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January 12, 2007 \| News = covering=20 the UN and the world	Sign up \| E-Mail this =

Iran's "museum city" trampled by modern = ways

Iran's city of Isfahan, often = called the=20 "museum city" for its rich, ancient history, is threatened = by=20 modernity and progress: 400-year-old buildings are being = destroyed=20 to make room for shopping malls and roads, BBC reports. One = of the=20 city's historic places that has taken a beating is the = Naqshe Jahan=20 Square, a UNESCO World Heritage site. BBC=20 (1/12)

Ban=20 to focus on Africa, Lebanon on first big trip =20
Forecast:=20 Most people urbanites by 2008 =20
Report:=20 Localities lead way against climate change =20
Secretary-General=20 calls for Guantanamo Bay closure =20
Ban=20 urges world to rally for Somalia peace =20
Pistons=20 and NBA Cares support Nothing But Nets campaign =20
UN=20 Wire will not be published Monday

<= /TD>

The task of saving the = world's modern=20 cities might seem hopeless - except that it is already = happening.

Christopher = Flavin,=20 president of Worldwatch Institute. Read the full story.=20

UN DISPATCH: = "Secretary-General=20 Ban Ki-moon told the 'Group of 77' yesterday that = working=20 closely with the caucus of developing nations will = help him to=20 build a stronger UN."

UN=20 = Dispatch



	Ban to focus on Africa, Lebanon on first = big=20 trip Ban Ki-moon said he will take his first major = trip as=20 secretary-general later this month, attending an = African Union=20 meeting in Ethiopia and a Paris summit on how to = rebuild=20 Lebanon after last summer's war. "Africa will be the = focus of=20 many of my priorities, and my first major trip will = reflect=20 that focus," Ban said at a news conference, adding = that his=20 partaking in the meeting on Lebanon's reconstruction = is in=20 keeping with his other major priority to help = stabilize the=20 Middle East. The Guardian (London)/Associated = Press (1/12)
	Secretary-General clarifies he backs end = of death=20 penalty around world UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday = clarified=20 his position on the death penalty, saying he supports = a global=20 trend toward the abandonment of capital punishment. "I = recognize the growing trend in international law and = in=20 national practice towards a phasing out of the death = penalty,"=20 Ban told reporters. "I encourage that trend." = The New York Times (1/12)
	Other News
	Swiss ambassador will push security, = sustainable=20 development SwissInfo (1/12)



	Forecast: Most people urbanites by = 2008=20 Some time next year, United = Nations=20 experts and others forecast, for the first time more = people=20 around the world will live in cities than in rural = areas. The=20 unprecedented shift, spurred by population growth and=20 migration, is mainly taking place in Africa and Asia = and comes=20 with various challenges to the environment and quality = of=20 life, the Worldwatch Institute's annual "State of the = World=20 2007" report warns. The Christian Science Monitor (1/12)
	Ordinary folks, extraordinary=20 volunteerism TV talk show host Oprah Winfrey got a lot of = attention=20 this month when she opened a school for girls in South = Africa,=20 but a lot of other people who are not celebrities also = are=20 volunteering to help the developing world, NPR = reports. Two=20 such "ordinary Oprahs" are Lidia Schaefer, a = manicurist in=20 Washington, D.C., who has built schoolhouses in = Ethiopia, and=20 Wendy Johnson, an administrative assistant at NPR, who = founded=20 the nonprofit Age of Awareness that helps African and=20 African-American children. National Public Radio (text & = audio)=20 (1/11)
	Other News
	Zanzibar reports success preventing=20 malaria Daily=20 News (Tanzania Standard Newspapers) (1/12) =



	Report: Localities lead way against = climate=20 change Cities and other local governments tend to = lead the way=20 in the battle against climate change, an environmental = think=20 tank said this week. "That's certainly where you see=20 innovation, at the local level, whether it's mayors, = whether=20 it's community works or companies struggling to figure = out how=20 they can proceed," said Molly O'Meara Sheehan, project = director for the Worldwatch Institute's "State of the = World=20 2007" report. Environmental News = Network/Reuters (1/11)



	Secretary-General calls for Guantanamo Bay = closure United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon = reiterated=20 calls made by his predecessor, Kofi Annan, for the = U.S. to=20 close down its prisoner detention facility at = Guantanamo Bay=20 in Cuba. Speaking on the five-year anniversary of the = camp's=20 use in the U.S.-led war on terrorism, Ban drew = attention to a=20 previous promise by U.S. President George W. Bush to = shut down=20 the base. The Washington Times (1/12)
	Commentary: Human rights need more backing = from=20 Europe Europe can and should do much more to promote = human=20 rights around the world, Kenneth Roth, executive = director of=20 Human Rights Watch, writes in the Financial Times. = Promoting=20 human rights can be difficult, but U.S. leadership on = the=20 issue is in short supply right now, so it's crucial = that=20 Europe steps up and does more, Roth argues. Financial Times (1/11)
		U.S. no longer world's human rights = champion, HRW=20 says: The U.S.' position as the world's = primary=20 defender of human rights has in effect ended because = of its=20 inhumane treatment of prisoners as part of its war on = terror,=20 Human Rights Watch said Thursday. The Washington Post (1/12)
	Bangladesh elections postponed = Weeks of mounting political violence have led = the=20 interim head of the Bangladeshi government to declare = a state=20 of emergency and indefinitely postpone elections = scheduled to=20 take place in upcoming weeks. Iajuddin Ahmed said he = would=20 step down as head of government, but would retain the = post of=20 president. The Sun (Baltimore) (free = registration) (1/12)
		Five elections to watch in = 2007: Foreign=20 Policy magazine takes a look at five of the most = critical=20 elections happening around the globe in 2007. From the = high-profile showdown in France between Interior = Minister=20 Nicolas Sarkozy and Socialist candidate Segolene Royal = to=20 polls in Morocco, Turkey, South Korea and Argentina, = FP gives=20 the line on candidates and possible outcomes. = Foreign Policy (Washington, D.C.) = (free=20 registration) (1/12)



	Ban urges world to rally for Somalia=20 peace The international community should boost its = efforts to=20 bring long-term peace and stability to Somalia, UN=20 Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Thursday. "The = situation in=20 Somalia is a stark reminder of the need to redouble = our=20 political efforts to bring stabilization of the = political and=20 social situation as soon as possible," Ban said at a = news=20 conference. SeattlePI.com/Associated = Press (1/11)
	Hotel Rwanda hero questions quest for=20 justice Rwandan Paul Rusesabagina, known for his = heroic role=20 during the country's 1994 genocide and immortalized in = the=20 film "Hotel Rwanda," has said justice there has been = "slow and=20 biased" and largely favors the minority Tutsi = population.=20 Warning of the possibility of another genocide during = an=20 interview with Reuters, Rusesabagina called for a = process=20 similar to South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation = Commission=20 to help heal the country. AlertNet.org/Reuters (1/12)
	Southeast Asian countries mull = anti-terrorism=20 pact Ten Southeast Asian countries meeting in the=20 Philippines said Thursday they are considering a pact = to=20 better fight the terrorism. The members of the = Association of=20 Southeast Asian Nations plan to vote on the measure = Saturday.=20 The New York Times (1/12)
	Other News
	Eliasson: Sudan says military won't solve = Darfur=20 crisis Sudan=20 Tribune/Reuters (1/12)



	Pistons and NBA Cares support Nothing But = Nets=20 campaign The Detroit Pistons are aiding in the fight = against=20 malaria by supporting Nothing But Nets, a grassroots = campaign=20 asking individuals to donate $10 to "send a net, save = a life."=20 Fans who purchase a $25 ticket to the Pistons' = upcoming Martin=20 Luther King Jr. Day home game at 3:30 p.m., Jan. 15, = will be=20 providing a bed net to a family in need. The Pistons = and=20 American Red Cross will be honoring Ryan Lambert, a = Central=20 Michigan University student, and his professor, Dr. = Mumford,=20 as Michigan Heroes on-court at half-time of the game,=20 recognizing them for their fund-raising initiatives = with=20 Nothing But Nets. To learn more, go online or call 248-377-0100 to = purchase a=20 ticket and save a life. Visit http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/fVxYhMrCBZrfaxkBEI.



	UN Wire will not be published = Monday=20 In observance of Martin = Luther King Jr.=20 Day in the U.S., UN Wire will not be published Monday. = Publication will resume Tuesday.

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U.S. attacks in Somalia = understandable but=20 worrisome -- Secretary-General Ban ...

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UN Wire is a free service = sponsored by=20 the United=20 Nations Foundation which is dedicated to supporting = the=20 United Nations' efforts to address the most pressing = humanitarian,=20 socioeconomic and environmental challenges facing the world = today.=20



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