News headlines in 2010, page 60

The Global Handwashing Day was commemorated last Friday with educators showing their students how to wash their hands. ''It sounds simple to an audience that is accustomed to automatic faucets. But sadly, hundreds of millions of children will not be able to practice their handwashing lessons at school'', said . Maria Otero, U.S. Under Secretary for Democracy and Global Affairs. Addressing the Academy for Educational Development (AED) in Washington, DC, Otero said: 'No matter where you live-be it Boston or Bamako-schools are the foundation of strong communities. They are, of course, a place where teachers teach and children learn. But they are also a place where community health workers deliver life-saving messages and medicines. They are a place where adults gather in the evening for continuing education and town hall meetings. And they are a place where people come to vote and young democracies flourish.'

As the Hungarian government continues its efforts to limit the consequences of a tragic toxic leak last week, it has also used the opportunity to attack a supposed former communist-turned capitalist oligarchy that allegedly runs the country's economy. Last Monday one of the walls of a reservoir at the MAL aluminum factory in Ajka cracked, releasing over a million cubic metres of alkaline mud on nearby Kolontár and Devecser, two small localities located 160km west of Budapest.

Currently, three out of four children between the ages of two and 14 experience some form of violent discipline at home, according to a survey conducted by the U.N. Children's Fund (UNICEF). The results of the survey, which was conducted in 33 low and middle income countries, were presented Friday during a panel discussion chaired by Marta Santos Pais, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence Against Children.

The Seoul Tourism Organisation is holding a weeklong Korean Food Festival at the UN delegate's dining room beginning Oct 18. This will one of many such food festivals promoting a variety of ethnic food from different countries.

An exchange programme was launched this week for university students in Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, to foster a broader sense of belonging to South America's Mercosur bloc. The Mercosur Mobility Programme in Higher Education, a pilot project financed by the European Union, was launched Tuesday at an inaugural ceremony at the University of Buenos Aires (UBA).

A hydropower dam project in Laos that could permanently scar South-east Asia's largest river, the Mekong, faces a strong wall of opposition from local and regional green groups determined to protect its pristine environment.

The concept that the state plays a key role in overcoming chronic hunger is not a new one. But the latest figures from Latin America show that more public money and social programmes alone are ineffective solutions.

Despite progress in the realization of women's rights across the world, discrimination and violence against women, particularly sexual violence, is on the rise, said Xiaoqaio Zou, vice-Chair of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).

Anxious to prevent the collapse of Jamaica's overexploited marine fisheries, the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries is promoting the consumption of lionfish to control its burgeoning population. At risk officials say, are the nation's marine biodiversity, its food security and economic well- being.

As the world marks International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction on Wednesday, the UN Children's agency UNICEF is urging governments and civil society partners to step up efforts to help mitigate the impact of disasters - especially on children - by helping communities to become resilient, and more able to respond to disasters and changing climate conditions.