EU split over tougher action on Turkey ahead of crucial summit
Dec 07, 2020, at 11:33 pm
Brussels/Sputnik: The European Union is on the fence about sanctioning Ankara over what it sees as Turkish provocations in the Mediterranean, ahead of a crucial summit this week, a Brussels-based news website cited its sources as saying Monday.
Police checking Aeroflot plane at JFK after reports of explosives on board: Embassy
Dec 07, 2020, at 03:13 pm
Moscow/Sputnik: New York police are checking an Aeroflot plane that has arrived at the John F. Kennedy International Airport from Moscow for explosive devices, a spokesperson of the Russian Embassy in the US told Sputnik.
Iranian military says nuclear Physicist was assassinated by satellite-controlled weapon
Dec 07, 2020, at 02:43 pm
Tehran/Sputnik: The weapon used to assassinate Iranian nuclear physicist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was remotely controlled from a satellite, Brig. Gen. Ramazan Sharif, the spokesman for the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), said on Sunday.
Over 100 people detained during Sunday protests in Belarus: Rights group
Dec 07, 2020, at 02:32 pm
Minsk/Sputnik: Belarusian police have detained at least 104 people attending the Sunday anti-government protests across the country, the Viasna human rights center said in a news release.
US Defense Department fully cooperating with Biden’s transition team : Miller
Dec 06, 2020, at 09:34 pm
Moscow/Sputnik: Acting US Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller has reiterated that the Pentagon is fully cooperating with Joe Biden’s transition team, with more defense meetings planned for next week.
Crucial Brexit trade talks to resume on Sunday
Dec 06, 2020, at 09:22 pm
Brussels/UNI: The crucial negotiations to secure a post-Brexit trade deal between the UK and the EU will once again resume on Sunday, even the December 31 deadline nears and chances of a no-deal Brexit looms large.
Erdogan's Turkey plans to send jihadist mercenaries to Kashmir
Dec 06, 2020, at 03:42 pm
Ankara: Seeking a lionshare in the Muslim world, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is planning to send its foreign jihadist troops to India's Jammu and Kashmir in an attempt to pan-Islamise the region.
Armenia, Azerbaijan reach agreement on full-scale prisoner swap
Dec 05, 2020, at 09:12 pm
Yerevan/Sputnik: Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on Saturday that Armenia and Azerbaijan have agreed to exchange all war prisoners who were captured during the Karabakh conflict, and stressed the importance of preserving peace between the countries.
Amidst positive steps, challenges in Africa ‘loom large’, UN chief tells Security Council
Dec 05, 2020, at 04:07 pm
New York: The United Nations-African Union (AU) partnership has yielded “significant results”, including at the country level, the UN chief told the Security Council on Friday.
Dec 05, 2020, at 03:54 pm
New York: The UN Secretary-General António Guterres welcomed the continuing ceasefire in and around Nagorno-Karabakh on Friday, underlining that the Organization stands ready to provide humanitarian support to meet the needs of all civilians impacted by conflict.
COVID-19: Right decisions now will secure a life of dignity for all
Dec 05, 2020, at 03:45 pm
New York: Critical decisions made now to address the COVID-19 pandemic will lead to a life of dignity for all people, UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed said on Friday, addressing the second and final day of the General Assembly’s special session devoted to the crisis.
Belarus: End ongoing human rights violations, UN rights chief urges
Dec 05, 2020, at 03:37 pm
New York: The human rights situation in Belarus continues to deteriorate, particularly with respect to peaceful assembly, the UN rights chief said on Friday, urging the government to put an end to ongoing violations and “take steps towards a genuine, respectful and inclusive national dialogue”.
UN working at ‘full speed’ to prepare for humanitarian mission to Ethiopia’s Tigray
Dec 05, 2020, at 03:31 pm
New York: The UN’s humanitarian coordination office, said on Friday that it was doing its utmost to secure aid access to Ethiopia’s Tigray region, after a deal was struck to reach displaced civilians, following weeks of fighting between federal and regional forces.
Vanuatu graduates from list of least developed countries
Dec 05, 2020, at 03:07 pm
New York: The Pacific island nation of Vanuatu has graduated from the official list of Least Developed Countries (LDC), becoming the sixth country to achieve the milestone since the development categorization was created in 1971.
Yemen: Unchecked violations ‘may amount to war crimes’, Security Council hears
Dec 04, 2020, at 10:36 pm
New York: UN experts called on the Security Council on Thursday, along with the international community at large, to put an end to the “surreal and absurd dimension” of human rights violations engulfing war-torn Yemen, where abuses continue unchecked.
UN experts call for clemency for Lisa Montgomery, as US reschedules planned execution
Dec 04, 2020, at 10:31 pm
New York: UN independent human rights experts expressed serious concern on Thursday, after the United States Government rescheduled the execution of Lisa Montgomery for 12 January, just days before new President Joe Biden, an opponent of the death penalty, is due to be sworn in.
Amid ‘unprecedented’ needs, UNICEF asks for $6.4 billion to help 190 million children
Dec 04, 2020, at 09:21 pm
New York: The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on Thursday, launched a $6.4 billion emergency funding appeal to reach more than 190 million children affected by humanitarian crises amidst the coronavirus pandemic.
Recognize and protect rights of persons with disabilities, UN chief urges, marking International Day
Dec 04, 2020, at 09:13 pm
New York: The United Nations is commemorating the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, on Thursday, calling for greater inclusion for persons with disabilities, and recognizing and protecting their human rights.
Canada targeting January for start of COVID-19 vaccine delivery: Distribution Czar
Dec 04, 2020, at 03:37 pm
Toronto/Sputnik/UNI: The Canadian government is targeting January as the starting point for COVID-19 vaccine delivery throughout the country, Canada’s Vaccine Distribution Czar Maj. Gen. Dany Fortin said during a press conference.
Multinationals in US lobby against Xinjiang forced labour bill: Report
Dec 04, 2020, at 03:25 am
New York: Major multinational companies and business groups are lobbying Congress to weaken a bill that would ban imported goods made with forced labor in China’s Xinjiang region, media reports said on Thursday.
UN says Kazakhstan illegally 'targeted' defender of Xinjiang indigenous groups
Dec 02, 2020, at 04:49 pm
New York: The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has recently said the Kazakh government violated international human rights law last year by detaining activist Serikzhan Bilash.
UN humanitarian office puts Yemen war dead at 233,000, mostly from ‘indirect causes’
Dec 02, 2020, at 04:01 pm
New York: Almost a quarter of a million people have died in Yemen’s war, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on its website on Tuesday, confirming the huge toll from a conflict that has ravaged Yemen’s economy and created the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
Global agreement on migration 'taking root' despite pandemic challenge: Guterres
Dec 02, 2020, at 03:53 pm
New York: The Global Compact for Migration, adopted by countries in 2018 as a comprehensive framework for cooperation on international migration, is “taking root in promising ways”, the UN Secretary General said on Tuesday.
COVID-19 can spark new generation of social protection measures: UN chief
Dec 02, 2020, at 03:28 pm
New York: While COVID-19 has wiped out important development gains in mere months, with extreme poverty rising for the first time in decades, the pandemic could spark the transformations needed to achieve stronger social protection systems, the UN Secretary-General said on Tuesday.
UNHCR asks Ethiopia for urgent access to 96,000 Eritreans cut off without food
Dec 02, 2020, at 05:56 am
New York: The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, appealed to Ethiopia on Tuesday for urgent access to 96,000 Eritrean refugees in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, saying the month-long conflict in Tigray had left them without vital supplies.
UN appeals for $35 billion to help world’s ‘most vulnerable and fragile’ in 2021
Dec 02, 2020, at 05:21 am
New York: A record 235 million people will need humanitarian assistance and protection next year, a near- 40 per cent increase on 2020 which is “almost entirely from COVID-19”, the UN’s emergency relief chief said on Tuesday.
COVID-19 worsening gender-based violence, trafficking risk, for women and girls
Dec 02, 2020, at 05:08 am
New York: With the COVID-19 pandemic heightening the dangers of gender-based violence and human trafficking, action on these two fronts is needed now more than ever, the head of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said on Monday.
UN human rights office worried by killings in Indonesian provinces of Papua and West Papua
Dec 02, 2020, at 04:33 am
New York: Violence is escalating in the Indonesian provinces of Papua and West Papua, where meaningful and inclusive dialogue is urgently needed to address longstanding economic, social and political grievances, the UN human rights office said on Monday.
The pandemic is fuelling slavery and sexual exploitation, UN experts warn
Dec 01, 2020, at 09:52 pm
New York: The COVID-19 pandemic has played into the hands of slavers and traffickers and requires stronger government measures to prevent exploitation of vulnerable people, more than 50 independent UN human rights experts said in a statement on Monday.
Consign chemical weapons to history, UN chief urges, honouring victims
Dec 01, 2020, at 09:44 pm
New York: The United Nations Secretary-General has called for “renewed determination” to eliminate chemical weapons from the world.