BREAKING NEWS: PAX GAEA WORLD POST HUMAN RIGHTS HEADINES (12/11)
Subjects: Israel cancels Tutu UN investigation of attacks on Gaza, Gender bias increases inequality for women and children, UN says rich countries should do more to fight poverty, Bangladeshi women receive award for AID fight, Death and violence mar Nigeria elections
Tutu distressed by Israel block on Gaza mission
By Richard Waddington
GENEVA, Dec 11 (Reuters) - South African Nobel prize winner Desmond Tutu said on Monday he was distressed that Israel had blocked his planned mission to Gaza to investigate last month's killing of 19 Palestinian civilians by Israeli shells. The former archbishop of Cape Town and peace laureate was due to lead a team asked by the United Nations' Human Rights Council to investigate the incident at Beit Hanoun in Gaza on Nov. 8. But after waiting in Geneva for the green light from Israel, Tutu and his fellow team member British law professor Christine Chinkin said they no longer had time to complete the visit by the end of the week as planned. "We find the lack of cooperation by the Israeli government very distressing," they said in a joint statement.In Israel, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's spokeswoman Miri Eisin said Israel had investigated the Beit Hanoun shelling and acknowledged its mistakes in the incident, seeing no role for the U.N. mission. Reuters AlertNet (12/11)
Gender bias 'increases poverty'
Inequality at home between men and women leads to poorer health for the children and greater poverty for the family, says a new study. The UN children's agency, Unicef, found that where women are excluded from family decisions, children are more likely to be under-nourished. There would be 13m fewer malnourished children in South Asia if women had an equal say in the family, Unicef said. Unicef surveyed family decision-making in 30 countries around the world. BBC (12/11)
Rich countries should fight poverty, reduce military, farm subsidies: UN GENEVA,
Dec 10 (AP): Indifference and narrow-mindedness from rich countries have hindered efforts to fight poverty around the world, the United Nations' top human rights official said Sunday. Louise Arbour, the UN high commissioner for human rights, said developed countries needed to do more for impoverished people in the developing world, perhaps by cutting back on the billions they spend on military expenses and government handouts to farmers. Otherwise, the United Nations might fail to reach its goal set out at the beginning of the decade to cut poverty in half by 2015. Rich countries, under the guidelines, are supposed to increase their development aid to 0.7 per cent of their gross domestic product, she said. Financial Express (Bangladesh) (12/11)
Bangladesh gets U.N. award for AIDS prevention
DHAKA, Dec 11 (Reuters) - A Bangladeshi women's group was awarded a cash prize of $20,000 on Monday for its work in preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) said. The "Durjoy Nari Shongo" (indomitable women's council) shared the UNDP's "Red Ribbon" 2006 award with four other groups in Ukraine, Thailand, Zimbabwe and Zambia. The Bangladeshi group distributes condoms, gives information about AIDS to sex workers and provides for the education of their children. Arab Times (Kuwait) (12/11)
Seven die in electoral violence in central Nigeria
By Tume Ahemba
LAGOS, Dec 11 (Reuters) - At least seven people were killed and scores of houses burnt in weekend clashes between supporters of rival candidates for the state house of assembly in the central Nigerian state of Benue, residents said on Monday. The ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) primaries to pick candidates for state and national elections have been marred by violence in several states because many candidates believe that winning the party ticket is as good as winning the polls. Fighting erupted in Aliade town, 40 km (25 miles) south of the Benue state capital Makurdi on Saturday after the PDP reversed the result of the state assembly primary held a week earlier in favour of another candidate, residents said. "Seven people were killed, six civilians and one policeman. Some people were injured and many houses have also been burnt," one resident who gave his name as Terver told Reuters by telephone from Aliade. Reuters AlertNet (12/11)
posted by Dave Carroll @ 12/11/2006 05:23:00 PM
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