No new Unesco head after first round of voting

October 13th, 2009 UNESCO: drought forces 100,000 Iraqis from homesPARIS — Not war but drought has forced more than 100,000 people in northern Iraq to abandon their homes since 2005, with 36,000 more on the verge of leaving, UNESCO said Tuesday. The four-year drought and excessive well pumping have led to the collapse of an ancient system of underground aqueducts, or karez, as they are known in Iraq.

September 23rd, 2009 Egyptian minister blames Jews for UNESCO lossCAIRO — Egypt's culture minister on Wednesday blamed a conspiracy "cooked up in New York" by the world's Jews for keeping him from becoming the next head of the U.N.'s agency for culture and education. Farouk Hosny was defeated on Tuesday by Bulgarian diplomat Irina Bokova in a tight race for the position of UNESCO chair.

September 23rd, 2009 Egypt: Minister blames Jews for UNESCO lossCAIRO — Egypt's culture minister on Wednesday blamed a conspiracy "cooked up in New York" by the world's Jews for keeping him from becoming the next head of the U.N.'s agency for culture and education. Farouk Hosny was defeated on Tuesday by Bulgarian diplomat Irina Bokova in a tight race for the position of UNESCO chair.

September 22nd, 2009 Fraud allegations at UNESCO racePARIS — The U.N.'s cultural agency braced for an unusually suspenseful final round of voting to select its new chief — a race so tight it may come down to a random drawing between a controversial Egyptian and his low-profile Bulgarian rival. UNESCO denied allegations of last-minute bribery attempts to sway the voting that surfaced Tuesday, hours before the fifth-round balloting.

September 22nd, 2009 PARIS - Bulgarian diplomat Irina Bokova was late Tuesday elected as the first-ever woman Unesco director-general, diplomatic sources said. The 57-year-old Bokova received 31 votes from the 58-member Unesco Executive Board.

September 21st, 2009 UNESCO race down to 2 candidatesPARIS — An Egyptian culture minister who once threatened to burn Israeli books will face off against a career diplomat from Bulgaria in the race to lead the U.N.'s agency for learning and culture. In an election full of suspense, secrecy and surprise maneuvers, two candidates for UNESCO's top job tied in a fourth round of voting Monday, the Paris-based organization said.

September 19th, 2009 UNESCO undecided over new leaderPARIS — The United Nations' agency for culture and education remains undecided about who will be UNESCO's next leader. The U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization says on its Web site that a third round of voting Saturday at its Paris headquarters was inconclusive, as no candidate won the needed majority of 58 votes cast.

September 5th, 2009 ABU DHABI - The fourth meeting of Unesco's Intergovernmental Committee of Intangible Heritage will be held Sep 28-Oct 2 in this United Arab Emirates capital. Abu Dhabi will receive around 400 official delegations from 114 countries that have signed Unesco's Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Heritage, WAM news agency reported Saturday.

July 12th, 2009 Cruise ship spills oil in Norwegian fjordOSLO — Norwegian police say a large amount of oil has leaked from a cruise ship in the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Geiranger fjord. Police spokesman Magne Toennoey says authorities have managed to contain the oil in one spot to prevent it from spreading and will try to pump it out of the water.

July 10th, 2009 PARIS - Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal met UNESCO Director-General Koichiro Matsuura and impressed upon him India's keenness for establishing the Mahatma Gandhi Institute for Peace Education and Sustainable Development. During the meeting in Paris on Thursday, Sibal said this proposed Category-I UNESCO institute should be a symbol of rich heritage and values of peace and diversity that India stands for.

July 9th, 2009 UNESCO: U.S military inflicted considerable damage on Babylon PARIS — Experts for UNESCO say considerable damage was inflicted by the U.S. military in Iraq to one of the world's most important archaeological sites.

June 26th, 2009 UNESCO names 2 new world heritage sitesMADRID — UNESCO has added Italy's Dolomite mountains and the Wadden Sea along the coasts of Germany and the Netherlands to its list of World Heritage Sites. The U.N. agency announced the decision at a meeting of its World Heritage Committee in Seville in southern Spain.

June 9th, 2009 UNITED NATIONS - Nine candidates are in the fray for the top job at the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), officials said. Current UNESCO director-general Koichiro Matsuura will end his term in November.

May 21st, 2009 PARIS - Russia's Vera Zvonareva has been named a 'Promoter of Gender Equality' by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Zvonareva, 24, is ranked number six on Women's Tennis Association (WTA) charts and has been appointed to call attention to gender equality issues at the national and global levels.

April 6th, 2009 PARIS - Murdered Sri Lankan journalist Lasantha Wickrematunge has been named recipient of the 2009 UNESCO World Press Freedom Prize, the UN's educational and cultural organisation said Monday. 'Jury members were moved to an almost unanimous choice by a man who was clearly conscious of the dangers he faced but nevertheless chose to speak out, even beyond his grave,' said Joe Thloloe, president of the 14-member jury.