UN WIRE August 22, 2013

August 22, 2013 FOLLOW THE UN FOUNDATION   News covering the UN and the world SIGN UP | FORWARD | ADVERTISE | DONATE Top Story Ban calls for "thorough, impartial and prompt investigation" of alleged chemical-weapons attack The United Nations Security Council and Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for an investigation into the alleged chemical-weapons attack in Syria on Wednesday. Argentina's envoy Maria Cristina Perceval says, "All council members agreed that any use of chemical weapons by any side, under any circumstances, is a violation of international law." Voice of America (8/21), The Guardian (London) (8/21), Bloomberg (8/22), Reuters (8/21) Share: Above the Fold UN peacekeeping force aids reconciliation in Mali Food insecurity on the rise in northeastern Nigeria Humanitarian aid agencies see promise, problems with crowdsourcing Much remains unknown about alleged Syrian chemical attack UN Radio Quote of the Day @UNFoundation: .@mHealthAlliance champions the use of mobile technologies to improve health throughout the world. Learn more here: bit.ly/1d36eak Share: UN Dispatch "The Security Council met in an emergency session, but came to no swift conclusion. In the meantime a UN chemical weapons investigative team is in Damascus, but there is no certainty they would; This could be a significant turning point in international response to the conflict in Syria." UN Dispatch (8/22) Share: United Nations UN peacekeeping force aids reconciliation in Mali The recent peaceful elections in Mali are part of the country's reconciliation process after years of fighting. The United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali shows that the international community is committed to helping "the people of Mali in their quest for stability, peace and prosperity," says Bert Koenders, head of MINUSMA. The InterDependent (8/21) Share: UN rights envoy's convoy attacked in Myanmar during fact-finding mission BBC (8/21) Share: Australia's detention of Tamil refugees is decried by UN panel News.com.au (Australia)/Australian Associated Press (8/22) Share: Health & Development Food insecurity on the rise in northeastern Nigeria The armed conflict between Nigeria government forces and Boko Haram rebels is leading to food insecurity in northern Nigeria with almost 500,000 children said the be malnourished. The Nigerian government is increasing food aid, but the conflict is preventing many farmers from returning to the fields. IRINNews.org (8/22) Share: 14 suspected polio cases reported in Pakistan The Express Tribune (Pakistan) (8/21) Share: World Bank may treble financial assistance to Pakistan The Express Tribune (Pakistan) (8/22) Share: Bats named as originators of MERS The New York Times (tiered subscription model) (8/21) Share: Technology Humanitarian aid agencies see promise, problems with crowdsourcing Aid agencies are looking to use Big Data and crowdsourcing to gain information and insight about humanitarian situations. But aid workers face bottlenecks from the sheer amount of data that needs to be processed, as well as issues with data quality, writes IRIN. IRINNews.org (8/20) Share: App helps lost children find parents in war zones, refugee camps The New York Times (tiered subscription model)/Bits blog (8/19) Share: Improving Web access for all countries Devex.com (free registration) (8/22) Share: Peacekeeping and Security Much remains unknown about alleged Syrian chemical attack The alleged chemical-weapons attack in Syria is raising questions about how many were killed, what chemicals were used and who may have been behind the attack. "Getting to the bottom of the assault could well alter the course of the conflict and affect the level of the West's involvement," write Ben Hubbard and Hwaida Saad. USA Today/The Associated Press (8/22), The New York Times (tiered subscription model) (8/21) Share: Mubarak moved from prison Backers of ousted Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi are calling for demonstrations on Friday to protest the military takeover. Meanwhile, former President Hosni Mubarak was released from prison today and reportedly brought to a hospital. Reuters (8/22), Reuters (8/22), Inter Press Service (8/22) Share: Tunisian government moves closer to approving new elections Reuters (8/22) Share: Corruption of Liberia's police concerns human rights group BBC (8/22) Share: 11 killed as CAR moves to disarm opposition Google/Agence France-Presse (8/21) Share: Position Title Company Name Location Budget Analyst, Business Services and Budgets (2 openings) United Nations Foundation Washington, DC Officer, Global Partnerships United Nations Foundation Washington, DC Business Services and Contracts Officer United Nations Foundation Washington, DC