Most Clicked UN Wire Stories
1. How the Berlin Wall accidentally fell
UN Wire | Nov 02, 2009
University of Southern California international relations professor Mary Elise Sarotte explains the rapid and accidental succession of events that led to the fall of the Berlin Wall 20 years ago. Many East German leaders were occupied in meetings or abroad when Guenter Schabowski, a member of the Politboro, sleepily misstated new travel regulations that did not in fact change border policy at the Wall -- a change that was interpreted by Western reporters, then by East Germans, to mean the Wall had in fact opened. Washington Post, The (11/01)
2. 23 Americans convicted in Italian court in renditions case
UN Wire | Nov 04, 2009
An Italian judge convicted 23 former agents of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency in the first trial testing the legality of so-called extraordinary rendition in which terror suspects were picked up by U.S. agents operating secretly on foreign soil and transported to interrogation sites. The Americans were tried in absentia. The CIA's Milan station chief Robert Seldon was sentenced to an eight-year prison term, and the other 22 defendants received five-year terms. The U.S. has steadfastly refused to extradite the former agents. Google (11/04) Reuters (11/04)
3. About 700 million want to migrate
UN Wire | Nov 04, 2009
Sixteen percent of the world's adult population -- around 700 million people - want to move to another country, according to a poll by Gallup. People in sub-Saharan Africa are most likely to want to leave their home country, and the United States and Canada are the most desired destinations. Globe and Mail (Toronto), The (11/03)
4. Yoko Ono, Lennon children make a gift of "Peace"
UN Wire | Nov 05, 2009
John Lennon's family is donating proceeds from the 40th anniversary release of "Give Peace a Chance" to support the United Nations Peacebuilding Fund, set up to assist countries emerging from conflict. Sierra Leone, Burundi, Haiti and Nepal are among the countries that have received assistance from the 4-year-old fund. Google (11/04)
5. Italy outraged over rights ruling on classroom crucifixes
UN Wire | Nov 04, 2009
Guardian (London), The (11/03)
6. Tehran to lose capital status in Iran
UN Wire | Nov 02, 2009
Guardian (London), The (11/02)
7. Column: Obstetric fistulas easily reversed
UN Wire | Nov 02, 2009
U.S.-based doctor and Worldwide Fistula Fund founder Lewis Wall promotes a simple $300 surgery that easily reverses the effects of obstetric fistulas, returning women to health and to society. Women who develop fistulas during childbirth often are younger mothers. In many African societies, a fistula is a sentence of ostracism for the women who suffer them. New York Times, The (11/02)
8. UN to remove staff temporarily from Afghanistan
UN Wire | Nov 05, 2009
In the wake of a devastating attack on a UN guesthouse in Afghanistan, the UN has decided to temporarily relocate hundreds of staffers as it establishes safer housing for its employees. Most UN staffers living in or around Kabul are protected only by a few Afghan security staff. With doubts growing about the international support for the civilian and military mission in Afghanistan, UN Special Representative Kai Eide announced about 600 of the approximately 1,200 UN staff in Afghanistan will relocate to Dubai and Central Asia for at least three weeks. New York Times, The (11/05) Guardian (London), The (11/05) Los Angeles Times (11/05)
9. U.S. diplomat meets with Suu Kyi
UN Wire | Nov 04, 2009
Making a rare appearance outside the confines of the house where she has been imprisoned for most of the past 14 years, detained democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi met with U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia Kurt Campbell at his hotel in Rangoon. The two-hour meeting -- details of which were not disclosed -- followed a meeting among Campbell and his assistant and representatives from Myanmar's military junta as the U.S. makes an effort at engagement with the isolated regime. Guardian (London), The (11/04)
10. UN pursues allegations of peacekeeper misconduct
UN Wire | Nov 06, 2009
More than four dozen United Nations peacekeepers have been punished for committing acts of sexual exploitation and abuse while on UN missions since 2007, the United Nations says. Punishments have ranged from reductions in rank to prison sentences. The UN has referred more than 450 incidents of misconduct to national governments since 2007 but has received responses in only 29 of the cases. Google (11/05)
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