This morning in Syria, an explosion occurred in the vicinity of a convoy of the UN Supervision Mission in Syria, soon after it had crossed a military checkpoint on the road approaching the town of Dar’a. The Head of the Mission, Major General Robert Mood, was in that convoy, and there were no casualties among the members of the Mission.

The Asia-Pacific region will continue to be the fastest growing region in the world this year despite a drop in the growth rate from 7 per cent in 2011 to 6.5 per cent this year, correspondents heard at a Headquarters press conference to launch the 2012 Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific produced by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for that region (ESCAP).

The United Nations-League of Arab States Joint Special Envoy for Syria, Kofi Annan, has condemned in the strongest possible terms the attacks that took place earlier today in Damascus. These abhorrent acts are unacceptable, he said, calling on all parties to avoid further bloodshed and to protect civilians.

To address the problem of violence against indigenous women and girls, Governments and United Nations agencies should compile disaggregated data on the scourge, which was institutional and structural in nature, but which also occurred at home and in the communities, correspondents heard at a Headquarters press conference.

The United Nations Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS) continues to step up its deployment on the ground. Today, the Mission has 145 observers and 56 civilian staff deployed in Syria. The Mission is also carrying out patrols, one day after the attacks that took place in Damascus.

A new milestone for the rights of indigenous peoples — their first ever World Conference, slated for 2014 — was on the horizon, said leaders and activists at a Headquarters press conference today, noting that the meeting would offer a unique opportunity to create a framework for addressing the most pressing challenges facing indigenous peoples today.

The UN Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo reports that seven peacekeepers were wounded by gunfire in an area of South Kivu on Monday. Several other peacekeepers were also injured after being hit by stones when a group of some 1,000 people surrounded a base belonging to the Mission in the area.

The world would commence a new era on 21 December 2012, according to the Mayan calendar, which coincided with an important date in the United Nations calendar, when preparations would begin for the 2014 World Conference on Indigenous Peoples, top Guatemalan officials said today.

Announcing two new arrest warrants for serious crimes committed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court said this afternoon that action on the warrants was critical to help end massacres of civilians in the eastern Kivu provinces of the vast country.

The Joint Special Envoy for Syria remains extremely concerned about the plight of 1 million Syrians in need of humanitarian assistance. He strongly urges the Government to accept the conditions for a scaling up of the humanitarian assistance without further delay. He underlines the need for a speedy agreement consistent with the Government’s commitment to allowing unimpeded access to and provision of assistance to Syrians in need.