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Italy’s Finmeccanica builds UN’s first drone

A UN mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo has launched the organization's first drone, an unmanned aircraft, made by a subsidiary of Italian aerospace and defence firm Finmeccanica.

Italy's Finmeccanica builds UN's first drone
The UN's first drone was made by Italian company Selex ES. Photo: UN Photo/Sylvain Liechti

The drone, made by Selex ES, was unveiled in the eastern city of Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo on Tuesday.

It will be used by the UN’s peacekeeping mission in the country, MONUSCO, to fly over the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The region has been wracked by conflict between government troops and armed groups, such as M23, since 1996.

“One can observe the movements of the armed groups, movements of populations and can even see the arms carried by people on the ground, and it is also possible to see people in forested areas,” said Carlos Alberto dos Santos Cruz, MONUSCO force commander.

Data from the drone will be combined with information gathered by UN staff on the ground, he added.

Selex ES was awarded the three-year contract in July, the company said, which could be extended for a further two years.

Watch a video of the UN’s first drone: 

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UN

‘The war must end now’: UN Sec-Gen meets Swedish PM in Stockholm

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres met Sweden's Prime Minister in Stockholm on Wednesday, ahead of the conference marking the 50th anniversary of the city's historic environment summit .

'The war must end now': UN Sec-Gen meets Swedish PM in Stockholm

After a bilateral meeting with Magdalena Andersson on the security situation in Europe, Guterres warned that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could lead to a global food crisis that would hurt some of the world’s most vulnerable people. 

“It is causing immense suffering, destruction and devastation of the country. But it also inflames a three-dimensional global crisis in food, energy and finance that is pummelling the most vulnerable people, countries and economies,” the Portuguese diplomat told a joint press conference with Andersson. 

He stressed the need for “quick and decisive action to ensure a steady flow of food and energy,” including “lifting export restrictions, allocating surpluses and reserves to vulnerable populations and addressing food price increases to calm market volatility.”

Between the two, Russia and Ukraine produce around 30 percent of the global wheat supply.

Guterres was in Stockholm to take part in the Stockholm 50+ conference, which celebrates the 50th anniversary of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment. 

The conference, which was held on the suggestion of the Swedish government in 1972 was the first UN meeting to discuss human impacts on the global environment, and led to the establishment of the UN Environment Program (UNEP). 

At the joint press conference, Andersson said that discussions continued between Sweden and Turkey over the country’s continuing opposition to Sweden’s application to join the Nato security alliance. 

“We have held discussions with Turkey and I’m looking forward to continuing the constructive meetings with Turkey in the near future,” she said, while refusing to go into detail on Turkey’s demands. 

“We are going to take the demands which have been made of Sweden directly with them, and the same goes for any misunderstandings which have arisen,” she said. 

At the press conference, Guterres condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine as “a violation of its territorial integrity and a violation of the UN Charter”.

“The war must end now,” he said. 

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