SECRETARY-GENERAL CONDEMNS ALGERIAN TERRORIST ATTACKS 

• Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, in a statement
  issued Tuesday evening,
  
  condemned the terrorist attacks east of Algiers which reportedly
  killed at least 43 people, including civilians, most of whom were
  between 18 and 20.
   

• The Secretary-General extended his condolences to
  the people of Algeria and in particular, to the families of the
  victims.  He urged once again that the international community support
  the efforts of the Government of Algeria to combat terrorism.
   

• The Secretary-General firmly believes that violence
  will not deter the people of Algeria from the path of peace and national
  reconciliation.
   

• Since this statement was issued, two car bombs have
  reportedly killed 11 people in the city of Bouira. The Secretary General
  is very concerned by these new deaths and once more condemns the use of
  violence.

U.N.
POLITICAL CHIEF BRIEFS SECURITY COUNCIL ON LATEST DEVELOPMENTS IN THE MIDDLE
EAST 

• Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs B.
  Lynn Pascoe briefed the Security Council in an open meeting on the
  latest developments in the
  
  Middle East, including Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s
  announcement of his resignation, the continuation of the
  Israeli-Palestinian negotiations and indirect talks with Syria, and the
  rise of internal Palestinian violence as Hamas took action to
  consolidate its hold over the Gaza Strip. 
   

• In recent weeks, he noted, Palestinian internal
  violence had contributed to an overall total of 43 Palestinians killed
  and 366 injured.
   

• Pascoe also detailed the continuing humanitarian
  concerns in Gaza. He said that, further to the Secretary-General’s
  discussions with Prime Minister Olmert in Paris last month concerning
  stalled UN projects in Gaza, the Israeli authorities are positively
  considering the import of additional quantities of construction
  materials for UN priority projects focusing on housing, school
  construction and water sanitation.  We welcome movement in this regard
  and hope for the early resumption of all suspended UN projects in Gaza,
  he said.
   

• Pascoe informed the Council that the Middle East
  Quartet will meet in New York in the margins of the General Assembly in
  September, followed by an iftar hosted by the Secretary-General with
  Arab partners, as well as a meeting of the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee.
   

• The Security Council meeting was followed by
  consultations, also on the Middle East.

 SECURITY COUNCIL MEETS ON GEORGIA,
CONDEMNS ALGERIA ATTACK AND MAURITANIA COUP 

• The Security Council yesterday afternoon held an
  open
  
  meeting, following consultations, to receive briefings on the
  situation on the ground in Georgia.
   

• Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs B.
  Lynn Pascoe noted the agreement on the six principles sponsored by the
  European Union Presidency to end the military hostilities, saying that
  the full implementation of the six principles would allow for the
  provision of humanitarian assistance to those affected, defuse the
  situation and offer hope to finding a political solution to the problem.
  He added that the United Nations stands ready to facilitate
  international discussions in this regard and to take part in concrete
  arrangements for a settlement.
   

• Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping
  Operations Edmond Mulet provided an update of the situation in and
  around the Georgia-Abkhaz conflict zone, including several crossings of
  the ceasefire line over the past week by the Abkhaz side.
   

• Also yesterday afternoon, the Security Council
  adopted several Presidential Statements. In one Presidential Statement,
  the Council
  
  condemned in the strongest terms the terrorist suicide attack that
  had taken place in Algeria earlier that day. In another, the Council
  
  condemned the Mauritanian military’s overthrow of the democratically
  elected Government and demanded the restoration of the legitimate,
  constitutional, democratic institutions immediately.

 U.N. AGENCIES MAKE FIRST
DISTRIBUTIONS IN WESTERN GEORGIA 

• The U.N. Refugee agency (UNHCR)
  and World Food Programme today began distributing aid to thousands of
  people in western Georgia for the first time in the past two weeks. 
   

• The World Food Programme (WFP)
  delivered food to villages in the Kaspi district and Senaki town in West
  Georgia. Food delivery to the Akhalgori district -- adjacent to South
  Ossetia – was cancelled due to unexpected population movements out of
  the area. 
   

• Tomorrow, UNHCR will provide non-food items such as
  jerry cans, kitchen sets and blankets for some 3,000 people in the area.
   

• So far, UNHCR has provided assistance to some
  30,000 people across Georgia, while WFP has provided more than 115,000
  internally displaced persons with wheat flour, vegetable oil, sugar,
  salt, high-energy biscuits and baked bread.
   

• The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
  Affairs (OCHA)
  
  notes improved access in recent days.  Humanitarian convoys are
  passing through existing roadblocks, and there is limited east-west
  access, enabling assistance to get to previously unreachable locations,
  including the overland route to the port in Poti, according to OCHA.
   

• Meanwhile, UN High Commissioner for Refugees
  António Guterres has held talks with several senior Government officials
  since his arrival in Tbilisi yesterday.  Mr. Guterres also visited two
  collective centres for newly displaced people.

U.N. ENVOY
MEETS WITH A RANGE OF MYANMAR LEADERS 

• On his third day in
  
  Myanmar, the Secretary-General’s Special Adviser, Ibrahim Gambari,
  met with the ministers of Planning and Health with whom he discussed
  ways to address socio-economic conditions. He also held 10 separate
  meetings with political parties and civil society groups, including
  members of the Central Executive Committee of the National League for
  Democracy, student representatives and elected individuals from the 1990
  elections. The discussions focused on the need for inclusive national
  dialogue, a credible political process, and ways to address
  socio-economic challenges.
   

• Yesterday, Gambari visited areas in the Delta
  region affected by Cyclone Nargis.  He also held a meeting with a team
  representing the ruling State Peace and Development Council, where they
  exchanged views on a broad range of issues, including the release of
  political prisoners, the credibility of the political process and ways
  to address socio-economic conditions.
   

• As to the press reports that the Secretary-General
  plans to visit Myanmar again in December, the Spokeswoman said the
  Secretary-General has made very clear upon returning from Myanmar and
  following his discussions with the leadership there that he expects his
  good offices to be “deepened and broadened” through the continued
  engagement of his Special Adviser. He has also indicated his intent to
  return to Myanmar when conditions are right to continue his dialogue
  with the Myanmar leadership.  At this point it is too early to confirm
  the Secretary-General's calendar.
   

• Asked whether Gambari would meet with Aung San Suu
  Kyi, the Spokeswoman said that Mr. Gambari has met with her on each of
  his visits, as well as with Myanmar’s senior leaders on several
  occasions, and he looks forward to continuing his dialogue with all
  concerned.

 DR CONGO:  U.N. PEACEKEEPERS DEPLOY
TO PROTECT CIVILIANS FROM ARMED GROUPS 

• UN peacekeepers and Congolese soldiers have jointly
  deployed in the Ituri and Orientale provinces to protect civilians
  against the Lords Resistance Army and other armed groups.
   

• The Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
  (MONUC)
  adds that elements from the Ugandan rebel group recently attacked and
  pillaged villages in the region. Another prominent threat to civilians
  in the area is the Ituri Patriotic Front, who regularly attack and
  pillage civilian properties.
   

• The Mission reports other violent incidents
  throughout eastern DRC. And you can read all about that in the
  transcript of the Mission’s weekly press conference, copies of which are
  upstairs.

NEW
ANTI-CORRUPTION EFFORT LAUNCHED IN AFGHANISTAN

• Kai Eide, the Secretary-General’s Special
  Representative for
  
  Afghanistan, today launched a new anti-corruption report from the
  
  UN Development Programme and called on Afghanistan’s people to stand
  up against corruption.
   

• He said that corruption must be tackled from the
  bottom up by having the people, Afghan civil society and the media play
  a crucial role in supporting the Government’s anti-corruption efforts.

 BALI MEETING TO ADDRESS THREATS TO
MARINE TURTLES 

• More than two dozen signatories of a regional
  Memorandum of Understanding on marine turtle conservation in the Indian
  Ocean and South-East Asia are meeting in Bali, Indonesia, from today
  through Saturday.
   

• According to the U.N. Environment Programme (UNEP),
  the meeting will examine progress made in various countries, as well as
  increasing manmade threats to sea turtles.  These include the impact of
  fishing.  Gill nets, shrimp trawls, and the use of dynamite and poison
  in fishing all pose a danger to sea turtles.  Excessive harvesting of
  turtle eggs and consumption of turtle meat are another concern, as is
  coastal development throughout the Indian Ocean region, which is
  threatening nesting beaches, as well as foraging and resting areas.