UN chief orders travel, meetings, heat cut over cash crisis
United Nations: Meetings cancelled. Escalators stopped. Official travel limited. UN documents delayed. Air conditioning and heating reduced.
These are some of the measures Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has ordered effective Monday at all UN facilities and operations around the world to deal with the United Nations' worst cash crisis in nearly a decade.
The UN chief said in a letter to the heads of all UN entities that the emergency measures "will affect working conditions and operations until further notice."
UN management chief Catherine Pollard told the General Assembly's budget committee Friday that 128 countries had paid USD 1.99 billion in dues for the UN's 2019 operating budget by October 4.
She said USD 1.386 billion is owed for this year by 65 countries including more than USD 1 billion by the United States.
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AIITA welcomes Karnataka’s ban on obscene songs in school events
Bhatkal: The Karnataka unit of the All India Ideal Teachers Association (AIITA) has welcomed the Karnataka government’s decision to strictly ban school children from dancing to obscene songs during educational and cultural programmes in government, aided, and private schools across the state.
AIITA Karnataka State President M. R. Manvi congratulated the government for taking what he termed an important step to preserve the sanctity of education.
“Such decisions to safeguard the dignity of school children and uphold the values of education are the need of the hour. This rule should not be limited to government schools alone but must be strictly implemented in all private educational institutions as well,” he said.
He further urged the government to address other concerns within school programmes.
“The government should not only prohibit obscene dances in the name of school anniversaries, but also ensure that plays and dialogues that incite religious hatred are avoided. Schools should be centres of harmony, not platforms for spreading hatred,” he added.
According to a recent circular issued by the Department of School Education and Literacy, obscene dances are adversely affecting the mental health and moral values of students.
In this regard, schools have been advised to use songs that promote nationalism, positive thinking, the greatness of Kannada culture, and value-based traditions instead of inappropriate content during programmes.
The circular also emphasises that students should be dressed in decent attire.
AIITA also backed the department’s warning that disciplinary action would be taken against head teachers if such guidelines are violated. The association has further demanded that district Deputy Directors of Public Instruction strictly monitor the implementation of these rules.
