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.
Coronavirus economics: Debt-laden countries at risk, as financial markets screech to a halt
Apr 18, 2020, at 10:30 am
New York/IBNS: Economists and finance experts are warning that countries with “high” or “distressed” public debt levels are at risk of severe economic shocks amid the COVID-19 pandemic and calling for restructuring plans based on the principle of solidarity.
UN human rights office calls for compassion following Rohingya deaths at sea
Apr 18, 2020, at 10:21 am
New York/IBNS: The UN human rights office (OHCHR), is calling for compassion for people desperately seeking shelter, after 30 Rohingya refugees from Myanmar died on a boat in the Bay of Bengal that had spent nearly two months at sea.
Ceasefire during COVID-19 pandemic essential, to safeguard 250 million children
Apr 18, 2020, at 10:06 am
New York/IBNS: The head of the UN children’s fund UNICEF warned on Friday that 250 million children around the world living in the “waking nightmare” of conflict desperately need warring parties to stop fighting as the COVID-19 pandemic spreads.
Taiwan makes public December email to WHO showing caution about COVID-19 outbreak
Apr 17, 2020, at 03:02 pm
Taipei/IBNS: Giving more fuel to the suspicion of the World Health Organisation (WHO)'s collusion with China over the COVID-19 outbreak, Taiwan has recently released an email which was sent to the organisation cautioning it of the pandemic virus.
Apr 17, 2020, at 12:35 pm
New York/IBNS: With the COVID-19 pandemic threatening to deepen suffering in Yemen, now is the time for rival parties to commit to ending their conflict, UN Special Envoy Martin Griffiths told the Security Council on Thursday, during an informal meeting via videoconference.
Coronavirus pandemic threatens crises-ravaged communities, UN appeals for global support
Apr 17, 2020, at 12:33 pm
New York/IBNS: A psychosocial counsellor in Jordan's Azraq refugee camp informed the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) on Thursday that during the first four days of the COVID-19 lockdown she called beneficiaries to let them know that “virtual support" was available.
UN chief calls for greater protection for children caught up in COVID-19 crisis
Apr 17, 2020, at 11:25 am
New York/IBNS: The looming global recession resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic could cause hundreds of thousands of additional child deaths this year, effectively reversing recent gains in reducing infant mortality, a new UN report issued on Thursday has revealed.
First Person: DR Congo doctor prepares for latest in long line of health crises
Apr 17, 2020, at 11:16 am
New York/IBNS: Health professionals working with the World Health Organization (WHO) in eastern Democratic of Congo (DRC), have been dealing with the deadly Ebola epidemic since August 2018. This experience is helping them to prepare for the latest disease to arrive: COVID-19.
Amid COVID-19 crisis, China's GDP falls by 6.8 pc year-on-year in Q1 2020
Apr 17, 2020, at 10:11 am
Beijing/UNI: The China's GDP has fallen by 6.8 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS)-- a deputy-cabinet level agency of the country said on Friday.
Australian city Wagga Wagga moves to sever ties with sister city in China
Apr 16, 2020, at 04:30 pm
Sydney/IBNS: In what can be seen as a step taken by the international community to start the process of social distancing against Beijing, the place from where the lethal COVID-19 disease first originated, the Australian city of Wagga Wagga has moved to formally sever ties with its sister city in China, media reports said.
Former M16 head Robert John Sawers targets China, WHO over COVID-19 outbreak
Apr 16, 2020, at 04:17 pm
London/IBNS: The former head of the United Kingdom's foreign intelligence service has targeted China and the World Health Organization over the COVID-19 outbreak and said both should bear responsibility for a flawed response to the disease that has now reached nearly all corners of the globe.
Even during COVID-19, art ‘brings us closer together than ever’ – UN cultural agency
Apr 16, 2020, at 01:52 pm
New York/IBNS: With billions of people either in lockdown or on the front lines battling the COVID-19 pandemic, this first celebration of World Art Day is a timely reminder that “art has the power to unite and connect in times of crisis”, the head of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) said on Wednesday.
COVID-19: UK MPs to summon China-owned firm's executives over security issues, reports BBC
Apr 15, 2020, at 06:03 pm
London/IBNS: British MPs might summon a leading UK-based firm, which has a Chinese connection, to answer questions related to security concerns, media reports said.
Apr 15, 2020, at 01:25 pm
While political actors in Colombia are uniting to confront COVID-19, they must also work together to fight “the epidemic of violence” against civil society leaders, human rights defenders and former combatants, the head of the UN mission in the country said on Tuesday during a Security Council meeting held by videoconference.
-1586935259.jpg "Hatred going viral in ‘dangerous epidemic of misinformation’ during COVID-19 pandemic")
Hatred going viral in ‘dangerous epidemic of misinformation’ during COVID-19 pandemic
Apr 15, 2020, at 12:51 pm
New York/IBNS: As the world battles the deadly COVID-19 pandemic and people are searching for clear facts and answers to questions, that could help save countless lives, “a dangerous epidemic of misinformation” is also spreading, the United Nations chief warned on Tuesday.
COVID-19: Major relief airlift will reach ‘most vulnerable’ African nations
Apr 15, 2020, at 12:46 pm
New York/IBNS: The first of the UN’s “Solidarity Flights” carrying urgently needed medical equipment to Africa, has arrived in Addis Ababa, agencies said on Tuesday.
Hong Kong launches website to promote national security education
Apr 15, 2020, at 12:39 pm
Hong Kong/Xinhua/UNI: China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) launched a website to promote national security education on Wednesday, which marks the fifth National Security Education Day.
Japanese gov't to begin cash handouts to households in May due to COVID-19
Apr 14, 2020, at 07:51 pm
Tokyo/Xinhua: The Japanese government on Tuesday laid out its plan to provide cash handouts to households whose income has suffered as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak will begin in May.
COVID-19: Israel registers 282 new cases over past 24 hours
Apr 14, 2020, at 03:22 pm
Moscow/UNI: Israel has registered 282 more Coronavirus cases over the past day, bringing the total number of those infected to 11,868, the Health Ministry said on Tuesday.
COVID-19 isolation threatens life-saving vaccinations for millions of children globally
Apr 14, 2020, at 01:47 pm
New York/IBNS: As countries around the world continue to battle the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 117 million children risk missing out on measles vaccines, two UN agencies warned in Geneva on Tuesday.
Testing, tracing, and when to lift restrictions: WHO’s latest advice
Apr 14, 2020, at 01:46 pm
New York/IBNS: The Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), outlined his agency’s latest advice to countries on Monday in a statement, stressing that a mix of social distancing, testing, contact tracing and isolation, will be crucial to further curb the spread of the new coronavirus already devastating much of the globe.
During this coronavirus pandemic, ‘fake news’ is putting lives at risk: UNESCO
Apr 14, 2020, at 01:45 pm
New York/IBNS: Unreliable and false information is spreading around the world to such an extent, that some commentators are now referring to the new avalanche of misinformation that’s accompanied the COVID-19 pandemic as a ‘disinfodemic’.
Detained children at ‘grave risk’ of contracting COVID-19 – UNICEF chief
Apr 14, 2020, at 01:44 pm
New York/IBNS: Hundreds of thousands of children in detention around the world are at “grave risk” of contracting COVID-19, the head of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Monday, calling for their urgent release.
Xi Jinping govt faces diplomatic crisis after reports of mistreatment of Africans in China surfaces
Apr 13, 2020, at 11:08 pm
Beijing/IBNS: China is facing a major diplomatic crisis in Africa as several nations have now voiced their concerns amid reports that African nationals are facing COVID-19 related racial discrimination in the East Asian country.
Sailor from USS Theodore Roosevelt dies of COVID-19
Apr 13, 2020, at 08:18 pm
Washington/Sputnik: A sailor from the coronavirus-stricken aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt has died of COVID-19, the US Navy said in a statement on Monday.
Experts believe Gilgit-Baltistan, PoK are turning into COVID-19 epicentres, blame Imran Khan govt
Apr 13, 2020, at 08:03 pm
Islamabad/IBNS: Experts are claiming that Pakistan's Gilgit Baltistan and Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) are fast emerging into COVID-19 hotbeds of the country and even the PM Imran Khan-led government is slowly turning blind eye to the suffering of the people in the region.
Spanish leader slams China for misinformation regarding COVID-19
Apr 13, 2020, at 07:30 pm
Beijing/IBNS: A senior Spanish member of the European Parliament and Vice-Chairman of the Conservatives Group, Herman Tertsch, has hammered China for spreading misinformation regarding COVID-19 outbreak which has claimed lives across the globe in recent times.
Saudi-led coalition accuses Yemen's Houthis of violating cease-fire
Apr 13, 2020, at 12:07 pm
Riyadh//Xinhua/UNI: Saudi-led coalition involved in a war in Yemen accused on Sunday the Houthis militia in Yemen of violating the cease-fire, Al Akhbariya local TV reported.
387 new COVID-19 cases reported in UAE, 4,123 in total
Apr 13, 2020, at 11:53 am
Dubai/Xinhua/UNI: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Sunday announced 387 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total confirmed cases in the country to 4,123.