Feb 21, 2018, at 03:08 pm
New York, Feb 21 (JEN): Cautioning that the Tanganyika region in south-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo could be engulfed by a humanitarian disaster of “extraordinary proportions,” the United Nations refugee agency on Tuesday urged the Government to ensure protection of civilians.
Feb 21, 2018, at 03:05 pm
New York, Feb 21 (JEN): After over a century of hostilities including 50 years of continued military occupation, Israelis and Palestinians are still no closer to peace, a United Nations special envoy said on Tuesday, warning that even as many in the region have lost hope for positive change, the enemies of peace are growing more confident by the day.
World is failing newborns; UNICEF says global mortality rates remain ‘alarmingly high’
Feb 21, 2018, at 02:58 pm
New York, Feb 21 (JEN): Newborns are dying at “alarmingly high” rates in countries that are poor, conflict-ridden or have weak institutions, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said Tuesday in a new report, which reveals that babies born in these places are 50 times more likely to die in the first month of life than those born in some wealthier nations.
Civilian situation in Syria’s east Ghouta ‘spiraling out of control,’ warns UN aid official
Feb 21, 2018, at 02:15 pm
New York, Feb 21 (IBNS): The humanitarian situation of civilians in Syria’s east Ghouta is spiraling out of control, a senior United Nation aid official has warned in the wake of escalating conflict which resulted in more than 40 civilian deaths on Monday alone.
Woman dries underwear under AC vent in packed flight
Feb 20, 2018, at 11:38 pm
New York, Feb 20 (IBNS): In what might be called a bizarre episode, a female passenger was caught on camera, while she was traveling in a flight, drying an underwear under the AC vent.
Syria: Government strikes kill dozens of civilians in Ghouta
Feb 20, 2018, at 05:46 pm
Damascus, Feb 20 (IBNS): Dozens of civilians have been killed by strikes conducted by Syrian forces in Eastern Ghouta area outside Damascus, Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.
Peru's ex-President to be tried for 1992 farmer killings
Feb 20, 2018, at 04:29 pm
Lima, Feb 20 (IBNS): Peru's former President Alberto Fujimori will be tried for the killings of six farmers in 1992, reports said.
Feb 20, 2018, at 01:22 pm
New York, Feb 20 (IBNS): Recognizing Latin American and Caribbean countries as “pioneers” in the protection of refugees and asylum seekers, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees urged the region to bolster its standards even further given the global increase in number of people being driven from their homes.
Ahead of Social Justice Day, UN agency calls for fair labour migration governance
Feb 20, 2018, at 01:19 pm
New York, Feb 20 (JEN): Many migrant workers end up trapped in low-pay, unsafe and unhealthy jobs, the head of the United Nations labour agency warned Monday, calling for the adoption of fair labour migration governance frameworks at the global, regional and national levels.
United States: Planned execution of seriously ill man may amount to torture, warn UN experts
Feb 20, 2018, at 01:15 pm
New York, Feb 20 (JEN): Two United Nations human rights experts have urged the Government of the United States to halt the execution a seriously ill person stressing that given his health condition, the use of lethal injection could possibly amount to torture.
More than 80 people trapped inside cable cars in Malayasia
Feb 19, 2018, at 09:01 pm
Kuala Lumpur, Feb 19 (IBNS) : More the 80 people were trapped inside the cable cars while hundreds more stranded for hours due to a breakdown at Malaysia's northern resort island of Langkawi late Sunday, Xinhua reported quoting local media.
Polish embassy in Tel Aviv vandalised
Feb 19, 2018, at 05:26 pm
Tel Aviv, Feb 19 (IBNS): The Polish embassy in Tel Aviv has been vandalised by unknown miscreants, a day after the Polish Prime Minister said that even Jews were among people guilty of carrying out the Holocaust.
Feb 19, 2018, at 03:03 pm
New York, Feb 19 (JEN): The top United Nations humanitarian official in Somalia has commended the drought relief and recovery efforts of the authorities in the northern state of Puntland, while cautioning that the current humanitarian crisis is far from over.
Iranian passenger plane with 66 people on board crashes into mountains, all feared killed
Feb 18, 2018, at 07:49 pm
Tehran, Feb 18 (IBNS): An Iranian passenger plane, with 66 people on board, has crashed into the country’s Zagros mountains, media reports said on Sunday.
Korean nuclear crisis, Middle East quagmire eroding global security, UN chief tells Munich summit
Feb 17, 2018, at 02:00 pm
New York, Feb 17 (JEN): A nuclear threat on the Korean Peninsula and a quagmire in the Middle East are “two qualitative changes” that further eroded global security over the past year, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres told an annual conference on international security policy in Munich, Germany.
Feb 17, 2018, at 01:56 pm
New York, Feb Countries need to strengthen the effectiveness of their tax regimes to unleash much-needed domestic resources to ensure the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as well as the promotion of inclusive economic growth, United Nations and as key international economic and financial organizations have urged.
Haiti: UN determined to support authorities in strengthening rule of law
Feb 17, 2018, at 01:50 pm
New York, Feb 17 (JEN): Strengthening the rule of law and improving the national police and the judicial system in Haiti will require political will on the part of the authorities, and the United Nations is determined to support this goal, said Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Bintou Keita.
UN development agency remains committed to support Lebanon, says agency head
Feb 17, 2018, at 01:46 pm
New York, Feb 17 (JEN): Reverberations of the Syrian conflict – which has now lasted longer than World War II – are being felt throughout the region, including in Lebanon, which shares most of its land border with the war-torn country, and hosts hundreds of thousands of its refugees, the head of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) warned on Friday.
crisis-torn eastern DR Congo, UN food relief agency expands operations to stem hunger
Feb 17, 2018, at 01:43 pm
New York, Feb 17 (JEN): Escalating violence, daunting logistical challenges and insufficient funding have prompted the United Nations food relief agency to broaden its emergency operation in the war-ravaged Kasai region in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Feb 17, 2018, at 01:33 pm
New York, Feb 17 (JEN): Bold, innovative solutions are now on the table to accelerate the prevention and control of deadly noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) – such as heart and lung disease, cancers and diabetes – as a new United Nations health agency high-level commission gets set to begin its work.
UN, partners complete first aid delivery in months to Syria’s war-battered east Ghouta
Feb 17, 2018, at 01:30 pm
New York, Feb 17 (JEN): Thousands of civilians in east Ghouta now have life-saving food and medical supplies after the first aid convoy in nearly three months reached the besieged enclave just outside the Syrian capital of Damascus, the top United Nations humanitarian official in the country said on Friday.
Service and Sacrifice: Honouring Nigeria’s contribution to UN peacekeeping
Feb 17, 2018, at 01:26 pm
New York, Feb 17 (JEN): Since the 1960s, Nigeria has been a major contributor of troops and police to United Nations peace operations, having served in dozens of missions. Most recently, Nigerian troops were the military backbone of the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL), from 2003-2018, helping to restore security throughout a country that had undergone a brutal civil war.
UN rights chief urges Iran to halt executions of juveniles on death row
Feb 17, 2018, at 01:16 pm
New York, Feb 17 (JEN): Expressing concern over a “surge” in the number of juvenile offenders being executed in Iran, the United Nations top human rights official called on the country to abide by its obligations under international law and immediately halt all executions of people sentenced to death for crimes committed when they were under the age of eighteen.
UN chief expresses ‘profound sadness’ at Florida gun massacre
Feb 16, 2018, at 02:24 pm
Feb 16, 2018, at 02:20 pm
New York, Feb 16 (JEN): Aid agencies in Mali have launched the 2018 Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP ), asking for $263 million to provide humanitarian assistance to the most vulnerable people, a senior United Nations aid official in the country said
Alarming gaps in reliable data leave 28 million uprooted children unprotected – UN
Feb 16, 2018, at 02:08 pm
New York, Feb 16 (JEN): There are “alarming holes” in the availability, reliability, timeliness and accessibility of the data and evidence essential for understanding how children and their families are impacted by migration and forced displacement, United Nations agencies and their partners warned on Thursday.
New guidelines on global care standards during childbirth issued by UN health agency
Feb 16, 2018, at 01:53 pm
New York, Feb 16 (JEN): The United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) has issued new guidelines on global care standards throughout labour and immediately after childbirth aimed at reducing the use of needless and potentially harmful routine clinical and medical interventions.
Zimbabwe main opposition leader Tsvangirai succumbs to colon cancer
Feb 15, 2018, at 04:49 pm
Harare/Cape Town, Feb 15 (IBNS): Zimbabwe's opposition leader and former Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has died. He was aged 65.
Guinea-Bissau: Political crisis requires continued UN presence, Security Council told
Feb 15, 2018, at 02:55 pm
New York, Feb 15 (JEN): The United Nations will need to focus its efforts on supporting Guinea-Bissau’s national leaders in their efforts to appoint an acceptable Prime Minister, establish an inclusive Government, organize and conduct timely elections, and implement the priority reforms, a UN envoy for the West African country said Wednesday.
In Johannesburg, UN youth envoy spotlights need to boost support for reproductive health
Feb 15, 2018, at 02:49 pm
New York, Feb 15 (IBNS): In this century, child marriage cannot be allowed to happen, and similarly, children should not give birth to children, the United Nations youth envoy told an African forum on reproductive health and rights on Wednesday.