Shelter urgently needed for Haitian quake victims, UN reports

Beyond food, hundreds of thousands of Haitian earthquake victims displaced from their homes in Port-au-Prince, Léogâne and Jacmel urgently need shelter, with plastic sheeting taking priority over tents, the United Nations reported today in its latest update three weeks after the catastrophe struck the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.

Large Hadron Collider to jump to maximum energy

Rather than first ramping up to intermediate energy levels, the accelerator will operate at more modest levels before jumping to its maximum design energy

UN neutral in next year’s southern Sudan referendum, Ban stresses

The United Nations has taken no position on next year’s referendum on independence for southern Sudan, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon underscored today as he refuted recent media reports to the contrary.

UN closes Palestinian refugee camp straddling Iraqi-Syrian border

The United Nations refugee agency has closed a makeshift camp located between the borders of Iraq and Syria and relocated the last of the Palestinians who had been stranded there for nearly four years.

Georgians displaced in South Ossetian conflict get Internet access thanks to UN

Thousands of Georgians displaced by the 2008 conflict with Russia over South Ossetia are getting access to computers for their education and livelihood purposes, thanks to an initiative by the United Nations refugee agency.

Top UN envoy holds long series of talks with Iraqi leaders to ensure success of polls

The top United Nations envoy in Iraq is continuing talks with the country’s various Iraqi leaders to ensure that elections scheduled for the first week in March can be conducted in a credible manner with the help of the international community, leading to an outcome acceptable to the Iraqi people.

Today on New Scientist: 2 February 2010

Today’s stories on newscientist.com at a glance, including: why our knowledge might not survive, why water vapour is a worse climate villain than we thought, and tiny dino death pits

Child labour impeding development in Ecuador, says UN rights expert

Despite the commitment shown by Ecuador to eliminate child labour, the scourge remains a major obstacle to the country’s development efforts, said an independent United Nations human rights expert.

UN calls on Europe to take in larger share of refugees for resettlement

The United Nations refugee agency today called on Europe to play a larger role in refugee resettlement, 90 per cent of which is currently borne by the United States, Canada and Australia.

Haiti’s children at increased risk of abduction, slavery and trafficking, UN experts warn

Unaccompanied children in Haiti, including orphans and those sent by their parents to live with more affluent relatives or strangers, run a greater risk of being abducted, enslaved, sold or trafficked due to increased insecurity following last month’s devastating earthquake, a group of United Nations human rights experts warned today.