IOM: Uptick in migrants heading home as world rebounds from COVID-19
Jul 29, 2022, at 10:17 pm
New York: According to the International Organization for Migration’s (IOM) 2021 Return and Reintegration Key Highlights published on Thursday, nearly 50,000 migrants were assisted to voluntarily return to their country of origin in 2021.
UN welcomes new centre to put Ukraine grain exports deal into motion
Jul 29, 2022, at 10:11 pm
New York: UN Secretary-General António Guterres has welcomed the official start of the operation based in the Turkish city of Istanbul, that will help implement the UN-brokered deal to resume exports of Ukrainian grain via the Black Sea, amid the ongoing conflict and rising food prices worldwide.
Top rights expert questions ‘double standard’ on Ukraine’s war displaced
Jul 29, 2022, at 10:03 pm
New York: A top UN-appointed human rights expert on Thursday raised the issue of an alleged “double standard” in Poland and Belarus towards those forced to flee the war in Ukraine.
Sudan: World Bank provides $100 million in emergency support
Jul 29, 2022, at 09:35 pm
New York: The UN World Food Programme (WFP) in Sudan has received a $100 million contribution from the World Bank to assist with critical emergency cash and food sustenance in Sudan.
Top rights experts urge repeal of Hong Kong’s national security law
Jul 29, 2022, at 09:30 pm
New York: Independent UN-appointed human rights experts who have urged China to repeal Hong Kong’s 2020 national security law (NSL) after claiming that its use had led to the arrest of children, said on Wednesday that they welcomed pledges to replace it with a more transparent and consultative process.
Türkiye urged to reverse decision ditching women’s rights accord
Jul 29, 2022, at 09:25 pm
New York: Türkiye’s decision to ditch a landmark international treaty to tackle violence against women and girls, could significantly set back efforts to tackle the problem, top UN-appointed independent rights expert said on Wednesday.
‘Good strides’ being made towards inclusive peacebuilding, Security Council hears
Jul 29, 2022, at 09:00 pm
New York: The UN Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) aims to adopt a more “ambitious and forward-looking agenda” in 2022, the body’s Chair told the Security Council on Wednesday.
Guterres strongly condemns attack on peacekeepers in DR Congo which left 3 dead, amid protests
Jul 29, 2022, at 08:51 pm
New York: The UN Secretary-General António Guterres has strongly condemned an attack on peacekeepers serving in the Stablization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) which took place during violent demonstrations at the mission’s base on Tuesday. Two Indian police officers and a Moroccan ‘blue helmet’ were killed, and an Egyptian police officer injured.
Zelenskyy, wife Olena trolled and roasted for Vogue photoshoot amid Ukraine-Russia war
Jul 28, 2022, at 12:21 am
Kyiv: Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who has been hailed as a symbol of resistance against the Russian invasion by the Western powers, is currently facing social media trolls after he posed for a photoshoot for the iconic Vogue magazine with his wife and First Lady Olena Zelenska.
Iraq resort shelling a ‘shocking disregard for civilian life’, UN envoy says
Jul 27, 2022, at 09:09 pm
New York: The deadly shelling of a mountain resort in northern Iraq last week represented a shocking disregard for civilian life and international obligations on civilian protection, the UN Special Representative for the country, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, told an emergency session of the Security Council on Tuesday.
Ukraine: UNICEF delivers life-saving supplies for over 50,000 children in Odesa
Jul 27, 2022, at 08:51 pm
New York: The UN Children’s Fund UNICEF, delivered supplies on Tuesday to help an estimated 50,000 children in the war-ravaged districts of Odesa, the crucial Black Sea port which Russia bombed on Saturday, just hours after signing a landmark deal to allow Ukrainian grain to reach millions of food insecure people across the world.
Global economy: Outlook worsens as global recession looms – IMF
Jul 27, 2022, at 08:26 pm
New York: Still reeling from the COVID pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the global economy is facing an increasingly murky and uncertain outlook, according to the latest report released on Tuesday by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Israel-Palestine: Reversing ‘negative trends’ essential, Security Council hears
Jul 27, 2022, at 07:10 pm
New York: While specific developments within the wider context of the conflict involving Israel and Palestine fluctuate, “the structural reality has not changed,” the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process (UNSCO) informed the Security Council on Tuesday.
Colombia: New government urged to combat rising violence in rural areas
Jul 27, 2022, at 06:29 pm
New York: The incoming administration in Colombia must prioritize tackling rising violence perpetrated by non-State armed groups and criminal organizations in rural areas, the UN human rights office, OHCHR, said in a report published on Tuesday.
Libya: Human rights abuses, political stalemates, electoral delays mar progress
Jul 26, 2022, at 07:10 pm
New York: The overall situation in Libya remains “highly volatile”, Martha Pobee, UN Assistant Secretary-General for political affairs and peace operations, told the Security Council on Monday.
Syria: Australian teen’s death in prison was ‘utterly preventable’, rights experts say
Jul 26, 2022, at 06:23 pm
New York: Australian authorities must speed up the repatriation of their nationals held in detention centres in Syria following the recent confirmation of the death of a Sydney teenager at a facility in the northeast, UN human rights experts said on Monday.
New ECOSOC President aims to ease crises which have ‘engulfed our societies’
Jul 26, 2022, at 06:08 pm
New York: Bulgaria’s UN Ambassador banged the gavel as President of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) for the first time on Monday with a vow to build on the “solid foundation” left by the outgoing head and his bureau to transform the world into “a better place for the people of today and tomorrow”.
UN delivers aid directly to Haitians caught up in gang violence
Jul 26, 2022, at 06:03 pm
New York: United Nations humanitarian agencies have started delivering aid directly to people in Haiti following a recent spike in violence between rival gangs which has fueled a worsening crisis across the capital, Port-au-Prince.
Myanmar junta's execution of four democracy activists condemned by UN
Jul 26, 2022, at 05:45 pm
New York: The independent UN human rights expert for Myanmar called for a strong international response on Monday following the executions of four pro-democracy activists by the country’s military junta. In a statement issued later in the day, UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet said she was "dismayed" that despite appeal from across the world, military leaders had move ahead with "no regard" for international rights law.
Akihabara mass murder: Japan executes Tomohiro Kato
Jul 26, 2022, at 03:39 pm
Tokyo: The Japanese government has executed a man who had killed seven people during a stabbing rampage in 2008, media reports said on Tuesday.
Kenya: Bus mishap leaves 34 people dead
Jul 25, 2022, at 11:43 pm
Nairobi: At least 34 died as a bus plunged into River Nithi in Tharaka Nithi region of Kenya on Sunday, media reports said.
Myanmar military executes four democracy activists
Jul 25, 2022, at 05:30 pm
Naypyidaw: Myanmar's military has executed four democracy activists,an episode which has triggered widespread condemnation, media reports said on Monday.
Philippines shooting leaves three people dead
Jul 24, 2022, at 10:53 pm
Manila: A shooting incident in Philippines capital Manila on Sunday left at least three people dead, media reports said.
CIA chief says China rethinking on strategy to attack Taiwan following Russian invasion of Ukraine
Jul 24, 2022, at 02:48 am
Washington: Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director William Burns has said China appears determined on using force in Taiwan, with Russia’s experience in Ukraine only affecting Beijing’s calculations on when and how – rather than whether – to invade.
Chinese Embassy in Zimbabwe accused of media bullying
Jul 24, 2022, at 02:35 am
Harare: The Media Alliance of Zimbabwe has condemned the action of the Chinese Embassy here for threatening a weekly newspaper after it published articles on violations by Chinese mining companies.
Syria to receive Chinese communications equipment soon
Jul 24, 2022, at 02:05 am
Damascus: Syria will soon receive communications equipment from China as part of an ongoing aid to the war-hit nation, media reports said on Saturday.
Explosions rock Ukraine port a day after grain deal
Jul 24, 2022, at 12:39 am
Kyiv: Explosions hit a major Ukrainian port just a day after Kyiv and Moscow reached a deal to allow the resumption of grain exports, media reports said on Saturday.
Hunger still rising across East Africa, says new UN-backed report
Jul 23, 2022, at 10:41 pm
New York: Over 50 million people in Eastern Africa will face acute food insecurity this year, according to a new study backed by the World Food Programme (WFP) and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
Black Sea grain exports deal ‘a beacon of hope’ amid Ukraine war - Guterres
Jul 23, 2022, at 10:30 pm
New York: An “unprecedented agreement” on the resumption of Ukrainian grain exports via the Black Sea amid the ongoing war is “a beacon of hope” in a world that desperately needs it, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said at the signing ceremony in Istanbul, Türkiye, on Friday.
Lebanon: At ‘a crossroad between rebound or collapse’
Jul 23, 2022, at 08:14 pm
New York: The dire impact of Lebanon’s unrelenting socio-economic crisis prompted the UN Special Coordinator to warn the Security Council behind closed doors on Thursday, that the country stands at “a crossroad between rebound or collapse”.