Résolution sur Jérusalem : l'Unesco persiste et signe, Israël rapelle son ambassadeur

L'Unesco persiste et signe. Un peu plus d'une semaine après avoir adopté une résolution sur Jérusalem-Est vivement contestée en Israël, l'institution onusienne a adopté un nouveau texte décrié par l'État hébreu.

UNESCO chief distances self from Jerusalem vote as Israel suspends ties

Israel suspended cooperation with UNESCO on Friday after the UN cultural organisation adopted two resolutions on annexed east Jerusalem ahead of a final vote next week.

UNESCO General Conference rejects membership for Kosovo

The General Conference of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has rejected on Monday the bid for membership of the self-proclaimed Republic of Kosovo. According to the latest data, Kosovo fell short of collecting 95 votes required for joining the international organization.

Syrian army captures western parts of Palmyra

The Syrian army is dvancing against the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) group in the city of Palmyra in central Syria, capturing parts of western mountains in the city, local media said Sunday.

Cuba, US join hands to protect Hemingway's legacy

The Cuban and the US institutions announced Saturday in Havana that they will continue to work together to protect US writer Ernest Hemingway's legacy.

Saudi-led warplanes hit UNESCO-listed old Sanaa

An air strike by the Saudi-led coalition on the old quarter of the Yemeni capital killed five people on Friday and destroyed three houses in the UNESCO-listed heritage site.

ISIS ‘will not destroy’ Palmyra ruins, only statues

Footage released by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) showed the ruins of Syria’s Palmyra untouched as the militant group claimed it only destroy statues which it deems polytheistic, the Guardian newspaper reported on Wednesday.

ISIS/ISIL said to be in full control of Syria's Palmyra

Fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/ISIS) have taken full control of Syria's ancient city of Palmyra, according to activists and a monitoring group.

Islamic State militants close in on Syria's historic Palmyra

Islamic State group militants advanced on the Syrian city of Palmyra on Thursday, raising fears that the UNESCO world heritage site faces imminent destruction at the hands of the same jihadists who destroyed ancient Iraqi artefacts earlier this year.

Quake Leaves Swath of Destruction in Kathmandu. The U.S. Geological Service is estimating there could be between 1,000 and 10,000 people dead.

VOA's Southeast Asia correspondent Steve Herman is closely following the unfolding disaster in Nepal and nearby nations. He described what happened after the Earth's crust shifted and unleashed the major earthquake that shook the Himalayan region Saturday.

Cyprus-Russia will cooperate regardless concerns others may have, says President

President Nicos Anastasiades has said that Cyprus and Russia wish to enhance their ties and cooperate even closer in an attempt to create conditions for peace and stability in many areas, adding that this cooperation will continue irrespective of reactions and concerns others may have.

UNESCO chief calls for ‘protected cultural zones’ in war-torn Iraq, Syria

UN, 3 December 2014 – Denouncing the persecution of minorities, attacks on cultural heritage and illicit trafficking in cultural properties in Iraq and Syria as “part of a strategy of deliberate cultural cleansing of exceptional violence,” the head of the United Nations cultural agency today urged the creation of “protected cultural zones” around heritage sites in the two crisis-riven countries.

UNESCO chief appeals to parties in Libya to stop destruction of cultural heritage

UN,  15 October 2014 – The head of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) today called on all parties in Libya to safeguard the country’s cultural and religious heritage amid a recent intensification of violence there.

In a press release, UNESCO reported that a group of gunmen stormed and vandalized the renowned Karamanli Mosque on 7 October, located in the capital, Tripoli, removing ceramic tiles, marble decorations and severely damaging the floor. Days later, the UN agency noted, the historic Othman Pasha Madrassa was damaged and looted while another attempt to vandalize the Darghout Mosque was thwarted by local volunteers.

UN agency chief warns that northern Iraq is facing 'cultural cleansing'

UN,  9 August 2014 – As United Nations humanitarian agencies and partners are extending aid to hundreds of thousands of families on the run in northern Iraq from armed militants, a senior UN official is calling for an immediate stop to what she termed an “emerging cultural cleansing.”

Irina Bokova, Director-General of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), called for an immediate end to the attacks and for the protection of the diversity that has “forged the wealth and vitality of Iraqi culture over the millennia, as a unique testimony of the development of civilization and peaceful coexistence.”

China, Greece vow to further deepen bilateral ties. (Both China and Greece have unique cultures with profound impacts on human civilization)

Chinese President Xi Jinping met with his Greek counterpart Karolos Papoulias here on Sunday to exchange views on the development of bilateral ties and major international and regional issues of common concern.

Noting that the China-Greece relationship is developing in good shape and on a solid basis, Xi said China attaches great importance to developing its comprehensive strategic partnership with the European country.

Both China and Greece have unique cultures with profound impacts on human civilization, and the two peoples appreciate and respect each other, said Xi.

UN expresses concern of China’s detention of Tibetan singers and musicians

Geneva, 9 July: Seven Special Procedures experts of the UN Human Rights Council wrote to the Chinese authorities to highlight UN’s concern about the human rights situation of Tibetan singers and musicians. Since 2008, China has especially cracked down on Tibetan intellectuals.

In a communication sent to China on 3 February 2014, UN stated “Serious concerns are expressed that the alleged arbitrary arrest and detention or enforced disappearance of the aforementioned 10 Tibetan singers and musicians may be linked to their legitimate human rights activities.”

With Syria’s culture near ‘point of no return’, UN agency to create safeguard observatory

UN,  28 May 2014 – In hopes of ebbing the ‘cultural haemorrhage’ in Syria, the United Nations cultural agency today announced that it will establish an observatory to monitor and access the state of Syria’s cultural heritage which is ‘reaching the point of no return.’

Based at its office in Beirut, Lebanon, the Observatory will maintain an online platform where national and international stakeholders will share information on damaged structures, looted artefacts and all forms of endangered intangible heritage.

Return of illegally exported cultural objects: simpler rules approved by culture MEPs

An informal deal with Council on revised rules to help member states recover cultural objects unlawfully removed from their territory was endorsed by the Culture and Education Committee on Thursday by 14 votes to one.

Several EU countries, such as Italy, Poland, France, and Germany and Romania, have suffered serious thefts and illegal exports of cultural heritage goods since the single market was created.

London council highlights issue of cultural heritage destruction in occupied Cyprus. -Much has also been done by the organised Cypriot diaspora in the UK.

By Thanasis Gavos – London

It’s been very frequently in recent years that the issue of the destruction and desecration of the Greek Cypriot cultural/religious heritage in the occupied northern part of Cyprus has been discussed. International reports and the work by people such as Tasoula Hadjitofi from the ‘Walk of Truth’ organisation have highlighted concerns about the behaviour of the occupying force.

Much has also been done by the organised Cypriot diaspora in the UK, people residing in one of the guarantor powers with a say in what’s going on in the island. The latest initiative concerns the occupied Morphou and comes from its twinned London council of Barnet.

Bulgaria Says Willing to Ink Friendship Treaty with F.Y.R.O.M. ... Bulgaria and FYROM share a common past and a similar language.

Bulgaria is strongly committed to signing a good-neighbor agreement with FYROM and is negotiating to settle the matters that still exist in the bilateral relations, Bulgarian Foreign Minister Kristian Vigenin has said.

“The differences of principle between the two countries are related mainly to three key issues” Vigenin told the Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) on Monday.

He assured that Bulgarian government continues conducting talks with Skopje regarding the key differences that still need to be settled.

The Bulgarian Foreign Minister explained that one of the issues is due to the common history that the two countries share and it concerns the arrangement of celebrating important historic dates.