tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8863537220904292512026-10-19T23:22:15.313+01:00News Rage InternationalNews Rage International is a collection of stories about really important things that are happening in the world today. The stories are uncensored and unsanitised so it is hoped they will give you a clearer understanding about what's going on around you. The writers might get a little angry sometimes but that's just because they feel passionate about what they are sharing.Graeme Syedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07716222922123749518noreply@blogger.comBlogger1084125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-886353722090429251.post-14466414634703166082009-09-10T22:05:00.003+01:002009-09-11T12:49:15.219+01:00TACKLING SCOURGE OF PIRACY REQUIRES BROADER APPROACH, UN OFFICIAL SAYSContinuing piracy-related incidents off Somalia and their increasing sophistication illustrates the weaknesses of an entirely sea-based approach to combating the scourge, a senior United Nations official said today. João Honwana, Director of the Africa I Division of the Department of Political Affairs (DPA), told a meeting of the Contact Group on piracy off the coast of Somalia – held at UN Graeme Syedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07716222922123749518noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-886353722090429251.post-52340634437299759222009-09-10T20:05:00.006+01:002009-09-11T12:45:44.066+01:00UN AGENCY CALLS ON ISRAEL TO LIFT BOOK BLOCKADE OF GAZA SCHOOLSThe main United Nations agency caring for Palestinian refugees today called on Israel to lift its blockade of Gaza to allow in educational materials for schools, stressing that these can serve as a major weapon in promoting tolerance and peace. "There is a long history of <"http://www.un.org/unrwa/english.html">UNRWA experiencing obstacles with the Israeli authorities in getting educationalGraeme Syedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07716222922123749518noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-886353722090429251.post-33386326475614234662009-09-10T20:05:00.004+01:002009-09-11T12:43:39.108+01:00BAN VOICES CONTINUED UN SUPPORT FOR INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURTSecretary-General Ban Ki-moon today expressed the continued support of the United Nations for the work of the International Criminal Court (<"http://www.icc-cpi.int/Menus/ICC">ICC), which he said has become the "centrepiece" of the global criminal justice system since it came into existence only several years ago. "The establishment of the International Criminal Court was a landmark in the Graeme Syedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07716222922123749518noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-886353722090429251.post-30842103044580949192009-09-10T19:06:00.009+01:002009-09-11T12:36:52.020+01:00FOOD SHORTAGES IN GUATEMALA THREATEN HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS, WARNS UN AGENCYUrgent funding is needed to help combat an acute hunger crisis that is ravaging much of Guatemala, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has warned. The agency cautioned that money only exists to provide food aid to some tens of thousands of families in Guatemala until the end of September, including the provision of a fortified food to 100,000 children under the age of three and 50,000 Graeme Syedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07716222922123749518noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-886353722090429251.post-60621470417884638712009-09-10T19:06:00.006+01:002009-09-11T09:02:27.239+01:00AROUND 88,000 PEOPLE DISPLACED BY FLOODS IN BURKINA FASO, UN REPORTSAn estimated 48,000 people uprooted by severe flooding in Burkina Faso are sheltering in temporary accommodation such as schools, churches and public buildings while another 40,000 are living with host families, the United Nations reported today. A UN Disaster Assessment and Coordination (<"http://ochaonline.un.org/Default.aspx?tabid=1414">UNDAC) team that went to Burkina Faso in the wake Graeme Syedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07716222922123749518noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-886353722090429251.post-85267863444045370182009-09-10T19:06:00.005+01:002009-09-11T08:59:15.125+01:00PAKISTAN: UN STEPS UP STRUGGLE TO GET CHILDREN BACK TO SCHOOL AFTER MASS DISPLACEMENTA shortfall of around $20 million in educational funding is hampering efforts to get Pakistani children back to school in the aftermath of the mass exodus in the north-west of the country during the recent conflict in the area, the United Nations humanitarian arm announced today. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (<"http://ochaonline.un.org/">OCHA) reported that Graeme Syedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07716222922123749518noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-886353722090429251.post-8087700258057555382009-09-10T17:06:00.002+01:002009-09-11T08:57:08.565+01:00CYPRUS LEADERS DISCUSS EXECUTIVE OF UNITED COUNTRY AT UN-BACKED TALKSGreek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders today discussed issues related to the election of the president and vice president of a united republic as they continued United Nations-backed talks on unifying the Mediterranean island. Both sides put forward new "bridging proposals," Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's Special Adviser on Cyprus Alexander Downer told journalists following the talks between Graeme Syedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07716222922123749518noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-886353722090429251.post-12817710414930042632009-09-10T17:05:00.002+01:002009-09-11T08:55:06.993+01:00UN AGENCY HAILS 40TH ANNIVERSARY OF LANDMARK AFRICAN REFUGEE CONVENTIONToday marks the 40th anniversary of an African refugee convention, which the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (<"http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/home">UNCHR) hails as "groundbreaking" for having paved the way for millions on the continent to receive protection and assistance. Under the 1951 UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, a refugee was defined as a Graeme Syedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07716222922123749518noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-886353722090429251.post-46740695600954314362009-09-10T16:05:00.002+01:002009-09-11T08:52:09.323+01:00DANGEROUS RADIOACTIVE SOURCES REMOVED FROM LEBANON BY UN NUCLEAR WATCHDOGThe United Nations nuclear watchdog has safely removed powerful radioactive sources out of Lebanon, including Cobalt-60, a single source of which is enough to kill a person within minutes if directly exposed. The mission was completed on 30 August, after a plane carrying the high-activity cargo safely touched down in Russia, where the sources are now securely and safely stored, the International Graeme Syedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07716222922123749518noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-886353722090429251.post-36457228058356725822009-09-10T15:06:00.003+01:002009-09-11T08:49:34.309+01:00NUMBER OF DEATHS OF CHILDREN UNDER FIVE CONTINUES TO DROP, REPORTS UNICEFThe number of children dying before their fifth birthday has decreased steadily over the past few years and fell to under 9 million in 2008, thanks in part to greater use of health interventions such as vaccinations and insecticide-treated bednets to prevent malaria, the United Nations Children's Fund (<"http://www.unicef.org/index.php">UNICEF) <"http://www.unicef.org/media/media_51087.Graeme Syedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07716222922123749518noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-886353722090429251.post-49286274547476321642009-09-10T01:05:00.001+01:002009-09-10T12:51:46.951+01:00HAITI ADVANCING TOWARDS STABILITY BUT MUCH MORE NEEDS TO BE DONE – UNHaiti has "a remarkable opportunity" to overcome decades of misrule and neglect, but major hurdles remain and the international community must step up its support to ensure the Caribbean country can consolidate its gains, the United Nations Special Envoy and former United States president Bill Clinton said today. Addressing an <"http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs//2009/sc9739.doc.htm">open Graeme Syedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07716222922123749518noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-886353722090429251.post-45134436624620284922009-09-09T21:05:00.001+01:002009-09-10T12:48:41.126+01:00ISRAEL’S APPROVAL OF MORE SETTLEMENTS SPARKS BAN’S DEEP CONCERNThe Israeli Government's recent approval of additional settlement construction in the occupied Palestinian territory has sparked Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's deep concern, with the United Nations chief reiterating his call for an end to all settlement activity. The illegal building is contrary to both international law and the so-called Roadmap plan for Israel and Palestine to live side by Graeme Syedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07716222922123749518noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-886353722090429251.post-20469333384112263962009-09-09T20:05:00.002+01:002009-09-10T12:45:50.048+01:00UN URGES DONORS TO BOOST AID TO POOR COUNTRIES DESPITE ECONOMIC CRISISFacing possible shortfalls in funding due to the global economic crisis, the United Nations Development Programme (<"http://content.undp.org/go/newsroom/2009/september/helen-clark-second-regular-session-of-the-executive-board-of-undp-unfpa.en">UNDP) today called on donors to "continue, and ideally boost, their current commitments" to help the agency pull the world's developing countries outGraeme Syedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07716222922123749518noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-886353722090429251.post-70581600897071959052009-09-09T19:06:00.006+01:002009-09-10T12:43:24.276+01:00UN-BACKED FORUM EXAMINES LOW-CARBON INDUSTRIAL FUTURE FOR ASIASome 1,000 participants kicked off a United Nations-backed conference in Manila today focusing on the transition of Asian economies to a more resource-efficient and low-carbon pattern of industrial development. The gathering is hosted by the Government of the Philippines in cooperation with the UN Industrial Development Organization (<"http://www.unido.org/index.php?id=7881&tx_ttnews[Graeme Syedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07716222922123749518noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-886353722090429251.post-14671852773219209382009-09-09T19:06:00.003+01:002009-09-10T12:39:25.696+01:00LAURA BUSH JOINS SENIOR UN OFFICIALS IN CALL FOR GREATER EFFORTS TO BOOST GLOBAL LITERACYFormer United States First Lady Laura Bush has added her voice to a chorus of United Nations officials underscoring the importance of bolstering global efforts to increase the number of people who can read and write around the world. "Literacy is at the core of sustainable solutions to the world's greatest challenges," stressed Ms. Bush, who is an Honorary Ambassador for the UN Literacy Decade (Graeme Syedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07716222922123749518noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-886353722090429251.post-51307036952705995962009-09-09T18:08:00.005+01:002009-09-10T12:37:31.189+01:00MALE CIRCUMCISION COST-EFFECTIVE MEANS TO PREVENT HIV – UN-BACKED REPORTMale circumcision is a cost-effective means to prevent the spread of HIV, according to a new United Nations-backed report, which found that one HIV infection could be averted for every five to 15 procedures performed on heterosexual men. Using a 10-year time horizon, the study put the cost of averting one HIV infection in high HIV prevalence areas between $150 and $900. Published in the open Graeme Syedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07716222922123749518noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-886353722090429251.post-73462308689675560422009-09-09T18:07:00.001+01:002009-09-10T12:34:41.102+01:00UN BACKS KENYAN APPEAL FOR $81 MILLION TO RESTORE CRITICAL FOREST AREAKenya launched an appeal for $81 million to fund efforts halting the degradation of its Mau Forests Complex, the United Nations Environment Programme (<"http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?DocumentID=596&ArticleID=6302&l=en">UNEP) announced today. In addition to being the single most important source of water for direct consumption in the Rift Valley and western Graeme Syedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07716222922123749518noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-886353722090429251.post-81676823184249242002009-09-09T18:06:00.003+01:002009-09-10T12:32:52.213+01:00IN IRAQ, UN MISSION BACKS VOTER REGISTRATION EFFORTSThe head of the United Nations mission in Iraq has welcomed what he described as growing confidence in the electoral process there, and given his backing to the voter registration process, in preparation for parliamentary polls early next year. "The importance of next January's elections for the future of Iraq cannot be overstated," said Ad Melkert, who is also the Secretary-General's Special Graeme Syedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07716222922123749518noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-886353722090429251.post-45403551047096238622009-09-09T17:05:00.003+01:002009-09-10T12:29:20.091+01:00MIGIRO WARNS THAT ECONOMIC TURMOIL HAS EXACERBATED VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMENThe scourge of violence against women has worsened as a result of the global financial downturn over the past year, Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro said today as she urged some of the world's richest countries to lead the way in turning the many international pledges to support women and girls into concrete results. In a keynote address in Rome to a ministerial-level conference on Graeme Syedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07716222922123749518noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-886353722090429251.post-3187200548641513842009-09-09T16:05:00.002+01:002009-09-10T12:26:12.980+01:00UN REPORTS POINT TO POSSIBLE WAR CRIMES IN EASTERN DR CONGOWith two new United Nations reports detailing human rights abuses – including possible war crimes – carried out by both Government forces and rebels in the volatile far east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the world body's top rights official today stressed the urgent need for reforming the country's security and judicial systems. Fundamental improvements in these sectors "are of Graeme Syedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07716222922123749518noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-886353722090429251.post-83381080895726958152009-09-09T15:05:00.002+01:002009-09-10T12:22:59.568+01:00INTERPRETER’S DEATH SPOTLIGHTS PERILS FACED BY JOURNALISTS IN AFGHANISTAN – UN OFFICIALThe death of an Afghan interpreter who was killed during a rescue operation to free him and New York Times journalist Stephen Farrell from Taliban captivity highlights the dangers faced by media professionals working in the country, the top United Nations envoy there said. Gunmen reportedly seized Mr. Farrell and Sultan Munadi on Saturday while they were working in a village south of Kunduz in Graeme Syedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07716222922123749518noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-886353722090429251.post-78772289463404117642009-09-09T14:05:00.002+01:002009-09-10T12:20:39.859+01:00BAN OFFERS UN AID TO VICTIMS DURING UNPLANNED VISIT TO MEXICAN FLOOD ZONESecretary-General Ban Ki-moon made an unplanned visit on Tuesday to the northern suburbs of Mexico City where he personally consoled victims of the severe flash floods that hit the area and offered the assistance of the United Nations. Mr. Ban, who is on a two-day visit to Mexico, arrived in the flood-affected area by helicopter along with President Felipe Calderon and the Governor of the State Graeme Syedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07716222922123749518noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-886353722090429251.post-29858397339663735192009-09-08T00:02:00.004+01:002009-09-08T00:30:53.979+01:00Natalia Estemirova, Champion of Ordinary ChechensNatalia Estemirova’s burial took place just minutes before sunset on July 16. The Muslim burial took place in the Koshkildy village of Gudermes district of Chechnya where her relatives live. A heavy, stifling heat envelops the Caucasus in midsummer. During the day the sun fries your brain, your throat itches from the hot dust, and the night brings no relief, only hordes of Graeme Syedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07716222922123749518noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-886353722090429251.post-20566363689751140762009-09-07T23:56:00.003+01:002009-09-08T00:31:40.247+01:00USAID partner IAVI makes groundbreaking HIV/AIDS discoveryThe U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) congratulates its partner, the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) for its recent findings that may bring the scientific community a bit closer to an HIV vaccine. The results allow scientists to understand the dynamics of naturally occurring protective mechanisms that some people have against HIV. Throughout the course of the Graeme Syedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07716222922123749518noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-886353722090429251.post-67965704031365811662009-09-07T23:51:00.005+01:002009-09-07T23:56:33.071+01:00World’s largest fishery angles for sustainabilityLima, Peru: Peruvian anchovy fishers – who pull in 10 percent of the total fish catch in the world – for the first time will be independently monitored, ensuring the sustainability of stocks. Peruvian anchovy (Engraulis ringens) is a major Peruvian export, reaching more than U.S. $ 1.7 billion in 2008, equivalent to 70 percent of national fish exports for the entire country. Although the Graeme Syedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07716222922123749518noreply@blogger.com0