United Nation

New UN General Assembly president attacks Western dominance

New UN General Assembly president attacks Western dominance New York  - The new UN General Assembly president, a Nicaraguan Roman Catholic priest, strongly attacked western dominance and the power of the UN Security Council over the world body as the UN General Assembly opened Tuesday.

Father Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann, 75, said in his speech opening the 63rd session of the General Assembly that the United Nations should be democratized, and high-level talks should be held to put an end to Western power.

UN relief team to assess conditions in Georgia, South Ossetia

UN relief team to assess conditions in Georgia, South Ossetia New York  - A United Nations humanitarian mission will visit areas affected by last month's conflict between Russian and Georgian forces, including South Ossetia, which has seceded from Georgia, the UN said Tuesday.

The mission will be in the region from Wednesday to Saturday "to gain first-hand knowledge of the humanitarian and human rights situations and needs on the ground, including the position of those displaced by the conflict and other vulnerable groups," the UN said.

Nicaragua priest to open UN General Assembly Tuesday

Nicaragua priest to open UN General Assembly TuesdayNew York  - The UN General Assembly prepared Monday to open its 63rd annual session, confronted with a host of challenges topped by the resilient issues of fighting poverty and hunger, disease and climate change.

The 192-nation body was to begin the new session on Tuesday under the presidency of Father Miguel d'Escoto Brockman, a Roman Catholic priest from Nicaragua, the first time a clergyman will take the reins of the body dominated by non-aligned, Arab and Islamic countries.

UN deminers in southern Lebanon to be honoured with top award

UN deminers in southern Lebanon to be honoured with top award Beirut  - The United Nations refugee agency announced Monday that its top honour will go to the world body's bomb disposal experts for their work in southern Lebanon clearing munitions which have threatened the lives of civilians since the 2006 conflict with Israel.

The Nansen Refugee Award will be given to the UN Mine Action Coordination Centre of South Lebanon for its efforts to rid the region of cluster munitions and other dangerous remnants of war to allow the safe return of civilians in the area.

Ban says "Solartaxi" is an answer to alternative energy

Ban says "Solartaxi" is an answer to alternative energyNew York  - UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon rode a Swiss-made, fully solar-powered vehicle to work at UN headquarters on Friday as part of his efforts to raise awareness of dangers of climate change.

He has already raised the thermostat by 3 degrees Celsius at UN headquarters during the summer to set an example of UN responsibility to save the climate by lowering emissions of carbon dioxide from the old UN structure built in the early 1950s.

UN reports lopsided results in poverty reduction worldwide

UN reports lopsided results in poverty reduction worldwide New York  - An ambitious goal to eradicate extreme poverty in the world was thwarted by the recent upward trend in food prices, the United Nations said Friday in a report reviewing its Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Poverty and hunger worsened in Africa, while China - with a population of 1.3 billion - was praised for pulling an estimated 400 million out of poverty.

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