Focus on the environment and Darfur for Ban’s first year at the U.N.

Source: The Associated Press (published by the International Herald Tribune)

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon flew 125,000 miles (200,000 kilometers) and visited six continents during his first year as U.N. chief, gaining a reputation as a workaholic and a staunch advocate for peace in Darfur and global action to combat climate change.

U.N. hybrid force for Darfur set to deploy on 31 December

Source: UN News Center

The United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID), set to become the world body’s largest peacekeeping operation with some 26,000 personnel at full strength, is poised to officially take over on Monday from the AU force currently on the ground trying to quell the violence and suffering in the war-wracked region of western Sudan.

U.S. sole no vote on U.N. budget

Source: The Washington Times, Associated Press | by Edith M. Lederer

The United Nations General Assembly approved a two-year U.N. budget of $4.17 billion yesterday, with the United States casting the only “no” vote because of objections to funding for a follow-up to a conference it considered anti-Israel.

A deal is finally struck in Bali

Source: The Economist

After a fortnight of often tortuous negotiations, and an additional day at the end, 190-odd countries have decided that a global agreement involving all countries is needed to tackle climate change. The “Bali roadmap”, named after the Indonesian island where the deal was struck, is a milestone of sorts. Rich, middle-income and poor countries have acknowledged both the threat of a changing climate and the need for urgent action by all. Substantive negotiations will start within weeks to produce an international convention by the end of 2009 on exactly how countries will meet their “common but differentiated responsibilities” to fight climate change.

E.U. leaders sign Treaty of Lisbon to reform Europe

Source: Delegation of the European Commission in Washington

Marking an historic step in European integration, the European Union’s 27 Member States today signed the Treaty of Lisbon. The new Treaty will provide the European Union with the tools necessary to respond to the challenges of the 21st century.

For U.S., Policy Discord Plays Out at Bali Climate Change Talks

Source: The Washington Post | by Juliet Eilperin

Congressional Democrats, in the person of Sen. John F. Kerry, and the White House took their disagreements over global warming policy halfway around the world as United Nations-sponsored climate change talks got into high gear Monday.

The IPCC and the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize

By Andreas von Warburg

“This award being given to the IPCC, we believe goes fundamentally beyond a concern for the impacts of climate change on peace.” This is how R. K. Pachauri, chairman of the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), has described the importance of the decision of the Norwegian Nobel Committee to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2007 to the IPCC and Al Gore, former US Vice President during the Clinton Administration.

Kofi Annan wins first International Justice Award

Source: MacArthur Foundation

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation will honor former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan with the first MacArthur Award for International Justice, Foundation President Jonathan Fanton announced today in a speech at the National Press Club. The new Award provides Annan with $100,000 for his own work and invites him to suggest an additional $500,000 in support for an eligible non-profit organization working on international justice issues.