International News Update, March 2nd, 2010

Vanderbilt Model UN Weekly Briefing

For 02/22/10-03/01/2010

Written on 03/01/2010 at 7:05 pm

· Chile: Troops Deployed to Assist Earthquake Victims

o Chile hit by 8.8-magnitude earthquake

o At least 723 people confirmed dead

o Thus far, some 160 people have been arrested for looting

o The EU has pledged 3m euros, Japan has pledged $3m, and China has pledged $1m

· Spain: Spain asks Venezuela to Explain Alleged Rebel Link

o Spain is investigating claims that Venezuela assisted two rebel groups that plotted to kill Colombia’s President Alvaro Uribe

o An investigation launched in 2008 turned up evidence that the Venezuelan governmental co-operation in the illicit collaboration between Farc and Eta

o These are some of several allegations linking the Farc and President Chavez

· Iran: Reformist Newspapers Banned in Iran

o Etemaad, the country’s biggest-circulation reformist newspaper, was accused of violating media laws

o Another reformist newspaper that was shut down was run by the son of one of Iran’s opposition leaders

o The deputy culture minister of media affairs said the incident was done with a certain degree of leniency, as their licenses were still not revoked

· Nigeria: Police Officers Held over Alleged Extra-Judicial Killing of Members of the Boko Haram Sect in 2009

o Boko Haram attacked a police station in Maiduguri, which led to days of clashes and hundreds of deaths

o An al-Jazeera broadcast that showed footage of the killings was supposedly what led to the arrests

o The footage shows police officials telling the Boko Haram to lie face down and then shooting them at close range

· Somalia: Islamist militants in Somalia are stopping convoys of food reaching more than 360,000 displaced people, according to the United Nation's World Food Program

o The insurgent group, al-Shabaab, says that the UN Program is ruining local farming by forcing Somalis to rely on imports

o The people in Afgoye, where the Program targets, have not received a food distribution from the UN since November 2009

o Somalia has been in conflict since 1991 when its central government collapsed, so much of southern Somalia is controlled exclusively by al-Shabaab

Special International News Update: 2/27/2010

Vanderbilt Model UN Weekly Briefing

For 2/23/2010-2/27/2010

Written on 02/27/2010 at 8:00 am

Next General Body Meeting: Tuesday, March 16^th, Furman 114 at 7:00pm

Guest Speaker: Professor Dr. Joan Forry discussing international ethics

Annual Spring Gala Philanthropy Event: Tuesday, April 6^th, 7-9pm in the SLC

All proceeds to benefit Charity: Water

If you are interested in joining Vanderbilt Model UN, please email Allison.w.heiser@vanderbilt.edu to be added to our listserve!

· Chile: An 8.8-magnitude hit central Chile, killing at least 78 people

o This is the largest earthquake to hit Chile in 50 years

o President Bachelet has declared a “state of catastrophe”

o Due to the earthquake, tsunami effects have been observed, with above-average wave height

· Cote D’Ivoire: Opposition group to join new unity government

o President Gbagbo has appointed a new electoral commission after he abolished the body, accusing it of fraud, which led to deadly protests

o The new electoral commission will be headed by a member of the opposition (Democratic Party of the Ivory Coast)

o No date has been set for elections

o Elections have been delayed six times since 2002 sparked by civil war in the country

· Colombia: Colombia’s Constitutional Court rejected a bid by President Alvaro Uribe to seek a third term

o The decision cannot be appealed

o The decision is seen by many as a sign of institutional stability and democratic progress in Colombia

o Uribe was re-elected for a second term after he won a constitutional change

· North Korea: South Africa has reported seizing banned North Korea weapons on a ship sailing from North Korea to the Republic of Congo

o South Africa has reported the seizure to the United Nations Security Council

o The report states that the weapons include spare parts for T-55 tanks that were hidden amongst sacks of rice

· Climate Change: An independent board of scientists will be appointed to review the workings of the Intergovernmental Planet on Climate Change, a United Nations Environment Program body.

o The scientists will specifically looking at a 2007 report which claims that Himalayan glaciers would vanish by 2035

o One area to be examined is whether the panel should incorporate so-called literature, or nonpeer-reviewed science in its reports