UN rights team heading to Venezuela may pave way for official mission led by Bachelet
Mar 09, 2019, at 09:01 am
New York, Mar 9 (IBNS): A United Nations human rights team is to begin an official visit to Venezuela on Monday at the invitation of the Government, potentially paving the way for an official mission to Caracas by the UN’s top rights official, Michelle Bachelet.
IS teenager Shamima Begum's baby dies
Mar 09, 2019, at 08:53 am
London, Mar 9 (IBNS): The son of Shamima Begum, who had once fled the UK to join the Islamic State group has died, media reports said.
Putin may visit Indonesia in 2nd half of 2019: Russian Ambassador
Mar 08, 2019, at 06:17 pm
Moscow, Mar 8 (Sputnik/UNI): Russian President Vladimir Putin may visit Indonesia this year, most likely in the second half of 2019, Russian Ambassador to the South Asian country Lyudmila Vorobyova told Sputnik.
Russia-China trade up by 1.7 pc year-on-year in Jan-Feb to $16 Bln: Chinese customs service
Mar 08, 2019, at 05:54 pm
Beijing, Mar 8 (Sputnik) Trade between Russia and China increased by 1.7 percent year-on-year to $16.04 billion in January-February 2019, the Chinese General Administration of Customs said on Friday.
Brussels Jewish museum shooter likely to get life in prison: Court
Mar 08, 2019, at 05:16 pm
Brussels, Mar 8 (Sputnik/UNI) Mehdi Nemmouche, a French-born jihadist of Algerian origin who was convicted on Thursday over the 2014 deadly terrorist attack on the Jewish Museum in Brussels, will be likely sentenced to life in prison, the Belgian Palace of Justice told Sputnik.
Over 900 Syrian refugees return home from abroad over past 24 hours: Russian Military
Mar 08, 2019, at 05:14 pm
Moscow, Mar 8 (Sputnik) More than 900 Syrian refugees have returned to their home country from neighboring Jordan and Lebanon over the past 24 hours, the Russian Defense Ministry's Center for Reconciliation of Opposing Sides and Refugee Migration Monitoring said on Friday.
China describes Pakistan as “all-weather†strategic partner
Mar 08, 2019, at 04:08 pm
Beijing, Mar 8 (IBNS): China on Thursday described Pakistan as its “all-weather” strategic partner.
Chinese Foreign minister points to political pressure on IT company Huawei
Mar 08, 2019, at 10:08 am
Beijing, Mar 8 (Sputnik/UNI): Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi called recent actions against Chinese companies, including telecoms giant Huawei, and the country's citizens "intentional political pressure."
China, US stand to gain from cooperation, lose from confrontation: FM
Mar 08, 2019, at 10:01 am
Beijing, Mar 8 (Xinhua/UNI): China and the United States stand to gain from cooperation and lose from confrontation, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Friday.
Crunch time for Brexit as EU gives Britain 48 hours to break deadlock in deal talks
Mar 08, 2019, at 09:40 am
London, Mar 7 (Xinhua): British Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond said Thursday a crucial vote on Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal by next Tuesday could be the last chance for Britain to leave the European Union (EU) on its planned March 29 departure date.
Mar 08, 2019, at 09:10 am
New York, Mar 8 (IBNS): What is happening in and around Ukraine is “unacceptable, the Chairperson-in-Office for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) told the United Nations Security Council on Thursday.
Human rights ‘core to sustainable development’: deputy UN chief
Mar 08, 2019, at 09:06 am
New York, Mar 8 (IBNS): “Human rights are core to the 2030 Agenda, and sustainable development is a powerful vehicle for the realization of all human rights,” the UN’s Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, said in a speech to the Human Rights Council, on Thursday.
Women’s empowerment ‘essential to global progress’ says Guterres, marking International Day
Mar 08, 2019, at 08:59 am
New York, Mar 8 (IBNS): Women’s empowerment and gender equality are “essential to global progress”, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres stressed in his message for International Women's Day which this year puts “innovation by women and girls, for women and girls”, at the heart of efforts to achieve gender equality.
Women still struggle to find a job, let alone reach the top: new UN report calls for 'quantum leap'
Mar 08, 2019, at 08:52 am
New York, Mar 8 (IBNS): Women’s job opportunities have barely improved since the early 1990s, UN labour experts said on Thursday, warning that female workers are still penalized for having children and looking after them.
Security Council discusses chemical weapons use in Syria following latest global watchdog report
Mar 07, 2019, at 09:58 am
New York, Mar 7 (IBNS): The UN Security Council met behind closed doors on Wednesday, to discuss the latest findings of the global chemical weapons watchdog in Syria, which concluded that there were “reasonable grounds” that a chemical attack took place during the crucial battle for control of Eastern Ghouta, last April.
Education remains an impossible dream for many refugees and migrants
Mar 07, 2019, at 09:33 am
New York, Mar 7 (IBNS): The older refugee and migrant children get, the less likely it is that they will get a quality education: less than a quarter of the world’s refugees make it to secondary school, and just one per cent progress to higher education. Even for migrants who settle in wealthy, developed host countries, accessing university is an uphill struggle.
Nearly four million North Koreans in urgent need, as food production slumps by almost 10 per cent
Mar 07, 2019, at 09:27 am
New York, Mar 7 (IBNS): The UN is calling for some $120 million to provide life-saving humanitarian aid, desperately needed by 3.8 million North Koreans, as it releases its 2019 Needs and Priorities Plan for the country.
Ramped-up emergency preparedness, part of ‘changing the DNA’ of the UN’s health agency
Mar 07, 2019, at 09:22 am
New York, Mar 7 (IBNS): Better preparing itself to respond to emergency situations is just one of a sweeping range of changes the World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Wednesday to further improve its role as the world’s leading authority on public health.
Mar 07, 2019, at 09:18 am
New York, Mar 7 (IBNS): Inequality continues to drive rights violations everywhere, but some countries have made significant progress in tackling the problem, not least in women’s rights, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said on Wednesday.
3,500 surrender to US backed anti-IS Kurdish forces in eastern Syria: TV report
Mar 06, 2019, at 04:40 pm
Damascus, Mar 6 (Xinhua) As many as 3,500 people, including Islamic State (IS) militants, have surrendered to the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) over the past two days in eastern Syria, pan-Arab al-Mayadeen TV reported Wednesday.
Hillary Clinton says not running for 2020 presidency
Mar 06, 2019, at 04:37 pm
Washington, Mar 6 (Xinhua/UNI): "I'm not running" in the 2020 presidential election, declared US Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Monday, defying rumors that she might go for a 2016 rematch against President Donald Trump.
Ex-Nissan chief Ghosn released on bail after 108 days in detention
Mar 06, 2019, at 04:29 pm
Tokyo, Mar 6 (UNI) Ex-Nissan Motor Co Chairman Carlos Ghosn was released Wednesday from a Tokyo detention facility where he had been held for 108 days, after bail of 1 billion yen (9 million US dollars) was posted.
Mar 06, 2019, at 09:41 am
New York, Mar 6 (IBNS): The landlocked West African country of Burkina Faso is facing “unprecedented” displacement, triggered by armed groups and intercommunal clashes, and exacerbated by long-term food insecurity, UN aid officials said on Tuesday.
Break taboo around menstruation, act to end ‘disempowering’ discrimination, say UN experts
Mar 06, 2019, at 09:38 am
New York, Mar 6 (IBNS): A group of seven United Nations rights experts issued a clarion call on Tuesday to break the taboo around menstrual health for women and girls that persists in many parts of the world and take concrete action to end “disempowering” discrimination.
Mar 06, 2019, at 09:32 am
New York, Mar 6 (IBNS): Since the beginning of the year, Israeli security forces have responded to protests along Gaza’s border fence with tear gas, rubber coated bullets and live ammunition that have caused death, injury and fear, which the UN’s independent human rights expert on the region described on Tuesday as “a recipe for more bloodshed”.
UN human rights chief regrets closure of Burundi office following Government pressure
Mar 06, 2019, at 09:23 am
New York, Mar 6 (IBNS): In a statement released on Tuesday, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, announced her regret at the closure of the UN Human Rights Office in Burundi – which was set up more than two decades ago – at the insistence of the country’s government.
Recreational cannabis poses ‘significant’ health challenges to youth: drugs control body
Mar 06, 2019, at 09:20 am
New York, Mar 6 (IBNS): The UN-backed International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) warned on Tuesday that poorly regulated medical cannabis programmes could step-up the “recreational” use of the drug while diminishing public concern over its harmful effects.
UK may scrap 80-90 pc of import duties in case of no-deal Brexit
Mar 06, 2019, at 09:12 am
Moscow, Mar 6 (Sputnik) The United Kingdom may scrap 80-90 percent of all import tariffs in the event of the country's withdrawal from the European Union without an agreement, the Sky News broadcaster reported on Tuesday, citing government sources.
Israeli air force attacked base of Palestinian movement Hamas in Gaza
Mar 06, 2019, at 09:08 am
Gaza, Mar 6 (Sputnik/UNI): Israeli Air Force attacked the base of the militarized formations of the ruling Palestinian movement Hamas, a Sputnik correspondent reported on Wednesday.
Police storm prison in west France after inmate stabs guards
Mar 06, 2019, at 09:02 am
Paris, Mar 5 (Sputnik/UNI): French special police forces on Tuesday stormed a visiting room in a prison after a possibly radicalized inmate stabbed two guards and barricaded inside, local media said.