What We’re Reading 12/17/09

Dec 17th, 2009 10:35 AM UTC
By Chandler Smith

Washington Post–U.S. pledges billions; China says climate pact is doubtful:
Secretary Clinton announced that the United Station would help build a $100 billion annual fund by 2020 to help poor countries cope with climate change, but said its commitment depended on whether the nations gathered here could reach a substantive pact that includes “transparency” on tracking emissions cuts.

Reuters: EU woos emerging nations for climate alliancel:
European leaders are courting some African, Asian and Latin American nations to counter the clout of China and the United States at the climate change talks in Copenhagen, French officials said. French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his EU allies were wary of letting Beijing present itself as a spokesman for emerging economies, they said. This would be based on China’s ties with the G77 bloc of developing nations which is chaired by Sudan, an ally of Beijing.

Reuters: United States pledges $2.7 bln for Kenya HIV battlel:
The United States committed $2.7 billion on Wednesday to help fight HIV infection in Kenya where more than a million people are living with the disease. The pledge is part of the largest U.S. foreign aid programme devoted to a single disease — the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief — and has been lauded as a bright spot of former President George W. Bush’s tenure.

Politico.com: Shah to meet with Coburn (Laura Rozen):
In what’s seen as one of the few remaining steps before he could come up for a Senate confirmation vote, USAID chief nominee Rajiv Shah is due to meet with Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) tomorrow. Coburn — like Shah, a physician — and one of the most fiscally conservative members of Congress, proudly highlights on his Senate website a 2006 medical journal article describing him as the “host of several of the key hearings exploring USAID’s regrettable failings.”

BBC News: Millions at risk as East Africa rains fail, Oxfam says:
Rains across swathes of East Africa have failed for the sixth year in a row, leaving millions of people facing hardship, Oxfam has warned. The charity says Somalia’s drought is the worst for 20 years, and November rainfall was less than 5% of normal in parts of Kenya and Ethiopia.

TAGS: What We're Reading