The InterDependent

The Valentine’s Day chocolates you munched last month probably originated in Côte d’Ivoire, where violence is escalating after a disputed election, threatening to plunge the country into another civil war. The nation is the largest exporter of the cocoa bean, and its price reached a 32-year high in New York last week as an export ban remains in effect.

To gain more influence in resolving the political standoff in Côte d’Ivoire, the United States Treasury has ordered financial sanctions against Laurent Gbagbo, who lost the country’s Nov. 28 presidential election and refuses to cede office to the internationally recognized winner, Alassane Ouattara, who won 54 percent of the vote.

Hurricane Tomas, striking Haiti a glancing blow at the end of last week with heavy rain and winds, has brought flooding that sharply increases the potential for a major cholera epidemic, according to early reports in the wake of the storm.

Photographing the range of United Nations activities from its New York City headquarters is a logistical challenge only for the hearty. Imagine organizing, editing and distributing images from 15 peacekeeping missions and hundreds of Secretariat operations worldwide, a task that would make even the most experienced photo editor weary if not leery.