I only have a quick few minutes to blog today -- I'm up to my neck working on the next print edition of Foreign Policy -- so I just thought I'd point out that all members of the Clinton family are in New York this week. Saving the world is a family affair! Secretary Clinton has been there since the weekend, and yesterday, as seen in the photo above with Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive, made remarks at the signing of two memoranda of understanding on recovery efforts in Haiti.

Husband Bill Clinton and newlywed daughter Chelsea Clinton are also in New York for the Clinton Global Initiative. See photos below.*

*Earlier I hadn't been able to upload the Bill and Chelsea photos, but now the uploader is working!

Can you even begin to imagine the heartache of watching your newborn baby being tossed into the sea? That's what happened to Salima, the young Somali refugee in the photo above. I was alerted to her photo and story by an email last week from the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The woman who captured Salima's image, photojournalist Alixandra Fazzina, is being honored with the UNHCR's Nansen Refugee Award for her "tireless dedication to uncovering and portraying the overlooked human consequences of war." Fazzina spent two years in Somalia following refugees escaping across the Gulf of Aden to the Arabian Peninsula. Salima's portrait graces the cover of Fizzina's resulting book, A Million Shillings: Escape from Somalia,
forthcoming in September.

Here's a summarized paraphrasing of the moving caption that accompanied Salima's photo:

Basatine, Yemen, March 2008 -- Salima, 19, now lives in a cramped, dark safe house controlled by human traffickers. Once she saves up $25 through begging, the traffickers will drive her to the desert, allowing her to get to Saudi Arabia, where she'll most likely spend her days enslaved as a maid in someone's home.

The last six weeks have been a nightmare for Salima. She had been living in Mogadishu, Somalia, with her baby boy and husband. Six weeks ago, while pregnant with her second child, she left her home to buy bread. While out, mortars hit her house. "I found my husband and child, but they were not with us anymore," she told Fazzina, the photojournalist. The two had perished in a random attack perpetrated by the very soldiers who had been entrusted to protect the people.

Seven months pregnant, Salima decided to escape. She journeyed northward 20 days in a truck until she reached the area near Bosaso. Salima, along with 120 others, entered the water and were hauled onto a small, wooden boat. Because she was pregnant, she was allowed to sit with her legs out. Everyone else had to sit with their knee to their chins. 

In the rough seas, Salima began to get contractions and started bleeding. The crew, who had been drinking gin and smoking marijuana, and who were armed with guns, knives, and hammers, moved her to the front of the boat. She thought they were helping her. Salima passed out. When she woke up, she saw a crew member toss her newborn baby into the sea -- like it was nothing more than a ball. "My baby was all I had left of my husband," Salima told Fizzina.

After landing at a deserted Yemeni beach, Salima was registered at a UNHCR-operated center. She even saw a doctor, but it was too painful for her to talk about what had happened. Now, all alone, without family, she is a traumatized teenager, barely an adult. So, she's back with the traffickers. Her final destination? "Where Allah takes me," she says. Realistically, she'll toil in virtual slavery as a maid  in someone's home in  Saudi Arabia.

On June 18, in honor of June 20's World Refugee Day, Secretary Clinton spoke about what the refugee issue means for Americans:

[Supporting refugees] goes to the core of who we are as a people and a country because the United States is not only a nation of immigrants -- we are also a nation of refugees. We know from our collective experience that most people want the same basic things in life: safe communities, food, water, lives free of political and religious and other persecution. And when these basic needs go unmet and families are forced to flee their homes in desperation, we should all be there with a helping hand.

She also said:

We help because it is the right thing to do. We happen to believe it's also the smart thing to do, but even in cases where it doesn't appear all that smart, it's still often right. And therefore, we proceed.

The United States is "definitely committed to the consideration of India" on the U.N. Security Council, Secretary Clinton said yesterday in a news conference (seen above) after meeting with Indian External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna as part of the U.S.-India Strategic Dialogue.

In her opening remarks to the dialogue, Clinton had said:

India's growing global role requires us to reassess institutions of global governance. India's rise will certainly be a factor in any future consideration of reform of the United Nations Security Council.

Later in the day, when Clinton and Krishna met with the media, a reporter from the Press Trust of India asked Clinton, "[Y]ou spoke about India's being an indispensable partner and trusted friend. So what is holding United States from endorsing India as a member of -- permanent member of -- the United Nations Security Council?"

After discussing other issues for a bit, Clinton answered:

"[W]e don't have any way forward yet on Security Council reform, but we are obviously very committed to considering India. At this point, as you probably know, there is no consensus in the world, and that is the challenge of dealing with multilateral organizations. I think as Minister Krishna said at another point in our meeting today, once you get to multilateral negotiations it slows down considerably. But we are definitely committed to the consideration of India."

Other notes about Clinton's big India day:

In her opening remarks, Clinton made some highly complimentary remarks about India:

We've said it many times, but it cannot be said too often: India is the world's largest democracy, its second-fastest growing economy, and a rising power, not only in Asia but globally. It has vibrant democratic institutions, a very free press, a robust civil society, and an innovative private sector. It is also a model of democratic development that is lifting millions of people out of poverty by widening access to tools of opportunity, such as education, health care, food, water, and jobs.

India's rise is a defining storyline of the early 21st century .

Clinton also called upon India to open its economy more, saying:

Together, we must reduce barriers to trade and investment going in both directions. And we urge India to reduce or ease caps on investment in critical sectors, which would help open markets and create millions of jobs in both countries.

She also expressed hope that India would pass legislation allowing foreign universities to open campuses in India, a topic addressed by Sudip Mazumdar in the recent FP piece, "Will There Be an Indian Harvard?" Clinton said:

[W]e hope that India will pass legislation now under review that would allow foreign universities to open campuses in India in accordance with appropriate regulations, of course. A number of U.S. institutions have expressed interest in opening Indian campuses and working with Indian scholars and students, whose talents are internationally renowned."

Both Clintons -- Hillary and Bill -- are at the United Nations today! They're attending an international donors conference on Haiti. (As you may know, Bill Clinton is U.N. special envoy for Haiti.) They are not sitting next to another, though. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Haitian President René Préval are seated between them.

The Clintons looking more studious:

Secretary Clinton had another busy day in New York. Above, she listens attentively during a bilateral meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev (in purple tie) at the Waldorf Astoria hotel.

A couple of amusing tidbits about Clinton in the news:

•In the just-published book, Barack and Michelle: Portrait of an American Marriage, author Christopher Andersen claims that Michelle Obama was crucial in Barack Obama's decision not to select Clinton as his running mate during last year's presidential election. Michelle reportedly told Barack, "Do you really want Bill and Hillary just down the hall from you in the White House? … Could you live with that?"

•In the soon-to-be-published book The Clinton Tapes: Wrestling History with the President, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Taylor Branch discusses how late Russian President Boris Yeltsin was found drunk and in search of a pizza on Pennsylvania Avenue during a 1995 visit to Washington. Yeltsin's former head of security says the alleged incident is a lie and blamed it on Clinton: "I think this book was written with the participation of Hillary Clinton who never had much sympathy for Yeltsin."

Photo: Olivier Doulier-Pool/Getty Images

I just returned from the Brookings Institution, where I heard Secretary Clinton deliver a speech previewing the United States' priorities during next week's U.N. General Assembly session.

Before diving into her speech though, Clinton remarked on President Obama's announcement yesterday of changes in the U.S. missile defense program. She said the new system stemmed from a "lengthy and in-depth assessment" of the threats posed by Iran and is based on the United States' "best understanding of Iran's capability."

The new system will "deploy sooner," be "more comprehensive," and have a "better capacity to protect." Clinton said it will "deploy technology that's actually proven" to work and "does what missile defense is actually supposed to do." She added that criticisms of the new system are "not connected to the facts."

Then Clinton delved into her official remarks. Nonproliferation of nuclear weapons will be the main topic that the United States will address next week. Clinton will lead the U.S. delegation to a conference on the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, the first time that a U.S. secretary of state has attended such a conference.

Another key topic for the United States next week will be Iran. The issue isn't Iran's right to develop nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, she said. Rather, she firmly stressed, the problem is that for years Iran has not lived up to its responsibilities to demonstrate that its program is "exclusively for peaceful purposes."

Clinton said that the United States' past refusal to engage Iran had yielded no progress and added, "We remain ready to engage." (Whether Iran is ready to engage on talking nukes, however, is an entirely different story.)

Some other tidbits:

•Clinton said the United States and Iraq have entered a new, "more mature partnership."

•Clinton will be chairing a session on women, peace, and security at the U.N. General Assembly session. She said, "If women are free from violence and afforded their rights," they can be "change agents."

•On corruption, Clinton said it was a "security problem," not just a "good government concern."

•Finally, at the end, Brookings Institution President Strobe Talbott asked Clinton about U.S. health-care reform. Clinton said, "We're going to be successful," but went on to say it "won't be pretty."

Photo: MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images