http://www.un.org/apps/news/infocusRel.asp?infocusID=70&Body=Palestin&Body1=

The Middle East is a vastly complex region, both in terms of its cultural history and the very intricate political economy that is in flux throughout the area. The UN News Centre area dedicated to the Middle East will help interested parties keep abreast of developments in the area, along with providing them access to information about the UN's activities and initiatives in the region. The site organizes the material into a number of sections, such as those that contain press remarks and statements from the Secretary General, resolutions from the Secretary Council, and documents from the General Assembly relating to the Middle East. The homepage also contains specific information on the UN peace missions in such locales as Lebanon and the Golan Heights. As with most sites offered by the UN, the materials on this site are available in Arabic, French, Russian, Spanish, and Chinese. [KMG]

http://www.hti.umich.edu/m/moajrnl/

The Making of America (MOA) project at the University of Michigan is one of the oldest collaborative efforts designed to make a wide range of historical journals available online. Started in the fall of 1995, the project has successfully offered access to thousands of pages of journals and books that document American social history from the antebellum period through Reconstruction. With generous assistance from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the MOA digital archive has digitized numerous journals from this period, and made them widely accessible. Visitors will appreciate looking through such pieces as the "Anatomy of Selfishness" from the February 1887 of Catholic World, or the entire contents of the Southern Literary Messenger from November 1845. [KMG]

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/

During its long history, the National Geographic Society (and its accompanying magazine) has reported a host of important scientific discoveries from around the world. Keeping that fact in mind, many users will not be surprised to learn about the presence of the National Geographic News site, which provides access to many of the day's most compelling news, including updates on the Space Shuttle launches and new archaeological discoveries. The news stories are thematically organized around such familiar topics as animals and nature, health, and the environment. The feature section titled "Pulse of the Planet" is a nice find, along with the "Offbeat" area, which offers a bit of lighter news coverage, such as the news that a grizzly bear-sized catfish caught in Thailand. [KMG]

http://hrw.org/photos/2005/darfur/drawings/introduction.htm

The situation in Darfur in Sudan has fallen off the mainstream media radar as of late, despite the fact that the situation in that part of the world remains fairly desperate. In February 2005, Human Rights Watch researchers Dr. Annie Sparrow and Olivier Bercault visited Darfur to assess a number of issues in the refugee camps in the region. In doing so, thy collected numerous drawings from children in the region that documented their own experiences during the recent months. On this site, visitors can view these drawings, many of which depict these experiences (such as the bombings by Sudanese government forces) in harrowing detail. Additionally, visitors can also listen to Sparrow talk about her mission and work in and around the area. [KMG]

http://www.ccmr.cornell.edu/education/ask/

The Internet offers many opportunities to find quality answers to a host of important questions, ranging from the fields of the humanities to those in the hard sciences. One important resource that offers answers to a number of thorny questions is the Ask a Scientist! website created and maintained by the Centers for Materials Research at Cornell University. The site had its debut on September 17, 1998, when Professor Neil Ashcroft answered the timely question, "What is Jupiter made of?". Visitors to the site can browse or search for previously answered questions, and of course, they are also welcome to submit their own questions for consideration. Visitors will definitely want to view the "Frequently Viewed Questions", which feature responses to such favorites queries as "How can you tell if a diamond is real or fake?" or "How is glass made?" [KMG]

http://www.who.int/csr/disease/influenza/en/index.html

While many public health risks take turns dominating the media spotlight, influenza continues to be a very real risk for billions of people around the globe. While the most well-known influenza pandemic remains the world-wide outbreak of the disease in 1918, the World Health Organization (WHO) continues to explore and track incidences of this disease in an effort to avoid another outbreak. On the WHO page dedicated to this disease, visitors can read a factsheet about the disease, and also peruse the organization's mission statement and priority activities as regards monitoring influenza. The site also contains links to rather timely documents that include a set of policy recommendations for strengthening the response to pandemic influenza and also on the subject of avian influenza. Not surprisingly, visitors can also learn about the latest outbreaks of the disease as reported by WHO officials and correspondents. [KMG]