Three Indian sites added to UNESCO list of biosphere reserves

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 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 17th, 2009 PARIS - Controversial Egyptian Culture Minister Farouk Hosny failed to get the necessary majority late Thursday in the first round of voting to find a successor to outgoing Unesco director general Koichiro Matsuura. According to diplomats close to Unesco, the 71-year-old Hosny received 22 votes from the 58 members of the organisation's executive council, well short of a majority.

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.

September 1st, 2009 URUMQI - China is planning to include four mountain lakes in the country's northwest on the World Heritage List, an expert said Tuesday. The lakes will be entered as a single unit on the list.

July 16th, 2009 SHIMLA - The Great Himalayan National Park may get global recognition, with Unesco's world heritage committee placing it in the latest shortlist of world heritage sites. With magnificent glaciers, lofty mountains and gurgling streams, the national park in Himachal Pradesh's Kullu valley is one of the richest biodiversity sites in the western Himalayas.

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.

July 6th, 2009 UNESCO adds Dolomites to world heritage listMADRID — Italy's Dolomite mountains were among 13 new sites added to UNESCO's world heritage list. Other new natural sites added to the list included the Wadden Sea wetlands, an area rich in wildlife in Germany and the Netherlands; and northern China's Mount Wutai, a sacred Buddhist site known for its five flat peaks and a landscape with 53 monasteries.

July 4th, 2009 Afghan mine clearers rescue artifactsBAMIYAN, Afghanistan — On a rocky hillside in central Afghanistan, men in visored helmets and protective blue smocks gently scratch the earth for land mines — or shards of pottery from the sixth century. Afghanistan is one of the most heavily mined countries in the world.

June 26th, 2009 UNESCO names new world heritage sitesMADRID — Italy's Dolomite mountains and the Wadden Sea along the coasts of Germany and the Netherlands were among several sites added Friday to UNESCO's world heritage list. The U.N. agency's World Heritage Committee announced the additions, most of them nature-related, at a meeting in Seville, Spain.

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 22nd, 2009 UNESCO panel considers new World Heritage sitesMADRID — The Dolomite mountains in northern Italy and architectural works by Le Corbusier are among sites nominated to join UNESCO's World Heritage List at a meeting that began Monday in Spain. The World Heritage Committee will also consider taking the rare step of dropping a site, in Germany, because a construction project is encroaching upon it.

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.