COVID-19: Rules tightened for Christmas for England, Scotland and Wales
Dec 21, 2020, at 12:11 am
London/UNI: The British government announced on Saturday that it has decided to scrap the planned relaxation of COVID rules for Christmas for large parts of south-east England and cut to just Christmas Day for the rest of England, Scotland and Wales.
Austrian Special Forces capture 2 suspects linked to November Vienna attack: Reports
Dec 20, 2020, at 10:44 pm
Moscow/Sputnik: Austria's Cobra counter-terrorism unit has detained two people suspected of involvement in last month's deadly attack in the capital city of Vienna, the Kronen Zeitung newspaper reported on Sunday.
French police arrest four Pakistani-origin men over Paris meat cleaver attack
Dec 20, 2020, at 06:48 am
Paris: French police officials have arrested four people in connection with the Sept 25 meat cleaver attack in Paris, outside the former offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, media reports said.
UK PM Boris Johnson does not rule out new lockdown after holidays, stresses need to open schools
Dec 19, 2020, at 10:47 pm
Moscow/Sputnik: UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Friday he does not rule out another lockdown in England after Christmas as the rates of COVID-19 infections in the country continue their upward trend.
COVID-19: Avoid ‘nationalistic footrace’ in choosing vaccines
Dec 19, 2020, at 09:56 pm
New York: As governments move to secure COVID-19 vaccines for their populations, choosing these treatments should not be viewed as “some kind of nationalistic footrace”, with some countries winning and others losing, a senior official with the World Health Organization (WHO) told journalists on Friday.
Conflict, floods and COVID-19 push South Sudanese into extreme hunger
Dec 19, 2020, at 04:01 pm
New York: Driven by insecurity, the effects of COVID-19, an on-going economic crisis, and the impact of flooding on livelihoods, three UN agencies called on Friday for immediate humanitarian access to eastern South Sudan’s Pibor county, where people are facing catastrophic levels of hunger.
Thailand: UN rights office deeply troubled by treason charges for protestors
Dec 19, 2020, at 03:57 pm
New York: Thailand’s decision to charge protestors with treason is deeply troubling, the UN Human Rights Office, OHCHR, said on Friday following the arrest of at least 35 activists, including a teenager, in recent weeks
Fighting displaces over 500,000 in northern Mozambique, reports UN refuge agency
Dec 19, 2020, at 03:53 pm
New York: Attacks by armed groups in Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado, Nampula, Zambezia and Niassa provinces have displaced more than 530,000 people, many of whom have been forced to move multiple times, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Friday.
Integral to societies, migrants are central to COVID-19 recovery: Guterres
Dec 19, 2020, at 03:34 pm
New York: The UN marks International Migrants Day on Friday, highlighting their essential contribution to societies everywhere, and underlining migrants' central role in recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.
UN rights experts ‘deeply troubled’ by impunity for killing of Palestinian children
Dec 19, 2020, at 03:29 pm
New York: UN independent human rights experts, on Thursday, called for an impartial and independent investigation into the killing of a 15-year-old child by Israeli security forces at a West Bank protest this month.
UN committee on enforced disappearance registers ‘milestone’ 1,000th request to locate victims
Dec 18, 2020, at 04:10 pm
New York: The UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances (CED) reached “a significant milestone” on Thursday after registering its 1,000th urgent request for governments to take action to locate victims.
Funding needed to halt ‘life threatening crisis’ facing refugees in Kenya
Dec 18, 2020, at 04:06 pm
New York: Amidst a “critical shortage” of resources, hundreds of thousands of refugees in Kenya will lack food unless new funds are swiftly received, the UN’s food relief agency warned on Thursday.
UNICEF supporting emergency food aid for UK children over holidays
Dec 18, 2020, at 04:00 pm
New York: Thousands of families in the United Kingdom impacted by COVID-19 are to receive “one-off…emergency” food assistance from UN Children’s Fund UNICEF over the upcoming holiday period and beyond, it has announced.
Nigeria: Hundreds of boys rescued, confirms officials
Dec 18, 2020, at 03:24 pm
Abuja: The Nigerian schools students, who were abducted recently, have been released, officials said.
Infamous Italian serial killer Donato Bilancia dies in prison of COVID-19
Dec 18, 2020, at 02:56 pm
Rome/Sputnik: Donato Bilancia, one of the most infamous serial killers in Italy, has died in prison of the coronavirus, Italian media reported on Thursday.
Twitter to introduce new function in 2021 to help users identify bots: Blog
Dec 18, 2020, at 02:33 pm
Washington/ Sputnik: Twitter announced on its blog that it will introduce next year a new function to allow users to distinguish between man-run and automated accounts.
French President Emmanuel Macron tests Covid-19 positive
Dec 17, 2020, at 09:24 pm
Paris: France's President Emmanuel Macron has tested positive for Covid-19, Elysée Palace said on Thursday.
Keep focus on South Sudan, UN mission chief tells Security Council
Dec 16, 2020, at 11:11 pm
New York: The head of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), has appealed for the international community to remain focused on the country as it continues to make gains on the political and peacebuilding fronts.
Tigray crisis: Humanitarian aid for children must be a priority, UNICEF says
Dec 16, 2020, at 11:00 pm
New York: Providing aid to millions of children uprooted by the ongoing crisis in the Tigray region of Ethiopia must be a priority, the head of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday.
UN experts raise concern over charges against US indigenous leader and rights defender
Dec 16, 2020, at 10:38 pm
Washington: Independent UN human rights experts expressed serious concern on Friday over the arrest and charges brought against an indigenous leader, for peacefully protesting a political rally held last July at Mount Rushmore National Memorial, located on treaty lands of the Great Sioux Nation.
France plans to allow return to workplace once a week as part of COVID-19 lockdown relief
Dec 16, 2020, at 10:16 pm
Moscow/Sputnik: France expects to allow employees to go back to their workplaces one day per week starting January 7 under the coronavirus lockdown relief strategy, Labor Minister Elisabeth Borne said on Wednesday.
EU parliament approves extra $57.9bln package to help states mitigate COVID consequences
Dec 16, 2020, at 09:52 pm
Moscow/Sputnik: The European Parliament on Wednesday approved the REACT-EU proposal to provide additional 47.5 billion euros ($57.9 billion) to EU member states to help them cope with the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic.
UN documents 375 killings in Colombia in 2020, urges Government action
Dec 16, 2020, at 04:03 pm
New York: The United Nations has recorded the deaths of 255 people in 66 massacres in Colombia this year, as well as the killing of 120 human rights defenders, the Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said on Tuesday.
Niger: UN gravely concerned for safety of refugees, following Boko Haram attack
Dec 16, 2020, at 03:57 pm
New York: The United Nations voiced grave concern on Tuesday for the safety of thousands of refugees and internally displaced in the wake of a deadly attack on Toumour, a town in southeastern Niger’s Diffa region, near the border with Nigeria.
Put me out of a job: UN refugee chief’s challenge to world leaders
Dec 16, 2020, at 03:44 pm
New York: The UN High Commissioner for Refugees has challenged world leaders to put him “out of a job” by addressing the root causes that drive millions to flee their homes due to war and insecurity.
Eight EU countries agree on start date of COVID-19 vaccination: Italian Health Ministry
Dec 16, 2020, at 02:27 pm
Rome/Sputnik: Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxemburg, Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland have agreed on a start date of a COVID-19 vaccination campaign, the Italian Health Ministry said on Tuesday.
‘Generation disrupted’ lays out plan to take on coronavirus through major youth mobilization
Dec 15, 2020, at 11:15 pm
New York: A new ground-breaking global youth initiative was launched on Monday to invest in and scale up youth-led solutions and engagement, in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
First glimmer of hope in decades for Black Sea and Mediterranean fish stocks
Dec 15, 2020, at 11:11 pm
New York:The number of fish stocks subject to overexploitation in the Mediterranean and Black Sea has fallen for the first time in decades, offering some hope that a dangerous decline can be turned around, according to a report published on Monday by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
UN human rights chief ‘appalled’ at Iran execution, questions trial process and verdict
Dec 15, 2020, at 11:09 pm
New York: Iran’s decision to hang media activist Ruhollah Zam on Saturday was an appalling violation of human rights that followed a deeply flawed trial process, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said in a statement on Monday.
Avert ‘dire consequences’ for women's health, UNFPA urges in appeal to prevent maternal deaths
Dec 15, 2020, at 11:06 pm
New York: The UN agency dedicated to improving reproductive and maternal health worldwide (UNFPA) appealed on Monday for $2.5 billion by 2030 to help avert potential “dire consequences” surrounding pregnancies and maternal deaths.