Academy Award winning actress Julia Roberts will join the Alliance for Clean Cookstoves as “Global Ambassador,” and together with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will help to bring attention to the global issue that kills nearly 2 million people annually: toxic smoke from unsafe and inefficient cookstoves.
Ms. Roberts first learned about the Alliance’s effort while interviewing Secretary of State Clinton for a special airing on the Oprah Winfrey Network. “Extraordinary Moms,” presented and executive produced by Ms. Roberts, airs Saturday, May 7 from 8:00-9:30 p.m. (EDT/PDT).
“Nearly 2 million people around the world — mostly women and children — die each year from an activity that many of us take for granted: cooking for our families,” Ms. Roberts said. “I am proud to stand with Secretary Clinton to work to reduce the senseless and preventable deaths from unsafe cooking conditions in the developing world and I look forward to contributing to the important work of the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves.”
A new post at the http://www.whitehouse.gov/ blog will interest many American citizens living in India:
Last week, in conjunction with the release of its annual Human Rights Report, the State Department officially launched HumanRights.gov, a new central portal for international human rights-related information generated by the United States Government. HumanRights.gov was designed in the letter and spirit of President Obama’s Open Government Directive issued in January 2009, requiring Federal agencies to take specific steps to achieve key milestones in transparency, participation, and collaboration.
Robert O. Blake, Jr., Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, recently testified before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia. In wide-ranging comments, Assistant Secretary Blake touched on a number of topics of interest to Americans living and working in India.
Some excerpts are below, but you can read the entire testimony at the state.gov Web site.
The United States seeks to deepen its strategic partnership with India, highlighted by President Obama’s recent visit to Mumbai and New Delhi in November 2010. Mirroring India’s economic and political dynamism, the entire region is in the midst of a positive trajectory towards prosperity and peace. The United States aims to bolster this regional progress by promoting greater integration, which can build ties that will reinforce democratic institutions, build economies, and enhance security.
Enrollment allows you to record information about your upcoming trip abroad that the Department of State can use to assist you in case of an emergency.