SECRETARY-GENERAL ATTENDED PEACE MEMORIAL
CEREMONY IN HIROSHIMA

• The
  
  
  Secretary-General
  spent what he described
  as “a profoundly moving day” in Nagasaki. He has now started his
  visit to Hiroshima, where he will become the first
  Secretary-General to attend the Peace Memorial Ceremony, on the
  65^th anniversary of the atomic bombing on Friday.
   

• In
  Nagasaki on Thursday morning, the Secretary-General toured the
  Atomic Bomb Museum and met with a number of survivors. He
  
  said his visit to Nagasaki had strengthened his conviction
  that nuclear weapons must be outlawed, and he urged all nations
  to support his five-point action plan for nuclear
  
  disarmament and to agree to negotiate a nuclear weapons
  convention at the earliest possible date.
   

• The
  Secretary-General and his wife also
  
  laid a wreath at the monument located at ground zero in
  Nagasaki and
  
  visited a separate memorial for Korean victims.

AN ESTIMATED 4.5 MILLION PEOPLE AFFECTED BY
PAKISTAN FLOODING

• The
  
  UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
  says that it has devised a rough estimate that some 4.5 million
  people have been affected by the flooding in
  
  Pakistan.
   

• In the north-western
  districts (called Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa) alone, people are finding
  housing in some 310 collective centres, like schools and
  mosques, five informal camps and some 100 roadside encampments.
  OCHA says that about 100,000 homes have been destroyed, and
  50,000 damaged, in the north-western districts, while another
  25,000 homes have been destroyed and 48,000 damaged in Punjab.
   

• So far, OCHA says, a
  total of 20,000 tents have been distributed to families in need.
  Some 700,000 people have been reached with tanker water, while
  22,000 families have received food supplies. Meanwhile, the
  
  World Health Organization
  
  warns of a potential outbreak of acute
  
  diarrhoea.
   

• 
  While the local Emergency Relief Fund and the
  
  Central Emergency Response Fund have already made resources
  available, OCHA is considering what sort of appeal might be
  appropriate.
   

• OCHA is urging those who
  want to help to refrain from sending unsolicited and
  uncoordinated supplies, as this would stretch limited logistics
  resources. Instead, it’s recommending that people support
  reputable, well-established aid agencies that are already on the
  ground and which can buy goods locally to reach people quickly,
  with those items they actually need the most.

SECURITY COUNCIL EXTENDS MANDATE OF U.N. MISSION
IN IRAQ; BRIEFED ON CENTRAL ASIA

• The
  
  Security Council this morning unanimously adopted a
  resolution extending the mandate of the
  
  UN Assistance Mission for Iraq until the end of July 2011.
   

• After that, the Council
  went into consultations, to hear a briefing by
  
  Miroslav Jenca about the work of the
  
  UN Regional Centre for Central Asia, which he heads.
  The Council President,
  Ambassador Vitaly Churkin of Russia, read a press statement
  appreciating the work of the Regional Centre, after
  consultations ended.

PARTIES RENEW COMMITMENT TO CESSATION OF
HOSTILITIES ACROSS BLUE LINE

• 
  
  Major-General Alberto Asarta Cuevas,
  the Force Commander of the
  
  UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL),
  chaired an extraordinary tripartite
  meeting last night with senior representatives of the Lebanese
  Armed Forces and the Israel Defence Forces (IDF). The
  
  UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon,
  
  Michael Williams, also attended that meeting.
   

• The
  meeting specifically addressed the serious situation that
  developed following the exchange of fire between Lebanese and
  Israeli forces across the Blue Line in El Adeisse,
  in southern
  
  Lebanon, on
  Tuesday. UNIFIL informed the parties that a thorough
  investigation into the events is underway and presented its
  preliminary findings.
   

• 
  Following the tripartite meeting, Major-General Asarta said that
  both the parties renewed their commitment to the cessation of
  hostilities and to UN Security Council
  
  resolution 1701 (2006). He added that the situation has
  returned to normal and quiet prevails in UNIFIL’s area of
  operations at this time.

U.N. MISSION TAKES NOTE OF NEW ELECTION DATE IN
COTE D’IVOIRE, CALLS FOR CREDIBLE TIMETABLE

• The
  
  UN Operation in Cote d'Ivoire (UNOCI) says it has taken note
  of the announcement of a new date for the holding of the
  country’s presidential election. The Ivorian Government earlier
  today confirmed October 31 as Election Day, following up on a
  proposal by the Independent Electoral Commission.
   

• UNOCI, meanwhile, is
  urging stakeholders in the electoral and reunification processes
  to set up a credible timetable to deal with planning and other
  challenges before October 31. In that regard, the Mission says
  that the next crucial step will be the publication of the final
  voter list. It also reiterated its availability and readiness to
  assist with the process.

 FLOTILLA
PANEL WILL DECIDE ON STEPS TO CARRY OUT MANDATE

• Asked about the Panel of Experts
  looking into the 31 May flotilla incident, the Spokesperson said
  that the Panel has been tasked with making findings about the
  facts, circumstances and context of the incident, as well as
  recommending ways of avoiding similar incidents in the future.
   

• The Panel, Nesirky said, will decide
  what steps it needs to take to carry out its mandate. He noted
  that it would meet on 10 August and could determine at that
  point the work that it needs to do to fulfil its mandate.
   

• He added that the Panel will receive
  and review copies of the national investigations into the
  flotilla incident.  It will be for the Panel to decide what
  steps it may need to take in order to obtain clarifications and
  information from relevant national authorities.
   

• Asked about the members of the Panel,
  he noted that the Secretary-General had appointed Sir Geoffrey
  Palmer and President Alvaro Uribe as Chair and Vice-Chair of the
  Panel, respectively.  Other members are to be designated by the
  Governments of Israel and Turkey, respectively.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

U.N. PEACEKEEPERS STEP UP PATROLS
IN DARFUR’S KALMA CAMP:
Asked about the situation in the
Kalma Camp, in Darfur, the Spokesperson said that the situation
remains tense, with sporadic firing heard. The

African Union-United Nations peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID)
continues to be engaged at all levels to peacefully resolve the
situation and ensure security for internally displaced persons and
civilians. In this regard, UNAMID has stepped up patrols and is on
high alert.

SECRETARY-GENERAL TO HOLD PRESS CONFERENCE ON MONDAY:
Asked about the


Secretary-General’s next press
conference at UN Headquarters, the Spokesperson confirmed that it
would be on Monday, 9 August, at 11:00 a.m.

FINAL RESULTS OF KENYAN ELECTION AWAITED:
Asked about the referendum in Kenya, the Spokesperson said that the


Secretary-General was informed
of the provisional results and was awaiting the publication of the
final results.

INVESTIGATION INTO EVENTS IN KYRGYZSTAN
BEING CONSIDERED: Asked about
a possible international investigation into the causes of the recent
violence in Kyrgyzstan, the Spokesperson said that, in addition to a
domestic inquiry, the United Nations has been in touch with regional
groups, including the Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe, on an inquiry with an international presence, and what role
the United Nations would play.