Posted by John Whittlesey on Jun 30, 2009 - 02:27 PM
In 2007, a rare Kemp's Ridley sea turtle, whose normal habitat is the warm waters of the Caribbean and the southeastern United States, took a very wrong turn and swam all the way across the Atlantic Ocean to southern England. The turtle was found near Devon, England, nearly dead from starvation and hypothermia.
The turtle, later named Willy, was rescued, taken to the Sea Life Center in Weymouth, and nursed back to health.
In 2008, the NGO Marine Environmental Monitoring contacted the U.S. Embassy in London for help in shipping Willy back to the United States. The Embassy's Environment Section worked with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, wildlife authorities…
Category: Europe & Eurasia More entries by John Whittlesey | Comments (5)
Posted by Thomas E. Weinz on Jun 29, 2009 - 04:43 PM
The annual humanitarian mission, this one known simply as Pacific Partnership 2009 (PP2009), is about to begin. It will commence on the two major (and the one very small) islands of Samoa, which are called Upolu and Savai’i, and will continue across thousands of miles of the Pacific over the next several months, visiting five island nations, ending in the Republic of the Marshall Islands on September 18.
The devastating earthquake-induced tsunami that struck on December 26, 2004, killed more than 200,000 people in 13 countries, more than 128,000 in Indonesia…
Category: East Asia and the Pacific More entries by Thomas E. Weinz | Comments (6)
Posted by Nancy Carter-Foster on Jun 29, 2009 - 10:57 AM
Driving may seem like a commonplace activity to many Americans, but it is still a dangerous task at home and in much of the world. Nearly 1.3 million people die and 20-50 million more worldwide are injured in road crashes every year. That translates to 3,500 people dying and 137,000 more being seriously injured or disabled every day. More than half of those killed in traffic crashes are people in the prime of their lives, between the ages of 15-44. It is also the second leading cause of death for children between the ages of 5-15. Road crashes are the leading non-natural cause…
Category: Policy More entries by Nancy Carter-Foster | Comments (11)
Posted by DipNote Bloggers on Jun 26, 2009 - 10:35 PM
U.S. State Department Spokesman Ian Kelly said, "This important step will help advance U.S. interests by improving bilateral communication and enhancing our outreach to the Venezuelan people."
What opportunities will the resumption of full diplomatic representation between the United States and Venezuela present?
Category: Question of the Week More entries by DipNote Bloggers | Comments (26)
Posted by Scott Gration on Jun 26, 2009 - 05:12 PM
About the Author: General Scott Gration serves as U.S. Special Envoy to Sudan.
We stand at a critical time in Sudan’s history. It has been four years since the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), which ended the longest running…
Category: Africa More entries by Scott Gration | Comments (2)