http://www.un.org/news A world of news from the world organization. en-us Copyright 2009, UN News Centre http://www.un.org/News/dh/latest/media/nslogo.gif http://www.un.org/news 140 Latest from the UN News Service http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=33091&Cr=violence+against+women&Cr1= Mon, 30 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST The United Nations today called on all Afghans to take part in a 16-day campaign to end violence against women and girls, which it described as a "widespread and deeply rooted" problem in the country. http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=33088&Cr=escap&Cr1= Mon, 30 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST A year-end update released today by the United Nations regional arm in Asia and the Pacific shows that the region is leading the global economic recovery, with the growth rate in 2010 forecast at 6.3 per cent - the highest in the world. http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=33092&Cr=lao&Cr1= Mon, 30 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST Religious minorities in Laos remain isolated with little access to higher education, few opportunities for job promotions in the public sector and effective exclusion from decision-making processes, an independent United Nations human rights expert said today. http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=33085&Cr=Afghan&Cr1= Sat, 28 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST The international conference on Afghanistan that will be staged in London early next year provides &#8220a very timely&#8221 opportunity to discuss the country&#39s agenda in the wake of its recent presidential elections, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today. http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=33080&Cr=Philippines&Cr1= Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST The head of the United Nations agency tasked with defending press freedom today urged the Government of the Philippines to investigate the 23 November attack on a convoy in the province of Minguindanao that left over 55 people, including at least 27 journalists, dead. http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=33073&Cr=philippines&Cr1= Wed, 25 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST Nearly a month after back-to-back typhoons submerged villages across the Philippines, hundreds of thousands of people displaced or still living in flooded areas are in need of safe water, sanitation facilities and hygiene items, the United Nations humanitarian wing said today. http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=33066&Cr=Madagascar&Cr1= Wed, 25 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST United Nations humanitarian agencies launched an appeal today for $6 million to help the people of Madagascar brace against the impact of a wave of intense cyclones forecasted to hit the Indian Ocean nation in the coming months. http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=33065&Cr=Asia-Pacific&Cr1= Wed, 25 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST Cutting red tape to reduce complex transaction costs is the key to unlocking significant benefits from international trade for economies in Asia and the Pacific, according to a new report from the United Nations and the Asian Development Bank (ADB). http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=33052&Cr=pakistan&Cr1= Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST The United Nations refugee agency has begun distributing additional relief supplies to civilians displaced by the ongoing military operations in north-west Pakistan to help them cope as temperatures begin to drop in the region. http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=33054&Cr=escap&Cr1= Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST A shift in economic direction towards greater domestic spending and social protection in the Asia-Pacific could help the region better absorb the impact of future financial crises, a senior United Nations official told a meeting of country representatives in Bangkok today.