Somalia's Prime Minister Abdulweli Mohamed Ali, left, with Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan before a conference in support of Somalia.

Teams of Turkish humanitarian aid workers and volunteers have been successfully assisting in rebuilding Somalia.  Their efforts have so far been focused on rebuilding public buildings in the capital, Mogadishu.  While many governments have stayed away, Turkey opened an embassy there last year and has committed itself to helping reconstruct the war-torn country.      

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In 2004, a 9.1 magnitude earthquake struck Indonesia causing a 100-foot tsunami and killing more than 200,000 people. Located on the Ring of Fire, an area in the Pacific Basin that is located on fault lines and prone to earthquakes and tsunamis, Indonesia has experienced two earthquakes this year. In April, an 8.6 magnitude earthquake struck the country; seismologists feared it may have increased pressure on the fault line that caused the 2004 earthquake, making a giant tsunami more likely in coming decades. In early June, the country experienced another earthquake with a magnitude of 5.9 that caused buildings to sway in West Java. There were no immediate reports of damage.

The Center for Rebuilding Sustainable Communities after Disasters (CRSCAD), in collaboration with University College, offers a unique opportunity to study, and experience first-hand, best practices and successful examples of post-disaster community building in various parts of the world.

Hosted by Sichuan University, participants will spend two intensive weeks in Chengdu, learning about various dimensions of post-disaster reconstruction. In addition to lectures, research, and case studies, students will have field trips the Dujiangyan Irrigation System and Sanxingdui Museum. The Dujiangyan Irrigation System has been constructed to reclaim lands ravaged by the flooding of the Minjang River. Once decimated, the Chengdu Plain has been transformed by the study and hard work of the local people, who now live peacefully and affluently. The project is honored as the "Treasure of the Sichuan" and plays a crucial role in draining off floodwater, irrigating farms and providing water resources for more than 50 cities in the province.

Polio Emergency Concerns  

Go Beyond Public Health

 

A child receives the polio vaccine in Pakistan, where the number of polio cases has halved compared with this time last year. ARSHAD ARBAB/epa/Corbis

The recent declaration by the World Health Assembly of polio as a public health emergency is as much about eradicating the disease as it is about governance, say experts, who warn that failure would be tantamount to the world's most costly public health underachievement. The global effort since 1988 to wipe out the polio virus is being threatened by a $945 million funding shortfall even as it approaches the endgame in parts of Asia and Africa. (From UN Wire) 

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TheAtlantic.com

Nature News      

As Japan considers restarting some of its nuclear reactors for the summer, a survey from the Pew Global Attitudes Project finds that 70% of Japanese say their country should reduce its reliance on nuclear energy.  The poll, conducted this spring as the country's last nuclear power stations went offline, finds a much larger number taking this position than in the weeks following last year's nuclear meltdown at the quake and tsunami-damaged Fukushima Daiichi power plant. (From the PEW Research Center)  

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