BAN CONGRATULATES US LEADER FOR LIFTING ENTRY RESTRICTION BASED ON HIV STATUS

BAN CONGRATULATES US LEADER FOR LIFTING ENTRY RESTRICTION BASED ON HIV STATUS
New York, Oct 31 2009 7:10PM
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today congratulated United States President Barack Obama for announcing that travel restrictions for people living with HIV from entering the country will be removed.

"I urge all other countries with such restrictions to take steps to remove them at the earliest," Mr. Ban, who has made removing the stigma and discrimination faced by those living with HIV a personal issue, <"http://www.unaids.org/en/KnowledgeCentre/Resources/FeatureStories/archive/2009/20091031_ps_travelrestrictions_sg_en.asp">said.

Almost 60 nations impose some form of travel restrictions on people living with HIV.

Mr. Obama's announcement yesterday overturns a policy that had been in place since 1987, and it came as he signed the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act of 2009, which has provided treatment and support services to people living with HIV since 1990.

The
legislation is named after Ryan White, a teenage boy who became a nationally known figure in the US in the 1980s as he battled discrimination and ostracism after contracting HIV from a contaminated blood treatment. He died in 1990.

In a speech to the Global AIDS Conference last August, Mr. Ban said that travel restrictions on people living with HIV "should fill us all with shame."

At his request, several nations, including his home country, the Republic of Korea, are finalizing the lifting of such restrictions, with other countries including China and Ukraine considering removing them as well.

UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé has also welcomed Mr. Obama's move, stressing that "placing travel restrictions on people living with HIV has no public health justification."

Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (<"http://www.unaids.org/en/">UNAIDS), added, "it is also a violation of human rights."

The new Ryan White programme, he said in a <"
http://www.unaids.org/en/KnowledgeCentre/Resources/PressCentre/PressReleases/2009/20091030_PS_Entry_restrictions_removed_US.asp">statement issued yesterday, is "an integral part of the global AIDS response and a gesture of the United States towards achieving universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support for people within the United States living with HIV."

Oct 31 2009 7:10PM
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SIERRA LEONE: EIGHT MEN FOUND GUILTY OF WAR CRIMES TRANSFERRED TO RWANDA

SIERRA LEONE: EIGHT MEN FOUND GUILTY OF WAR CRIMES TRANSFERRED TO RWANDA
New York, Oct 31 2009 7:10PM
Eight men found guilty by a United Nations-backed court of war crimes and crimes against humanity during Sierra Leone's brutal decade-long civil war have been transferred to Rwanda to serve their sentences.

Currently, no prison in Sierra Leone meets the required international standards, so amid tight security, they were flown yesterday from the detention facilities at the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) compound in the country's capital, Freetown, to Rwanda's capital, Kigali.

Among those transferred were three men who led a rebel movement called the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) who were convicted in February on charges relating to, among others, terrorism, murder, rape, sexual slavery and use of child soldiers, and, for the first time in history, forced marriage and attacks against peacekeepers.

Last week, the SCSL upheld the sentences of former RUF Interim Leader I
ssa Hassan Sesay to 52 years in prison, RUF commander Morris Kallon to 40 years and former RUF Chief of Security Augustine Gbao to 25 years.

Others flown to Rwanda to serve their sentences were three former leaders of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC), Alex Tamba Brima, Ibrahim Bazzy Kamara and Santigie Borbor Kanu, as well as two former leaders of the Civil Defence Forces (CDF), Moinina Fofana and Allieu Kondewa.

The eight prisoners will be incarcerated at Rwanda's Mpanga Prison under an agreement between the Court and the Rwandan Government. The part of the facility where they will be held was originally built to house those convicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR).

Credit will be given for time served while in detention at the Special Court, which was set up jointly by the UN and the Government of Sierra Leone and is mandated to bring those bearing the greatest responsibility for atrocities committed in the West African nation after 30 No
vember 1996.

The Freetown-based Court last week handed down its final ruling in Sierra Leone last week, wrapping up its trial proceedings.

The remaining trial, involving former Liberian president Charles Taylor, is continuing at The Hague, where it was moved for security reasons.

Oct 31 2009 7:10PM
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BREAKING NEWS ALERT

AFGHAN PRESIDENTIAL CHALLENGER WANTS VOTE BOYCOTT, DELAY RUNOFF UNTIL SPRING

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SUDAN: UN EMBARKS ON LARGEST-EVER DELIVERY OF VOTER REGISTRATION MATERIALS

SUDAN: UN EMBARKS ON LARGEST-EVER DELIVERY OF VOTER REGISTRATION MATERIALS
New York, Oct 31 2009 2:10PM
The United Nations Mission in Sudan (<"http://unmis.unmissions.org/">UNMIS) and the UN Development Programme (<"http://www.undp.org/">UNDP) are kicking off the largest-ever delivery of materials in the African nation ahead of tomorrow's voter registration exercise.

Nearly 120,000 kilogrammes of materials -- including registration kits, forms and training supplies -- will be sent to locations identified by the National Elections Commission (NEC).

UNDP is funding the cost of transporting the supplies to Sudan's 25 state capitals, while UNMIS is assisting in sending materials and NEC officers to train staff on the rules and procedures of voter registration in dozens of inaccessible and remote locations in Southern Sudan and Southern Kordofan.

For its part, the joint African Union-UN peacekeeping force in Darfur (&lt;"http://unamid.unmissions.org/Default.aspxUNAMID) will deliver
materials to 10 isolated areas in Northern and Western Darfur.

"We're hopeful that this logistical assistance to NEC will enable the Commission to establish registration centers that enable more people to register and later to vote," said Ray Kennedy, Chief Electoral Affairs Officer with UNMIS. "This will bring the country one step closer to a large-scale democratic polling exercise in 2010."

NEC requested UNMIS -- which is mandated to provide technical assistance and support for elections -- to assist with logistics and operational planning, electoral materials, training and capacity building of staff in support of the upcoming general elections.

Next year's multi-party polls are a key milestone in the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement, the pact which ended 20 years of fighting between the Sudanese People's Liberation Army (SPLA) separatists in the south and the national Government in the north.

In his most recent <"http://www.un.org/Docs/journal/asp/ws.asp?m=s/2009/545">rep
ort on UNMIS, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on the parties to the CPA to enhance their partnership in ensuring that the elections are held.

"The Agreement must be implemented in spirit as well as the letter if the immense work undertaken is to be sustainable," he stressed, calling on the sides to enhance their cooperation.

Next year's elections must be seen as part of a larger process of democratic transformation, requiring a long-term commitment by all parties, the Secretary-General underscored, adding that it is vital that the polls are credible in the eyes of the Sudanese people.

"Coming to an agreement on how to proceed with elections will also allow the parties to give the requisite attention to preparations for the referendums in 2011," the report said.

Oct 31 2009 2:10PM
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THOUSANDS IN ASIA-PACIFIC SPRINT TO FIGHT H1N1 -- UN

THOUSANDS IN ASIA-PACIFIC SPRINT TO FIGHT H1N1 -- UN
New York, Oct 31 2009 2:10PM
Some 11,000 people have taken part in today's United Nations running festival in Bangkok, Thailand, to raise awareness of the need to curb the spread of the H1N1 flu pandemic.

Over 400,000 confirmed cases and 5,000 deaths from H1N1 flu have been reported to the UN World Health Organization (<"http://www.who.int/en/">WHO) as of last week, but the actual number of cases is much higher since authorities in many countries have stopped counting individual cases, Noeleen Heyzer, Executive Secretary of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (<"http://www.unescap.org/">ESCAP), <"http://www.unescap.org/unis/press/2009/oct/l55.asp">said.

"The spread of this disease underscores the importance of ensuring a healthy balanced life style, something that Thailand is known for, as well as ensuring access to health and social services for all," she said at the UN Day Run, whose theme this yea
r is "Unite to Fight H1N1."

Diseases, she emphasized, know no boundaries. "But they can be stopped by awareness and education campaigns, healthy communities and affordable health care."

Today's event also commemorated the 60th anniversary of the UN being based in Thailand. Currently, 31 UN organizations are based in the Thai capital.

"The UN works around the world to make development more caring of our planet and more inclusive for our people," Ms. Heyzer stressed.

The WHO's latest recommendations call for single doses of H1N1 flu vaccine for adults, adolescents starting at age 10, and pregnant women.

The agency said that the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) on Immunization, which advises it on vaccine policy and strategy, recommended further studies in children older than six months and younger than 10 years, since the data are limited.

For pregnant women, SAGE noted that studies in experimental animals using live attenuated or inactivated vaccines found no evid
ence of direct or indirect harmful effects on fertility, pregnancy, foetal development, birthing or post-natal development.

"Based on these data and the substantially elevated risk for a severe outcome in pregnant women infected with the pandemic virus, SAGE recommended that any licensed vaccine can be used in pregnant women, provided no specific contraindication has been identified by the [national] regulatory authority," WHO said in its <"http://www.who.int/csr/disease/swineflu/notes/briefing_20091030/en/index.html">update.

Oct 31 2009 2:10PM
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BAN CONCERNED THAT KEY ELEMENTS OF NEPAL'S PEACE PROCESS NOT YET IMPLEMENTED

BAN CONCERNED THAT KEY ELEMENTS OF NEPAL'S PEACE PROCESS NOT YET IMPLEMENTED
New York, Oct 31 2009 2:10PM
That key commitments in the peace process in Nepal have not been implemented is cause for serious concern, with persistent mistrust among the parties undercutting their capacities for flexible negotiation, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has written in a new <"http://www.unmin.org.np/downloads/keydocs/SG%20Report%20Oct%2009.pdf">report.

The parties' "absorption in day-to-day politics and internal party issues" are also impeding talks, but recently the three major parties have created an informal task force and started discussing contentious issues pertaining to the peace process and constitution, Mr. Ban said.

A decade-long civil war, claiming some 13,000 lives, ended in 2006 with the signing of a peace accord between the Government and Maoists. After conducting Constituent Assembly elections in May 2008, the nation abolished its 240-year-old monarchy and declared itself a rep
ublic.

"While consultations at all levels continue in an ad hoc manner, it remains my view that a more formal mechanism in support of such interactions among senior leaders would benefit the peace process," the Secretary-General noted.

The election of a representative Assembly -- whose central and "arguably most important challenge" is to draft a new constitution to be promulgated next May -- is the most significant achievement of the peace process to date, he said.

The overall schedule to draw up the constitution has been revised for the sixth time and senior leaders of the main parties have generally not participated in discussions.

Mr. Ban called on the parties to step up efforts to address the long-term underlying causes of the conflict, such as restructuring the State and land reform. "To date, there has been little by way of agreed strategies for moving forward on these vital issues."

After months of "drift," the recent plan to restart the discharge of disqualified for
mer Maoist fighters, with the joint engagement of the Government and Maoists, bodes well for the peace process, but he warned that it is too early to be confident about the initiative's success.

"It is therefore critical that the Government, UCPN-M [Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist] and the Maoist army sustain their cooperation and implement this long-overdue commitment as soon as possible," he said.

"Nepal is on the path of major political and social transformation," the Secretary-General wrote in his latest report on the UN Mission in Nepal (<"http://www.unmin.org.np/">UNMIN). "A Government of national unity remains desirable for timely promulgation of the country's new constitution and for the successful integration and rehabilitation of Maoist army personnel."

But also essential is a thorough review of the peace pact's implementation, which has not taken place since its signing in August 2006. "The parties should develop a clear road map of the priority actions needed
to fulfil the expectations of the people of Nepal for the dividends of democracy and social transformation," he said.

In spite of the initial positive steps taken to promote the integration and rehabilitation of Maoist army personnel and discharge those disqualified by the 2007 verification process, the report pointed out that "those steps are rather tentative and cannot with certainty be considered sufficient to create the conditions for the completion of the Mission's activities by the end of the current mandate" next January.

"This underscores the considerable task that awaits the Nepalese parties in the coming two and a half months," the Secretary-General said. UNMIN, which was set up in January 2007 to assist with the peace process, "and the United Nations as a whole stand ready to assist them in achieving their peace process commitments."
Oct 31 2009 2:10PM
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BREAKING NEWS ALERT

OHIO POLICE ARREST SEX OFFENDER AFTER BODIES FOUND INSIDE AND OUTSIDE HIS HOME

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BREAKING NEWS ALERT

GOP UNITING BEHIND CONSERVATIVE CANDIDATE IN N.Y. CONGRESSIONAL RACE AFTER GOP CANDIDATE DROPS OUT

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Today's News from TheEagle.com

---

• Getting a jump on Halloween
• Facility to get Bryan land
• Gun seized from school
• Cell phone ban in effect near schools
• Many await H1N1 shot
• Police: Man on bike caught pulling stolen lawnmower
• Sun setting on daylight saving
• Price of gas stalls spending
• Bryan student arrested after bringing knife to school, police say
• Groups saluting military at game
• BP slapped with record $87M fine
• Austin cemetery tour takes walk on the wild side
• Arts agencies pull off increase in funds
• Officials tout jobs from stimulus
• Clinton tight-lipped about drone attacks
• Hondurans OK accord
• Report: Dozens of lawmakers scrutinized
• 9 feared dead in midair crash
• Bonfire links
• Religion notes
• Banish emptiness by daring to rejoice in the Lord
• Letters for October 31
• Calendar
• Police investigate fatal wreck
• Warning: Hang up the cell while in a CS school zone

Getting a jump on Halloween Posted: 30 Oct 2009 05:39 PM PDT Eleven-month-old Damion Miller waits with other costumed children to enter the George Bush Presidential Library for the second annual Night at the Museum trick-or-treating event Friday. Area churches have kid-friendly activities on tap today, and ret ...

Facility to get Bryan land Posted: 30 Oct 2009 05:22 PM PDT The Bryan City Council on Friday agreed to give 21.44 acres of land to the Texas A&M University System in an effort to attract a biomanufacturing company to the city.The agreement is the first of many expected initiatives to entice the company to ...

Gun seized from school Posted: 30 Oct 2009 05:23 PM PDT Bryan police were investigating how a 9-year-old gained access to a .25-caliber handgun that was found in his backpack at school on Friday.The Ben Milam Elementary School fourth-grader will not face criminal charges because of his age, officials said ...

Cell phone ban in effect near schools Posted: 30 Oct 2009 05:23 PM PDT Consider this your first warning: If you're driving in a College Station school zone, get off the phone. College Station police said Friday that officers will issue warnings for drivers using their cell phones in a school zone until Nov. 15, when ci ...

Many await H1N1 shot Posted: 30 Oct 2009 05:22 PM PDT Some Brazos County residents have been vaccinated for the swine flu, but most residents are still waiting. The H1N1 vaccines are being manufactured at the federal level and distributed through states to county health departments. H1N1 is a strain of ...

Police: Man on bike caught pulling stolen lawnmower Posted: 30 Oct 2009 03:37 AM PDT Bryan Police said they arrested a 21-year-old man on a burglary charge after an officer saw him pulling a stolen lawnmower behind his bicycle.Steadmon Lee Sims was arrested Thursday on a charge of burglary of a building.An officer said in a police re ...

Sun setting on daylight saving Posted: 30 Oct 2009 05:20 PM PDT Having an extra hour to sleep in might encourage some to party extra hard on Halloween night, but come Sunday morning, there are a few chores to attend to. Flip the mattress, wind back the clock, rotate the rugs and check the fire alarms. Fire offici ...

Price of gas stalls spending Posted: 30 Oct 2009 05:32 PM PDT NEW YORK -- Americans are paying more for gasoline than they did last year as the holidays approached -- billions of dollars that could go to books, clothes and Barbie dolls instead.Gas averaged nearly $2.70 a gallon Friday, the highest of the year - ...

Bryan student arrested after bringing knife to school, police say Posted: 30 Oct 2009 04:31 AM PDT A 17-year-old Bryan Collegiate High School student was arrested after a double-edged, nine-inch knife was found in his pocket, authorities said.Nathan Aron Toler of Bryan was charged Thursday with unlawfully carrying a weapon in a weapons-free zone.T ...

Groups saluting military at game Posted: 30 Oct 2009 05:20 PM PDT -- Eagle Staff ReportDuring Saturday's Texas A&M football game against Iowa State University, the Fightin' Texas Aggie Band will perform America the Beautiful, student group Silver Wings will raise the Spirit Flag, and the 12th Man TV at the sout ...

BP slapped with record $87M fine Posted: 30 Oct 2009 05:16 PM PDT WASHINGTON -- The Occupational Safety and Health Administration on Friday imposed a record $87 million fine against oil giant BP PLC for failing to correct safety hazards after a 2005 explosion killed 15 workers at its Texas City refinery.The fine -- ...

Austin cemetery tour takes walk on the wild side Posted: 30 Oct 2009 05:16 PM PDT Austin American-StatesmanAUSTIN -- If every life is a story, then every burial plot, every tombstone silently holds the secrets.Danny Camacho's job is to make the dead speak.How did they meet their fate? How did their deaths affect their families? Wh ...

Arts agencies pull off increase in funds Posted: 30 Oct 2009 05:18 PM PDT WASHINGTON -- The National Endowment for the Arts and National Endowment for the Humanities are expected to receive their highest levels of funding in 16 years from a bill President Barack Obama is expected to sign into law by this weekend.Under the ...

Officials tout jobs from stimulus Posted: 30 Oct 2009 05:18 PM PDT WASHINGTON -- Nearly 650,000 jobs have been saved or created under President Barack Obama's economic stimulus plan, the government said Friday, and the White House declared the nation on track to meet the president's goal of 3.5 million by the end of ...

Clinton tight-lipped about drone attacks Posted: 30 Oct 2009 05:32 PM PDT ISLAMABAD -- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton faced sharp rebukes from Pakistani audiences Friday, including one woman who accused the U.S. of conducting "executions without trial" in aerial drone strikes. Slapping back, Clinton questio ...

Hondurans OK accord Posted: 30 Oct 2009 05:19 PM PDT TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras -- Ousted President Manuel Zelaya said Friday that a U.S.-brokered pact would restore him to power in about a week, ending Honduras' isolation four months after soldiers flew the leftist leader into exile in his pajamas.The agre ...

Report: Dozens of lawmakers scrutinized Posted: 30 Oct 2009 05:24 PM PDT WASHINGTON -- Dozens of lawmakers have drawn scrutiny from their ethics monitor this year for everything from financial dealings to travel and campaign donations, according to a leaked account showing an active House panel secretly at work.Seven of t ...

9 feared dead in midair crash Posted: 30 Oct 2009 05:20 PM PDT SAN DIEGO -- The nighttime collision of a Coast Guard aircraft on a rescue mission and a Marine helicopter left nine people feared dead at sea Friday as investigators tried to solve the mystery of how the aircrews failed to see each other in a heavil ...

Bonfire links Posted: 30 Oct 2009 03:31 PM PDT 1999 bonfire commission report2002 bonfire planning review2002 bonfire projected costsRay Bowen's 2002 bonfire announcement ...

Religion notes Posted: 30 Oct 2009 05:24 PM PDT Saturday* St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, 217 W. 26th St. in Bryan, will hold St. Andrew's Ville from 6 to 7:30 p.m. in the youth hall. Cost of admission is a can of food to benefit the church food pantry. Enter through outside metal stairs on the par ...

Banish emptiness by daring to rejoice in the Lord Posted: 30 Oct 2009 05:24 PM PDT I remember stepping through the front "door" of his home. Door? Well, it was an opening; there was no door, no closing the outside from the inside, just a hole in the wall shaped like a door. Elijah, who must have weighed 100 pounds dripping wet, was ...

Letters for October 31 Posted: 30 Oct 2009 05:05 PM PDT It was almost like being at a Beatles concert My husband and I attended the Rain concert Wednesday evening and I had a ball. I was very a small girl when the Beatles were in their heyday but I now have an excellent idea what it would have been l ...

Calendar Posted: 30 Oct 2009 05:25 PM PDT MARK YOUR CALENDARSThe Bear Hugs! Teddy Bear and Stuffed Animal Collection Drive runs through Nov. 13 at Post Oak Mall in College Station. Bring in a new teddy bear or stuffed animal to be given to special needs children at Christmas. The donation bi ...

Police investigate fatal wreck Posted: 30 Oct 2009 05:13 PM PDT From left: Bryan police Officers David Lund, John Agnew and William Challis and Sgt. Jeff Peters set up a tripod Friday while investigating an Oct. 21 motorcycle wreck that killed 35-year-old Bryan resident Benjamin McKenzie. ...

Warning: Hang up the cell while in a CS school zone Posted: 30 Oct 2009 04:49 AM PDT Warnings will be issued through Nov. 15 to drivers using a cell phone in College Station school zones, but after that a citation will be given. Signs displaying the ban of cell phone usage in school zones have to be posted around schools before the ...

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