"U.N. diplomats have revised their blueprint for reforming the world body to include a definition of terrorism, indicating nations are moving toward consensus on a contentious global issue.
World leaders are to consider the plan at their summit in September and, if approved, the definition could break the impasse over a comprehensive treaty against terrorism." [More]
BBC: "A major UN report has called for an immediate end to Zimbabwe's slum clearance programme, declaring it to be in violation of international law.
"The scale of suffering is immense," it said. About 700,000 people have lost their homes or livelihoods and another 2.4 million people have been affected.
Secretary General Kofi Annan said it confirmed "catastrophic injustice" had been done to Zimbabwe's poorest."
Selected summary of United Nations related news and events
U.S. State Dept Tells Congress to Give UN a Chance
Israeli-Palestinian Relations Bedevilled by Lack of Framework, UN Envoy Says
UNICEF Chief In Kenya on Trip to Promote Child Survival
Refugee Chief Calls for More Tolerance
A School Where Displacement, Not Discipline, is the Biggest Problem
UN Forces Flush Out Rwanda Rebels
UNIFEM Calls for Stronger Support for Women's Roles in Peace Processes
Landmark Civil Society Forum on Conflict Prevention Wraps Up at UN
"Thousands of children are starving to death in Niger because the international community has been too slow to respond to the country's food crisis, UN officials and aid workers said yesterday. They warned that the numbers dying could rise to 150,000 without urgent aid."
[Full article]
Also read: Niger Food Crisis Timeline
A sampling of United Nations related blog commentary
Constant Inanity: "Huge crater and whale-with-feet boneyard named U.N. heritage sites - The cultural and education arm of the United Nations on Friday added a giant meteorite crater in South Africa and a whale boneyard from the time the creatures had feet among seven new global heritage sites. The new spots also include two long and deep Norwegian fjords, 244 rugged islands off the coast of Mexico, a forest park in Thailand and the last refuge of the crested eagle off southwest Panama. The heritage list, which has 188 sites around the world designated for their importance to nature and to culture, is part of a campaign to encourage conservation in host countries."
Exbaptist: "There is no shortage of well-documented dementia of Americans who think the United Nations building in New York is occupied by a secret cabal of European intellectuals who would like nothing better than to turn us all into brie-eating socialists, but I think the John Bolton nomination represents how closely Christian conservatives have merged their religion with their politics."
Intellibriefs: "Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Bush today declare their resolve to transform the relationship between their countries and establish a global partnership. Drawing on their mutual vision for the U.S.-India relationship, and our joint objectives as strong long-standing democracies, the two leaders agree on the following: Develop and support, through the new U.S.-India Global Democracy Initiative in countries that seek such assistance, institutions and resources that strengthen the foundations that make democracies credible and effective. India and the U.S. will work together to strengthen democratic practices and capacities and contribute to the new U.N. Democracy Fund."
Mudville Gazette: "5800 to contest Afghan polls - NEARLY 6000 candidates have been declared eligible to contest Afghanistan's first post-Taliban parliamentary polls in September, more than 10 per cent of them women, election officials said today. A total of 2778 candidates will stand for the 249-seat lower house Wolesi Jirga elections and 3027 will stand for provincial councils, Bismillah Bismil, chairman of the UN-backed electoral commission told reporters."
Sideshow: "Publication of The Costs of War by Sir Jeremy Greenstock, UK ambassador to the UN during the build-up to the 2003 war and the Prime Minister's special envoy to Iraq in its aftermath, has been halted."
"The famine in Niger could have been prevented if the United Nations had a reserve fund to jump-start humanitarian aid, a senior UN official has said.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, known as OCHA, has a fund of $50,000 to quickly respond to emergencies, but only for loans, which must be repaid.
Instead, it wants $500,000 for grants to rapidly launch emergency relief campaigns as soon as warning signs emerge, said Jan Egeland, head of OCHA." [Full Story]
Selected summary of United Nations related news and events
First-ever Civil Society Meeting on Conflict Prevention Opens at Headquarters
U.N. Supports Women in Conflict Resolution
International Mission in Haiti To Get 200 More Philippine Troops
More Liberians Returning From Western Cote d'Ivoire, Reports UNHCR
Indonesia: New School Year is a Time of Hope for Tsunami-affected Aceh
"Condemning the recent murder of journalists in Brazil and Haiti, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has yet again stressed that an attack on reporters is an attack on society itself." [More]