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Colombians are “bidding farewell to decades of flames and sending up a bright flare of hope that illuminates the world,” United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on 26 September in Cartagena, welcoming the signing by the Government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People's Army (FARC-EP) of a peace deal ending more than 50 years of conflict.

The OSCE-supported two-stage Canine Explosive Search Training Programme co-organized by the Austrian Ministry of Internal Affairs, the OSCE Programme Office in Astana and the US Embassy in Kazakhstan concluded on 27 September in Astana.

A delegation from the civil liberties committee visited Lebanon to find out how the country was dealing with the refugee crisis

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (centre) meets with Nicos Anastasiades (left), President of the Republic of Cyprus, and Mustafa Akinci, Leader of the Turkish Cypriot Community.

Staffan de Mistura, UN Special Envoy for Syria, addresses the Security Council.

In 2014, more than 18 million primary school pupils (or 84% of all the pupils at this level) in the European Union (EU) were studying at least one foreign language, including nearly 1 million (around 5%) studying two foreign languages or more. At primary level, English was by far the most popular language, studied by over 17 million pupils.

From Syrian refugees on their way to being resettled to Europe to Palestine refugees who have been living in camps for years: members from the civil liberties committee delegation got to speak to many different people during their fact-finding mission to Lebanon on 19-22 September. They were there to assess the situation to help prepare future rules on the resettlement of refugees. They also spoke to representatives of local NGOs and large international organisations.

Nuclear power is projected to continue expanding globally in the coming years, even as the pace of growth slows amid competition from low fossil fuel prices and renewable energy sources, according to an IAEA study released on 23 September.

The World Bank Group released its newest Country Economic Memorandum (CEM) for Sudan on September 25. The CEM provides Sudan’s authorities with analysis and advice on accelerating structural transformation and economic diversification. 

Unless progress speeds up considerably with full support from the international community, the world's least developed countries (LDCs) will miss the growth and productivity targets they have set themselves by the target date of 2021, United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson warned on 24 September.