General Assembly backs findings of UN report into Gaza conflict

The General Assembly today endorsed the report of the United Nations investigation which found that both Israeli forces and Palestinian militants were guilty of serious human rights violations during the conflict in the Gaza Strip at the start of the year.

Working together, nations can tackle today’s major challenges - Ban

No country, however, powerful, can tackle alone the multiple challenges facing the world, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today, stressing the need to work together on issues such as climate change, the economic crisis and global peace and security.

Former Rwandan tea industry executive jailed for eight years by UN tribunal

The former head of the government office that controlled the Rwandan tea industry was today sentenced to eight years in prison after being found guilty by a United Nations tribunal over his role in the African country’s 1994 genocide.

International Criminal Court trial of former DR Congo leader to start next April

The International Criminal Court (ICC) announced today that the trial of Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo, a former senior official of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) who has been charged with war crimes, will begin in April 2010.

Today on New Scientist: 5 November 2009

Today’s stories on newscientist.com, at a glance, including: how to kill thousands of species with magma and coal, why the digital switchover is good news for astronomers, and a quick and simple way to make a really loud noise

Drugs and crime threaten recent stability in Guinea-Bissau, warn UN officials

The prospects for political stability in Guinea-Bissau appear to be good but are threatened by drug trafficking and organized crime, United Nations officials warned the Security Council today.

UN’s Balkan war crimes tribunal decides to appoint defence counsel for Karadžić

The United Nations war crimes tribunal set up to prosecute the worst offences committed during the Balkan conflicts of the 1990s today instructed its registrar to appoint a defence lawyer for former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadžić, who stands accused of genocide.

UN lauds first ever rescue of abducted children in southern Sudan

The United Nations today hailed the rescue of 28 children who had been abducted in southern Sudan’s Jonglei state, and urged that all those still being held be released immediately.

Top UN human rights official to embark on first official visit to Brazil

The United Nations human rights chief will begin her first official visit to Brazil on Saturday during which she will discuss a range of issues with Government officials, members of civil society and others in three major cities.

Climate change ministry signs up to campaign

Karen McVeigh
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 4 November 2009 23.35 GMT
The Department of Energy and Climate Change, responsible for promoting energy efficiency, is to sign up tomorrow to the 10:10 campaign to cut carbon emissions.
Its pledge to cut its carbon emissions by 10% in 2010 comes after it emerged that the department’s headquarters in Whitehall had the worst possible energy efficiency rating on the government’s own seven-point scale. It is the second government department to sign up to the campaign, which is supported by the Guardian, after the Department for International Development. The DECC’s 100-year old Grade II listed building at 3 Whitehall Place was given the bottom rating of G along with the Home Office, which moved into a newly built office only a few years ago, and the Department of Health. On average, government buildings scored an F. The DECC said the new department had only moved last October into the building, which was difficult to upgrade to the standards of a new building.
About 45% of the UK’s carbon emissions come from energy use in buildings. So far, 51 councils have signed up to 10:10 or passed a motion to do so.