BREAKING NEWS: PAX GAEA WORLD POST HUMAN RIGHTS HEADLINES (12/6)
Annan urges Cypriots to get on with settlement talks
UNITED NATIONS: Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders must through their actions show they are serious about reunification talks, UN chief Kofi Annan said in a report released Tuesday. The report, covering developments in Cyprus from May to November, also recommended a further six-month extension of the mandate of the UN mission that has been deployed on the Mediterranean island for more than 40 years. While the situation "remained calm and stable with no major violations of the ceasefire lines," Annan deplored the continued stalemate in the political process and the "missed opportunities" over the past 10 years. "In the absence of a comprehensive settlement, I believe that UNFICYP (the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus) continues to play a vital role, and I therefore recommend that the Security Council extend the mandate of the force by a further period of six months, until 15 June 2007," the outgoing UN secretary general said. The current mandate of the force expires on 15 December. The News (Pakistan) (12/6)
Somali leader believes war inevitable
CHRIS TOMLINSON
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia—Somalia's troops are ready for an imminent and inevitable war with the Islamic militia that has taken over much of the country and surrounded the internationally backed government, the country's prime minister said. Somali Prime Minister Ali Gedi said he believed the most radical leaders within the Islamic movement were in control and would not take peace talks seriously. The Islamic movement has overrun much of Somalia, including the capital, in recent months, increasingly sidelining the weak government and vowing to bring Islamic law to the whole country. Toronto Star (12/6)
Jamaica battles first malaria outbreak in decades
KINGSTON, Jamaica (Reuters) -- Jamaican health authorities are battling an outbreak of malaria that has infected 15 people in the Kingston area but has so far not spread to other parts of the Caribbean island. Jamaica had not previously recorded a case of the mosquito-borne illness in 50 years, said Dr. Marion Ducasse, the health ministry's senior medical officer. The health ministry announced late on Monday that it had confirmed 15 cases of malaria, six of them among children and all of them in the capital and the neighboring central parish of St. Catherine. CNN/Reuters (12/6)
Richest 2% hold half the world’s assets
By Chris Giles, Economics Editor in London
Personal wealth is distributed so unevenly across the world that the richest two per cent of adults own more than 50 per cent of the world’s assets while the poorest half hold only 1 per cent of wealth. A survey released on Tuesday shows that middle-income countries with high growth rates still have a long way to go before they have a hope of catching up with the levels of prosperity of the richest. Adults with more than $2,200 of assets were in the top half of the global wealth league table, while those with more than $61,000 were in the top 10 per cent, according to the data from the World Institute for Development Economics Research of the United Nations University (UNU-Wider). Financial Times (12/6)
'Malaria atlas' project launched
Researchers in Kenya and Britain say they are creating a global map to pinpoint locations where malaria is most likely to strike. They say it will help fight the mosquito-borne disease by enabling individual countries to work out infection rates and required drugs. The map should be complete within 18 months, the researchers say. BBC (12/6)
India to participate in debate on UN reforms
Chetan Chauhan
India is participating in a debate on reform and expansion of UN Security Council to be held at the world body on December 11.External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukerjee told Lok Sabha, in a written reply, that the idea is to focus on this vital issue while developing a model of UN Security Council. "So far, the progress in this direction has been satisfactory," he said. Hindustan Times (12/6)
U.N. chief: Darfur is in 'free fall'
EDITH M. LEDERER
Associated Press
UNITED NATIONS - The conflict in Darfur has spread to two neighboring countries and is now in "free fall" with six million people facing the prospect of going without food or protection, the outgoing U.N. humanitarian chief said Tuesday. Jan Egeland, who steps down on Dec. 12, told The Associated Press in an interview that one of the most difficult problems he has faced was convincing countries of the dire situation in the western region of Sudan. "I think some of the Arab countries and Asian countries have not really understood we're in a free fall. It's not a steady deterioration. It's a free fall and it includes Darfur, eastern Chad, northern Central African Republic," he said. Miami Herald (12/6)
posted by Dave Carroll @ 12/06/2006 04:48:00 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home