From Bloomberg.com --Australia will need to buy extra credits if its emissions exceed the assigned amount under rules of the protocol. It can sell spare credits if its emissions rise less than 8 percent from 1990 levels.

“ Australia reduced its estimate of assigned emission credits under the 1997 Kyoto Protocol by 1.1 percent after a review by a team of United Nations experts, giving the nation the sixth most generous allocation. ”

New York Magazine -- The Guantánamo Bay Bar Association a crew of lawyers who came together in the summer of 2004, after the Supreme Court ruled that detainees could challenge their confinement in U.S. courts. They liken themselves to the civil rights movements' Freedom Riders. Meet Joshua Colangelo-Bryan. He is one of the lawyers, who is on his way to Guantanamo to meet with his client who two weeks ago mailed him a suicide note. Colangelo-Bryan has not been able to attain any information on his client in the passing day, not even if he was dead or alive.

Al Dossari asked Josh if he was Jewish. He said no—Joshua was a popular name where he grew up, on the Upper West Side. Al Dossari was disappointed. “I heard that the best lawyers are Jewish,” he said. “But I’m sure you’re good, too.”

From BBC -- This article provides a helpful diagram of the water cycle, and the information that by the year 2030, 3.9 billion people will be living in areas under severe water stress. Opinions on how to handle this pending crisis are fiercely opposed: some think that water should be traded as a commodity, while others argue that water is a human right.

“ Talking at a recent UN event, Maude Barlow, senior advisor on water to the organisation and an author and campaigner on water issues, said: "Water is not first and foremost a commercial good - though of course it has an economic dimension - but rather a human right and a public trust". ”

From The Atlantic --

Tibetans see the influx of Chinese as cultural cancer. Chinese see the region's reform as modern revival. Who's right? Both, unfortunately.

From The Washington Post -- Seven years after the ousting of the Taliban, Afghanistan remains one of the poorest countries in the world, with infant mortality and malnutrition on a par with the most impoverished nations in sub-Saharan Africa. Now, according to the U.N. figures are growing. 5 million Afghans are slated to receive emergency food, and on average, nearly 80% of Afghan income is spent on food.

“ Seven years after the fall of the Taliban and the establishment of a civilian-led, internationally backed government, Afghanistan remains one of the poorest countries in the world, with rates of unemployment, illiteracy, infant mortality and malnutrition on a par with the most impoverished nations in sub-Saharan Africa. Most homes lack light, heat and running water; most babies are born at home and without medical help. ”

From CNN --A new survey reveals that millions in North Korea are going hungry, and many have cut back their daily intake, as well as protein, leaving children malnourished and worsening a growing crisis.  The UN World Food Program said it is expanding food distributions to reach 6.4 million people, up from the current 1.2 million it has been serving.  North Korea is allowing aid to reach 150 counties, up from 50 previously being served.

“ More people are now scavenging for wild foods, which provide little nourishment and are difficult to digest, de Margerie said. Diarrhea caused by wild food consumption is also one of the leading causes for malnutrition in children younger than 5, the WFP said. ”

From Wall Street Journal -- North Korea's rocket launch has had repercussions that go well beyond its borders. As international leaders work to decide on a course of action, China continues to ignore sanctions put in place by the UN.

“ "Provocative" is Washington's favorite word these days when it comes to the one-man state run by Kim Jong Il. ”

From Reuters --
The UN announced that it would supply aid to Nepal, who is suffering from serious food security issues due to rising food prices and recent floods.  Levels of acute malnutrition are extremely high, between the climate issues and recently-ended conflict, Nepal is one of the world's poorest nations, depending heavily on outside assistance.
 

From <i> The New York Times <i> --Reports of human rights abuses in the United Arab Emirates are confirmed by videotape footage of a ruling family member brutally torturing an Afghan merchant. The release of the video by ABC news caused outrage across the US Congress, threatening agreements between the economic powers.

“ The controversy comes at a delicate time for the oil-rich Emirates, whose reputation for tolerance and soaring financial success has already been tarnished in recent months by a collapsing real estate boom and a crackdown on the foreign news media. ”