Multilateralism more vital than ever, as World War centenary looms: Security Council
Nov 10, 2018, at 08:32 am
New York, Nov 10 (IBNS): With the centenary of the end of the First World War just days away, the Security Council reaffirmed the crucial importance of multilateralism – or international cooperation and collective problem-solving – and highlighted the key role played by the United Nations since its creation 73 years ago.
Nov 10, 2018, at 08:29 am
New York, Nov 10 (IBNS): Efforts are being made to step up life-saving aid from eight million, to 14 million stricken Yemenis a month, the World Food Programme (WFP) said on Friday, before urging warring parties to spare the key Red Sea port of Hudaydah, which is a lifeline for the whole country.
Australian Police treating Melbourne stabbing incident as terror act
Nov 09, 2018, at 04:59 pm
Melbourne, Nov 9 (IBNS): The Australia Police have said they are treating the knife attack incident in Australia's Melbourne city as a 'terror act'.
Melbourne: Man sets car on fire, stabs people; arrested
Nov 09, 2018, at 03:09 pm
Melbourne, Nov 9 (IBNS): A man has been arrested after setting a car on fire and stabbing three people in central Melbourne, Australia, media reports said.
Ceasefire holds in Tripoli, but core problems remain, says UN Libya mission chief
Nov 09, 2018, at 09:23 am
New York, Nov 9 (IBNS): The recent ceasefire in Libya’s capital Tripoli, brokered by the United Nations mission in the country, is holding, its head told the Security Council on Thursday, highlighting efforts to sustain the calm and help secure lasting peace.
Every bite of burger boosts harmful greenhouse gases: UN Environment Agency
Nov 09, 2018, at 09:15 am
New York, Nov 9 (IBNS): Even though meat production is known to be a major contributor to climate change and environmental destruction, worldwide demand for meat continues to rise, said UN environment agency, UNEP, in a statement released on Thursday.
Civil society groups matter for Cambodia’s sustainable development: UN expert
Nov 09, 2018, at 09:12 am
New York, Nov 9 (IBNS): The Cambodian Government must work in tandem with civil society groups and build its policies around citizens’ human rights, if the country is to see durable peace and sustainable development, a UN expert urged on Friday.
UN gender agency hails record-breaking number of women in new US Congress as ‘historic victory’
Nov 09, 2018, at 09:09 am
New York, Nov 9 (IBNS): The record number of women who stood as candidates in the United States Congressional elections this week marks an “unprecedented” advance “critical for the achievement of gender equality and sustainable development,” the UN gender equality agency, UN Women, said in a statement on Thursday.
UN sounds alarm as Venezuelan refugees and migrants passes three million mark
Nov 09, 2018, at 09:02 am
New York, Nov 9 (IBNS): The number of refugees and migrants who have left Venezuela worldwide has now reached three million, the two main United Nations agencies advocating for them announced on Thursday, flagging the need to increase support for the countries which are hosting large numbers of displaced Venezuelans.
Despite funding crisis, Palestine refugee classrooms set to stay open, says UNRWA
Nov 09, 2018, at 09:00 am
New York, Nov 9 (IBNS): The Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) looks set to keep its classrooms open for the rest of the school year, despite earlier fears that they would have to close within the next few weeks, due to steep funding cuts, the agency told UN News in the Gaza Strip on Thursday.
-1541733991.jpg "Civilians suffering due to sanctions must be spared ‘collective punishment’ urges UN rights expert")
Nov 09, 2018, at 08:57 am
New York, Nov 9 (IBNS): Innocent civilians must not be exposed to “collective punishment” in disputes between two States, a United Nations human rights expert has said, calling for greater protection for ordinary people affected by punitive sanctions imposed by one country on another.
Nov 08, 2018, at 09:15 am
Harare, Nov 8 (IBNS): At least 47 people were killed as two buses collided in Zimbabwe on Wednesday, media reports said.
Halt ‘rushed plans’ to return Rohingyas to Myanmar, pleads UN expert fearing repeated abuses
Nov 08, 2018, at 08:47 am
New York, Nov 8 (IBNS): A United Nations human rights expert has implored Bangladesh to shelve “rushed plans” to repatriate Rohingya refugees back across the border into Myanmar’s Rakhine State for fear that without safety guarantees from the Burmese Government, persecution and horrific violence could begin all over again.
Nov 08, 2018, at 08:44 am
New York, Nov 8 (IBNS): During a Tuesday briefing to the Security Council, Tuesday Reitano, Deputy Director of the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, described the problem as a “global and accelerating phenomenon, and a threat to international peace and security,” that, in conflict areas alone, is generating around $31.5 billion in illicit profits.
Mexico urged to continue progress on enforced disappearances, women’s rights and press freedom
Nov 08, 2018, at 08:41 am
New York, Nov 8 (IBNS): Mexico faces “considerable challenges” in guaranteeing people’s human rights, its ambassador in Geneva told UN Member States on Wednesday, before being urged to continue tackling corruption and impunity relating to a range of violations including enforced disappearances and torture.
Hunger and obesity in Latin America and the Caribbean compounded by inequality: UN report
Nov 08, 2018, at 08:38 am
New York, Nov 7 (IBNS): For the third consecutive year, the number of those chronically hungry has increased in Latin America and the Caribbean, while 250 million – 60 percent of the regional population - are obese or overweight, representing the biggest threat to nutritional health, said the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on Wednesday.
UK: 21 people, including children, found in a refrigerated lorry
Nov 07, 2018, at 05:57 pm
London, Nov 7 (IBNS): At least 21 people, including children, were found stowed inside a refrigerated lorry carrying sparkling water at a British port, media reports said on Wednesday.
Six held in 'attack' plot against French President Emmanuel Macron
Nov 07, 2018, at 09:24 am
Paris, Nov 7 (IBNS): France has arrested six people over suspicion of planning to attack country's President Emmanuel Macron, media reports said on Wednesday.
-1541562758.jpg "UN must bring more women police officers into the fold to be effective – UN peacekeeping official")
UN must bring more women police officers into the fold to be effective – UN peacekeeping official
Nov 07, 2018, at 09:22 am
New York, Nov 7 (IBNS): More women officers are needed at UN Police, to make the work of the Organization more efficient and reach the whole population they are meant to serve, a senior United Nations peacekeeping official told the Security Council on Tuesday, adding that, “to reach our full potential, we must bring more women police officers into the fold.”
UN chief condemns student abductions in north-west Cameroon
Nov 07, 2018, at 09:19 am
New York, Nov 7 (IBNS): United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has condemned Monday’s reported kidnapping of students and staff from a secondary school in Bamenda, North-West region of Cameroon.
Dozens of children at risk as clashes in Hudaydah near hospital – UNICEF
Nov 07, 2018, at 09:16 am
New York, Nov 7 (IBNS): Intense fighting near a major hospital in the Yemeni port city of Hudaydah has put scores of children at “imminent risk of death”, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned on Tuesday, calling on the warring parties to stop hostilities near the medical centre and allow those in need to safely access treatment.
China hails human rights progress amid calls to close detention camps
Nov 07, 2018, at 09:13 am
New York, Nov 7 (IBNS): China has pledged to eradicate poverty in rural areas by 2020 during a scheduled United Nations review of the country’s human rights record, amid concerns over the alleged arbitrary detention of religious and ethnic minorities there.
Caravan of Mothers of Missing Migrants kick off a global migration search movement
Nov 07, 2018, at 09:10 am
As mothers searching for the whereabouts of their migrant children amassed last weekend in Mexico City, a historic nine countries were represented, as well as the United Nations International Organization for Migration’s (IOM) Missing Migrants Project.
‘Time is of the essence’ for refugees on Greek islands – UN agency
Nov 07, 2018, at 09:05 am
New York, Nov 7 (IBNS): in Greece must take urgent steps to address the “abhorrent” humanitarian situation for around 11,000 asylum-seekers on the islands of Samos and Lesvos, the UN refugee agency warned on Tuesday.
ISIL’s ‘legacy of terror’ in Iraq: UN verifies over 200 mass graves
Nov 07, 2018, at 08:57 am
New York, Nov 7 (IBNS): Investigators have uncovered more than 200 mass graves containing thousands of bodies in areas of Iraq formerly controlled by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da’esh), according to a United Nations human rights report out on Tuesday.
‘Warp speed’ technology must be ‘force for good’ UN chief tells web leaders
Nov 06, 2018, at 08:33 am
New York, Nov 6 (IBNS): Technological advances are happening “at a warp speed,” United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said on Monday in Lisbon, Portugal, as a major three-day Web Summit got underway.
UN recorded 64 new allegations of sexual exploitation or abuse in the past three months
Nov 06, 2018, at 08:30 am
New York, Nov 6 (IBNS): Across its various offices, agencies, and partner organisations implementing its programmes, the United Nations received 64 new allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA), involving 77 victims, between July and September, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said on Monday.
Nov 06, 2018, at 08:28 am
New York, Nov 6 (IBNS): The planned prosecution of Supreme Court judges who acquitted 11 peasant farmers jailed over the death of police officers during a violent land eviction in 2012, known as the Curuguaty Massacre”, could undermine the rule of law, a UN expert said on Monday.
Ending use of chemical weapons in Syria: ‘still work to be done’, says UN disarmament chief
Nov 06, 2018, at 08:25 am
New York, Nov 6 (IBNS): As inspections and investigations continue into several reported instances of chemical weapons use against civilians in Syria, the United Nations High Representative on Disarmament Affairs, Izumi Nakamitsu, told the Security Council on Monday that much remains to be done to end their use, and called for international unity.
Saudi Arabia expresses ‘regret and pain’ over Khashoggi killing, during UN rights review
Nov 06, 2018, at 08:22 am
New York, Nov 6 (IBNS): Saudi Arabia expressed “regret and pain” for the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, during a scheduled review session at the UN in Geneva on Monday, while asserting its commitment to achieving the “highest possible standards” in human rights in the country, including for women and migrants