WSJ: SEC Narrowly Approves Reporting Rules on Resource Extraction, Conflict Minerals – The Securities and Exchange Commission adopted on Wednesday the 1502 and 1504 provisions of the Dodd-Frank financial reform package intended to “curb corruption and promote transparency among companies involved in resource extraction as well as prevent violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.” The rules for Section 1504 set a $100,000 threshold, below which companies are not required to report payments. (C.M. Matthews)
NYTimes: Cholera Epidemic Envelops Coastal Slums in West Africa – A cholera epidemic is spreading through the coastal slums of West Africa, “killing hundreds and sickening many more in one of the worst regional outbreaks in years.” The cholera outbreak has been intensified this year by an exceptionally heavy rainy season that has flooded the shantytowns in Freetown and Conakry, the capital cities of Sierra Leone and Guinea. Already, more than 13,000 people suffering from the disease’s often fatal symptoms – diarrhea, vomiting and severe dehydration – have been admitted to hospitals, and 250-300 have died. (Adam Nossiter)
NPR: Foreign Policy: The Meles Zenawi I Knew – Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, who died on August 20, was “not your typical one-dimensional African strongman.” Meles was pursuing his vision of an “Ethiopian Renaissance” to restore the glory of the country he loved. He acknowledged the “darkness of poverty and backwardness” and was “masterful at dealing with Western governments.” There are few African leaders who could “berate their donor countries while simultaneously holding out their palm for more aid money,” but Meles was one of them. (Barry Malone)
VOA: Hailemariam Tapped as Ethiopia’s New Leader – Government officials have announced that Hailemariam Desalegn will be the next Prime Minister of Ethiopia. Hailemariam previously served as the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and is known as a “soft spoken and humble man.” In accordance with the constitution, he will run the country until the elections in 2015. (Marthe Van Der Wolf)
NYTimes: Pop Stars Join Growing Effort to Aid the Poor – Hugh Evans, 29, is the co-founder of the Global Poverty Project, which is organizing a concert in Central Park on Sept. 29 to “call attention to crippling poverty in developing countries” as world leaders converge on New York for the annual United Nations General Assembly. Evans expects 60,000 concertgoers that will “pressure world leaders to commit an additional $500 million for reducing poverty and eradicating diseases like polio and malaria.” (James McKinley Jr.)
