Region

About 776 million adults, mostly women, are illiterate, and 75 million children are outside the schools system, the UN Secretary General stressed on the occasion of World Literacy Day, and went on to explain that only education allows individuals to exercise their rights as citizens and human beings. Mr. Ban called upon all to redouble the commitment to universal literacy.

President Evo Morales visits Madrid in the next few days. Using this state visit, the Evo Welcoming Committee has organised a meeting with the President and thousands of Bolivians, Latin American immigrants and Spaniards, who will show their support for the Andean leader. This event takes place on Sunday 13, at 5pm, at the Cubierta de Leganés.

Three of the member countries of NATO want to urgently detail a plan of retreat from Afghanistan; this comes after the latest strike against two tankers at the start of September – implicating the West in the death of civilians. A conference will be held between representatives of the three countries to arrange plans.

James Elder, an Australian national, was appointed spokesperson for the United Nations children’s fund (UNICEF) in July last year. He appeared regularly on television and radio news, as well as in print media, discussing the plight of children caught up in Sri Lanka’s decades-long civil war. He has now been accused by the government of doing propaganda in support of the LTTE.

A spokesperson for Afghanistan’s Independent Election Commission says votes from 447 polling stations have been annulled due to fraud. The cancelled ballot papers could amount to as many as 200,000 votes. Partial results released today give sitting President Hamid Karzai 48.6 percent of the vote while his closest rival, former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah, 31.7 percent.

A letter aimed towards endorsers of the World March has been sent by the International Spokesperson for the World March for Peace and Nonviolence, Rafael de la Rubia, asking for people to donate kilometres to the team of people who will cover the 160,000 km of the World March. Kilometres can be donated through the internet in the official World March website.

Peruvian President Alan García has been accused by the Executive Director of Peru’s Association for Human Rights (APRODEH), Miguel Jugo Viera, of trying to force the Police to use their weapons to repress popular protests. During 2009 Peru has been witness already to 52 cases of people assassinated in protests in the country.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said the Israeli plan to build 455 housing units in settlement blocs in the occupied West Bank is unacceptable. The plan approved by Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak has the opposition of many countries. The proposal contravenes urgent appeals by the White House and the European Union to end construction of new houses in the West Bank.

The Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OEA), José Miguel Insulza, assured that the body would not recognize the electoral process proposed by the de-facto Government of Honduras. He stated that the elections would only be valid if the constitutional president Manual Zelaya were allowed to return.

From August 26 to 28, the XXIst United Nations Conference on Disarmament Issues – one of the most important forums for dialogue on nuclear non-proliferation – took place in the Japanese city of Niigata. “The Nuclear-Armed States must lead by example by reducing their nuclear weaponry”, stated Kanat B. Saudabayev, Secretary of State of Kazakstan.