UNESCO grants Palestinians full membership The announcement comes a day after the Palestinians won full membership of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas says the move will speed up the destruction of the peace process. Mr Palmor said they were "a response to unilateral measures aimed at confronting Israel at the UN and elsewhere on the international scene". The Israeli government said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had called for the accelerated construction of some 2,000 housing units. Peace talks between the Palestinians and Israel broke down more than a year ago. The Palestinians are demanding an end to settlement building. Almost 500,000 Jews live in settlements on occupied territory. The settlements are illegal under international law, although Israel disputes this. VOV/BBC … [Read more...] about Israel to speed up settler homes after UNESCO vote
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U.S. halts financial contributions to UNESCO over admission of Palestine
The U.S. government announced on Monday it has halted making financial contributions to United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) after the latter admitted the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) as a full member."We were to have made a 60-million-dollar payment to UNESCO in November and we will not be making that payment," U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said at the daily news briefing. Nuland made the remarks in response to the vote at the 193- member UNESCO's general conference in Paris, France, which accepts the PNA as a full member. The PNA gained 107 votes for its membership bid to join the UNESCO, while 14 countries voted against and 52 others abstained, the UNESCO said after the vote. UNESCO's move to admit the PNA as a full member was " regrettable, premature", said Nuland. The move triggers U.S. Congress' restriction on funding to UN bodies which recognize PNA as a state before an Israeli- Palestinian peace deal is reached, … [Read more...] about U.S. halts financial contributions to UNESCO over admission of Palestine
VN attends 36th UNESCO General Assembly meeting
A Vietnamese delegation led by Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Thanh Son, Chairman of the Vietnam National UNESCO Committee is participating in the 36 th session of the UNESCO General Assembly that takes place in Paris from October 25 to November 10. Representatives from 193 UNESCO member countries are attending the session, which is the first since Irina Bokova was elected as the Director-General of the UNESCO General Assembly for a new four-year term. The session focuses on discussing and deciding on the organisation’s important and comprehensive reforms. Speaking on this event, Vietnamese Ambassador to UNESCO Duong Van Quang highlighted the significance of the session, saying that it will create a breakthrough for UNESCO in the context of the organisation’s ongoing comprehensive renovations. During the session, a number of forums were held on October 26 and 27 to provide more opportunities for countries’ leaders to raise their … [Read more...] about VN attends 36th UNESCO General Assembly meeting
UNESCO trains tourist guides for world heritage sites
The UNESCO Office in Hanoi on August 11 opened a training course for tourist guides in the My Son World Heritage site in the central province of Quang Nam. During the five-day course, the trainees will be provided with in-depth lectures on history, culture, archaeology, and relics preservation and restoration. They will be also enabled to practise skills at the site and sit for interviews and writing tests. The UNESCO Office will host a similar course in September in Hoi An ancient town - another World Heritage site in Quang Nam province. This move is expected to contribute to preserving world heritage sites in the country in a bid to achieve sustainable tourism development. VOVNews/VNA … [Read more...] about UNESCO trains tourist guides for world heritage sites
UNESCO Certificate granted to Giong Festival
A ceremony was held by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Hanoi Municipal People’s Committee and the Vietnam National Commission for UNESCO to grant UNESCO Certificate recognising the saint Giong Festival as a World Intangible Heritage, in Hanoi, on January 22. Saint Giong Festival is Hanoi’s third heritage recognised by UNESCO in 2010, along with the 82 doctorate steles in the Temple of Literature as documentation heritage, and Thang Long Royal Citadel as cultural heritage. Ngo Thi Thanh Hang, Vice Chairwoman of the Hanoi Municipal People’s Committee, said Hanoi is proud to receive the UNESCO certificate. This is also to recognise the former generations who handled down the current intangible heritage to people from districts of Dong Anh, Gia Lam, Soc Son, Tu Liem, Thuong Tin and Long Bien. The ceremony also included traditional art performances by local people. The event helped to promote Vietnam’s image among its international friends … [Read more...] about UNESCO Certificate granted to Giong Festival