Burundi: Ban welcomes promise of ‘inclusive dialogue,’ release of detainees
Feb 24, 2016, at 03:03 pm
New York, Feb 24 (Just Earth News/IBNS) United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has welcomed the decision on Tuesday by the President of Burundi to withdraw some media bans, cancel arrest warrants and release detainees as goodwill gestures to try to end months of violence in the crisis-torn country.
UN refugee agency calls on Nigeria to heed wishes of internally displaced
Feb 24, 2016, at 03:01 pm
New York, Feb 24 (Just Earth News/IBNS) The Nigerian authorities should heed the concerns of internally displaced people (IDP) in the north-east of the country, the United Nations refugee agency’s top protection official said following his visit to Borno, the north-eastern state hardest hit by the Boko Haram insurgency.
Europe’s restrictive measures place added hardships on refugees and asylum-seekers – UN
Feb 24, 2016, at 02:55 pm
New York, Feb 24 (Just Earth News/IBNS) The United Nations refugee agency said on Tuesday it is concerned by recent restrictive practices adopted in a number of European countries that are placing additional undue hardships on refugees and asylum-seekers across Europe, creating chaos at several border points, and putting particular pressure on Greece as it struggles to deal with larger numbers of people in need of accommodation and services.
Suicide bomber behind Ankara attack identified
Feb 24, 2016, at 02:34 pm
Ankara, Feb 24 (IBNS) The suicide bomber, who was behind the blast that hit Turkish capital Ankara last week, has been identified, local media reports said on Wednesday.
Syria ‘reduced to ruins,’ with civilians paying the biggest price, says UN human rights panel
Feb 23, 2016, at 03:42 pm
New York, Feb 23 (Just Earth News/IBNS) As the Syrian conflict is entering its sixth year, civilians are bearing the brunt of intensifying hostilities conducted by an ever-increasing number of warring parties, with aerial bombardments by pro-Government forces leaving “few safe places,†a new United Nations-mandated report has found.
Syria: head of panel for joint UN body says chemical weapons probing to begin in March
Feb 23, 2016, at 03:35 pm
New York, Feb 23 (Just Earth News/IBNS) The head of a United Nations-mandated body tasked with identifying those behind chemical weapons attacks in the Syrian civil war said on Monday that preliminary work on seven potential cases has been nearly concluded and that in-depth investigations will begin in March.
Feb 23, 2016, at 03:34 pm
New York, Feb 23 (Just Earth News/IBNS)The United Nations should stay engaged in facilitating a political dialogue between the Government of Maldives and the opposition parties, said a senior UN political official on the heels of a two-day visit to the island nation.
Ban welcomes cessation of hostilities pact in Syria as ‘signal of hope;’ condemns bombings
Feb 23, 2016, at 03:21 pm
New York, Feb 23 (Just Earth News/IBNS) United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed the agreement announced on Monday by United States Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, as co-chairs of the International Syria Support Group (ISSG) Ceasefire Taskforce, on the terms of a nationwide cessation of hostilities in Syria scheduled to come into effect on Saturday.
Ban arrives in Burundi in support of UN efforts to resolve political crisis
Feb 23, 2016, at 03:09 pm
New York, Feb 23 (Just Earth News/IBNS) United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon arrived on Monday in Bujumbura, capital of Burundi, for an official visit during which he is expected to meet President Pierre Nkurunziza and other actors in support of ongoing UN efforts at resolving Burundi’s political crisis.
Iraq: UN relief official calls for relocation of civilians to safer areas
Feb 23, 2016, at 03:02 pm
New York, Feb 23 (Just Earth News/IBNS)The top United Nations humanitarian official in Iraq has said she is deeply worried about thousands of civilians who are trapped in Fallujah city and in Sinjar district and are unable to access aid, calling on Government officials to redouble efforts to relocate civilians to safer areas before the situation deteriorates further.
At least 117 dead in suicide bombings in Damascus and Homs
Feb 22, 2016, at 05:52 pm
Damascus/Homs, Feb 22 (IBNS) At least 34 people were reported dead in Syria's Homs after a twin terrorist bomb attack rocked the city on Sunday, according to the state run Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA).
Egyptian author sentenced to 2-year jail term for sexually explicit writings
Feb 22, 2016, at 05:26 pm
Cairo, Feb 22 (Just Earth News/IBNS) Egyptian author Ahmed Naji, whose novel Using Life created quite a stir for its racy language, was sentenced to a 2-year jail term by a court for destroying social values, here on Saturday.
Syria: UN envoy strongly condemns bombings in Damascus and Homs
Feb 22, 2016, at 02:14 pm
New York, Feb 22 (Just Earth News/IBNS)The United Nations Special Envoy for Syria has strongly condemned bombings in two Syrian cities earlier on Sunday that resulted in more than 100 people killed or injured, including children.
Ban commends peaceful holding of elections in the Central African Republic
Feb 22, 2016, at 02:10 pm
New York, Feb 22 (Just Earth News/IBNS)United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has commended the peaceful holding of elections in the Central African Republic (CAR) this past Sunday, calling for the timely holding of the second round of legislative elections to complete the political transition process.
Quality education in mother languages vital to success of 2030 Agenda – UN
Feb 22, 2016, at 02:09 pm
New York, Feb 22 (Just Earth News/IBNS) Mother languages are essential to providing quality education, which in turn supports the achievement of the new global development agenda, the head of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) said on the International Day established to promote the preservation and protection of all languages used by peoples of the world.
2 suicide explosions target Homs, 46 killed
Feb 22, 2016, at 02:37 am
Beirut, Feb 21 (IBNS): At least 46 people were killed as twin blasts rocked Syria's Homs area on Sunday, said a monitor group.
'Bring people in from the margins,' urges UN chief on World Social Justice Day
Feb 21, 2016, at 02:47 pm
New York, Feb 21 (Just Earth News/IBNS) The United Nations top official on Saturday called on Member States to build inclusive societies free of discrimination, in which all people can live with dignity and opportunities to improve their lives, as he observed the World Day of Social Justice.
UN chief welcomes progress made by Comorian people in preparations for upcoming elections
Feb 21, 2016, at 02:40 pm
New York, Feb 21 (Just Earth News/IBNS) United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has welcomed the progress made by the people of the Comoros in preparations for presidential elections and polls for island governors on Sunday.
Feb 21, 2016, at 04:36 am
London, Feb 20 (IBNS): UK Prime Minister David Cameron on Saturday said his country will vote on whether to remain in the European Union on June 23.
UN panel chief, Thabo Mbeki, urges action plans to tackle illicit financial flow from Africa
Feb 20, 2016, at 03:06 pm
New York, Feb 20 (Just Earth News/IBNS) Addressing billions of illicit financial outflows from Africa is imperative as the continent needs domestic resources for its development, said the former President of South Africa, Thabo Mbeki, who chairs a United Nations panel on the issue, urging the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and partner institutions to relevant elaborate action plans.
Syria: humanitarian air drops ‘still in the planning stage’ – UN agency
Feb 20, 2016, at 03:03 pm
New York, Feb 20 (Just Earth News/IBNS) Following a humanitarian breakthrough in delivering aid to a Syrian town inaccessible for more than 18 months, the United Nations food relief agency is now planning possible air-drops for 200,000 people in the Deir ez-Zor area besieged by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or ISIL/Da’esh.
South Sudan on ‘verge of fragmenting,’ UN officials warn Security Council
Feb 20, 2016, at 02:54 pm
New York, Feb 20 (Just Earth News/IBNS) With senior United Nations officials warning of escalating inter-communal violence and rampant human rights violations in South Sudan, the Security Council on Friday strongly condemned all attacks and provocations against civilians and the UN by armed actors, and called for calm on all sides.
With rising numbers of child deaths at sea, UN urges safety measures for those fleeing conflict
Feb 20, 2016, at 02:40 pm
New York, Feb 20 (Just Earth News/IBNS) Two children have drowned every day on average since September 2015 as their families try to cross the eastern Mediterranean, and the number is growing, three United Nations humanitarian agencies said today, calling for enhancing the safety of those escaping conflict and despair.
Two years on, Ukraine conflict affects over half a million children - UNICEF
Feb 20, 2016, at 02:36 pm
New York, Feb 20 (Just Earth News/IBNS) The conflict in Ukraine has deeply affected the lives of 580,000 children living in non-government controlled areas and close to the front line in the east of the country, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said today, highlighting that 200,000 of them – or one in three – need psychosocial support.
South Sudan: Fighting in Malakal site leaves at least 18 dead, two of them MSF staff
Feb 19, 2016, at 10:07 pm
Juba, Feb 19 (IBNS) As a result of fighting that erupted in the Malakal Protection of Civilian (PoC) site in Malakal, South Sudan, at least 18 people were killed, two of them MSF South Sudanese staff members who were attacked in their homes.
Syria: Civilians under relentless attack
Feb 19, 2016, at 10:02 pm
New York, Feb 19 (IBNS) Civilians are under relentless attack in Syria’s five-year-old conflict, with 1.9 million people under siege, borders closed to refugees and rampant bombings of medical facilities and heavily populated areas, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) warned on Friday, calling on UN Security Council member states – specifically France, Russia, UK and US as active participants in the Syrian conflict – to abide by resolutions they have passed to halt the carnage and ensure that their allies are applying due protection of civilians and avoidance of conflict in or over civilian areas.
Pope and Trump fight over 'Christianity' row
Feb 19, 2016, at 06:00 pm
Washington, Feb 19 (IBNS) Making his presence felt in the upcoming US elections, the Pope on Thursday expressed his doubts over Presidential candidate and front runner Donald Trump being a Christian, as he said Trump's ideas of building a wall was conflicting to that of Christian belief.
Feb 19, 2016, at 03:10 pm
New York, Feb 19 (Just Earth News/IBNS) Seriously concerned at the ongoing conflict in Yemen and the dire humanitarian conflict it has produced, the United Nations Security Council on Friday urged all parties to the conflict in Yemen to take urgent steps towards resuming a ceasefire.
Feb 19, 2016, at 03:05 pm
New York, Feb 19 (Just Earth News/IBNS) While violence erupting in Israel and Palestine is regrettably showing “no sign of relenting,†the United Nations and its Quartet partners are actively seeking the way forward, the UN envoy for the Middle East peace process told the Security Council today, urging both sides to end the long-standing conflict.
Syria: humanitarian air drops ‘very concrete proposal,’ says UN envoy
Feb 19, 2016, at 03:03 pm
New York, Feb 19 (Just Earth News/IBNS) As United Nations inter-agency convoys completed the delivery of humanitarian aid to more than 80,000 Syrians in five besieged towns, the UN Special Envoy for Syria on Thursday said the idea of air drops to locations that have yet to be reached “has become a very concrete proposal.â€