Our support for Taiwan is rock solid, says US vowing to strengthen trade ties
Jul 02, 2021, at 05:14 am
Washington; The US government has said trade relationship will be strengthened with Taiwan in the upcoming times, a vow that has the potential to annoy China.
Israel now opens Consulate in Dubai
Jul 01, 2021, at 12:13 am
Tel Aviv/UNI/Sputnik: Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid inaugurated the Consulate General in Dubai on Wednesday.
‘Highest standards of conduct’ required for successful UN peacekeeping
Jun 30, 2021, at 10:26 pm
New York: Successful peacekeeping requires the “highest standards of conduct” by civilian and uniformed peacekeepers, the UN chief told a High-Level Meeting this week on Strengthening the Conduct of Peacekeeping Personnel.
Generation Equality: Alongside COVID lies an ‘equally horrific pandemic’ threatening women
Jun 30, 2021, at 10:03 pm
New York: As the world grapples unevenly with the effects of COVID-19, “a parallel and equally horrific pandemic” has threatened half the world’s population, the UN chief said on Tuesday, in the lead up to the Generation Equality Forum in France.
Malian authorities urged to ‘break the cycle of impunity’ for human rights violations
Jun 30, 2021, at 05:29 pm
New York: Rampant impunity for human rights violations in Mali is posing serious risks for the protection of civilians in the West African country, UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet said on Tuesday.
Hospitals barely functioning, famine still looming in Ethiopia’s Tigray region
Jun 30, 2021, at 04:53 pm
New York: UN humanitarians expressed concern on Tuesday at the uncertain situation in Ethiopia's conflict-ravaged Tigray region despite a ceasefire call from the Government, highlighting the ongoing famine-like conditions there and the potential for disease outbreaks.
Violence against smuggled migrants widespread, but justice is lacking: UN report
Jun 29, 2021, at 10:06 pm
New York: Migrants smuggled across borders are often subjected to extreme violence, torture, rape and kidnapping, whether in transit or in captivity, but authorities take little action to address these offences, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said in a report published on Monday.
No place for children in conflict, UN chief tells Security Council
Jun 29, 2021, at 10:02 pm
New York: The disregard for children’s rights amid war and upheaval “is shocking and heartbreaking”, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Monday during a high-level open debate in the Security Council, held virtually.
UN rights office highlights policing reforms to address systemic racism
Jun 29, 2021, at 09:55 pm
New York: Radical policing reforms are needed to address systemic racism affecting people of African descent around the world, UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet said on Monday, as her Office published a series of recommendations prompted by the killing of George Floyd.
UK finance watchdog bans crypto-currency exchange Binance
Jun 28, 2021, at 10:54 pm
London: The UK's financial regulator has banned crypto-currency exchange Binance, media reports said on Monday.
Japan plans stricter COVID19 safety measures for some athletes as Delta variant fears grow
Jun 28, 2021, at 02:31 am
Tokyo/Sputnik: The organizers of the Olympic Games in Japan plan to introduce stricter entry restrictions for athletes from certain countries starting next month, because of the spread of the Delta coronavirus variant, the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper reported on Sunday.
UK: Matt Hancock resigns as health secretary after breaking social distance guidance
Jun 27, 2021, at 03:47 pm
London/UNI: Britain's health secretary Matt Hancock resigned from his position on Saturday after he was found in breach of social distancing norms by kissing a colleague.
Delta variant driving the third wave of Covid-19 in South Africa
Jun 27, 2021, at 04:20 am
Cape Town/IBNS: Scientists have attributed the current surge in coronavirus cases in South Africa to the Delta variant, according to media reports.
Syria: ‘Gulf of mistrust’, complex realities, prevent political progress
Jun 26, 2021, at 10:06 pm
Progress towards resolving Syria’s decade-long war is unlikely, given the ‘gulf of mistrust’ among parties and complexity of conditions on the ground, the chief UN mediator for the country told the Security Council on Friday, as he urged delegates to unite around elements of resolution 2254 (2015) and called for a new international dialogue to achieve a breakthrough.
Syria’s last cross-border aid lifeline must stay open, insist UN humanitarians
Jun 26, 2021, at 03:11 pm
New York: The imminent closure of the last cross-border aid lifeline to northwest Syria must be postponed beyond the 10 July deadline, UN humanitarians said on Friday, noting that no cross-line supplies had reached Idlib from Damascus, in 11 months.
Prevention, only ‘sustainable solution’ to conflict, deputy UN chief tells Nigerian law students
Jun 26, 2021, at 02:47 pm
New York: Speaking in Nigeria, the UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed has emphasized the importance of prevention as “the only real, sustainable solution” to resolving the challenges thrown up by conflict.
Australia: Parts of Sydney put under lockdown amid COVID-19 Delta variant infection surge
Jun 25, 2021, at 11:56 pm
Sydney: Several regions in Australia's Sydney city, including Bond beach, will be under lockdown as COVID-19 cases started to surge in recent times, media reports said on Friday.
UN pushes for lasting ceasefire, more humanitarian deliveries in Gaza
Jun 25, 2021, at 11:19 pm
New York: The cessation of hostilities negotiated last month between Israel and Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, remains “very fragile”, the UN envoy there told the Security Council on Thursday.
Governments must protect those who help torture victims, say human rights experts
Jun 25, 2021, at 11:09 pm
New York: Top UN rights experts appealed on Thursday for all governments to ensure that victims of torture receive the rehabilitation services they need, along with guarantees that those who help them do not suffer reprisals.
DR Congo: Grave consequences for children witnessing ‘appalling violence’, UNICEF reports
Jun 25, 2021, at 10:48 pm
New York: The UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, appealed on Thursday for urgent resources to support thousands of people who have fled armed violence in two small towns in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) over the past two months.
COVID pandemic fuelling major increase in drug use worldwide: UN report
Jun 25, 2021, at 04:07 pm
New York: Around 275 million people used drugs worldwide in the last year of unprecedented upheaval caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, up by 22 per cent from 2010. That’s among the key findings of the latest annual report released on Thursday by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), which also provides an overview of global drug markets, as well as their impact on people’s health and livelihoods.
UN chief urges European Parliament to support COVID vaccines for all
Jun 25, 2021, at 03:56 pm
New York: The European Union (EU) must use its leverage to ensure people everywhere have access to COVID-19 vaccines, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Thursday.
UK govt updates green, red travel lists of countries effective June 30
Jun 25, 2021, at 02:30 pm
London/Sputnik: UK transport minister Grant Shapps announced on Thursday changes to the "green" and "red" lists of countries depending on the risk of COVID-19 exposure, effective June 30.
Lithuania donates 20,000 AstraZeneca vaccine doses to Taiwan to combat COVID-19
Jun 25, 2021, at 03:47 am
Taipei: Lithuania has donated 20,000 AstraZeneca vaccine doses to Taiwan to combat COVID-19 pandemic which is still putting life across the globe in danger.
Small businesses unprepared for pandemic-sized climate shock ‘every decade’
Jun 24, 2021, at 11:46 pm
New York: Small businesses which make up more than half of the global workforce were 2.5 times more likely to go under than larger firms in the first months of COVID-19, the International Trade Centre (ITC) said on Wednesday, warning that the impact of climate change could cause pandemic-scale disruption “every decade”.
Famine knocking at the door of 41 million worldwide, WFP warns
Jun 23, 2021, at 03:54 pm
New York: Famine is already present in four countries but millions more people are at risk, the World Food Programme (WFP) warned on Tuesday, underscoring the need for urgent funding and humanitarian access to reach those in need.
Bangladeshi, Indian migrants arrested in Malaysia for violating movement control
Jun 22, 2021, at 10:55 pm
Malaysian immigration department arrested 309 migrants, including 102 Bangladeshis and two from India, for staying in violation of the movement control restrictions during an operation carried out at a settlement near a construction site in Dengkil town of Selangor state on Monday.
Slow progress, stubborn cycles of violence, as South Sudan turns 10
Jun 22, 2021, at 04:12 pm
New York: South Sudan, the UN’s youngest Member State, is marking its tenth anniversary of independence amid languishing political progress and a range of humanitarian challenges, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative told Security Council members on Monday.
Human Rights Council urged to support UN chief’s call for a 'new social contract' after COVID-19
Jun 22, 2021, at 03:52 pm
New York: UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet on Monday urged UN Member States to promote a more inclusive post-pandemic recovery to help the world’s most vulnerable recover from the impact of COVID.
Pandemic ‘rolled back’ sustainable development funding for weak economies: UNCTAD
Jun 22, 2021, at 03:45 pm
New York: Financial assistance to the world’s 83 weakest economies fell by 15 per cent in 2020, to $35 billion as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic, UN trade and development experts UNCTAD said on Monday.