An exhibition of the best press photographs of 2009 will open in the Main Gallery of the Visitors Lobby at 6 p.m. Thursday, 5 August. This travelling exhibition of winning images selected at the fifty-third annual World Press Photo Contest in Amsterdam will remain on display through 2 September.

Following is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s message to the World Conference against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs, held in Hiroshima, 2 to 9 August:

On 30 July 2010 the Security Council Al-Qaida and Taliban Sanctions Committee concluded the review of its Consolidated List of individuals and entities subject to sanctions measures, undertaken pursuant to paragraph 25 of Security Council resolution 1822 (2008) to ensure that this List is as updated and as accurate as possible and to confirm that listings remain appropriate.

Submissions to the “Citizen Ambassadors” video contest on the UN Channel on YouTube will end in three weeks, on 23 August.

The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Kosovo told the Security Council this afternoon that the issuance of the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on the declaration of independence of that territory could end the deadlock in progress on outstanding issues which had held sway during the wait for the Court’s action.

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon:

Following is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s message to the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting, delivered by Thomas Stelzer, Assistant Secretary-General for Policy Coordination and Inter-Agency Affairs, United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, in Port Vila, Vanuatu, 4 August:

The following Security Council press statement was read out on 3 August by Council President Vitaly Churkin (Russian Federation):

Millions around the world would give 67 minutes of community service in tribute to Nelson Mandela’s life and legacy, for the 67 years he dedicated to a fair and just society, said South Africa’s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Maite Nkoana-Mshsabane, at a gathering of the General Assembly today.

The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Iraq called on that country’s leaders to show a “higher sense of urgency” in forming a new Government through an inclusive process, while urging continued support for the country from the international community, as he addressed the Security Council this morning.