, but life goes on,” said Mackendy Francois, whose friends used a hacksaw to cut off his left leg below the knee when they freed him from the...
Jan 12th
Tuesday 11th January 2011
A good thing: Voting in the Sudanese referendum is generally occurring peacefully and smoothly, with few serious complaints anywhere across southern Sudan. However more than 40 people had been killed over the weekend in intense skirmishes in a contested area along Sudan’s north-south border. See: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/11/world/africa/11sudan.html?_r=2&ref=global-home A bad thing: ...
Jan 11th
Monday 10th January 2011
A good thing: The Republic of Congo is set to become the first country in Africa to provide specific legal protection for its indigenous peoples. Indigenous people, some of whom are known as Pygmies, make up about 10 percent of Congo’s population and live in almost all regions of the country. The new law aims to counter their chronic marginalization, manifested in their exclusion from the...
Jan 10th
Sunday 9th January 2011
A good thing: A peaceful, orderly referendum could help put Sudan back on a path toward normal relations with the United States, however, a chaotic vote will mean more isolation, U.S. President Barack Obama said on Saturday. “Today, I am repeating my offer to Sudan’s leaders — if you fulfill your obligations and choose peace, there is a path to normal relations with the...
Jan 9th
Saturday 8th January 2011
A good thing: China has met its target to cut the amount of energy produced per unit of GDP growth by 20 percent over the 2006-2010 period, says official news agency Xinhua. China also aimed to reduce key pollutants like sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and chemical oxygen demand by 10 percent over the 2006-2010 period. Xie Zhenhua, NDRC’s vice-director, said at the end of November that...
Jan 8th
Friday 7th January 2011
A good thing: An experimental gel has protected female monkeys from the AIDS virus in a test designed to mimic human sexual transmission. See: http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/aids-gel-prevents-infection-in-monkeys/ A bad thing Unrest following Côte d’Ivoire’s presidential election is blocking a nationwide vaccination drive against yellow fever. In the past month 11 people...
Jan 7th
Thursday 6th August 2011
A good thing: Nicaragua was the first developing country to start immunising children with a new pneumonia vaccine in December.  The vaccine was released in the United States last year also. This is the first vaccine purchased by the Advance Market Commitment (AMC) mechanism, launched in June 2009, which brings donors and pharmaceutical companies together to speed up access to new vaccines in...
Jan 6th
Wednesday 5th January 2011
A good thing: Spain’s unemployment rate fell in December. Recently unemployment has been high and tax revenue has been shrinking. In the last six months Spain has seen premiums demanded by investors given concerns that its public finances was slipping. Falling unemployment may help address these issues. See: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/05/business/global/05spainweb.html?src=busln A...
Jan 5th
Tuesday 4th January 2011
A good thing: Analysts are indicating that the referendum, taking place in a few days time to split to Sudan in two, are more likely to occur peacefully. See: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/03/world/africa/03sudan.html?_r=2&ref=world A bad thing: Worsening security and enduring conservative Islamic customs prevented almost five million Afghan children from going to school in 2010. See:...
Jan 4th
Monday 3rd January 2011
A good thing: A Mozambique fishing trawler that was seized by pirates in late decemeber has been located in the Indian Ocean. The ship is being monitored. See: http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/africa/news/article_1609085.php/Mozambican-trawler-seized-by-pirates-is-under-constant-watch  A bad thing: Seven crew members are missing and feared drowned after their fishing boat sank in a...
Jan 3rd
Sunday 2nd January 2011
A good thing: The UN has warned the previous president of cote d’Ivoire, Laurent Gbagbo, that he and his staff will be held responsible regarding the continuing reports of violence occurring. International observers agree that Gbagbo lost the election in November but is still refusing to hand over power. Concerns exist for an outbreak of genocide. See:...
Jan 2nd
Saturday 1st January 2011
A good thing: Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva steps down as president of Brazil on Saturday (25/12) after two four-year terms during which his financial policies helped Brazil’s economy and encouraging growth that increased the middle class by 29 million people and pulled an additional 20 million
Jan 1st