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RT @AmericaGovFr: Déclin constant de la #piraterie au large de la #Somalie http://bit.ly/9a88EE
26 March 2010
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RT @PressSec Oval office picture of POTUS talking with President #Medvedev finalizing the START treaty this morning http://bit.ly/deDawJ
26 March 2010
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26 March 2010
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#Iraqis #vote in eight American cities. Stories from the voting booths are here: http://ow.ly/1rbzr
26 March 2010
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Iranian American captures hearts in NCAA basketball tournament. Underdog team wins with Ali Farokhmanesh’s clutch plays. http://ow.ly/1rbuz
26 March 2010
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#Obama, #Medvedev seal deal on #nuclear arms pact. Join the discussion on Facebook at http://ow.ly/1pnBx.
26 March 2010
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26 March 2010
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“Hijabi Monologues” dispels stereotypes of Muslim women. As interest in the show grows, organizers plan its future. http://ow.ly/1rbkm
26 March 2010
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Article
World Forum in Brazil Tackles Effects of Rapid Urbanization
Brazilian President President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva opens the U.N.-Habitat World Urban Forum 5 in Brazil March 22.By Cheryl PellerinScience Writer Washington — At a time when more than half the people on Earth live in cities, 18,000 officials and experts gathered in Brazil March 22–26 to tackle the challenges of rapid urbanization and its effect on communities, cities, economies, climate change and policies. The theme of the fifth World Urban Forum, held in Rio de Janeiro, “The Right to the City — Bridging the Urban Divide,” recognizes the rights of the urban poor and promotes their inclusion in and equal access to cities. The United Nations established the forum, which held its first meeting in 2002 in Nairobi, Kenya. By midcentury, 70 percent of the world’s population — more than 6.4 billion people — will live in cities and metropolitan areas, experts predict. Twenty-seven megacities, with populations greater than 10 million, will include Tokyo, New York, London, Paris, Sao Paulo, Mumbai, Seoul, Buenos Aires and Lagos. “What the U.S. experienced over a period of centuries is occurring around the world in a matter of years,” Shaun Donovan, U.S. secretary of housing and urban development, said March 22 during the forum’s opening ceremonies. “As a result, millions of people are increasingly vulnerable to the deprivations associated with overburdened infrastructure, inadequate housing and outmoded health systems.” The U.S. delegation included representatives from the Department of State, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Department of Agriculture and the White House Office of Urban Affairs. More than 500 people attending from the United States included elected officials and representatives from the nonprofit community, academia, business, foundations and research centers. “You only need look to the so-called megacities of Africa, Southeast Asia and Latin America — or more recently to the devastation in Haiti or Chile — to understand that we all have a stake in ensuring that every country can participate in this new era of sustainable economic growth,” Donovan said. “The truth is,” he added, “when we open new markets for green technology, reverse the effects of global warming and work to ensure that billions of families live not in despair, but in communities of choice, opportunity and hope, we all benefit.” U.S.-BRAZIL PARTNERSHIP This week at the forum, officials from the State Department and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development praised Brazil’s efforts under the Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas (ECPA) to promote sustainable urbanization across the Americas. “The U.S.-Brazil relationship over the past year of the Obama administration reflects a healthy and productive alliance between our two nations,” Maria Otero, U.S. under secretary of state for democracy and global affairs, said March 26 during a visit to the university Fundação Getulio Vargas in Brasilia. “No matter the issue or challenge at hand — democracy in Honduras, relief for Haiti — we are working from a place of shared goals and mutual respect,” she added. “We may not always agree, but we are in consistent, honest dialogue — and I believe both our nations are the richer for it.” Otero served as a panelist for a dialogue on “Governance and Participation” March 25 and answered questions about urbanization during a webcast from the meeting. On March 29, Otero will travel to Brasilia for a meeting of the Common Agenda for the Environment, one of the bilateral dialogues between the United States and Brazil, and for other bilateral meetings. Otero will discuss a range of environmental policy issues, including responding to climate change through the Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas, conservation and sustainable management of forests, and new areas for technical cooperation. ENERGY AND CLIMATE PARTNERSHIP Brazil’s initiative under the ECPA promotes green buildings, energy-efficient housing, sustainable transport and greenhouse gas reductions from solid waste, particularly in low-income communities across the region. The initiative includes participation from the governments of Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador and Mexico. At the April 2009 Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago, President Obama invited governments in the Western Hemisphere to join the ECPA, which supports voluntary initiatives on energy efficiency, renewable energy, cleaner fossil fuels, infrastructure and avoiding energy poverty. At the June 2009 Americas Energy and Climate Symposium in Peru, Brazil offered to lead an ECPA initiative, “Building with Energy Efficiency and Sustainability,” which focuses on urban development in low-income areas. U.S. support for Brazil’s initiative includes collaboration by the Department of State in developing a network of academics, funding policy dialogues with practitioners, launching technical and university exchanges and developing best practices on urbanization. April 15–16, leaders will discuss this partnership and other ECPA initiatives during the Energy and Climate Ministerial of the Americas in Washington. U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu will host the meeting and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will participate. Want to do something about climate change? Join the global conversation on Facebook or share your thoughts below.
26 March 2010
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#Obama seeks $2.8 billion for #Haiti, including $1 billion in new funding for relief and reconstruction. http://ow.ly/1rbeu
26 March 2010
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U.S.-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue ends with pledge to deepen cooperation, fortify friendship. http://ow.ly/1rchI #clinton #pakistan
26 March 2010
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“We are, I think, very close to having an agreement on a #START treaty." #Obama and #Mevedev are expected to talk today. http://ow.ly/1rb9o
26 March 2010