cyberwar against Iran

• Stuxnet worm hits Iranian centrifuges - from mid-2009 to late 2010
• Iran complains facilities hit by Stars malware - April 2011
• Duqu trojan hits Iran's computer systems - November 2011
• Flame virus targets computers in PCs across the Middle East, including Iran and Israel - June 2012
• Iran says Stuxnet worm returns - December 2012

David Petraeus

The email accounts of Generals David Petraeus and John Allen aren’t the only ones being targeted by the feds. Google has released its bi-annual transparency report and says that the government's demands for personal data is at an all-time high.

Barry O’Bomber

Posted by Lesley Clark on October 11, 2013

"I thanked President Obama for the United States' work in supporting education in Pakistan and Afghanistan and for Syrian refugees," she said in the statement. "I also expressed my concerns that drone attacks are fueling terrorism. Innocent victims are killed in these acts, and they lead to resentment among the Pakistani people. If we refocus efforts on education it will make a big impact."

Malala Yousafzai, the Pakastani girl who was shot in the head on her school bus by Taliban gunmen for criticizing their rule, including banning education for girls.

Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2013/10/11/205176/obama-and-first-lady-meet-with.html

China gets a third of its imported crude oil from Africa

China, which gets nearly a third of its imported crude oil from Africa, has invested billions of dollars in the past 15 years to pump crude from this war-scarred land. But the division of what until five months ago was a united country has pushed Beijing into a political minefield in defence of its assets.

China's involvement revolves largely around the interests of a single company, China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), a state-owned giant that has dragged the usually risk-averse Chinese diplomats into one of Africa's most poisonous feuds.

CNPC straddles both sides of a murderously volatile fault line: between Muslim Arabs in the north and black, often Christian Africans in the south.

Most of the oil lies in the landlocked south, but the only way to get it to market is through Chinese-built pipelines that pass through the north to a Chinese-built terminal on the Red Sea.

impunity in Nigeria

Late last year, five students gang-raped and beat a young woman at Abia State University in Nigeria, then passed around an hour-long video of their abuse for friends to watch. For months, Nigerian officials ignored the horrifying case and the governor of Abia state denied the attack even happened there.

But after more than 90,000 people signed Adetomi Aladekomo's petition on Change.org to hold the rapists and government officials accountable, Nigeria’s Attorney General demanded that the Inspector-General of police open a formal investigation.

Now, though, local activists are scared that the investigation is stalling. They’re calling for more international pressure to make sure the investigation actually happens. Click here to sign Adetomi’s petition demanding that the 5 attackers from the Abia State University rape video are brought to justice.

Rapists in Nigeria often act with impunity: Very few rapes are prosecuted or even reported, because the country’s society often blames victims of sexual violence. According to Amnesty International, Nigeria’s “legal and social systems tolerate rape and sexual violence on a wide scale.”

But international outcry forced the Attorney General’s hand, and continued pressure will show the Nigerian police they need to perform a thorough investigation and prosecute the men responsible for the attack. When these five men are held responsible for their vicious crime, it will be a watershed moment in the fight against Nigeria’s sexual violence epidemic.

Click here to add your name to Adetomi’s petition to call for a substantive investigation into the horrific rape at Abia State University, caught on tape.

Thanks for being a change-maker,

- Shelby and the Change.org team

What’s different this time?

When I talk about the current hunger crisis in the Sahel region of Africa, I’m often asked the following question: “What’s different this time?”

Regrettably, for far too many people, a hunger crisis in Africa is not news. But I think it should be making headlines, and it’s not all bad news.

In Niger, where I work, we are seeing strong government leadership to address the crisis, using early warning systems and investing in development. We aren’t just hoping the rains will come and people will have enough to eat, we’ve taken timely action, and we’re building for the future with irrigation systems and dams.

Where we’ve intervened, we’re seeing results. But there are still many places we haven’t gotten to yet, and this is why we need your help.

Recognizing the potential our programs have to stop the hunger cycle, our long-time partner the Dutch National Postcode Lottery has promised to match any donation made to the Sahel through June 15th! Will you take this opportunity to double your impact and feed twice as many people in the Sahel?

www.wfp.org/sahel

This incredible opportunity comes at a critical time in this emergency. As we move into the lean season, we’re hoping to reach more women and children with nutritious food for the next 100 days. Here are some examples of what your donation can do today:

• A donation of $125, doubled to become $250, will feed 5 women for 100 days.
• A donation of $200, doubled to become $400, will provide food for 4 women and 4 children.
• A donation of $350, doubled to become $700, will feed 14 young children for the next 100 days.

The people we are helping here are no different than you or me. Being a mother myself, I recognize the universal hope that all mothers have for their children. They want them to be safe, to have enough to eat and to have the opportunity for a better future.

With your support, we can feed the hope of more mothers across the Sahel. And if you donate by June 15th, your donation will go twice as far. Your kind gift will truly make a difference here.

Thank you for giving as generously as possible.

Sincerely,

Denise Brown
Country Director, Niger
World Food Programme

child survival crisis in the Horn of Africa

UNICEF report: Crisis in the Horn of Africa far from over

NAIROBI, Kenya, 20 October 2011 – The massive international response to the child survival crisis in the Horn of Africa has already shown some positive results, but much more needs to be done to save hundreds of thousands of children at risk of dying from malnutrition and disease, UNICEF said today according to a progress report three months after famine was declared in parts of Somalia.

See the full report here [PDF]

”We have saved many children, in Somalia, in the refugee camps in neighbouring countries as well as in the other regions in Kenya, Ethiopia and Djibouti hit by prolonged drought, escalating food prices and conflict,” said Elhadj As Sy, UNICEF Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa, releasing the report: Response to the Horn of Africa Emergency.