This week the war in Iraq entered its fifth year, and the EU entered its fiftieth. Coverage of these events is found in multiple sections of this week's news summaries. Also note the nexus between nuclear negotiations in North Korea and financial sanctions, and the timing of Iran's seizure of British soldiers the day before a sanctions vote. World Water Day was marked on 22 March, and detailed coverage of the critical issues this raises can be found in Recommended Reading. Next week this section will focus on the 200th anniversary of Britain's abolition of slavery.

3. AML/CFT Monitor

Anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism is not simply an issue of compliance with local regulations. It is a global crime that can only be understood by crossing national or regional boundaries. Subscribers to the monthly AML/CFT Monitor receive information and analysis of worldwide incidents, trends, legal and regulatory issues, modalities, and related topics such as financial fraud and narcoterrorism.
http://secure.netsolhost.com/573566.585211/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=SFNT&Store_Code=TP
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AML/CFT Incidents/Cases
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Bangladesh's National Board of Revenue (NBR) found a huge amount of undisclosed money in the frozen accounts of 53 former ministers, politicians and businessmen. The precise amount is still being determined.
http://www.thedailystar.net/2007/03/20/d7032001011.htm

Thailand's Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO) is investigating suspicious transactions associated with firms that have been accused of colluding with politicians and state officials.
http://www.bangkokpost.com/230307_News/23Mar2007_news02.php
http://www.amlo.go.th/

A federal grand jury in Phoenix, Arizona returned a 33 count indictment against David Goldfarb, Richard Ross, Paul Woodcock, Milton Guenther, James Bonebrake,; Raymond Marshall, Brian Ongaro, Mike Ibler, and Colin McHale for mail fraud, conspiracy and money laundering in connection with a fraudulent business opportunity.
http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/az/press_releases/2007/2007-070(Goldfarb, et.al.).pdf
http://dallas.bizjournals.com/dallas/stories/2007/03/19/daily29.html

William Frances Reimers pleaded guilty in US federal court in California to mail fraud and money laundering in connection with an investment scam involving losses in excess of $7 million.
http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/can/press/2007/2007_03_23_reimers.guiltyplea.press.html

John Priscella pleaded guilty in US District Court in Minnesota to four counts of money laundering after the Internal Revenue Service found him sending money to a bank in Belize, for which he had not paid taxes. Funds came from the sale of stolen vehicles.
http://www.startribune.com/535/story/1071474.html

In Texas, World War II veteran Benjamin Hubert Rubicam has been sentenced to 15 months in prison and $1110,000 restitution for laundering money associated with an international lottery scam that is still under investigation by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
http://www.mywesttexas.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18117878&BRD=2288&PAG=461&dept_id=475626&rfi=6
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AML/CFT Legislation and Regulation
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The International Commission on Holocaust Era Insurance Claims completed its work this week, having distributed $306.24 million to 48,263 Holocaust survivors and heirs.
http://www.icheic.org/

UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Executive Director Antonio Maria Costa called for stamping out corruption and strengthening borders to run emerging Afghan drug cartels out of business.
http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/news_and_publications.html
http://www.un.org/News/briefings/docs/2007/070321_Costa.doc.htm

The Bahamas Financial Intelligence Unit has released 2007 Suspicious Transactions Guidelines, replacing those issued in 2001.
http://www.jonesbahamas.com/?c=47&a=11999

Bangladesh has formed a Financial Intelligence Unit with technical assistance from the US.
http://www.thedailystar.net/2007/03/23/d7032301033.htm

Croatia has appointed an expert panel to address money laundering concerns.
http://www.setimes.com/cocoon/setimes/xhtml/en_GB/features/setimes/features/2007/03/22/feature-01

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is engaging in bilateral agreements for AML regulatory cooperation. India is also seeking membership in the Egmont Group.
http://news.moneycontrol.com/india/news/business/sebiiosco/sebitosignbilat/market/stocks/article/272558
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007%5C03%5C21%5Cstory_21-3-2007_pg4_14

The UN Security Council has imposed additional financial sanctions on Iran, to address its nuclear programs.
http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/news/2007/037.htm

Israel is privatizing The Postal Bank, but prospective shareholders may face suits for compensation under terrorist financing laws. The bank has transferred funds from the Palestinian Authority to prisoners, including those serving terrorism sentences in Israel.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/840602.html

Macau is extending its control of the blacklisted Banco Delta for another six months.
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/03/22/asia/AS-GEN-Macau-NKorea-Blacklisted-Bank.php

Bank Negara Malaysia is working with international and domestic agencies to expand AML regulations.
http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v3/news_lite.php?id=252512

In order to combat criminal narcotics gangs, Mexico is calling on the US to significantly increase aid and intelligence and improve efforts to stop trafficking of weapons, chemicals for drug production, and laundered money.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/22/AR2007032201853.html

US Treasury Deputy Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes Daniel Glaser made the following statement:
"The United States and North Korean Governments have reached an understanding on the disposition of DPRK-related funds frozen at Banco Delta Asia. The DPRK has proposed the transfer of the roughly $25 million frozen in BDA into an account held by North Korea's Foreign Trade Bank at the Bank of China in Beijing. North Korea has pledged, within the framework of the Six-Party Talks, that these funds will be used solely for the betterment of the North Korean people, including for humanitarian and educational purposes. We believe this resolves the issue of the DPRK-related frozen funds. The disposition of the frozen assets has always been and remains a decision by the Macanese authorities to be taken in accordance with Macanese law. North Korea will need to work out the legal and technical intricacies of the arrangement with the Macanese. The Treasury has communicated to both the Macanese and Chinese Governments the United States' support of this arrangement. Separately, the final rule against Banco Delta Asia, issued by the Treasury Department under Section 311 of the USA PATRIOT Act, remains in place. The Treasury will continue to cooperate with the Macanese on this and other anti-money laundering issues. The events of the past 18 months demonstrate our lack of tolerance for illicit activity conducted in the global financial system. Financial institutions that facilitate weapons proliferation, terrorist financing, narcotics trafficking, and other illicit financial activity should be on notice of the significant consequences they face."
http://www.treas.gov/press/releases/hp322.htm
http://www.state.gov/p/eap/rls/rm/2007/81860.htm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6465239.stm

This was insufficient to encourage talks about North Korea's nuclear program to proceed. Instead, North Korea refused to participate until they receive the $25 million blocked. The reason the funds have failed to transfer is as yet unknown. Treasury officials are being sent to Beijing to assist in the release of the funds.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-norkor23mar23,0,3070212.story
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6503751,00.html
http://www.economist.com/world/asia/displaystory.cfm?story_id=8895248

The US Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs held a hearing on "Hearing on "Minimizing Potential Threats from Iran: Assessing the Effectiveness of Current US Sanctions on Iran". Among the evidence given was testimony from Stuart Levey, Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, who urged further international sanctions.
http://banking.senate.gov/index.cfm?Fuseaction=Hearings.Detail&HearingID=252
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AML/CFT Modalities
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Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) Central Committee Secretariat head Muhammad Ameen said the allegation of a US Anti-drug Task Force official in Southeast Asia that they are financed with drug money is without merit, unfair, and emphasizes the prohibition in Islam against intoxication.
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/net/2007/03/20/milf.denies.using.drugs.money.to.fund.cause.html
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/dav/2007/03/20/news/milf.howls.against.claims.on.drug.trade.involvement.html
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=70527

USA Today reporter Kevin McCoy describes how with $4,000 and one month can create a secret company capable of wiring funds to and from an offshore bank with virtually no trail for law enforcement.
http://www.usatoday.com/money/companies/2007-03-19-money-launder-usat_N.htm

4. Emerging Threat Monitor

Climate change, pandemics, and global economic imbalances are just a few of the threats emerging in this 21st century. Subscribers to the Emerging Threat Monitor stay a step ahead with monthly analysis of trends and responses worldwide. It offers executives a heads-up of new risks, and details of the policies and best practices gleaned from every country around the globe.
http://secure.netsolhost.com/573566.585211/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=SFNT&Store_Code=TP
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ETM Corruption and Transnational Crime
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An Algerian court sentenced in absentia Khalifa Bank founder Abdelmoumen Rafik Khalifa to life in prison for his involvement in the bank's collapse, which involved massive theft undertaken by senior executives. Fifteen other officials were jailed for between eight and 15 years.
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/03/22/africa/AF-GEN-Algeria-Bank-Trial.php
http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=68&art_id=nw20070322092700885C508842
http://www.liberte-algerie.com/edit.php?id=74305 (in French)

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Organization of American States (OAS) signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate in implementing the Inter-American Convention Against Corruption (CICC).
http://www.iadb.org/NEWS/articledetail.cfm?artid=3694&language=En

A French judge is investigating bribery allegations directed against oil giant Total in Iran, when the company's head Christophe de Margerie and two associates were responsible for the South Pars natural gas project. Margerie is at work despite charges of corruption.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/03/22/business/total.php

Halliburton, France, and the US are investigating fresh bribery accusations regarding Nigeria's LNG plant in Bonny, River State.
http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=73289

Nigeria's Senate Committee on Rules and Business, chaired by Senator Umaru Tsauri, completed an investigation in financial fraud associated with the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF). They have indicted both President Obasanjo and Vice President Abubakar for corruption, including Abubakar's diversion of funds, and both have rejected the charges. All seven members of the committee have resigned to protest interference.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200703210583.html
http://www.nassnig.org

A Philippines court has sentenced Charlie Ang ("Atong") to up to six years in jail (for corruption. The former associate of President Estrada confessed to helping the president divert tobacco taxes for his personal use. Estrada denies this and other corruption charges.
http://www.mb.com.ph/MAIN2007032089937.html

Zambia's Deputy Lands Minister Moses Mutetka has been dismissed over allegations of illegally allocating housing plots.
http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=302385
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ETM Economies and Financial Systems
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The World Resources Institute and the International Finance Corporation released "The Next 4 Billion: Market Size and Business Strategy at the Base of the Pyramid". The new report shows the enormous opportunity to provide services to four billion low-income earners: a $5 trillion potential that has largely been ignored by global businesses.
http://www.wri.org/business/topic_content.cfm?cid=4316

Oxfam warns that rich countries are bullying the poor to attain concessions they cannot get at the World Trade Organization.
http://www.oxfam.org/en/news/2007/pr070321_free_trade_agreements

Massively multiplayer online games now represent a $1 billion market.
http://www.screendigest.com/reports/07westworldmmog/press_releases_20_3_2007/view.html

Ghana will be the first African state to enter the international bond markets, with a benchmark issue of a 5- or 10-year maturity bond in a deal expected to be some half a billion dollars.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/73dea378-d7cd-11db-b218-000b5df10621.html
http://allafrica.com/stories/200703050502.html

The Inter-American Investment Bank reports that remittances sent form Latin American migrant workers to their families now exceeds $62 billion, exceeding the combined total of all direct foreign investment and foreign aid to the region. Within four years this number is likely to reach $100 billion. The largest percentage, nearly a quarter, was sent from the US to Mexico. Only oil land tourism earns comparable foreign currency funds.
http://www.iadb.org/NEWS/articledetail.cfm?artid=3692&language=En
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ETM Environment and Climate Change
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"The Carbon Neutral Myth - Offset Indulgences for your Climate Sins" is a new report from Carbon Trade Watch that finds:
"Carbon offsets are the modern day indulgences, sold to an increasingly carbon conscious public to absolve their climate sins. Scratch the surface, however, and a disturbing picture emerges, where creative accountancy and elaborate shell games cover up the impossibility of verifying genuine climate change benefits, and where communities in the South often have little choice as offset projects are inflicted on them. This report argues that offsets place disproportionate emphasis on individual lifestyles and carbon footprints, distracting attention from the wider, systemic changes and collective political action that needs to be taken to tackle climate change. Promoting more effective and empowering approaches involves moving away from the marketing gimmicks, celebrity endorsements, technological quick fixes, and the North/South exploitation that the carbon offsets industry embodies."
http://www.carbontradewatch.org/pubs/carbon_neutral_myth.pdf

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) released a report highlighting the top ten rivers dying as the result of climate change, pollution and dams.
http://www.panda.org/news_facts/newsroom/index.cfm?uNewsID=96520

AGL Energy Limited (AGL) will be the first large Australian company to join the Chicago Climate Exchange.
http://www.agl.com.au/AGL/Press+Releases/Chicago+Climate+Exchange%AE+Welcomes+Australia%27s+AGL+Energy.htm
http://www.smh.com.au/news/environment/energy-giant-embraces-carbon-trading/2007/03/19/1174152972167.html

Ugandan members of parliament have criticized plans to clear thousands of acres of rainforest to construct a sugar plantation. Several senior and mid-level managers at the National Forest Authority have resigned in protest.
http://www.monitor.co.ug/sunday/news/news03253.php
http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/13/555440

The US House Committee on Energy and Commerce held a hearing on Perspectives on Climate Change. Oscar-winning former Vice President Al Gore was the first speaker.
http://energycommerce.house.gov/cmte_mtgs/110-eaq-sci-hrg.032107.gore.shtml
http://energycommerce.house.gov/Climate_Change/index.shtml
http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,,2039575,00.html
http://edition.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/03/21/gore.ap/index.html
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ETM Human Rights
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Minority Rights Group International (MRG) released the State of the World's Minorities 2007 report. It finds that Somalia is the world's most dangerous country for minority communities and has overtaken Iraq to top a global ranking of countries where minorities are most under threat. Key allies of the US in its "war on terror" including Pakistan, Turkey and Israel, intensified repression of particular ethnic communities in 2006. Pakistan is in the top 20 list and Turkey and Israel and the Occupied Territories have both shown major rises in the rankings. The report says that US allies have bartered support for the "war in terror" in return for having their human rights record ignored. Another of the main spill-offs of the war on terror has been the rise in Islamaphobia in the EU including the UK. African States make up more than half of the top 20 list, with Sudan third as a consequence of the continuing appalling levels of violence in Darfur, targeted at farmers such as Zaghawa, Masalit and Fur tribes, by government forces and Arab militia (Janjaweed), and the continuing failure of the international community to find ways of stopping the violence. Iraq continues to see targeted killings of people from minority groups including Christians, Yezidis and Mandaeans. Other minority groups in Iraq face daily violence, torture and political assimilation, which have led to an exodus of these communities from the country. Turkey rose in the rankings, as tension around EU accession drove virulent religious and nationalist extremism. The biggest jump of all is Sri Lanka which saw a return to conflict last year and which moved 47 places since 2006 to be ranked 14th in 2007. Minority Tamils and Muslims are not only caught up in fighting between government and rebel forces but are targeted for human rights abuses including abductions and disappearances because of their minority status. Afghanistan, Burma and Thailand are other Asian countries leading the list.
http://www.minorityrights.org/
Community development can be successful in building peace even before conflict settlement is in place. This is demonstrated by a recent development project in Democratic Republic of Congo.
http://www.cmi.no/publications/publication.cfm?pubid=2574

The UN Human Rights Council called on those countries that have not signed and ratified the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) to do so, and to ensure that those rights are implemented without discrimination of any kind.
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=21993&Cr=rights&Cr1=council

Analysis of seven post-conflict cases confirms that the political contexts of donation and implementation, including political assessments of peace agreements, have considerable influence on aid patterns. High levels of aid and rapid economic growth are not essential preconditions for sustaining peace. More significant are the short-term stabilization strategies adopted and the distributive effects of structural adjustment.
http://www.cmi.no/publications/publication.cfm?pubid=2455

Members of Bulgaria's far right ATAKA party have proposed changes to the law on information that would impose controls on media coverage, and have been involved in threats and intimidation against journalists covering the party, particularly staff of the daily newspaper 24 Hours and weekly 168 Hours. The editors of the two papers are suing ATAKA party leader Volen Siderov for his repeated attacks.
http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/81842/
http://www.osce.org/item/23778.html
http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=78159

Thai Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont distanced himself from the Human Rights Watch report on forced disappearances in the south, saying there were no such violations since his government took office.
http://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2007/03/20/thaila15499.htm
http://etna.mcot.net/query.php?nid=28541

A US federal district has again ruled against internet censorship legislation, the Child Online Protection Act, finding that it is unconstitutional.
http://www.aclu.org/freespeech/internet/29138prs20070322.html
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ETM Infectious Diseases
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In "Health and foreign policy: influences of migration and population mobility", Douglas W MacPherson, Brian D Gushulak, and Liane Macdonald explain:
"International interest in the relationship between globalization and health is growing, and this relationship is increasingly figuring in foreign policy discussions. Although many globalizing processes are known to affect health, migration stands out as an integral part of globalization, and links between migration and health are well documented. Numerous historical interconnections exist between population mobility and global public health, but since the 1990s new attention to emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases has promoted discussion of this topic. The containment of global disease threats is a major concern, and significant international efforts have received funding to fight infectious diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS (human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome). Migration and population mobility play a role in each of these public health challenges. The growing interest in population mobility’s health-related influences is giving rise to new foreign policy initiatives to address the international determinants of health within the context of migration. As a result, meeting health challenges through international cooperation and collaboration has now become an important foreign policy component in many countries. However, although some national and regional projects address health and migration, an integrated and globally focused approach is lacking. As migration and population mobility are increasingly important determinants of health, these issues will require greater policy attention at the multilateral level."
http://www.who.int/entity/bulletin/volumes/85/3/06-036962.pdf

The World Health Organization has made further progress towards ensuring access to vaccines for developing countries in the event of a human bird flu pandemic and other vaccine-related aspects of pandemic preparedness, including the building of up to half a dozen new production facilities.
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/notes/2007/np13/en/index.html

Through 20 March 281 laboratory confirmed human cases of H5N1 infection have been reported to WHO, of which 169 have proven fatal.
http://www.who.int/csr/disease/avian_influenza/country/cases_table_2007_03_20/en/index.html

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the International Atomic Energy Agency held a meeting this week to address joint research in the development and potential of portable devices to study samples and discover the cause of death in birds. For example, a $1,000 mobile testing device the size of a small portable television could replace lengthy laboratory tests and revolutionize the fight against bird flu and many other livestock diseases by saving vital time in identifying the source of outbreaks and so increase the chances of containing the spread.
http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2007/1000517/index.html

Combining poultry vaccination with other disease control measures are recommended to help combat H5N1.
http://www.oie.int/eng/press/en_070322.htm

H5N1 has been found in Bangladesh, and has spread to farms near the capital Dhaka. Culling and monitoring measures are in place, but the country is at significant risk.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/SP114171.htm
http://www.financialexpress-bd.com/index3.asp?cnd=3/25/2007&section_id=5&newsid=56506&spcl=no

Japan has banned prescribing oseltamivir (Tamiflu) for teenagers, where it has been associated with at least four suicides. The European Medicines Agency is monitoring the situation but believes at this time the benefits outweigh the risks.
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20070324TDY02001.htm
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/editorial/20070324TDY04006.htm
http://www.emea.eu.int/pdfs/general/direct/pr/13456607en.pdf
http://www.fda.gov/cder/drug/infopage/tamiflu/QA20051117.htm
http://www.tamiflu.com/

Singapore has been selected as ASEAN's center for stockpiling antiviral drug oseltamivir because H5N1 has not been found there, and the country would have no ulterior motive for stockpiling it.
http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/19Mar2007_news12.php

Trust for America's Health (TFAH)'s March 2007 report "Pandemic Flu and Potential for U.S. Economic Recession" finds a severe pandemic flu outbreak could result in the second worst recession in the US since World War II. The US Gross Domestic Product (GDP) could drop over 5.5 percent, leading to an estimated $683 billion loss. The report goes on to analyze the potential impact on each state.
http://healthyamericans.org/reports/flurecession/
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ETM Legal Systems
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Egypt has appointed its first group of female judges.
http://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2007/03/22/egypt15536.htm

In continuing protests over the suspension of Pakistan's Supreme Court chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, several judges have resigned, and lawyers have staged more street protests. President Musharraf has filed charges that Chaudhry abused his position to favor his son. Rana Bhahwandas has been appointed acting chief judge.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/03/19/pakistan.justice.reut/
http://www.paktribune.com/news/index.shtml?172293
http://www.app.com.pk/en/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6591&Itemid=2

Britain's House of Lords have voted to delay further debate on the Fraud (Trials Without a Jury) bill for six months, effectively killing government plans to restrict trial by jury in complex fraud cases.
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200607/ldhansrd/text/70320-0002.htm#07032035000002

The controversy over firings of US attorneys continued this week, as more email exchanges were released, including evidence that the Bush administration invested months of effort to make an aide to Bush political advisor Karl Rove the US Attorney in Arkansas, and demonstrating that contrary to past remarks, Gonzales had participated in the discussions. The House and Senate Judiciary committees have approved subpoenas of administration officials, including Rove, demanding sworn testimony and a record of the meeting to hear of plans to dismiss the eight attorneys dismissed.
http://judiciary.house.gov/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/22/AR2007032200213.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/22/AR2007032202266.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/20/AR2007032001943.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/24/washington/24attorney.html

The Senate has voted to strip Attorney General Alberto Gonzales of the power, implemented under the Patriot Act, to appoint US attorneys without Senate approval.
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/R?r110:FLD001:S03292-S03307
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ETM Natural Resources
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As oil money begins to pour into Angola, financing a multi-billion dollar reconstruction boom, transparency is being bypassed. In this and other areas, Angola has been distancing itself from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=70839
http://www.imf.org/external/country/AGO/index.htm

Global Witness released "Agenda for Reform in the Natural Resource Sector of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)". It calls on President Kabila and the new government to seize post-election momentum to implement fundamental reforms in mining and forestry including:
* Ensuring transparency and fairness in mining contracts
* Eradicating corruption and promoting transparency
* Improving labor conditions of artisanal workers
* Strengthening and extending administrative oversight and export control
* Ensuring the sustainable management of the DRC's forests
* Protecting civil society from intimidation, threats and harassment
http://www.globalwitness.org/media_library_detail.php/532/en/opportunity_for_the_new_congolese_government_to_fundamentally_reform_the_natural_resource_sector_
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ETM Populations
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The Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions has come into force.
http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=29008&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html

For the fifth year asylum applications fell, but there was one notable exception to the general downward trend. Iraqi has regained the top place among asylum seekers in the world's 50 industrialized countries last year for the first time since 2002, rising 77 per cent over 2005 to 22,200. This number pales in comparison to the 1.9 million internally displaced of more than two million in neighboring countries.
http://www.unhcr.org/news/NEWS/4603be894.html
http://www.unhcr.org/news/NEWS/4603a9f54.html

Botswana's Attorney General has banned the Kalahari Bushmen from installing a pump at an existing borehole on their land. The government claims that the borehole is theirs.
http://www.survival-international.org/news.php?id=2289

Namibia has purchased two commercial farms on behalf of the Hai//om San bushmen that were evicted from their ancestral lands inside Etosha National Park 100 years ago.
http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=84&art_id=nw20070323133610195C803179

Unlike Botswana, there are no known diamond deposits in Etosha National Park.
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ETM Social Responsibility
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Norway's Chr. Michelsen Institute (CMI) considers "To what extent should multinational corporations contribute to improving social conditions in the economies in which they operate? Many multinational corporations operate in countries characterized by extreme poverty and inequality, inadequate or dysfunctional institutions, and undemocratic political systems. At the same time, multinational corporations are in a powerful position to promote change in developing countries, individually and/or collectively."
http://www.cmi.no/publications/publication.cfm?pubid=2575

Sri Lankan company Mabroc Teas introduced two new "ethical" Ceylon teas, the first products ever to be jointly branded with the UN Global Compact to promote responsible corporate citizenship around the world by including information on the initiative's 10 principles in packs sold to millions of consumers each year. Mabroc Teas has also started the "A Home for Every Plantation Worker" project to improve the lives of 10,000 families involved in the production of the tea in Sri Lanka's Kelani Valley. For every pack of Mabroc Single Garden and Valley teas sold, the company pledges a minimum of 1.5 US cents to this program.
http://www.un.org/News/briefings/docs//2007/070319_global_compact.doc.htm
http://www.unglobalcompact.org/

Marilyn Gardner describes how the creativity and empowerment spawned by the Information Age is bringing democracy to work, making business more transparent.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0319/p13s01-wmgn.html
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ETM Technology
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The University of Aberdeen, in Scotland, was the first in the world to scan the body of a patient using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). 25 years later, they are developing Fast Field-Cycling MRI, which uses an interactive rather than a constant scan to record more detail, faster.
http://www.abdn.ac.uk/mediareleases/release.php?id=867

LITMUS, working with the US Food and Drug Administration, has developed RAPID-B, a fast and inexpensive test for bacterial contamination that will be commercialized for use in hospitals and the food industry.
http://www.litmusgti.com/content/portfolio/litmus_rapid-b.asp
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ETM Weapons (WMD, Proliferation)
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The UN Security Council unanimously passed Resolution 1747. It reaffirms that Iran must take the steps required by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors, which has called for a full and sustained suspension of all enrichment-related and reprocessing activities; and ratification and implementation of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty's (NPT) Additional Protocol granting the IAEA expanded rights of access to information and sites, as well as additional authority to use the most advanced technologies during the verification process. It tightens sanctions on Iran by imposing a ban on arms sales and expanding the freeze on assets, in response to the country's uranium-enrichment activities, which Tehran says are for peaceful purposes but which other countries contend are driven by military ambitions.
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=21997&Cr=Iran&Cr1=
http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/news/2007/037.htm
http://www.un.org/Docs/sc/

The sixth round of 6-party talks on North Korea's nuclear programs began in Beijing on Monday, after the US made concessions in a dispute over frozen assets (see AML/CFT above). For reasons as yet unknown, the $26 million involved has still not been transferred to North Korea, leading their delegation to refuse to participate, and the subsequent failure of the talks. Talks may resume in a few weeks, when North Korea receives the funds it demands.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-03/19/content_5866050.htm
http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/03/22/nkorea.talks.stop.ap/index.html

The Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) explains that North Korea's desire to produce electricity with nuclear power reactors is well known. Less well known are its civil nuclear programs focused on the use of radiation in medical, industrial, and agricultural applications. These latter programs deserve foreign assistance now that North Korea is moving to shut down its nuclear weapon plutonium production facilities under an agreement reached in February 2007 at the Six Party Talks in Beijing.
http://www.isis-online.org/publications/dprk/CivilNuclearNK.pdf

The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs held a hearing to explore improvised explosive devices and conventional munitions storage sites in Iraq, and whether the Department of Defense (DOD) has taken appropriate steps to identify and secure these sites. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released "Operation Iraqi Freedom: DOD Should Apply Lessons Learned Concerning the Need for Security over Conventional Munitions Storage Sites to Future Operations Planning". The report explains:
The overwhelming size and number of conventional munitions storage sites in Iraq, combined with certain prewar planning assumptions that proved to be invalid, resulted in US forces not adequately securing these sites and widespread looting, according to field unit, lessons learned, and intelligence reports. Pre-OIF estimates of Iraq’s conventional munitions varied significantly, with the higher estimate being five times greater than the lower estimate. Conventional munitions storage sites were looted after major combat operations and some remained vulnerable as of October 2006. According to lessons learned reports and senior-level DOD officials, the widespread looting occurred because DOD had insufficient troop levels to secure conventional munitions storage sites due to several OIF planning priorities and assumptions. DOD’s OIF planning priorities included quickly taking Baghdad on a surprise basis rather than using an overwhelming force. The plan also assumed that the regular Iraqi army units would “capitulate and provide internal security.” GAO analysis showed that the war plan did not document risk mitigation strategies—such as branch plans as recommended by joint planning doctrine—in case assumptions were proven wrong. Not securing these conventional munitions storage sites has been costly, as government reports indicated that looted munitions are being used to make Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) that have killed or maimed many people, and will likely continue to support terrorist attacks in the region. As of October 2006, the Multi-National Coalition-Iraq stated that some remote sites have not been revisited to verify if they pose any residual risk nor have they been physically secured. However, DOD does not appear to have conducted a theater-wide survey and assessment of the current risk unsecured conventional munitions represent to US forces and others. DOD has taken many actions in response to OIF lessons learned, such as setting up the Joint IED Defeat Organization to develop a more strategic approach to countering IEDs, which typically are made using looted munitions. However, our review of DOD doctrine, policy, guidance, and procedures used to guide operational planning and execution found little evidence of guidance on the security of conventional munitions storage sites. DOD’s actions generally have emphasized countering the use of IEDs by resistance groups during post-hostility operations. GAO concludes that US forces will face increased risk from this emerging asymmetric threat when an adversary uses unconventional means to counter U.S. military strengths. For example, one potential adversary is also estimated to have a significant amount of munitions that would require significant manpower to secure or destroy. GAO also concludes that this situation shows both that Iraqi stockpiles of munitions may not be an anomaly and that information on the amount and location of an adversary’s munitions can represent a strategic planning consideration for future operations. However, without joint guidance, DOD cannot ensure that OIF lessons learned about the security of an adversary’s conventional munitions storage sites will be integrated into future operations planning and execution.
http://oversight.house.gov/story.asp?ID=1220
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-07-444.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-07-639T

The Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) has obtained recent commercial imagery from GeoEye's OrbView-3 satellite of the Arak heavy water reactor and adjacent heavy water production plant in Iran.
http://www.isis-online.org/publications/iran/ArakConstruction20March2007.pdf

The US National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has signed contracts with Vietnam to begin to convert a research reactor from highly enriched uranium to low enriched uranium and to secure nuclear and radiological materials.
http://www.nnsa.doe.gov/docs/newsreleases/2007/PR_2007-03-19_NA-07-08.htm

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) held discussions with Russian officials at the Angarsk Electrolysis Chemical Complex, a manufacturer of low-enriched uranium, which Russia is proposing should be the site of an international center for uranium enrichment, using a multinational framework to prevent nuclear proliferation.
http://www.iaea.org/NewsCenter/News/2007/russiatalks.html

Counterterrorist experts in New York are analyzing chlorine bomb attacks in Iraq and stepping up their scrutiny of stockpiled gas.
http://www.nypost.com/php/pfriendly/print.php?url=http://www.nypost.com/seven/03232007/news/regionalnews/chlorine_bombs_put_city_on_alert_regionalnews_murray_weiss.htm
http://washingtontimes.com/functions/print.php?StoryID=200-8576r

Fifteen years after the end of Mozambique's devastating civil war, efforts to clear the country of deadly landmines have entered the final phase.
http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=70770

The UK has become the first major power to scrap dumb cluster munitions, with immediate effect.
http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/EquipmentAndLogistics/UkBecomesFirstMajorPowerToScrapdumbClusterMunitions.htm

5. Critical Infrastructure Monitor

The 21st century is the interdependent century. Understanding the implicit and explicit networks on which we rely, and the interdependencies among the sectors of the critical infrastructure is essential for business continuity, economic success, and our very survival. The Critical Infrastructure Monitor, published monthly, analyzes these sectors, regulatory frameworks, and issues of enterprise risk management in global supply chains.
http://secure.netsolhost.com/573566.585211/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=SFNT&Store_Code=TP
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CIM Agriculture and Food
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Cattle-rustling in the Horn of Africa traditionally was a communal survival mechanism for times of drought or other natural disasters, but it is becoming a commercial activity.
http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=70837

Madagascar's vanilla coast in the northeast has been devastated by Cyclone Indlala, the sixth storm to hit the Indian Ocean island this season.
http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=70774

The Soccsksargends Agenda, a collaborative in the Philippines opposed to genetically modified organisms, has called for the immediate recall of a GMO corn strain that has been associated with liver and kidney toxicity.
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/gen/2007/03/20/news/withdrawal.of.toxic.biotech.corn.urged.html
http://www.greenpeace.org/seasia/en/campaigns/genetic-engineering/ge-food/i-love-my-rice
http://www.foodproductiondaily-usa.com/news/ng.asp?n=74981-monsanto-efsa-mon-toxicity-gm

The University of Manchester completed a report for the UK Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). "The Environmental Impact of Food Production and Consumption" considers environmental consequences of food production, from farm to fork. Findings include:
* The environmental benefits of organic food production are not clear-cut
* There is no clear evidence in environmental terms to support locally-sourced rather than globally-sourced shopping. For some foods, global sourcing might be a better option for the environment;
* The impact of car-based shopping by individual consumers is greater than the impact of transport within the food production distribution system
* The impact of packaging on food is difficult to quantify because the disposal of that packaging varies within the UK (eg discard rates by consumers and recycling/ recovery policies in different local authorities)
http://www.mbs.ac.uk/news/04-02-2007.htm

The enormous inefficiencies in US programs to feed the world's hungry sharply reduce the amount provided and slow its delivery. Shipping, transportation, logistical and administrative costs are consuming nearly two-thirds of spending for Food for Peace. Five years ago this program fed 90 million, now it feeds only 70 million. These are among the Government Accountability Office (GAO) findings in their report, "Foreign Assistance: US Agencies Face Challenges to Improving the Efficiency and Effectiveness of Food Aid".
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-07-616T

Recent recalls reveal a vulnerability in US food-safety defenses: Imports are escalating, but the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) ability to inspect them and police their safety isn't keeping up.
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/food/2007-03-18-food-safety-usat_N.htm

The Center for Food Safety's report "Not Ready for Prime Time: FDA's Flawed Approach To Assessing The Safety of Food From Animal Clones" calls the FDA risk assessment on animal clones wishful thinking, not science.
http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/AnimalCloning_PR3_21_07.cfm

FDA has recalled pet foods manufactured by Menu Foods, Inc., after 14 cats and dogs died of kidney failure associated with a contaminant. Pet owners have begun legal action.
http://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/petfood.html
http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=2975912&page=1

FDA has issued new draft guidance to limit committee advisors with ties to industry.
http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2007/NEW01591.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/22/washington/22fda.html
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CIM Banking and Finance
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Social engineering struck ABN Amro bank in Antwerp's diamond quarter, when a thief evaded a high-tech security system and stole some $20 million worth of diamonds by befriending staff, and even bringing them chocolates.
http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article2369019.ece
http://www.hrd.be/index.php?id=50&tx_mininews_pi1[showUid]=196&cHash=cfebe6a284

China Postal Savings Bank was launched this week. The country's fifth largest bank promised to extend services to underserved rural areas.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-03/20/content_5872192.htm

An interim report published by the UK Financial Services Authority demonstrates that consumer experiences and risk of detriment vary substantially across the various markets for general insurance products. Therefore, FSA will consider a differentiated and more principles-based approach to insurance conduct of business (ICOB) regulation. The Association Of British Insurers supports this commitment.
http://www.fsa.gov.uk/pages/Library/Communication/PR/2007/037.shtml
http://www.abi.org.uk/Newsreleases/viewNewsRelease.asp?nrid=14339

The Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) will increase tenfold its in-house clearing capacity in another effort to persuade members of the Chicago Board of Trade to complete the proposed merger of the two organizations.
https://www.theice.com/

More than 52 million in the US use telephone banking services, but most of these lack strong authentication measures, leaving them vulnerable to fraud.
http://www.finextra.com/fullstory.asp?id=16693

The US Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs held a hearing on "Mortgage Market Turmoil: Causes and Consequences". Focusing on the recent crisis in sub-prime mortgages, the committee called for improved regulatory oversight, including written loan guidelines. The Federal Reserve acknowledged that it should have been more aware of the financial risks posed by the sub-prime mortgage market, but does not believe that the problem will extend to the general mortgage market or affect banking systems overall.
http://banking.senate.gov/index.cfm?Fuseaction=Hearings.Detail&HearingID=254
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/22/AR2007032201973.html

US federal financial regulators have released a notice of proposed rulemaking requesting comment on a model privacy notice.
http://www.occ.gov/ftp/release/2007-25a.pdf
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CIM Chemical
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The American Chemistry Council Chlorine Chemistry Division marked World Water Day with a reminder that chlorine chemistry is essential to delivering safe water to consumers.
http://www.americanchemistry.com/s_acc/sec_news_article.asp?CID=206&DID=4996
http://news.dow.com/dow_news/prodbus/2007/20070319b.htm

The US Congress is taking steps to ensure that state legislation requiring stronger chemical security than that set out at the federal level is not preempted. Recent chemical incidents in Iraq have strengthened this position. In particular, most in Congress would take steps to ensure that New Jersey's chemical security legislation remains in force.
http://lautenberg.senate.gov/newsroom/record.cfm?id=271158&
http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070323/NEWS01/703230365/1006
http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkzJmZnYmVsN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk3MDk2NzA1JnlyaXJ5N2Y3MTdmN3ZxZWVFRXl5Mg==

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released the latest inventory of chemicals.
http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/e87e8bc7fd0c11f1852572a000650c05/94d389881e7ca6e5852572a600640fe1!OpenDocument

The state of Michigan ranks sixth in the US, with more than 400 chemical plants, half in metropolitan Detroit, and five where an attack or accident could threaten a million or more lives.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070322/POLITICS/703220389/1022

The Dow Chemical Company and the Chemical Transportation Emergency Center (CHEMTREC) announced The Dow Chemical Company Railcar Shipment Visibility Initiative, a full-scale demonstration project to enhance railcar tracking and information sharing between the two organizations. The system enables surveillance of highly hazardous materials in transit and enables enhanced communications for emergency responders nationwide to protect the safety and security of the communities through which these materials are transported.
http://www.chemtrec.org/NR/rdonlyres/854482B0-D41A-43EB-AEE3-C56FFF04AF00/0/DowandCHEMTRECNewsReleaseFINAL320071130pmET.doc

The Chemical Petrochemical Security Alliance has been formed to help companies comply with pending US regulations.
http://www.sys-con.com/read/351056.htm
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CIM Commercial Facilities
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A Hamilton, Canada landlord faces a cleanup bill of some C$2 million to remove the toxic remnants of a sophisticated organized crime gang that rented at least 49 apartments in which to grow marijuana in three high-rise apartment buildings. Other tenants are waiting to hear what risks they face from chemicals, mold, and electrical hazards, and whether the building will be safe for residents. Fortunately, police did not find any booby traps, but it was the largest drug bust in the city's history.
http://www.hamiltonspectator.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=hamilton/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1174626386728
http://www.hamiltonspectator.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=hamilton/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1174713390088
http://www.hamiltonspectator.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=hamilton/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1174540227774 (with photos)

This CBS News report warns that malls are more vulnerable than people think.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/03/22/earlyshow/contributors/tracysmith/main2595822.shtml

In southern California, surveillance technology is key to security upgrades in the Kaleidoscope Courtyards mall.
http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/homepage/abox/article_1628655.php
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CIM Cybersecurity
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Symantec's latest Internet Security Threat Report finds:
* There were more than 6 million distinct bot-infected computers worldwide during the second half of 2006, representing a 29 percent increase from the previous period. However, the number of command-and-control servers used to relay commands to these bots decreased by 25 percent, indicating that bot network owners are consolidating their networks and increasing the size of their existing networks.
* Trojans constituted 45 percent of the top 50 malicious code samples, representing a 23 percent increase over the first six months of 2006. This significant increase supports Symantec’s forecast from previous research, which noted that attackers appeared to be making a shift away from mass-mailing worms toward using Trojans.
* Symantec documented 12 zero-day vulnerabilities during the second half of 2006, marking a significant increase from the one zero-day vulnerability documented in the first half of 2006, increasing the exposure of consumers and businesses to unknown threats.
* Underground Economy Servers are being used by criminals and criminal organizations to sell stolen information, including government-issued identity numbers, credit cards, bank cards and personal identification numbers (PINs), user accounts, and e-mail address lists.
* Theft or loss of a computer or data storage medium, such as a USB memory key, made up 54 percent of all identity theft-related data breaches.
* For the first time, Symantec identified the countries with the highest amount of malicious activity originating from their networks. The United States had the highest proportion of overall malicious activity, with 31 percent; China was second, with 10 percent; and Germany was third, with 7 percent.
http://www.symantec.com/about/news/release/article.jsp?prid=20070319_01

Kaspersky Lab wrote "Secure connections: how secure are they?" The article describes pros and cons of secure network connections, which are also vulnerable to attacks.
http://www.viruslist.com/en/analysis?pubid=204791929

Alleged "Panda" virus writer Li Jun was arrested last week.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-03/19/content_5868215.htm

The Senate Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology and Homeland Security, held a hearing on "Identity Theft: Innovative Solutions for an Evolving Problem". The meeting focused on two bills, one that requires disclosure of all incidents, and a second that limits use of Social Security Numbers.
http://judiciary.senate.gov/hearing.cfm?id=2582

A macabre identity theft scam in Louisiana involved a hospital employee sending her son text messages of dying patients so he could submit fraudulent credit card applications as soon as the patient died. Three people have been arrested for stealing about 100 identities, and obtaining at least 17 fraudulent cards.
http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/frontpage/index.ssf?/base/news-7/117471863585860.xml

US Defense Department officials are investigating nearly two dozen cases in which the accounts of "myPay" participants were hacked on home computers, compromising personal information and leading to the redirection of funds from their military pay accounts.
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=32558
https://mypay.dfas.mil/PersonalData.htm
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CIM Dams and Bridges
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Afghanistan's Kajaki dam is one of the few critical infrastructures in the entire country. Control of the dam is thought crucial in defeating the Taleban.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070322.wxafghandam22/BNStory/Afghanistan/home

Australian Capital Territory's Chief Minister Jon Stanhope has launched a public consultation on a proposal to add recycled drinking water to an enlarged Cotter Dam.
http://ibnnews.org/local/community_consultation_recycled_water_23307_777777669899_0000000.html
http://www.actew.com.au/

Dams along the Danube River, one of the longest in Europe, have destroyed 80 percent of the river basin's wetlands and floodplains.
http://assets.panda.org/downloads/worldstop10riversatriskfinalmarch13.pdf

New Zealand's Department of Conservation reports that Mount Ruapehu's crater lake has returned to its pre-1995 level after the dam holding back the acidic waters washed away. Although it triggered emergency alerts, this has returned flow to what it had been before and although there will be additional monitoring, there is no present threat. A security firm has been hired to keep away sightseers, who have been putting themselves in danger.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/3998184a10.html
http://www.newswire.co.nz/main/viewstory.aspx?storyid=363859&catid=3008

In the US state of Kentucky officials are distributing radios to residents downstream from Wolf Creek Dan to warn of any breaches.
http://www.heraldleader.com/263/story/21491.html
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CIM Defense Industrial Base
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Dubai Aerospace Enterprise is in advanced talks with private equity firm Carlyle to acquire US aerospace and defense companies.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601070&sid=aTw9linF37J4

The US Senate Committee on the Judiciary held a hearing on "Combating War Profiteering: Are We Doing Enough to Investigate and Prosecute Contracting Fraud and Abuse in Iraq", finding great room for improvement and much continuing abuse.
http://judiciary.senate.gov/hearing.cfm?id=2598

The House Committee on Homeland Security, Subcommittee on Transportation Security and Infrastructure Protection, held a hearing on "Foreign Ownership: Discussion of Challenges Posed by Foreign Ownership to Using Critical Infrastructure". The current structure of national security reviews of foreign acquisitions lacks established definitions or criteria, and reforms of the process are recommended.
http://homeland.house.gov/hearings/index.asp?ID=28
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-07-661T
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CIM Emergency Services
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Firefighter Near Miss is a reporting system launched last year. They have now released their first annual report, which includes submissions from more than a thousand firefighters. Analysis of unsafe acts, preconditions to unsafe acts, unsafe supervision, and organizational influences led to many lessons learned, and recommendations such as:
* Require a 360-degree evaluation of all structures prior to going into action
* Require all officers to conduct risk/reward evaluations. When risk exceeds reward, safety trumps exposure to harm.
* Adopt an error-management philosophy at the department level that creates different tiers for dealing with firefighters who make mistakes versus firefighters who willfully violate policies
* Explore and adopt the concept of crew resource management to improve leader performance, crew safety and incident management
* 'Aggressive' philosophies need to be transitioned to 'intentional' actions philosophies. Blind 'duty to act' mindsets are institutional climates that place firefighters in jeopardy
* Fire departments must share knowledge gained from near misses that were prevented by following procedures as well as those that occur due to error
http://www.firefighternearmiss.com/

Dr. Stefanos Kales and his colleagues reviewed summaries provided by the US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) of firefighter deaths on duty, excluding those associated with the 9/11 attacks. Heart disease causes 45 percent of deaths on duty. The risk associated with fire suppression is as high as 100 times greater than non-emergency duties.
http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/356/12/1207
http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/short/356/12/1261

More than three years after the Hometown Heroes Act that granted federal benefits to families of firefighters, police officers and emergency medical technicians who die of heart attacks and strokes on the job, all 34 claims that have been decided were denied and the US Justice Department has not acted on more than 200 others.
http://www.nbc11.com/msnbcnews/11330157/detail.html
http://www.ojp.gov/BJA/grant/psob/psob_heroes.html
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CIM Energy
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Armenian President Robert Kocharyan and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad have inaugurated the first section of a new gas pipeline that Armenia hopes will reduce dependence of Russian gas.
http://banks.am/eng/index.php?sub=shownews&newsid=20070319_5

Azerbaijan and the US have signed a memorandum of understanding on energy security.
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2007/mar/82072.htm

Gulf states are planning oil pipelines that would bypass the Strait of Hormuz, mitigating possible threats from Iran.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2007-03/21/content_833264.htm

The US Bush administration has begun delivering quiet warnings that energy companies and governments should not do business with Iran.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/21/business/worldbusiness/21sanctions.html

After Iran's capture of British naval personnel, crude oil and gasoline prices surged to a 7-month high of more than $62 per barrel.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=akceu1ojBnBQ

Iraq's Kurdish region is prepared to open for foreign investment to help produce a million barrels of oil a day by 2012.
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/natural_resources/article1555773.ece

Kenya Geo-Thermal Development Company will be established by year end to focus on renewable energy sources. Currently hydro-power supplies more than 70 percent of Kenya's energy.
http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp?category_id=1&newsid=94337

Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) group managing director Funsho Kupolokun reports that the $1.1 billion 1000km West African gas pipeline (WAGP) has been completed and may be commissioned this month.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200703190074.html
http://www.nnpcgroup.com/

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) capital Abu Dhabi is preparing for an ambitious project into sun, wind, hydrogen, and other oil-alternative sources of energy.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/18/world/middleeast/18abudhabi.html

"Oil Revenue Transparency: A Strategic Component of US Energy Security Policy" is a new report from Global Witness that calls for these key policy measures:
* U.S. legislation establishing a reporting standard for extractive industry companies to publicly report payments made to governments on a country-by-country basis;
* High-level U.S. diplomatic engagement on and funding for the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) and on budget expenditure transparency;
* Key diplomatic engagement with China, India, Russia, and Brazil in the setting of energy revenue transparency as a global standard.
http://www.globalwitness.org/media_library_detail.php/531/en/oil_revenue_transparency_a_strategic_component_of_u.s._energy_security_policy_
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CIM Information Technology
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IDC reports that laptops will overtake desktops as the dominant form of computer by 2011.
http://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS20608307

Oracle has filed a lawsuit against its fierce rival, the German firm SAP, on charges of hacking into its computers and stealing confidential information.
http://www.oracle.com/corporate/press/2007_mar/sapsuit.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6482749.stm
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CIM National Monuments and Icons
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In the US, the Hualapai Indians, who own a site in the Grand Canyon, have launched a glass walkway to provide spectacular views. Innovative engineering has designed the bridge to sustain winds in excess of 100 miles per hour and an 8.0 magnitude earthquake within 50 miles. Although this will being much needed investment to the area, some members of the tribe are concerned at the disruption of sacred land.
http://www.grandcanyonskywalk.com/

Zambian developers are battling conservationists over the future of Victoria Falls.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0321/p04s01-woaf.html
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CIM Nuclear Reactors, Materials, and Waste
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Environmental Energy Resources, an Israeli company, has developed a reactor that converts radioactive, hazardous and municipal waste into inert byproducts such as glass and clean energy.
http://www.israel-mfa.gov.il/MFA/Israel+beyond+politics/Israeli+discovery+converts+radioactive+waste+into+clean+energy+19-Mar-2007.htm

Lithuania has launched a public-private program to finance construction of a new nuclear plant.
http://www.kommersant.com/p752846/Lithuania_nuclear_plant/

In "Low-Level Radioactive Waste Management: Approaches Used by Foreign Countries May Provide Useful Lessons for Managing US Radioactive Waste" the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) finds:
* Most countries indicated they have national radioactive waste inventory databases that include information on all waste generators, waste types, storage locations, and disused sealed radiological sources, and that they use them to forecast future disposal capacity needs.
* Most countries indicated they facilitate the timely removal of higher-activity low=level radioactive waste (LLRW), essentially disused sealed radiological sources, from generator sites to enhance safety and security, including requiring the return of a disused source to a source supplier.
* Most countries indicated they have disposal options for lower-activity LLRW, central storage options for higher-activity LLRW, and alternative disposal options for very low-level radioactive waste that in most cases does not require an exemption review by a nuclear regulatory authority.
* Half the countries indicated they impose financial assurance requirements on all waste generators to cover disposition costs, and most of these countries also use other approaches to reduce government costs to recover higher-activity LLRW, such as requiring a disposal fee at the time that a sealed radiological source is purchased.
* Most countries surveyed use national radioactive waste plans to guide the management of their radioactive wastes. Many representatives from LLRW generators, disposal operators, regulators, and others told GAO that the application of similar approaches to those used by other countries might improve the management of US radioactive waste.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-07-221

Concerned citizens in North Carolina are highlighting worries over fire safety regulations at the Shearon Harris nuclear plant.
http://www.heraldsun.com/orange/10-832182.cfm
http://rdu.news14.com/content/headlines/?ArID=102224&SecID=2
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CIM Public Health and Healthcare
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Writing in the Bulletin of the World Health Organization, Diarmid Campbell-Lendrum, Carlos Corvalan, and Maria Neira describe the implications global climate change has for international public health policy.
http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/85/3/06-039503/en/index.html

The Global Tuberculosis Control Report finds that the percentage of the world's population struck by TB peaked in 2004 and then held steady in 2005. This is the first time the epidemic has leveled off since the World Health Organization (WHO) declared TB a public health emergency in 1993. Barriers to further progress include HIV/AIDS, lack of screening for TB among HIV-positive individuals, the spread of extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB), the overall funding gap, and lack of infrastructure and capacity.
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2007/pr08/en/index.html

WHO has added four TB drugs to its list of pre-qualified medicines.
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/notes/2007/np14/en/index.html

The UK parliament Health Committee reports that National Health Service (NHS) workforce planning has been a disastrous failure, creating a boom and bust approach driven by hitting government targets.
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200607/cmselect/cmhealth/171/17102.htm
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CIM Telecommunications
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Bizsurf Sdn Bhd, MIB Comm Sdn Bhd, Redtone-CNX Broadband Sdn Bhd and Asiaspace Dotcom Sdn Bhd, all new companies, were named the winners of a tender to deliver Malaysia's new Wimax licenses.
http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/3/19/business/17181369
http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v3/news_lite.php?id=252109
http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BT/Monday/Column/20070316232114/Article/

IDC has selected ten emerging companies that could have a big impact on wireless entertainment.
http://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp;jsessionid=DVGATQE2AWX2YCQJAFICFFAKBEAUMIWD?containerId=prUS20607907
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CIM Transportation
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Canada's Standing Senate Committee on National Security and Defense released the 2007 edition of the "Canadian Security Guide Book: An Update of Security Problems in Search of Solutions: Airports". They addressed 15 problems: Organized Crime, Checking the Legitimacy of Flight Crews and Ground Crew, Unscreened Airmail and Other Cargo, Screening Checked Baggage, Vulnerable Cockpit Doors, Alerting Air Crews,: Security Training for Maintenance Worker, Who’s in Charge of Security at Canadian Airports, “Known Shipper” System Lessens Aircraft Security, Lack of Security at Fixed-Base Operations, Small Airports are Weak Links in the Aviation Security Net, The Canadian Air Transport Security Intelligence Gap, Unnecessary Secrecy Over Security, Air Travelers Security Charge, and Lack of Transparency Over Security Expenditures Generally.
http://www.parl.gc.ca/39/1/parlbus/commbus/senate/com-e/defe-e/rep-e/repmar07-e.pdf

China has approved plans for the China Aviation Industry Corporation to design and build large passenger planes that would compete with Airbus and Boeing, and help to meet internal expansion requirements domestically.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-03/18/content_5864059.htm
http://www.avic1.com.cn/English/EnglishIndex.asp

Denmark's transport minister Flemming Hansen has called for a top-to-bottom review of EU airline security, which he calls a patchwork of regulations.
http://denmark.dk/portal/page?_pageid=374,610566&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL&ic_itemid=941183

The US Department of Homeland Security and the military, plan to test whether drones could be used to protect planes from shoulder-fired missiles.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-03-22-unmanned-drones_N.htm

US House and Senate committees held hearings this week on the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) progress and challenges in the next generation air transportation.
http://commerce.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Hearings.Hearing&Hearing_ID=1837
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-07-649T
http://transportation.house.gov/News/PRArticle.aspx?NewsID=132
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-07-636T
http://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/reauthorization/

Canada's Standing Senate Committee on National Security and Defense released the 2007 edition of the "Canadian Security Guide Book: An Update of Security Problems in Search of Solutions: Seaports". It addresses organized crime, perimeters, lack of police, inadequate container screening, training delays, fragility, and the need for intelligence officers at foreign ports. The report says, "Canadian ports funnel close to four million containers filled with assorted commodities into and out of Canada every year. About 30 percent of all containers arriving at the largest Canadian ports eventually make their way to the United States through transshipping. Any one of these containers could contain chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or explosive devices designed to lay waste to a large Canadian or U.S. target".
http://www.parl.gc.ca/39/1/parlbus/commbus/senate/com-e/defe-e/rep-e/Seaports-e.pdf

US Department of Homeland Secretary Chertoff addressed the American Association of Port Authorities where he insisted that physical inspection of every container would destroy ports, and that a layered risk management approach was the only option.
http://www.dhs.gov/xnews/speeches/sp_1174503082769.shtm

The International Maritime Bureau issued a piracy alert regarding a vessel attacked by armed pirates off Sudan.
http://www.icc-ccs.org/main/all_piracy_al.php

GAO delivered "Railroad Safety--Responses to Posthearing Questions".
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-07-610R

The US-VISIT program remains fraught with operational, technological, and management problems.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-07-632T
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CIM Water
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For coverage of World Water Day, see Recommended Reading, below.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has warned consumers not to drink "Jermuk" brand mineral water due to the risk of exposure to arsenic.
http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2007/NEW01594.html

New York police warn that the pipeline carrying water from the Catskills mountains to New York City is vulnerable, with only 170 full-time officers guarding an area the size of the state of Delaware.
http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070323/NEWS/703230332/-1/NEWS

6. Disaster Reduction Monitor

Natural and manmade events are inevitable, but they need not become disasters. Subscribers to the monthly Disaster Reduction Monitor learn from past incidents to prevent future disasters. It includes analysis of historical events, emerging risks and risk mitigation, and features new techniques to address disaster reduction, ranging from technical advances to regulatory best practices and micro-finance.
http://secure.netsolhost.com/573566.585211/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=SFNT&Store_Code=TP
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DRM Incidents
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Since the start of the year 798 people have died and 8,557 cases have been recorded across nine countries that form part of the so-called “meningitis belt,” a sub-Saharan region stretching from Senegal to Ethiopia that is particularly prone to epidemics and is home to an estimated 300 million people. The worst affected country is Burkina Faso, where 583 people have died and more than 7,300 cases diagnosed between 1 January and 11 March. Some 22 of Burkina Faso’s 55 districts are now classed as being in a state of epidemic. Deaths or diagnosed cases have also been reported in Benin, Chad, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Nigeria and Togo. The World Health Organization and other UN agencies are attempting to contain the deadly outbreak, which could spread even more rapidly during the traditional annual migration period in coming months.
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=21986&Cr=meningitis&Cr1=

A methane explosion at the Ulyanovskaya mine in the Kemerovo region of Siberia has killed at least 107 people: several are still missing. A British engineer was among the dead, in the worst mining disaster in Russia for more than 30 years.

For the second time in less than two months, aging weapons stored in a Mozambique depot near the airport exploded, killing more than 70 people and forcing thousands to flee the area. A previous incident was blamed on high temperatures, but a police investigation is under way.

Cyclone Indlala, the sixth storm to hit the Indian Ocean island of Madagascar this season, has devastated the island. The cyclone killed at least 69 people and uprooted nearly 78,000, causing devastating damage.
http://www.care.org/newsroom/articles/2007/03/20070323_madagascar_cyclone.asp
http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/africa/03/23/madagascar.reut/index.html
http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=70774

Russia suffered a second disaster this week when a fire swept through a home for the elderly and disabled, in the southern Krasnodar region. At least 63 people died, most because they were confined to their beds and unable to flee the fire.

In Guinea, a bridge collapsed under the weight of an overloaded truck. At least 65 people were killed, including eight pregnant women. Seven survivors were seriously injured.

Heavy rain triggered a landslide in northern Pakistan, killing at least 31 people.

On the road from Bangkok, Thailand, to Yasothon province, a bus with mechanical problems caught fire, killing 29 passengers and injuring 31.

Tanzania is suffering its first outbreak of the deadly Rift Valley Fever in nearly a decade. It spread from Kenya, where 139 people have died, and has already killed 16. Dozens more have been admitted to hospital, and student nurses are being deployed to help address the outbreak. Livestock vaccination is also under way.

Last weekend two cargo ships collided in the East China Sea. Nine people are confirmed dead, 12 were rescued, and eight are still missing.

Mount Batutara volcano on an uninhabited Indonesian island erupted, and while this continues local fishermen are unable to use the location as a transit area.
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DRM Response and Recovery
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Indonesia's Mount Talang Volcanology Monitoring Office increased the alert status of the volcano by one level after tremors and smoke increased. Arrangements are in place for evacuation in the affected area of West Sumatra if the alert level increases to four.
http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/news/stories/s1879113.htm

A Mexican judge has ordered the arrest of five Grupo Mexico mining company employees in connection with the death of 65 miners in a February 2006 explosion, of which only two bodies have been recovered.
http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSN1932380820070320
http://www.gmexico.com

Authorities in Pakistani-administered Kashmir have announced plans to close by the end of June all tented camps housing thousands of people displaced by a massive 7.6-magnitude earthquake in October 2005.
http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=70858

The US Chemical Safety Board (CSB) has condemned British oil giant BP's deficiencies, at all levels, which caused the March 2005 Texas City oil refinery explosion in which 15 people died, 43,000 were displaced, and which caused more than $1.5 billion in damages. Cost cutting and lax oversight were two major factors in the disaster. The US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) also failed to inspect plants frequently or carefully enough.

http://galvestondailynews.com/bpexplosion.lasso
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/32d534d8-d5bf-11db-a5c6-000b5df10621.html
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/4644802.html
http://www.bp.com/genericarticle.do?categoryId=2012968&contentId=7031189

The House Committee on Education and Labor held a hearing on the Texas City explosion, where witnesses testified that OSHA is not doing enough to prevent similar disasters.
http://www.house.gov/apps/list/speech/edlabor_dem/rel032207.html

State Farm has been unable to complete a Hurricane Katrina claims settlement in Mississippi after the federal judge found that the initial settlement was too heavily tilted in favor of the insurance company. Class action status has also been denied. State Farm has agreed to reconsider claims, working directly with local regulators.
http://www.doi.state.ms.us/pressrel/pressrel031907.pdf
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/4644802.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/23/business/23insure.html

Team Louisiana released its final report regarding the levee failures of Hurricane Katrina. The lengthy report finds that the Army Corps of Engineers designed and constructed a flawed system that ignored findings of previous inquiries, disregarded repeated warnings more severe storms, shortchanged essential systems to save money, and caved in to local pressure to expand into more low-lying areas.
http://www.dotd.louisiana.gov/administration/teamlouisiana/
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DRM Risks
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The Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS Net) said that Djibouti's ongoing dry spell means that thousands of pastoralists and poor urban households will experience food insecurity in coming months.
http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=70769

The Tropical Storm Risk center issued a revised assessment of the upcoming Atlantic hurricane season, indicating that it will be more active than previously expected, with a high likelihood that activity will be in the top third historically.
http://tsr.mssl.ucl.ac.uk/

The US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released the list of 14,000 workplaces with injury and illness rates higher than average, and offered assistance for better employee protection.
http://www.osha.gov/as/opa/foia/hot_13.html
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DRM Mitigation
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The toxic mud flowing on the Indonesian island of Java since June 2006, after a drilling accident, stopped for 35 minutes for the first time on Monday morning. This lull follows weeks of effort to drop thousands of concrete balls connected by chains into the mouth of the mud volcano. Some 15,000 people have been displaced, and there has been a disastrous impact on the economy. Compensation for the victims has been minimal, and there are calls for the government to step in.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/JAK96282.htm
http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/03/22/news/mud.php

The US Mine Safety and Health Administration published a final rule on civil penalties, used as one means to help ensure that miners have a safe and healthy working environment.
http://www.msha.gov/REGS/FEDREG/FINAL/2007finl/07-1402.pdf

7. Recommended Reading

The theme of World Water Day 2007, marked on 22 March, highlights the increasing significance of water scarcity worldwide and the need for increased integration and cooperation to ensure sustainable, efficient management of scarce water resources. Key numbers:
* Over 1.2 billion people still don’t have access to safe drinking water.
* Of these some 425 million are under 18
* Another 2.6 billion lack basic sanitation, i.e. a toilet.
* By 2025, some 3.5 billion people will live in places where water is scarce or becoming scarce

The agriculture sector is the number one user of water worldwide. Food and Agriculture Organization Director General Jacques Diouf said, "With the right incentives and investments to mitigate risks for individual farmers, improving water control in agriculture holds considerable potential to increase food production and reduce poverty, while ensuring the maintaining of ecosystem services. The potential exists to provide an adequate and sustainable supply of quality water for all, today and in the future. But there is no room for complacency. It is our common responsibility to take the challenge of today's global water crisis and address it in all of its aspects and dimensions.
http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2007/1000520/index.html

The World Health Organization (WHO) notes that 1.6 million people die every year for lack of access to safe water and sanitation, 90 percent children under five, mostly in developing countries. They list ten facts about water scarcity:
* World Water Day is marked every year on 22 March
* Water scarcity affects every continent and four of every ten people in the world
* By 2025 nearly two billion people will be living where water resources per person are below the recommended level of 500 cubic meters per year
* Water scarcity forces people to rely on unsafe sources
* Poor water quality can increase the risk of waterborne diseases
* Water scarcity encourages home storage, which increases the risk of contamination and provides insect breeding grounds
* Scarcity underscores the need for better water management
* The Millennium Development Goal target is to halve by 2015 the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and sanitation
* Everyone needs water and everyone needs to take responsibility
* Do your part by conserving, recycling and protecting water more efficiently
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/statements/2007/s06/en/index.html
http://www.who.int/features/factfiles/water/en/index.html

UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Director General Koichiro Matsuura stressed the threat to peace and poverty eradication posed by the growing scarcity and competition for water. He said, "It is imperative to secure a more effective and equitable allocation of this vital resource".
http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=37165&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html

The European Commission published a report on the performance of EU Member States in implementing the Water Framework Directive, finding that Member States must do more to achieve the directive's objective.
http://www.europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/07/388
http://www.europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=MEMO/07/113

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) released "World's Top Rivers at Risk". This report warns that rivers on every continent are drying out due to climate change, pollution, and dams, threatening severe water shortages. Five of the ten are in Asia: the Yangtze, Mekong, Salween, Ganges and Indus. The other five are Europe’s Danube, the Americas’ La Plata and Rio Grande/Rio Bravo, Africa’s Nile-Lake Victoria and Australia’s Murray-Darling.
http://assets.panda.org/downloads/worldstop10riversatriskfinalmarch13.pdf

The Middle East and North Africa already use 80 percent of the water that falls in the region, while population growth and climate change could cut available water in half by 2050. Note this World Bank report, "Making the Most of Scarcity".
http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/NEWS/0,,contentMDK:21253203~pagePK:64257043~piPK:437376~theSitePK:4607,00.html

Another useful study is "The World Bank and Water in Mexico".
http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/LACEXT/MEXICOEXTN/0,,contentMDK:21259801~pagePK:141137~piPK:141127~theSitePK:338397,00.html

In South Asia, which has the largest rural population in the world and is the most dependent on agriculture, water resources are distributed unevenly and about 20 percent of the population - more than 200 million people - lack access to water services. The World Bank offers these case studies:
* Bangladesh: Country water resources assistance strategy
* India: Country water resources assistance strategy
* Water Resources Management: Restoring Water Bodies
* Better Crops, Higher Incomes for Farmers in Karnataka Watershed
* Pakistan: Country water resources assistance strategy
* Pakistan Water Economy
* Better Management of Indus Basin Waters
* Sri Lanka: Second Community Water Supply
http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/NEWS/0,,contentMDK:21259974~pagePK:34370~piPK:34424~theSitePK:4607,00.html

Emphasizing the dangers of climate change, UN Environment Program director Achim Steiner said, "If we want to avoid 'Water Scarcity' as the permanent theme for the 21st century, a big part of the solution is cuts in greenhouse gas emissions of 60 to 80 percent".
http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?DocumentID=503&ArticleID=5543&l=en

EVENTS:

Canada's new government marked the day with the release of a National Water Strategy.
http://www.ec.gc.ca/default.asp?lang=En&n=714D9AAE-1&news=9E816E06-23CD-4F83-BF64-71A85C002764

In Ecuador World Water Day was marked by protests against the privatization of water, the construction of dams, and the mining industry, and by demands for the new constitution to recognize access to water as a basic human right.
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=37033

Walk for Water in New York City, where UNICEF Executive Director Ann Veneman reminded participants that "Access to clean drinking water is critical for the health of children around the world. In many parts of the world women and children walk long distances to fetch water for their families for drinking, washing and cooking."
http://www.unicef.org/media/media_39167.html

More events are described at the official website:
http://www.unwater.org/wwd07/flashindex.html

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
** Financial Times Special Report: Business and Water
http://www.ft.com/reports/water2007
* IDA at Work - Managing Water Resources and Expanding Access
http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/EXTABOUTUS/IDA/0,,menuPK:51235940~pagePK:118644~piPK:51236156~theSitePK:73154,00.html
* Meeting the Global Water Challenge
http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTWRM/0,,contentMDK:21259263~menuPK:337246~pagePK:64020865~piPK:149114~theSitePK:337240,00.html
* TerrorismCentral
"Water for Life"
https://terrorismcentral.com/Newsletters/2005/032705.html#FeatureArticle
"Water and Disasters: World Water Day 2004"
https://terrorismcentral.com/Newsletters/2004/032804.html#FeatureArticle
"World Water"
https://terrorismcentral.com/Newsletters/2003/032303.html#FeatureArticle
"Water Conflicts"
https://terrorismcentral.com/Newsletters/2002/072802.html#FeatureArticle
* Water for Life Decade
http://www.un.org/waterforlifedecade/

8. Asset Management Network News

On 12 April we are conducting a breakfast seminar, "Islamic Finance: An Introduction". Attendees will interact with international experts from industry, research, security and compliance, to Address:

* The overall marketplace, and the opportunities it presents now and in the future
* Key principles and challenges
* Recent examples and a detailed case study
* Strategic consideration of regulatory and governance issues
* How to take the first steps on your own or with partners

Each attendee will also receive supplementary printed materials for further reference.

Email for additional details, or visit www.tamni.com and click on Seminars.