A Caribbean diplomat claims the NYPD displayed "undue physical harassment" and violated diplomatic immunity when they detained a colleague on Wednesday. Reuters reports that according to a senior diplomat representing a caucus of small Caribbean nations, St. Vincent's envoy Camillo Gonsalves was walking past a police barrier towards his office near U.N. headquarters when he was grabbed "by the neck and shoulder." more ›

The slow march towards filling in the Greenway Gap on the East Side achieved an important milestone yesterday with a Memorandum of Understanding between the city and the U.N., which will allow cyclists, pedestrians and park-goers in general access to the waterfront between East 38th and East 60th Streets—while at the same time allowing the center of world politics to expand its campus with a new office tower. It is a win-win situation for everybody—especially for the man on the bike who's a terrorist. more ›

The U.N. makes us think of lots of things (diplomats, platitudes, architecture), but physical altercations are not normally one of them. And yet now video has surfaced from last week's General Assembly showing an all-out, eh, scuffle inside the U.N. which seems to have started when Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was shoved by a United Nations security Guard. more ›

Now that former New York City mayor and current bridge Ed Koch feels that he got what he wanted out of his support for winning GOP candidate Bob Turner in Anthony Weiner's former district, he's ready to be friends with Democrats again. "I believe the recent vote in the 9th Congressional District in New York affected in a positive way the policy of the U.S. on the Mideast," Koch wrote in an email blast to supporters. "I'm now on board the Obama Reelection Express." Yeah, doesn't it feel good to get off the "Backstabby Crybaby Bus?" more ›

A year ago, President Obama pushed the UN to reach an agreement that would create a soverign Palestinian state. Now, with Israel digging in against any such accord and Palestinians upset that the US has refused to support their bid for independence, Obama was forced to tread lightly and speak in sweeping generalities in today's speech [pdf] to the General Assembly. After acknowledging that he still supports an independent Palestine Obama said, "Ultimately, it is Israelis and Palestinians who must live side by side...It is Israelis and Palestinians—not us—who must reach agreement on the issues that divide them." more ›

A project that would create a mile-long esplanade, including a "cantilevered riverfront walkway" and a bike path, along the east side of Manhattan is two months away from its approval deadline in October. The Post reports that the deal would involve selling or leasing Robert Moses playground to the UN, and allow the organization to build another high-rise for office space. The city would sell the currently occupied UN buildings, creating up to $400 million in revenue, enough to pay for the improvements and upkeep. The sweet, sweet irony of course is that the playground in question is named after the man who some believe sold New York City's soul to the automobile. more ›

We've all been there: your dad is the Consulate General of India and you're just minding your own business at John Bowne High School, not planning on filing any $1.5 million dollar lawsuits and then WHAM: you're locked up for sending indecent emails to your teachers! Krittika Biswas, the 18-year-old daughter of Indian Consultate General Debashish Biswas, is just going through normal, litigious growing pains. The Post reports that she was locked up on February 8, "despite her claims of diplomatic immunity," for more than 24 hours after investigators believed she was the one sending the emails. "Honest Mrs. Henderson! I'm a representative of a sovereign nation and therefore only subject to international law!" more ›

Last fall, extremist mustache enthusiast Pastor Terry Jones, who really put the idiot into ideologue, did his best to stir up national attention and controversy on the heels of the "Ground Zero Mosque" debate by threatening to burn the Koran. After he placed his tail between his legs, lost the majority of his congregation, and collected a free car, we thought we'd heard the last of this silly, pretty pathetic human being. But he just couldn't let go of the media spotlight, and after a dormant period, he finally burned a copy of the Koran. And now, several UN workers are dead as a result. more ›

While the Secretariat building of the United Nations has been undergoing renovations, the UN Security Council has been meeting in the basement. And unfortunately, basement means sewage pipes and a broken sewage pipe meant that the world leaders were temporarily forced to smell something totally gross. The diplomats and 150 school kids at the UN for a Security Council meeting were evacuated because of a "disruption in the basement sewage system caused by a high tide on the adjacent East River." more ›

The building where the UN Security Council and the General Assembly were scheduled to meet today was evacuated due to a "suspicious odor." UN officials initially said the smell was caused by a gas leak in the basement, but wire reports say "it's a sewer line." At least it's not bedbugs this time! The meeting is currently being moved to the North Lawn building. more ›

Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad just can't stay away from the Big Apple. After a big splash in May, when Chuck Schumer accused him of lying about his nuclear ambitions, the controversial leader touched down in New York today for the 65th United Nations General Assembly session. And on NBC's "Today" earlier this week, he cleared up some misconceptions about Iran. more ›

Tucked inside a story about how the NYPD thinks the UN is woefully unprepared for a terrorist attack is this little fact about the perks of living outside of city jurisdiction. Though smoking is banned in most UN office buildings (like that firetrap, the Secretariat), it is allowed in the corridors! It's so the French can continue to look cool on American soil, right? With regards to those security measures, the UN is refusing to make the necessary changes to prevent a terrorist attack, preferring to fight back by giving the terrorists emphysema. more ›

Leaders at the United Nations' Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference yesterday attempted to send a message to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: We're happy to spread nuclear technology, starting with your "peaceful" neighbors. Given Iran's continued refusal to curtail their nuclear program, President Obama said in a statement that the U.S. "will work to ensure that nations that abide by their obligations can access peaceful nuclear energy." more ›

So, Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will be speaking at today's United Nations Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference. Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) added his voice to a chorus of disapproval. While outside the UN yesterday, Schumer said, "This is the height of hypocrisy. My message to Mr. Ahmadinejad is to come clean on your nuclear ambitions or go home... To sort of give him a pass and let him join the family of nations while his country is building a nuclear weapon is outrageous." Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who will be speaking at the conference a few hours after Ahmadinejad, described Iran's record of violating the NPT as "absolutely indisputable." more ›

A Manhattan judge wasn't happy when a former United Nations researcher blamed his child porn downloads—which included pictures of a 2-year-old girl having her genitals mutilated—on his curiosity. "Stop rationalizing your actions," said Judge Paul Gardephe, who sentenced 42-year-old Jose Antonio Ortega-Osona to 2 1/2 years in prison and fined him $12,500 for his collection of nearly 5,000 photos and 108 videos. "Your problem is not mere curiosity." more ›

Looks like the NYPD should send out that memo again regarding photographers rights. The War on Photography website recently posted this video, which shows an NYPD officer calling in the secret service to detain this man who taking photos on a public sidewalk near the UN. The officer asks if he's ever heard of the Patriot Act, and tells him the sidewalk is federal property. more ›

President Obama arrived in Copenhagen this morning to address the UN conference on climate change. In a stern speech delivered hours after his arrival, Obama told world leaders and their delegates that "the time for talk is over... All of you would not be here unless you — like me — were convinced that this danger is real. This is not fiction, it is science." The President's arrival came as any agreement on climate change remained out of reach, and China, the world’s leading emitter of greenhouse gas pollutants, was accused of holding back progress in the climate talks by French President Nicolas Sarkozy. During his address (text here, video below), Obama expressed frustration and urgency: more ›

Secretary of State Clinton arrived in Copenhagen last night to find the UN climate change negotiations at a standstill, with China’s representatives refusing to accept a deal requiring them to provide transparency on emissions. Clinton described China’s no-transparency position a "deal-breaker... All major countries [must] stand behind full transparency." Britain's energy and climate minister, Ed Miliband, warned that the two-week conference risked becoming "a farce... We may not get there on the substance. It is quite possible we'll fail on the substance. But at least let's give it a try." In that spirit, Clinton threw "a climate change Hail Mary," as Politico puts it. more ›

A New York bus tour turned grisly yesterday morning as a Gray Line double-decker bus struck a woman outside of the United Nations. Lolaa Alrashied was crossing 42nd St and was struck by the bus and pinned underneath. She is currently listed in serious condition, with leg fractures and trauma, at Bellevue Hospital. more ›

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu produced evidence for the Holocaust on the floor of the UN General Assembly yesterday, in an attempt to put down once and for all the Iranian election-stealer's declaration that the whole thing is based on "a lie and a mythical claim." The Post's front page today shows Netanyahu holding the actual minutes from the German government meeting that planned out the "final solution." He also showed the Assembly plans from Auschwitz, and said of Ahmadinejad, "Have you no shame? Have you no decency?" more ›

The Post slammed Obama's "One Love" speech at the UN General Assembly yesterday, calling it "pathetic" and hailing the new prez as "naif-in-chief." The Post did not hesitate to pile it on, accusing Obama of "stunning cluelessness" and asking "Who wrote President Obama's speech for the start of the UN General Assembly yesterday — Rodney King?" more ›

President Obama said that the U.S. needs the help of other nations in tackling the world's problems and cannot go it alone, during his forty-minute address to the U.N. General Assembly today. He called upon other nations to respond to the call, saying that the world needed "a global response to global problems." more ›

Moammer Gadhafi called for the dissolution of the U.N. Security Council and investigations into the murders of John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King during an address at the United Nations today, offering bones to both right- and left-wing nuts all over the world. more ›

Supporters of Iran's seemingly sputtered Green Revolution apparently attempted to get the ESB to show green lights this week while Ahmadinejad was in town for the UN meetings — and were refused. But the WSJ notes the building will be lit in green on Thursday anyway for something much more important: the "Wizard Of Oz's 70th Anniversary Emerald Gala." more ›

Think your job sucks? The Times gives you the lowdown on Barack Obama's day: first a speech to the UN Climate Change Conference, with two impossible goals: establishing some kind of US credibility on the issue, and getting India and China to sign on. From there he meets with Mr. Sweetcakes himself, Benjamin Netanyahu, then with Mr. Energy and Action, Mahmoud Abbas, then with both of them at the same time. more ›

Get your florescent bulbs and reusable shopping bags ready, because Climate Week NYC is here! Though the summit on climate change taking place at the UN is looking to disappoint, plenty of New Yorkers are doing their part to bring awareness to this global crisis. Events like the Oxfam's Human Wake Up Call and beach cleaning initiatives began over the weekend, and every day this week is filled with lectures, rallies and projects inspiring people to do their part. Treehugger has a list of some of the noteworthy events. more ›

Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin has been disinvited from a rally planned for Monday to protest Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's U.N. visit. Earlier in the week, Hillary Clinton dropped out of the event when Palin was added to the list of speakers. Now rally organizers have asked Palin to stay away, bowing to pressure from Jewish Democrats who argued that her presence would turn the event into a Republican political rally. (The McCain campaign had called for Senator Barack Obama to join Palin at the event in a show of unity against Iran.) In fact, all American political figures have been asked not to come, though Politico says the decision was all about Palin. The group, Stop Iran Now, said in a statement that "in order to keep the focus on Iranian threats and to ensure that this critical message not be obscured, the organizers of the rally have decided not to have any American political personalities appear." more ›

Last month chef Michael White and his business partner Chris Cannon opened Convivio in the space formerly occupied by L'Impero, which White took over after the abrupt departure of chef Scott Conant (who has since opened Scarpetta). Where L'Impero was perceived by some as stuffy and overly formal (Times critic Frank Bruni said it evoked "the upholstered interior of a very large coffin"), Convivio aims for a more casual, though still elegant, atmosphere, with "burnt orange" upholstered banquettes, lacquered ceilings and a copper bar top. (Photo after the jump.) more ›