Twin car bombs kill more than 150 in Baghdad; Iran opens facility to UN nuclear inspectors

Monday, October 26, 2009

... Mon, October 26, 2009 2:17:25 PM From: UN Wire ... Add to Contacts To: biginla@bbcnews.com
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October 26, 2009 | News covering the UN and the world Sign up | E-Mail this | Donate Twin car bombs kill more than 150 in Baghdad Twin car bombs exploded in Baghdad, killing at least 155 people in the deadliest attacks in Iraq in two years. Staged in a tightly guarded government center, the attacks suggest the militants possess the ability to strike at will and seek to undermine the government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. The attacks come at a time when government factions are deadlocked over how to administer the election scheduled for Jan. 16. Los Angeles Times (10/26) , Google/The Associated Press (10/26)

• Iran opens facility to UN nuclear inspectors
• Scientists discover protein behind internal bleeding
• Jellyfish threat to other marine life increasing
• African bishops lash out at continent's Catholic leaders
• India, China face off over border
• Career Center

Skip to a section: United Nations | Development Health and Poverty | Development Energy and Environment | Human Rights | Peace and Security Lots of our international friends won't be happy [if Abdullah Abdullah boycotts the election]. We will have them on our backs. But for the interest of our country, is a rigged and controversial election better than boycotting the election? I think the second."
Afghan presidential running mate Homayoun Shah Assefy. Read the full story.


UN Dispatch: When the going gets tough, Glenn Beck turns to the United Nations for help.
UN Dispatch

• Iran opens facility to UN nuclear inspectors
  International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors visited the recently revealed nuclear facility at Qom in Iran in an effort to prove the facility -- kept a secret from the world until September -- is used only for peaceful purposes. While Iranians hailed the visit as testament to the nation's claims to support a peaceful nuclear program, results from the inspection will not be known until after the inspectors leave the nation. U.S. President Barack Obama said French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev affirmed their support for an international accord for developing Iran's uranium. CNN (10/25) , Google/The Associated Press (10/25) , BBC (10/24)

• Scientists discover protein behind internal bleeding
  Scientists have discovered a protein called a histone that is largely responsible for the internal bleeding that follows car accidents, bullet wounds and other traumas. Further, scientists discovered a specific antibody in mice known as a monoclonal antibody that blocks the production of histones -- an antibody that is produced frequently among people with auto-immune diseases. BBC (10/26)

• Philippines debates access to reproductive health services
  Legislative efforts to increase access to reproductive health services including contraceptive pills, condoms and vasectomies are encountering stiff resistance from the Roman Catholic Church and affiliate organizations. Supporters cite more than 1 million unintended pregnancies and 500,000 illegal abortions every year as demonstrating the need for broader access. The New York Times (10/25)

• Fertilizer pricing battle may exacerbate global food insecurity
  An ongoing battle between farmers and fertilizer producers over pricing threatens to adversely affect the world's food supplies. Farmers weaned crops onto lower amounts of fertilizers to force a price drop, but the fertilizer industry is betting the threat of decreased crop yields at a time when food insecurity is increasing around the globe will weaken farmers' ability to keep pricing down. The Globe and Mail (Toronto) (10/24)

Top five news stories selected by UN Wire readers in the past week.

• Vast majority of countries failing to pay UN dues (Google)

• Artists demand torture music playlist (The Washington Post)

• Photographs depict real victims of Congo rapes (The New York Times)

• Iran agrees to draft nuclear deal (Los Angeles Times)

• Iran blames U.S., others for aiding suicide attack (The New York Times)

• Results based on number of times each story was clicked by readers.

• Jellyfish threat to other marine life increasing
  Jellyfish infestations are growing increasingly intense because of a combination of overfishing, lower oxygen levels from fertilizer runoff and climate change, scientists say. The overfished Black Sea is struggling to recover from the introduction of one species, the mnemiopsis leidyi, which poses little threat to humans but can decimate compromised fish populations. Scientists confirmed the species' presence in the Mediterranean Sea earlier this year. TIME (11/2)

• Scientists consider deep freeze for coral reef
  The case for preserving the world's coral reef is sufficiently dire that scientists are discussing a plan to freeze and save coral for some future time. Researchers agree most coral reefs will not survive the changes taking place in the ocean and atmosphere even if tough new regulations are put in place limiting global carbon emissions. Scientists further agree coral species, an important source of food and shelter for many marine forms of life, can easily be stored and preserved. BBC (10/25)

• African bishops lash out at continent's Catholic leaders
  African bishops have called on corrupt Catholic leaders on the continent "to repent or quit the public arena and stop causing havoc to the people and giving the Catholic Church a bad name." The bishops refrained from naming names, but Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe and Angola's Jose Eduardo dos Santos are the continent's two most infamous Catholic leaders. The bishops did draw special attention to current crises in Uganda, South Sudan and Darfur as examples of failed leadership. The New York Times (10/23)

• German on trial for courtroom death of pregnant Muslim
  A German drifter known as Alex W was brought to trial for the death of a pregnant Egyptian woman, Marwa Sherbini, in an incident that sparked outrage throughout the Middle East. W allegedly stabbed Sherbini with a knife during an appeal hearing over a fine he was levied after calling her abusive names on a playground. Newspapers in Egypt and elsewhere expressed outrage that the gristly murder could take place in a courtroom. BBC (10/26)

• Myanmar tells summit Suu Kyi has a role to play
  Myanmar's Prime Minister Thein Sein has told a regional summit his government sees a role for detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi in promoting reconciliation within the country ahead of elections scheduled for 2010, Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said. Google/Agence France-Presse (10/25)

• Arrests follow clashes at Jerusalem holy site
  Some 30 worshipers and other visitors to the Holy Mount in Jerusalem sought medical attention after several dozen Palestinians threw rocks at them, leading to several arrests. The clashes, in which Palestinians threw stones at non-Muslims entering into the al-Aqsa mosque at the holy site, follow recent rumors among Palestinians that Israeli radicals plan to harm it. Jewish activists have called on Jews to come in large numbers to the Holy Mount to worship and demonstrate. Ha'aretz (Tel Aviv, Israel) (10/25) , BBC (10/26)

• Karadzic fails to appear at trial start
  Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic boycotted the start of his trial at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia today, citing the need for more time to prepare his defense. Karadzic, who is defending himself, faces 11 charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity related to the Bosnian war. BBC (10/26)

• India, China face off over border
  The ambiguous border between Indian and China in the Himalayas patrolled by troops from both nations represents a potential hot-flash site between the emerging powers. China objected to a visit by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, which China claims as a part of Tibet. China also greeted the Indian approval of a visit of the Dalai Lama to the border town of Tawang as a provocation. The border tension is marked by increasing economic rivalry between the countries. TIME (11/2)

• Afghan challenger mulls runoff election boycott
  Afghan presidential challenger Abdullah Abdullah is considering boycotting the runoff election against incumbent President Hamid Karzai if certain demands are not met to assure the election's legitimacy -- including a demand the Independent Election Commission be purged of leaders biased against him. Some observers said the move might be an effort to try to trigger talks for a compromise or coalition government. A boycott likely would render the results of the election doubtful, if not illegitimate. The Washington Post (10/26)

• Sri Lanka struggles with EU trade threat
  Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa is struggling to retain duty waivers for exports to GSP Plus nations -- important trade concessions the European Union has threatened to revoke -- while also not backing down in the face of pressure. Sri Lankan exports to the EU totaled $1.9 billion in 2008, and the loss of the concessions could result in many rural women losing jobs as smaller garment factories close. The Economist (10/22)

• Reports: Opposition politicians' families become targets in Iran
  Iranian authorities reportedly have detained the wives and other family members of political detainees, according to several Iranian opposition Web sites. The arrests took place Thursday during a prayer service held by the family of an opposition leader Shahab Tabatabee, recently sentenced to five years in prison. The New York Times (10/23)

• Other News

• Israel vows investigation over Lebanon's listening devices claim
  Ha'aretz (Tel Aviv, Israel) (10/26)

• Prominent Ingushetia opposition figure assassinated
  The New York Times (10/25)

Deputy Director International Planned Parenthood Federation New York

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