UN summit scorecard poor
Anti-poverty campaigners are disappointed with the outcome of the United Nations summit which saw 159 leaders adopt an Outcome Document on development and reform making. The campaigners have criticised the lack of progress made on poverty reduction. Guardian

Voter turnout low in Afghanistan elections
Despite a record turnout of Afghani women in the country’s first Parliamentary poll in 36 years, overall voter turnout is low. Many Afghanis are frustrated by the slow development in their country and the acceptance of old warlords as candidates in the election. The Age

Self-harm attempted by hundreds in detention
Nearly 900 detainees in Australian detention centres have attempted to harm themselves in the past three years according to Immigration Department figures. Half of the attempts occurred at the Baxter detention centre in South Australia. ABC

Claims of false travel documents issued by authorities
A Catholic human rights agency has alleged that the Immigration Department has issued false travel documents to long-term detainees in order to deport them. Edmund Rice Centre Director, Phil Glendenning says he believes the Department is using the same tactics as people smugglers in giving false information to enable a deportee to pass through the border of another country. ABC

Zimbabweans like to eat potatoes
While aid agencies report that four million Zimbabweans face famine, the country’s President, Robert Mugabe, says his people are happy. After his election in 1979, Zimbabwe became one of Africa’s most successful economies but an increasingly repressive leadership has seen hundreds of thousands of urban poor lose their homes in a recent “clean-up” campaign. The Independent

World sheriff runs short of gun powder
“If only there had been such sunny optimism at the UN, where everything seemed in place to enact historic reforms: a broad consensus the UN needed to change, a framework written by the Secretary-General, a big occasion - its 60th anniversary - and an audience; more than 150 world leaders.

Reuters Alertnet
This is the website of the humanitarian news network which provides up-to-date coverage on humanitarian crises around the world. Emergencies can be researched by topic or country; there are picture galleries and also the latest from Non-Government organisations working in the emergency field. www.alertnet.org/index.htm

World View
This program offers local and international news and current affairs as well as an exploration of diverse perspectives and issues in Australian society. Recent programs, also available on the website and via podcast, include “Islamic Youth Forum” and “Muslim Leadership and Terrorism – Could it happen here?”

SBS Radio, Monday to Friday, 6am and 5pm

Prayer after Katrina
Be present, O God, with those who suffer today in shelters, hot and weary from too little sleep and too much fear. Let them know they are not alone.