A new report released by the United Nations shows that climate-damaging CO2 emissions in the industrialized world have rebounded in the 21st century after dropping in the 1990s. After a sharp dip following the collapse of the Soviet Union, global greenhouse gas emissions in industrialized countries began rising again between 2000 and 2006, according to a disappointing new report released on Monday by the United Nations. The dissolution of the Soviet Union brought emissions tumbling down in the nineties, but they've crept back up since 2000. Although CO2 levels are still down almost 4.7 percent compared with the baseline year of 1999, they rose 2.3 percent in the first seven years of the new century, from 17.6 billion tons in 2000 to 18 billion tons in 2006. The report, which gathered information about 40 industrialized economies, showed an especially sharp rise in emissions from former Soviet bloc countries, whose emissions shot up 7.4 percent since 2000. The spike was not unexpected given the rapid recovery many post-Soviet economies have made after floundering in the 1990s. Significantly, the report includes no information about economies in the developing world. Under the Kyoto Protocol, non-industrialized countries are under no obligation to either reduce emissions or even gather data on them.
A new report released by the United Nations shows that climate-damaging CO2 emissions in the industrialized world have rebounded in the 21st century after dropping in the 1990s.
After a sharp dip following the collapse of the Soviet Union, global greenhouse gas emissions in industrialized countries began rising again between 2000 and 2006, according to a disappointing new report released on Monday by the United Nations.
The dissolution of the Soviet Union brought emissions tumbling down in the nineties, but they've crept back up since 2000.
Although CO2 levels are still down almost 4.7 percent compared with the baseline year of 1999, they rose 2.3 percent in the first seven years of the new century, from 17.6 billion tons in 2000 to 18 billion tons in 2006.
The report, which gathered information about 40 industrialized economies, showed an especially sharp rise in emissions from former Soviet bloc countries, whose emissions shot up 7.4 percent since 2000. The spike was not unexpected given the rapid recovery many post-Soviet economies have made after floundering in the 1990s.
Significantly, the report includes no information about economies in the developing world. Under the Kyoto Protocol, non-industrialized countries are under no obligation to either reduce emissions or even gather data on them.
Barack Obama's election as America's first black president has unleashed a wave of hate crimes across the nation, according to police and monitoring organisations. Far from heralding a new age of tolerance, Mr Obama's victory in the November 4 poll has highlighted the stubborn racism that lingers within some elements of American society as opponents pour their frustration into vandalism, harassment, threats and even physical attacks. Cross burnings, black figures hung from nooses, and schoolchildren chanting "Assassinate Obama" are just some of the incidents that have been documented by police from California to Maine.
Barack Obama's election as America's first black president has unleashed a wave of hate crimes across the nation, according to police and monitoring organisations.
Far from heralding a new age of tolerance, Mr Obama's victory in the November 4 poll has highlighted the stubborn racism that lingers within some elements of American society as opponents pour their frustration into vandalism, harassment, threats and even physical attacks.
Cross burnings, black figures hung from nooses, and schoolchildren chanting "Assassinate Obama" are just some of the incidents that have been documented by police from California to Maine.
Drew J Jones:
And it's not as though electing Obama has somehow magically cured us of racism. We're being given too much credit on that. Not to say it isn't a big deal. I think Americans deserve a rare pat on the head for it. But it just means the sane side can win when they show up. But you need only look at the numerous stories of people hanging Obama in effigy in small-town ("Real") Ohio, or the disgusting things shouted at the McCain-Palin rallies, or the however-many plots uncovered by the spooks -- and those are only the ones we know of -- to assassinate him to know that racism is still plenty real here, even if the majority can get beyond it in the voting booth.
THE future of one of the world's best known freedom struggles is being reassessed by Tibetan refugees in exile attending an unprecedented meeting at the Indian hill town of Dharamsala. Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, called for the gathering to determine the "best possible future course of action to advance the Tibetan cause". About 500 legislators, former ministers in the government-in-exile, heads of Tibetan associations and other prominent Tibetans gathered yesterday at a school auditorium in upper Dharamsala, for the five- day meeting. For two decades the Dalai Lama has championed a "middle way" for the movement, incorporating a moderate demand for Tibetan "autonomy" under Chinese rule and a strict adherence to non-violent protest. But there is agitation, especially among many young Tibetans, for the movement to adopt a tougher stance. The president of the Tibetan Youth Congress, Tsewang Rigzin, said it was likely the issue of demanding independence rather than just autonomy would be canvassed at the meeting. "I think that will come out," he said. "But we also have to talk about how to solve the current emergency situation inside Tibet."
THE future of one of the world's best known freedom struggles is being reassessed by Tibetan refugees in exile attending an unprecedented meeting at the Indian hill town of Dharamsala.
Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, called for the gathering to determine the "best possible future course of action to advance the Tibetan cause".
About 500 legislators, former ministers in the government-in-exile, heads of Tibetan associations and other prominent Tibetans gathered yesterday at a school auditorium in upper Dharamsala, for the five- day meeting.
For two decades the Dalai Lama has championed a "middle way" for the movement, incorporating a moderate demand for Tibetan "autonomy" under Chinese rule and a strict adherence to non-violent protest.
But there is agitation, especially among many young Tibetans, for the movement to adopt a tougher stance.
The president of the Tibetan Youth Congress, Tsewang Rigzin, said it was likely the issue of demanding independence rather than just autonomy would be canvassed at the meeting.
"I think that will come out," he said. "But we also have to talk about how to solve the current emergency situation inside Tibet."
Mullah Omar, the elusive leader of the anti-government Taliban, appears to have rejected an offer from Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, of protection in exchange for peace talks. A Taliban spokesman rejected on Monday the offer of safe passage and reiterated that foreign troops had to leave before negotiations could start. "As long as foreign occupiers remain in Afghanistan, we aren't ready for talks because they hold the power and talks won't bear fruit," Mullah Brother, the purported deputy leader of the Taliban, told the Reuters news agency by satellite telephone from an undisclosed location. "We are safe in Afghanistan and we have no need for Hamid Karzai's offer of safety". Brother said the Taliban jihad, or holy war, will continue. The Taliban has ruled out any talks as long as foreign troops remain in Afghanistan.Karzai said on Sunday that condition was "unacceptable".
Mullah Omar, the elusive leader of the anti-government Taliban, appears to have rejected an offer from Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, of protection in exchange for peace talks.
A Taliban spokesman rejected on Monday the offer of safe passage and reiterated that foreign troops had to leave before negotiations could start.
"As long as foreign occupiers remain in Afghanistan, we aren't ready for talks because they hold the power and talks won't bear fruit," Mullah Brother, the purported deputy leader of the Taliban, told the Reuters news agency by satellite telephone from an undisclosed location.
"We are safe in Afghanistan and we have no need for Hamid Karzai's offer of safety".
Brother said the Taliban jihad, or holy war, will continue.
The Taliban has ruled out any talks as long as foreign troops remain in Afghanistan.Karzai said on Sunday that condition was "unacceptable".
President-elect Barack Obama has vowed to pull US troops out of Iraq, crush al-Qaeda in Afghanistan and shut down the Guantanamo Bay camp as part of a dramatic foreign policy break with George W. Bush. In his first major post-election interview, Mr Obama said repairing the stricken US economy will be his first priority, even at the cost of still-bigger budget deficits. Following his election triumph of November 4, Mr Obama said at least one Republican would be in his cabinet and confirmed that he had met former Democratic primary rival Hillary Clinton last week. But the president-elect refused to comment on speculation linking the former first lady to the job of secretary of state. Mr Obama is accelerating his transition to inauguration day, resigning his Senate seat and appointing three more top aides to serve in his White House once he succeeds President Bush.
In his first major post-election interview, Mr Obama said repairing the stricken US economy will be his first priority, even at the cost of still-bigger budget deficits.
Following his election triumph of November 4, Mr Obama said at least one Republican would be in his cabinet and confirmed that he had met former Democratic primary rival Hillary Clinton last week.
But the president-elect refused to comment on speculation linking the former first lady to the job of secretary of state.
Mr Obama is accelerating his transition to inauguration day, resigning his Senate seat and appointing three more top aides to serve in his White House once he succeeds President Bush.
President-elect Barack Obama and John McCain are holding their first meeting since the US election, vowing to work together to "fix up the country". The former rivals for the presidency are meeting at the Chicago offices of Mr Obama's transition team. Also present at the meeting are Rahm Emanuel, who is to be Mr Obama's White House chief of staff, and Senator Lindsey Graham, an ally of Mr McCain. Mr McCain said he "obviously" planned to help Mr Obama's administration.
President-elect Barack Obama and John McCain are holding their first meeting since the US election, vowing to work together to "fix up the country".
The former rivals for the presidency are meeting at the Chicago offices of Mr Obama's transition team.
Also present at the meeting are Rahm Emanuel, who is to be Mr Obama's White House chief of staff, and Senator Lindsey Graham, an ally of Mr McCain.
Mr McCain said he "obviously" planned to help Mr Obama's administration.
JIDDA, Saudi Arabia -- Pirates captured a Saudi-owned supertanker loaded with more than $100 million worth of crude oil off the coast of Kenya, seizing the largest ship ever hijacked, United States Navy officials said Monday. The hijacking follows a string of increasingly brazen attacks by Somali pirates in recent months, but this appears to be the first time that pirates have seized a full oil tanker. "This is unprecedented," Lt. Nathan Christensen, a spokesman for the Fifth Fleet, told Reuters. "It's the largest ship that we've seen pirated. It's three times the size of an aircraft carrier."The International Maritime Bureau, the global clearinghouse for piracy reporting, based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, has seen a sharp increase in maritime piracy this year.Noel Choong, head of the piracy reporting center at the bureau, said Tuesday that 88 ships have been attacked in the Gulf of Aden alone this year. And 14 hijacked ships remain in the gulf -- the heavily armed hijackers still on board, with the crews, cargo and the vessels themselves being held for ransom.
JIDDA, Saudi Arabia -- Pirates captured a Saudi-owned supertanker loaded with more than $100 million worth of crude oil off the coast of Kenya, seizing the largest ship ever hijacked, United States Navy officials said Monday.
The hijacking follows a string of increasingly brazen attacks by Somali pirates in recent months, but this appears to be the first time that pirates have seized a full oil tanker.
"This is unprecedented," Lt. Nathan Christensen, a spokesman for the Fifth Fleet, told Reuters. "It's the largest ship that we've seen pirated. It's three times the size of an aircraft carrier."
The International Maritime Bureau, the global clearinghouse for piracy reporting, based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, has seen a sharp increase in maritime piracy this year.
Noel Choong, head of the piracy reporting center at the bureau, said Tuesday that 88 ships have been attacked in the Gulf of Aden alone this year. And 14 hijacked ships remain in the gulf -- the heavily armed hijackers still on board, with the crews, cargo and the vessels themselves being held for ransom.
Meanwhile:
Piracy gained a new level of international attention in September when a Ukrainian freighter packed with tanks, antiaircraft guns and other heavy weapons was captured. That freighter is still under pirate control.
Of course, hitting the oil supply might just be a fatal mistake as it's one of the few things that could prompt serious international reaction.
BAGHDAD -- The government of Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki is systematically dismissing Iraqi oversight officials, who were installed to fight corruption in Iraqi ministries by order of the American occupation administration, which had hoped to bring Western standards of accountability to the notoriously opaque and graft-ridden bureaucracy here. The dismissals, which were confirmed by senior Iraqi and American government officials on Sunday and Monday, have come as estimates of official Iraqi corruption have soared. One Iraqi former chief investigator recently testified before Congress that $13 billion in reconstruction funds from the United States had been lost to fraud, embezzlement, theft and waste by Iraqi government officials. The moves have not been publicly announced by Mr. Maliki's government, but word of them has begun to circulate through the layers of Iraqi bureaucracy as Parliament prepares to vote on a long-awaited security agreement.
BAGHDAD -- The government of Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki is systematically dismissing Iraqi oversight officials, who were installed to fight corruption in Iraqi ministries by order of the American occupation administration, which had hoped to bring Western standards of accountability to the notoriously opaque and graft-ridden bureaucracy here.
The dismissals, which were confirmed by senior Iraqi and American government officials on Sunday and Monday, have come as estimates of official Iraqi corruption have soared. One Iraqi former chief investigator recently testified before Congress that $13 billion in reconstruction funds from the United States had been lost to fraud, embezzlement, theft and waste by Iraqi government officials.
The moves have not been publicly announced by Mr. Maliki's government, but word of them has begun to circulate through the layers of Iraqi bureaucracy as Parliament prepares to vote on a long-awaited security agreement.
SEOUL, South Korea -- To conservative critics, a widely used textbook's version of how American and Soviet forces took control of Korea from Japanese colonialists in 1945 shows all that is wrong with the way South Korean history is taught to young people today. The fact no one disputes is that, at the end of World War II, the Soviet military swept into northern Korea and installed a friendly Communist government while an American military administration assumed control in the south. But then the high school textbook takes a direction that has angered conservatives. It contends that the Japanese occupation was followed not by a free, self-determining Korea, but by a divided peninsula dominated once again by foreign powers. "It was not our national flag that was hoisted to replace the Japanese flag. The flag that flew in its place was the American Stars and Stripes," reads the textbook, published by Kumsung Publishing. "Our liberation through the Allied forces' victory prevented us from building a new country according to our own wishes," it adds. The critics include the government of President Lee Myung-bak, the conservative who came to power this year with a pledge to overturn a decade of liberal policies that he said had coddled North Korea and denigrated the American alliance -- the alliance that liberals have accused of propping up South Korean dictators in the name of anti-Communism.
SEOUL, South Korea -- To conservative critics, a widely used textbook's version of how American and Soviet forces took control of Korea from Japanese colonialists in 1945 shows all that is wrong with the way South Korean history is taught to young people today.
The fact no one disputes is that, at the end of World War II, the Soviet military swept into northern Korea and installed a friendly Communist government while an American military administration assumed control in the south.
But then the high school textbook takes a direction that has angered conservatives. It contends that the Japanese occupation was followed not by a free, self-determining Korea, but by a divided peninsula dominated once again by foreign powers.
"It was not our national flag that was hoisted to replace the Japanese flag. The flag that flew in its place was the American Stars and Stripes," reads the textbook, published by Kumsung Publishing.
"Our liberation through the Allied forces' victory prevented us from building a new country according to our own wishes," it adds.
The critics include the government of President Lee Myung-bak, the conservative who came to power this year with a pledge to overturn a decade of liberal policies that he said had coddled North Korea and denigrated the American alliance -- the alliance that liberals have accused of propping up South Korean dictators in the name of anti-Communism.
Just weeks before leaving office, the Interior Department's top lawyer has shifted half a dozen key deputies -- including two former political appointees who have been involved in controversial environmental decisions -- into senior civil service posts. The transfer of political appointees into permanent federal positions, called "burrowing" by career officials, creates security for those employees, and at least initially will deprive the incoming Obama administration of the chance to install its preferred appointees in some key jobs. Similar efforts are taking place at other agencies. Two political hires at the Labor Department have already secured career posts there, and one at the Department of Housing and Urban Development is trying to make the switch. [...] The personnel moves come as Bush administration officials are scrambling to cement in place policy and regulatory initiatives that touch on issues such as federal drinking-water standards, air quality at national parks, mountaintop mining and fisheries limits.
Just weeks before leaving office, the Interior Department's top lawyer has shifted half a dozen key deputies -- including two former political appointees who have been involved in controversial environmental decisions -- into senior civil service posts.
The transfer of political appointees into permanent federal positions, called "burrowing" by career officials, creates security for those employees, and at least initially will deprive the incoming Obama administration of the chance to install its preferred appointees in some key jobs.
Similar efforts are taking place at other agencies. Two political hires at the Labor Department have already secured career posts there, and one at the Department of Housing and Urban Development is trying to make the switch.
[...]
The personnel moves come as Bush administration officials are scrambling to cement in place policy and regulatory initiatives that touch on issues such as federal drinking-water standards, air quality at national parks, mountaintop mining and fisheries limits.
