Results tagged “un”

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.

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?"

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?"

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."

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.

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."

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.

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.

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."

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.)

The beaver that was rescued from the East River by an NYPD SCUBA crew Fiday near the United Nations has reportedly died. According to CityRoom, the 40 pound animal was on its way to Utica to be treated by a wildlife medical specialist, but expired along the way.

There have been several Free Tibet protests happening around town this month; one of them even featured city council member Tony Avella. While Tibetan protesters are routinely beaten, imprisoned and even killed by police in China, police brutality is something you might be surprised to see in New York City, unless of course you've attended demonstrations over the years and experienced it first hand. During a Free Tibet protest near the UN on March 14th, some NYPD officers were documented threatening, arresting and clubbing activists seemingly without provocation. In the below video it appears the protesters do nothing more than carry flags, walk on the sidewalk and chant. Yet officers identified as Leroy, Delgado and Serano, and others are depicted clubbing them even when they're down.

Roughly 100 protesters, most of them Tibetans, demonstrated outside the United Nations today against the Chinese government, which has been trying to put down protests and rioting in Lhasa. Three demonstrators were arrested for trying, unsuccessfully, to enter the U.N. and six were arrested for disorderly conduct.

Real estate developer Sheldon Solow's plans for a sextet of glass towers along the East River just south of the United Nations complex is rumored to be close to gaining approval of the City Council's Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises and Subcommittee on Land Use. A following vote by the entire Council will dramatically transform the East Side waterfront below the United Nations. Solow plans on building six massive glass towers for both residential and commercial use on the site of the decommissioned ConEd co-generation plant. It has also been suggested the UN could rent space in one of the proposed buildings.

A $114 million plan to put a waterfront park on the East River, just south of the United Nations, came into focus yesterday; the four-acre site is where a parking lot for a Con Edison power plant used to reside. City Councilman Daniel Gardonick said, "The opportunity to create this riverfront park is an opportunity we cannot afford to let slip away." The Municipal Arts Society renderings for the park envision a floating pylon in the river, featuring a restaurant, viewing platform, exhibition space and ferry landing.