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Occupied Arab Territories in Political Turmoil;
 Haiti says it's been the victim of a long political crisis that led to the suspension of external aid; Caricom countries call for a fair and universally accepted way of dealing with new and emerging issues of international taxation; Barbados says it's untenable that the OECD countries continue to prescribe norms of behaviour in tax matters for the international community; Belize says there is sufficient momentum that merits continued efforts towards a consensus resolution on international tax cooperation matters; The Bahamas urges Israel and the Palestinian Authority to seek a lasting peaceful settlement to the conflict in the Middle East
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Kosovo's Minorities Continue to Live in Precarious Security Conditions: UN official Assistant
Secretary-General for United Nations Peacekeeping, Hedi Annabi, has
said that Kosovo's minorities, in particular Serbs, continue to live
in precarious security conditions. He was speaking in the Security
Council which met today to discuss the UN Mission in Kosovo. Mr. Annabi
said that the freedom of movement and access to public services and
facilities by minorities have been further curtailed by the widespread
violence that occurred in March:
Mr. Annabi says
although there have been important steps forward in the reconstruction
of houses damaged or destroyed during the violence in March, over
2,000 people remain displaced as a result of the unrest.
WFP Appeals for $82 Million To Feed People of Kenya The World Food
Programme has appealed for more than $80 million to help the people
of Kenya who are facing food shortages as a result of drought. The
UN food agency says over two million people are affected across many
parts of Kenya. Grain prices have doubled in many parts of the country
while livestock prices have declined significantly. The spokesman
for the World Food Programme in Nairobi, Marcus Prior says people
are resorting to measures they are not used to in order to survive
through this period: "Many people are even missing out on meals so that they can preserve food stocks. And worrying too is the fact that many children in these areas are being withdrawn from school so that they can help their parents in the search for food" The UN food agency
warns that if the short rains are poor later in the year an additional
one million people will require food assistance next year.
UN Agencies Are Preparing for More Floods in Bangladesh United Nations
agencies are preparing for possible more floods in Bangladesh. The
country is facing many problems such as the spread of waterborne diseases
like diarrhea, food insecurity and extremely poor prospects for the
next rice crop. A spokesperson for the UN Development Programme in
Bangladesh, Lisa Hiller says it is very important at the moment that
people have access to oral re-hydration and water purifying tablets
which are currently in short supply.
The UN Food and
Agriculture Organization, FAO, has appealed to the international community
for additional funds to control locusts in West Africa. FAO says that
while the situation is returning to normal in Algeria, Libya, Morocco
and Tunisia, large swarms continue to arrive in the region. In the
past week swarms from northwest Africa invaded Mauritania, Senegal,
Mali and Niger, disrupting the summer planting season. Dr. Mahmoud
Solh is FAO's Director of Plant Production in Rome: "The summer breeding areas, which will be in the Sahel will be, of course, increasing the population of locusts because of the recent rains that were received" Dr. Sohl says
the situation can be extremely serious next winter and spring if the
locusts are not effectively controlled in these summer breeding areas.
UN Condemns Killing of Two Relief Workers in Afghanistan United Nations
officials in Afghanistan have condemned the killing of two Afghans
working for a German aid agency on Wednesday. The two victims, who
were ambushed in the southeast of the country, worked for the Catholic
relief agency known as Malteser, which is an implementing partner
of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. A spokesman for the UN refugee
agency says a field worker, Mohammad Idrees was killed instantly and
Emal Abdul Samad, a driver was airlifted to Bagram Hospital where
he later died of his wounds.
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"Only
through improved security conditions and freedom of movement can Kosovo's
minorities be confident that their future lies in Kosovo and only
then can the internally displaced feel confident enough to return
to their homes"
"We
are only half way through the Monsoon season at the moment here in
Bangladesh. And traditionally most of the rain has occurred in the
months of August and September. So while the flood water is receding,
there is a possibility that there will be more rain and we might be
in for another wave of flooding later in the month"