At sea for nearly a month, a young couple finally realizes that world is combating COVID-19
Apr 22, 2020, at 05:29 pm
Manchester/IBNS: Travelling far away in their boat, Elena Manighetti and Ryan Osborne from Manchester, UK, could only know about the severity of the COVID-19 outbreak recently.
UN condemns killing of WHO staffer in Myanmar transporting COVID-19 samples
Apr 22, 2020, at 01:32 pm
New York/IBNS: A World Health Organization (WHO) worker has been killed while driving a vehicle carrying COVID-19 samples in Myanmar’s western Rakhine state, the United Nations country office confirmed in a statement on Tuesday.
Guterres vows support for island States in twin fight against COVID-19, climate crisis
Apr 22, 2020, at 01:30 pm
New York/IBNS: In an era of new challenges wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic, Secretary-General António Guterres is pledging the UN’s continued support to small island States – longtime leaders in the global fight against the devastating impacts of climate change.
As famines of ‘biblical proportion’ loom, Security Council urged to ‘act fast’
Apr 22, 2020, at 01:28 pm
New York/IBNS: The world is not only facing “a global health pandemic but also a global humanitarian catastrophe”, the UN food relief agency chief told the Security Council on Tuesday via video link.
Assistance ramped up to DR Congo’s South Kivu as floods kill dozens
Apr 22, 2020, at 01:23 pm
New York/IBNS: Aid is being rushed to eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) where deadly flooding has swept away people and homes and affected tens of thousands more, including many displaced by violence, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Tuesday.
Keep critical food supply chains operating to save lives during COVID-19, urges new UN-backed report
Apr 22, 2020, at 01:22 pm
New York/IBNS: A new study on food insecurity by an alliance of UN, governmental, and non-governmental agencies analyzes what is fueling global food crises and examines how, among other emergencies, the COVID-19 pandemic is perpetuating downward cycle for millions.
Funerals become hotspots of COVID-19 infections in South Africa
Apr 22, 2020, at 11:48 am
Cape Town/Xinhua/UNI: Funerals have been found to pose the biggest risk for the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said.
China wants authoritarianism as democracy's alternative, warns former US NSA
Apr 21, 2020, at 06:29 pm
Washington/IBNS: Former United States National Security Advisor (NSA) H. R. McMaster warned the world that China has become a threat to the world due to its Communist leaders who are promoting a closed, authoritarian model as an alternative to other democratic governments and free-market economies.
British lawmakers to probe advisers who help China target British businesses
Apr 21, 2020, at 06:25 pm
London/IBNS: British lawmakers have called for a probe against the political figures and advisers who profit by helping the Chinese government to target British businesses.
Advantage COVID-19: China takes 'aggressive' stance on South China Sea, Vietnam voices concern
Apr 21, 2020, at 04:55 pm
Hanoi/IBNS: While the world calls out China for its role in the global transmission of COVID-19, the Asian giant is following an aggressive stance on South China Sea (SCS) region drawing protest from Vietnam which asked Beijing to maintain its sovereignty.
Apr 21, 2020, at 02:40 pm
Paris/IBNS: Amid growing discontent against China internationally over the alleged epicentre of COVID-19 being Wuhan city and reports of silencing information on the death toll in the country, the French foreign office recently summoned the Chinese ambassador, Lu Shaye, to express its deep disapproval about Chinese diplomats’ claims that France had left its older citizens to die, media reports said.
Nigeria confirms key Boko Haram leaders killed in military airstrikes
Apr 21, 2020, at 01:57 pm
Abuja/Xinhua/UNI: Key leaders of the Boko Haram group were recently killed following multiple airstrikes by the Nigerian military in the country's northeast region, said the defense headquarters in Abuja on Monday.
Suspect involved in manslaughter of 39 migrants detained in Ireland
Apr 21, 2020, at 01:44 pm
Dublin/Sputnik/UNI: A suspect in the case involving the death of 39 Vietnamese migrants in the UK county of Essex has been detained in Ireland under a European arrest warrant, the Essex police said on Monday.
Oman reports 144 new COVID-19 cases, 1,410 in total
Apr 21, 2020, at 01:37 pm
Muscat/Xinhua/UNI: The Omani Ministry of Health announced on Monday that 144 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 have been registered in the country, bringing the total to 1,410.
Death toll rises to 18 in Canada's worst mass shooting
Apr 21, 2020, at 01:34 pm
Ottawa/Xinhua/UNI: The death toll has risen to 18 in the mass shooting in the Canadian province Nova Scotia, the worst of its kind in the country's history, according the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Monday afternoon.
UN agencies pledge scaled-up efforts to protect uprooted children as pandemic upends lives
Apr 21, 2020, at 12:58 pm
New York/IBNS: Two UN agency chiefs are pledging to accelerate work to expand refugee children’s access to protection, education, clean water and sanitation, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread across the globe.
Displaced and stateless women and girls face heightened risk of violence amid coronavirus pandemic
Apr 21, 2020, at 11:29 am
New York/IBNS: As COVID-19 continues to take lives and change communities around the world, the virus is also creating massive protection risks for women and girls forced to flee their homes, a top official at the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Monday, stressing that global protection staff are on high alert and adapting life-saving support programmes for those subjected to violence.
Onset of COVID-19 pandemic boosts support for international cooperation
Apr 21, 2020, at 11:22 am
New York/IBNS: Initial results of a UN initiative to help decide the future direction of the Organization have revealed overwhelming support for international cooperation, which has grown significantly since COVID-19 began spreading around the world.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is in 'grave danger' after surgery: Reports
Apr 21, 2020, at 10:51 am
Washington/IBNS: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is in 'grave danger' after a surgery, media reports said on Tuesday.
3 killed, 4 injured in blasts in southern Somalia
Apr 20, 2020, at 07:03 pm
Mogadishu/Xinhua/UNI: At least three people were killed and four others injured in explosions in Awdigle town in Somalia's southern region of Lower Shabelle on Monday, a police officer confirmed.
Eight detained after children's bodies found in China's Henan
Apr 20, 2020, at 12:11 pm
Zhengzhou/Xinhua/UNI: Eight suspects were under criminal detention after four children's bodies were found in an earth dump in central China's Henan Province, according to local authorities.
Japan's Foreign Minister says economy facing worst postwar crisis due to COVID-19 pandemic
Apr 20, 2020, at 11:43 am
Tokyo/Sputnik/UNI: Japan’s economy is facing the most serious crisis since World War II due to the coronavirus pandemic, Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said on Monday.
Britain spends £16m by ordering flawed COVID-19 testing kits from China
Apr 19, 2020, at 03:45 pm
London/IBNS: Britain found themselves in midst of trouble, like many other Western nations earlier claimed, after the country paid two Chinese companies an estimated £16 million for two million COVID-19 antibody tests that officials later on found were not accurate enough to be rolled out.
South Korea records lowest daily increase in COVID-19 cases since mid-Feb
Apr 19, 2020, at 10:58 am
Seoul/Sputnik: The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in South Korea has risen by only eight to 10,661 over the past 24 hours, which is the lowest increase since mid-February, the Health Ministry's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said on Sunday.
Some US states to begin easing coronavirus restrictions this month: Trump
Apr 19, 2020, at 10:40 am
Washington/Sputnik: Texas, Vermont and Montana will start to allow some businesses to open this month, US President Donald Trump said on Sunday after releasing the federal guidelines for lifting some restrictions imposed amid the coronavirus pandemic.
French Prez Emmanuel Macron questions China's handling of COVID-19 outbreak
Apr 18, 2020, at 08:00 pm
Paris/IBNS: French President Emmanuel Macron has questioned China's way of handling COVID-19 outbreak by saying that things "happened that we don't know about".
ISIS claims responsibility for blowing up boats in Maldives
Apr 18, 2020, at 07:24 pm
Male/IBNS: Islamic State terror group has claimed responsibility of blowing up five boats at Mahibadhoo harbour in Maldives on Wednesday, at a time when the world is busy combating COVID-19 outbreak.
Almost 25,000 prisoners released in Myanmar as part of new year amnesty
Apr 18, 2020, at 11:36 am
Naypyitaw/Sputnik/UNI: Myanmar President U Win Myint has granted amnesty to a total of 24,896 prisoners across the country as part of the celebration of traditional Burmese New Year, media reported on Friday.
Turkey-backed rebels kidnap 25 civilians in NE Syria
Apr 18, 2020, at 11:29 am
Damascus/Xinhua/UNI: The Turkey-backed Syrian rebels on Friday kidnapped 25 civilians in the northeastern province of Hasakah, state news agency SANA reported.
COVID-19: Rights experts highlight LGBTI discrimination, antisemitism
Apr 18, 2020, at 10:36 am
New York/IBNS: New guidance from the UN human rights office, issued on Friday, sets out key actions to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex (LGBTI) people against discrimination during the COVID-19 pandemic.