Yazidis ask for US help, Iran bans permanent birth control, and progress in Haiti

Although President Obama has authorized air strikes and humanitarian aid for the Yazidi people fleeing from Islamic militants in Northern Iraq, he stated in a press conference yesterday that he will not re-introduce American ground troops into Iraq. Now, American Yazidi and a small group of Iraqi Yazidi that served as interpreters for the U.S. Army in Iraq are in Washington lobbying for immediate US military intervention. The BBC’s Barbara Plett Usher has the story.
And, in an attempt to promote population growth, Iran’s parliament recently voted to ban female sterilization and vasectomies, except in urgent health risk cases. The law also bans birth control advertisements in media. The law still must be approved in accordance with Islamic Law by religious leaders, but that is considered a formality, according to Rothna Begum, Women’s Rights researcher on the Middle East and North Africa for Human Rights Watch. She says the law is part of a larger movement to keep Iranian women in more traditional roles. Begum will tell us what this could mean for Iranian women.
Then, this week’s World History Minute is August 19, 1839—the birthday of photography. Historian John Schmidt will tell us the story.
Next, in August, President Obama signed into law the “Assessing Progress in Haiti Act of 2014.” The law requires the Secretary of State to give progress reports to Congress on the post-earthquake recovery efforts on the small island nation. The usually contentious U.S. House passed the Act unanimously. The law also forces regular examination of Haitian government efforts in areas such as rule of law, corruption and sustainable housing. Many observers note that measuring poverty-reduction is missing from the law’s powers. Almost 60 percent of Haitians live in poverty and around a quarter live in extreme poverty, according to the U.N. Robert Maguire is professor of International Affairs and director of the Latin American and Hemispheric Studies Program at George Washington University. He’ll give opinions on the law and of recovery efforts, nearly four years after the catastrophic earthquake.

(photo: Displaced Iraqis from the Yazidi community settle under a bridge in Dahuk, 260 miles northwest of Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, Aug. 14, 2014. (AP Photo/ Khalid Mohammed))