Transport experts and municipal authorities from major cities across Asia have gathered today at a United Nations meeting in Seoul to examine how a well integrated system of buses, subways and trains can contribute to sustainable development.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Special Adviser on the prevention of genocide is travelling to West Africa to identify how national and sub-regional bodies can help prevent the scourge.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today appealed for restraint from all sides after clashes erupted in East Jerusalem today, pledging to push for a resumption of direct talks between Israel and the Palestinians in a bid to find a solution to the long-running conflict.

The panel of experts being set up by the United Nations as part of an accountability process following the end of the civil war in Sri Lanka will not infringe on the country’s sovereignty, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today.

The United Nations war crimes tribunal set up in the wake of the Balkan conflicts in the 1990s will need more time to complete its work after originally being scheduled to wind down at the end of this year, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is on standby with emergency relief supplies for thousands of people in Fiji and the Solomon Islands, which were pummeled by heavy winds and rains from two extreme cyclones.

The United Nations is strengthening civilian peacekeeping with the creation of a Senior Advisory Group for the Review of International Civilian Capacities chaired by Jean-Marie Guéhenno, the former Under-Secretary General for Peacekeeping Operations.

Russian authorities need to better assess the impact of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi and tourism projects on the local ecosystem and put in place appropriate mitigation measures, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) announced in a report released today.

/CNW/ - Bird Construction Income Fund announced today that an operating subsidiary of the Fund is a member of a consortium named as the preferred proponent in the pursuit of a project to design, build, finance and maintain 10 new schools in Alberta.

/CNW/ - BioMS Medical Corp. (TSX: MS), today announced financial and operational results for the year ended December 31, 2009.

The head of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) today called for some of the $20 billion pledged last year by the world’s biggest economies to help farmers in poor countries buffeted by the global recession to be directed towards Haiti as it recovers from January’s catastrophic earthquake.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today appointed the United States foreign policy adviser, diplomat and academic Anthony Lake as the next Executive Director of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

/CNW/ - A provincial court judge today sentenced a Montreal man to serve an additional seven (7) days in jail and to complete one hundred (100) hours of community service for movie piracy.

/CNW/ - Swiss Water Decaffeinated Coffee Income Fund (TSX symbol: SWS.UN) today declared a cash distribution of $0.0300 per unit for the period from March 1 to March 31, 2010. The distribution will be to unit holders of record at the close of business on March 31, 2010, and will be payable on April 15, 2010.

With five years to go before the 2015 deadline to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says progress has been uneven and without an accelerated action plan several Goals are likely to be missed in many countries.