World Bank Faults Itself as East Timor Struggles - NYTimes.com

World Bank Faults Itself as East Timor Struggles - NYTimes.com: "WASHINGTON — A frank evaluation by the World Bank’s internal auditors of a decade of efforts to help East Timor underscores the challenges facing international organizations trying to assist struggling nations.

The draft report, not yet released publicly, assigns much of the blame for slow progress in East Timor, which emerged in 1999 after a quarter-century struggle for independence from Indonesia, to the World Bank itself.

But it also illustrates the problems that arise as development agencies try to meet urgent needs while ensuring that donors’ money is not misspent."

The Issue of Abortion Returns to Center Stage in U.S. Politics - NYTimes.com

The Issue of Abortion Returns to Center Stage in U.S. Politics - NYTimes.com: "Since abortion services make up a small fraction of its services, no federal funds are used for abortions, and 65 percent of Americans support it, according to a CNN poll, why are conservatives up in arms about it?

“The fact is that 95 percent of the contraceptives on the market kill the baby in the womb,” said Jim Sedlak of the American Life League in a column last week by the New York Times columnist Gail Collins. In other words, some in the anti-abortion camp regard birth control as a form of abortion."

Now You Can't Be Catholic and Support Planned Parenthood? | RH Reality Check

Now You Can't Be Catholic and Support Planned Parenthood? | RH Reality Check: "As if denying communion for those who support a women's right to choose wasn't enough, a Catholic Bishop in Nebraska has announced that the church should go even further. He proposes anyone who supports Planned Parenthood should be denied communion, too."

BBC News - France blocks Italian trains carrying migrants

BBC News - France blocks Italian trains carrying migrants: "Authorities in France have blocked trains from Italy in an attempt to stop north African migrants from entering the country.

Trains carrying migrants and political activists have been stopped at the border - prompting Italy to launch an official complaint with its neighbour."

The 'Business' of International Aid / Printful

The 'Business' of International Aid / Printful

What if Marriott operated without any revenue, room-rate or other meaningful customer-usage data from its individual hotels? Suppose it remitted money to cover salaries and other expenses, without knowing if any of it was producing a product for which customers were willing to pay. Imagine further that Marriott asked only for self-graded quarterly "report cards" from its managers, and that, as its only act of supervision, it simply audited its hotels' expenditures.

You don't need to run a Fortune 500 company to know how quickly such a system would run amok. Absent accountability, managers and staff would have no incentive to provide a reasonable service. They'd have to be somewhat honorable to even bother showing up to work. In short order we'd find employees buying $10,000 worth of furniture for $20,000 and splitting the difference with the vendor. Come audit time: $20,000 expense item, $20,000 vendor receipt, "check and check, all looks clean here."

If you think that no business would operate this way, then you're evidently not familiar with the "business" of international aid. International nongovernment organizations get their funding from governments and other donors, not the men, women and children they are supposed to be serving. Without revenue or other quality customer-satisfaction metrics, NGO executives and donors have no way of measuring whether employees on the ground are providing a product of value to their impoverished "customers."

BBC News - Ivory Coast: Gbagbo party urges 'end to war'

BBC News - Ivory Coast: Gbagbo party urges 'end to war': "The party of deposed Ivory Coast leader Laurent Gbagbo, the Ivorian Popular Front, has appealed for an end to fighting by armed groups.

Party leader Pascal Affi N'Guessan said the 'war' had to end in order to allow Ivory Coast a chance to rebuild."

The Great African Land Rush - Drew Hinshaw - International - The Atlantic

The Great African Land Rush - Drew Hinshaw - International - The Atlantic: "Whoever this land once belonged to, it's just a fraction of the hundreds of thousands of square miles of farmland that have been procured -- some bought, some leased, some stolen -- from the villagers of the tropics. The speed and scale at which ground in the developing world is being auctioned up is extraordinary: between 2008 and 2009 alone, the World Bank catalogued 174,000 square miles of land acquisitions in poor countries -- an acreage the size of Sweden. The lion's share of it, 124,000 square miles -- the size of Norway -- sits in Africa, in nations like Sudan, Ethiopia, Madagascar, and Mali. All are famous for their famines. None, not incidentally, are famous for good governance."

Five myths about Planned Parenthood - The Washington Post

Five myths about Planned Parenthood - The Washington Post

Apple Finally Releases ‘It Gets Better’ Video | MoveOn.Org

Apple Finally Releases ‘It Gets Better’ Video | MoveOn.Org

The midwife on a mission to stop female genital mutilation | Life and style | The Guardian

The midwife on a mission to stop female genital mutilation | Life and style | The Guardian

The War Behind the Abortion War - NYTimes.com

The War Behind the Abortion War - NYTimes.com

Senator Patty Murray, one of the leaders of the defense of Planned Parenthood in the Senate, says that she doesn’t remember any of the lawmakers who wanted to strip Planned Parenthood’s funds mentioning that they supported contraception services. “They just lump everything into one big basket with the word ‘abortion,’ ” she said.

This is important because it speaks to a disconnect in the entire debate we’ve been having about women and reproduction. For eons now, people have been wondering why the two sides can’t just join hands and agree to work together to reduce the number of abortions by expanding the availability of family-planning services and contraception.

The answer is that a large part of the anti-abortion community is also anti-contraception.

Cecile Richards: Holding Women's Health Hostage: The Sequel

Cecile Richards: Holding Women's Health Hostage: The Sequel: "The greatest nation on earth nearly had to turn off the lights last week. Please take note of the reason. It wasn't because of terrorism. It wasn't the aftermath of a tsunami or an earthquake. And it certainly was not -- despite some claims -- because of a financial crisis. No. The most powerful nation on the planet nearly went out of business because a few fringe members of Congress wanted to show off their spite for Planned Parenthood."

On Equal Pay Day, Busting 4 Top Myths About the Wage Gap : Ms Magazine Blog

On Equal Pay Day, Busting 4 Top Myths About the Wage Gap : Ms Magazine Blog

This year’s Equal Pay Day falls on April 12, marking how far into 2011 the average woman must work in order to earn what the average man had by the end of 2010. In the 15 years since Equal Pay Day was established, the gender wage gap has barely budged, moving from 74 percent in 1996 to 77 percent in 2010. This amounts to a three-cent increase in women’s wages for every dollar earned by men. Given that women make up half of the workforce, the gender wage gap does not generate the outrage that it should, as is clear from the failure of the Paycheck Fairness Act last November.

Polls confirm that most people believe women and men doing the same job should receive the same pay. But many are unaware of the extent of the problem, believe the wage gap is a result of women’s choices or think that the gap is a relic of the past. Thus, Equal Pay Day is the perfect time for some myth busting.

Duflo and Banerjee take the guesswork out of policies that help the poor | Madeleine Bunting | Global development | guardian.co.uk

Duflo and Banerjee take the guesswork out of policies that help the poor | Madeleine Bunting | Global development | guardian.co.uk: "There is much to praise in Esther Duflo and Abhijit Banerjee's book that suggests new ways to fight global poverty. But their lack of understanding of how power works is a glaring omission"

Libyan rebels reject African Union peace plan - Africa, World - The Independent

Libyan rebels reject African Union peace plan - Africa, World - The Independent: "Libyan rebels swiftly rejected an African Union peace initiative today, saying there could be no deal to end a two-month-old civil war unless Muammar Gaddafi left power.

The initiative collapsed hours after South African President Jacob Zuma, head of an African Union mission, said Gaddafi had accepted the plan, including a ceasefire proposal."

BBC News - Ivory Coast: Gbagbo held after French troops move in

BBC News - Ivory Coast: Gbagbo held after French troops move in: "Ivory Coast leader Laurent Gbagbo has been detained, after being snatched from his besieged residence in the country's main city, Abidjan.

News that he was being held was broken by a Gbagbo aide and confirmed by France's ambassador and forces loyal to his rival Alassane Ouattara."

BBC News - Ivory Coast: New air strikes near Gbagbo residence

BBC News - Ivory Coast: New air strikes near Gbagbo residence: "Helicopter gunships have begun a new operation to destroy heavy weapons near Laurent Gbagbo's residence in Ivory Coast's main city Abidjan.

UN and French helicopters were attacking near the presidential residence and palace as well as military bases, a UN spokesman said."

BBC News - Laurent Gbagbo's survival strategies

BBC News - Laurent Gbagbo's survival strategies

BBC News - Libya: Gaddafi government accepts peace plan, says Zuma

BBC News - Libya: Gaddafi government accepts peace plan, says Zuma: "South African President Jacob Zuma says the Libyan government has accepted an African Union peace plan to end the eight-week-old conflict.

Mr Zuma and three other African leaders met Libya's leader, Col Muammar Gaddafi, in Tripoli on Sunday. An AU team is now going on to the eastern rebel stronghold of Benghazi."

Colorless Food? We Blanch - NYTimes.com

Colorless Food? We Blanch - NYTimes.com: "No doubt the world would be a considerably duller place without artificial food coloring. But might it also be a safer place? The Center for Science in the Public Interest, an advocacy group, asked the government last week to ban artificial coloring because the dyes that are used in some foods might worsen hyperactivity in some children."

Zambia Drops Case of Shooting by Chinese Mine Bosses - NYTimes.com

Zambia Drops Case of Shooting by Chinese Mine Bosses - NYTimes.com: "“Imagine a Zambian shooting a Chinese manager,” said Reuben L. Lifuka, the chapter president of Transparency International. “We are sure such a person would be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Unless something is done and done quickly, the ordinary people will lose confidence in the judicial system.”"

Why America steals doctors from poorer countries | Education | The Guardian

Why America steals doctors from poorer countries | Education | The Guardian: "The US higher education system is said to be the best in the world, so why is it not able to train the doctors the country needs, asks Jonathan Wolff"

Madonna's folly in Malawi | Claire Provost | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk

Madonna's folly in Malawi | Claire Provost | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk: "In Malawi, about $3.8m (£2.4m) has disappeared and a school has been left unbuilt. Alone, that story would never make international headlines. But because the money and the project belonged to Madonna's charity Raising Malawi, the scandal has quickly made its way into media outlets worldwide."

Congo plane crash kills 32 | World news | guardian.co.uk

Congo plane crash kills 32 | World news | guardian.co.uk: "Only one person among 33 passengers and crew survived after a UN plane crashed while attempting to land in poor weather in the Democratic Republic of the Congo on Monday.

The accident, in Kinshasa, is one of the worst to involve a UN aircraft. Most of the passengers were UN staff and peacekeepers, although five NGO workers were also on board."

BBC News - Haiti: Michel Martelly 'defeats' Mirlande Manigat

BBC News - Haiti: Michel Martelly 'defeats' Mirlande Manigat: "Preliminary results in Haiti's presidential election suggest musician Michel 'Sweet Micky' Martelly won the runoff vote on 20 March.

He defeated ex-senator and former first lady Mirlande Manigat, officials quoted by news agencies say."

BBC News - Ivory Coast: Presidential residence 'taken' in Abidjan

BBC News - Ivory Coast: Presidential residence 'taken' in Abidjan: "Forces loyal to Ivory Coast's UN-recognised president say they have captured the besieged incumbent's residence in the main city of Abidjan.

Alassane Ouattara's spokesman said his troops had overrun the home of Laurent Gbagbo, who refuses to step down, though his whereabouts are unclear."

Iman Al-Obeidi: 'Every Day I Am Beaten' : The Two-Way : NPR

Iman Al-Obeidi: 'Every Day I Am Beaten' : The Two-Way : NPR: "Iman al-Obeidi, who last month told reporters in Tripoli that she had been beaten and raped by men loyal to Moammar Gadhafi, tells NPR she is no longer in custody.

But, she says, 'every day I am beaten.'"