Action against Brazilian embassy in Honduras would be disaster - top UN official

Any action taken against the Brazilian embassy in Honduras where ousted Honduran President Jose Manuel Zelaya has taken shelter would be a disaster, the top United Nations political official said today.

Burkina Faso: UN dispatches experts to assess contamination in wake of floods

The United Nations has sent two experts to assess contamination of water and soil in Burkina Faso, one of the countries hit hardest by the devastating West African floods, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) announced today.

Hungary champions rights of minorities during address to General Assembly

Vibrant minority groups strengthen countries rather than undermine them, Hungary’s Foreign Minister told the General Assembly today as he warned of “alarming tendencies” to curtail the political, cultural and educational opportunities worldwide in the wake of the financial crisis.

At UN, Arab nations call on Israel to seize opportunity for peace

The moment has come for Israel to take action to achieve a lasting peace in the Middle East, Arab nations told the General Assembly’s high-level debate today, calling for an immediate end to settlement activity.

Sudan speaks out during UN debate about renewed tribal clashes in south

The upsurge in tribal fighting in southern Sudan this year threatens the stability not just of the country but the entire region, a senior Sudanese official told the General Assembly today, calling for greater commitment from the international community to help bringing last peace.

Cuba tells Assembly that new US administration must translate words into action

Cuba’s Foreign Minister told the General Assembly today that it is still waiting for the global optimism generated by the new United States administration to be translated into action, calling for an end to the decades-long embargo against the Caribbean nation.

At UN, Peru issues call for greater efforts to stamp out drug trafficking

Labeling illicit drug trafficking, with its ties to terrorism and other criminal activities, as a “transnational threat,” a senior Peruvian official called for a renewed fight against the drug trade at the General Assembly’s annual high-level debate toady.

UN assisting in delivery of electoral materials for long-awaited polls

The United Nations mission in Côte d’Ivoire has begun preparing for the delivery of electoral materials across the country ahead of the long-awaited presidential polls, which were to have been held as far back as 2005, and are now slated for 29 November.

Fugitive Rwandan ex-mayor goes on trial at UN war crimes court for genocide

A former Rwandan mayor, who had been on the run for eight years, went on trial today at a United Nations war crimes tribunal on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity in the 1994 massacres in the small Central African nation.

Egypt: Death penalty for counterfeit virginity device?

Abdul Mouti Bayoumi said supplying the item was akin to spreading vice in society, a crime punishable by death in Islamic Sharia law.

 

The device is said to release liquid imitating blood, allowing a female to feign virginity on her wedding night.

 

There is a stigma about pre-marital sex in some conservative Arab societies.

 

The contraption is seen as a cheap and simple alternative to hymen repair surgery, which is carried out in secret by some clinics in the Middle East.

 

It is produced in China and has already become available in other parts of the Arab world.

 

The device is reported to be on sale in Syria for $15.

 

Professor Bayoumi, a scholar at the prestigious al-Azhar University, said it undermined the moral deterrent of fornication, which he described as a crime and one of the cardinal sins in Islam.

 

Members of parliament in Egypt have also called for banning import of the item.