Number of COVID-19 cases in Italy crosses 100

Feb 23, 2020, at 06:27 pm

Rome/Sputnik: The number of people infected with the novel coronavirus in Italy's Lombardy region has reached 89, likely pushing the country's overall number of cases past 100, regional head Attilio Fontana said on Sunday.

UN chief welcomes South Sudan’s Unity government, lauds parties for ‘significant achievement’

Feb 23, 2020, at 06:15 pm

New York/IBNS: United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres welcomed on Saturday the establishment of the Transitional Government of National Unity (TGoNU) in South Sudan.

Shooting reported at shisha bar in Germany's Stuttgart, no injuries

Feb 23, 2020, at 10:07 am

Berlin/Xinhua: A gunman on Saturday attacked a shisha bar in the southwestern German city of Stuttgart, local media N-TV reported.

Rally in support of Assange gathers in London ahead of court hearings

Feb 22, 2020, at 10:56 pm

London/Sputnik: A large rally in support of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange began in London ahead of court hearings on his extradition to the United States, a Sputnik correspondent reported from the scene.

Three killed in Ghana road accident

Feb 22, 2020, at 04:57 pm

Accra/Xinhua/UNI: Three people were killed and two others injured Friday in a road accident at Nkwanta, a small town in east Ghana, officials said.

Four trapped in east China coal mine accident

Feb 22, 2020, at 04:54 pm

Jinan/Xinhua/UNI: Four people were trapped under the pit in a coal mine accident in east China's Shandong Province on Saturday, according to Shandong Xinjulong Energy Co. Ltd., owner of the mine.

Iran says FATF designation not to affect foreign trade

Feb 22, 2020, at 04:51 pm

Tehran/Xinhua/UNI:  Governor of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) Abdolnaser Hemmati said that a decision by the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to blacklist the Islamic Republic will not affect the country's foreign trade, Tasnim news agency reported on Saturday.

Situation in central Mali ‘deteriorating’ as violence, impunity rise, UN rights expert warns

Feb 22, 2020, at 03:48 pm

New York/IBNS: The growing violence has contributed to a deteriorating security situation in central Mali, with impunity being one of the aggravating factors, an independent UN human rights expert warned on Friday.

UN launches new project to address link between terrorism, arms and crime

Feb 22, 2020, at 03:42 pm

New York/IBNS: Cheap and easily accessible small arms are increasingly becoming the “weapon of choice” for many terrorist groups, the UN counter-terrorism chief told an event on Friday aimed to raise awareness of the nexus between terrorism, organized crime and illicit small arms trafficking.

Cameroon: UN officials raise alarm over escalating violence, call for civilian protection

Feb 22, 2020, at 03:35 pm

New York/IBNS: Four senior UN officials issued a joint statement on Friday deploring the continued human rights abuses committed against civilians, including women and children, in the south-west and north-west regions of Cameroon.

Dalai Lama's successor selection: US house votes against China for meddling

Feb 22, 2020, at 10:47 am

Washington/Beijing/IBNS: In what can be seen as a sign of standing with the people of Tibet, the US Hosue of Representatives last month passed the Tibetan Policy and Support Act (TPSA) which aims at strengthening policy in connection with the region. It also intends to sanction Chinese officials from interfering in the succession process of Tibetan religious leader Dalai Lama.

UN chief appeals for end to Syria’s ‘man-made humanitarian nightmare’

Feb 22, 2020, at 10:38 am

New York/IBNS: In a tersely delivered statement on Friday, the UN Secretary-General appealed for an end to the “man-made humanitarian nightmare” currently unfolding in Syria, where ongoing military operations in the north-west have displaced hundreds of thousands amid bitter winter temperatures.

Can't have Turkish law in France: Prez Macron vows to fight political Islamic

Feb 22, 2020, at 10:36 am

Paris: In a bid to crack down on what he calls the risk of "Islamic separatism", French President Emmanuel Macron said he will curb the practice of foreign nations sending imams and teachers to the European country.

UN must continue to be a forum for dialogue on decolonization: Guterres

Feb 22, 2020, at 10:19 am

New York/IBNS: With 17 non-self-governing territories remaining worldwide, the United Nations must continue to be the place where their concerns can be heard, the Secretary-General said in New York on Friday.

Escalating Burkina Faso violence brings wider Sahel displacement emergency into focus

Feb 22, 2020, at 10:13 am

New York/IBNS: Deadly attacks on villages in Burkina Faso have forced 150,000 people to flee in just the last three weeks, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Friday, warning of a displacement emergency in the wider Sahel region.

On World Social Justice Day, the UN labour agency says ‘put people and planet first'

Feb 21, 2020, at 06:04 pm

New York/IBNS: Reduce inequality around the world, the United Nations labour agency urged on Thursday, World Social Justice Day.

Haitian leaders urged to end political impasse

Feb 21, 2020, at 06:03 pm

New York/IBNS: Leaders in Haiti must step up and end the political impasse between President Jovenel Moïse and a surging opposition movement that has paralyzed the island nation since July 2018, the top UN official there said on Thursday in a briefing to the UN Security Council in New York.

More than $1 billion pledged for post-earthquake recovery in Albania

Feb 21, 2020, at 06:02 pm

New York/IBNS: The international community has pledged $1.25 billion to help Albania recover from a devastating earthquake during a European Union-led donors’ conference in Brussels. 

Central African Republic: Security Council reflects on peace deal anniversary

Feb 21, 2020, at 06:00 pm

New York/IBNS: One year after the signing of a peace deal in the Central African Republic (CAR), State authority is being extended throughout the country, violence against civilians has decreased, and an inclusive Government remains in place, the UN Security Council heard on Thursday.

End hostilities, ‘preserve lives’: UN refugee chief makes appeal for people trapped in Syria’s Idlib

Feb 21, 2020, at 05:59 pm

New York/IBNS: As the already dire situation in north-west Syria dramatically continues to worsen in Idlib province, the head of the United Nations refugee agency called on Thursday for an end to the hostilities and appealed for urgent action to allow the people trapped there to move to places of safety.

‘Deliberate starvation’ tactics used in South Sudan could be a war crime

Feb 21, 2020, at 04:52 pm

New York/IBNS: The people of South Sudan have been “deliberately starved” in different parts of the country for ethnic and political reasons, and sexual violence against women and men as a weapon of war is ongoing, UN investigators said on Thursday.

China Shouguang vegetable price index down 2.41 pct

Feb 21, 2020, at 04:38 pm

Jinan/Xinhua/UNI: The China Shouguang vegetable price index, a barometer of the country's vegetable market, fell 2.41 percent to 178.7 points on Friday.

Train derailment leaves 2 dead in Australia

Feb 21, 2020, at 04:35 pm

Sydney/UNI: Two people were killed and 11 injured when a train carrying 153 passengers derailed near a town north of Melbourne, officials said on Friday.

2 babies killed in Mongolia home fire

Feb 21, 2020, at 04:33 pm

Ulan Bator/Xinhua/UNI:  Two babies have been killed in a home fire in southwestern Mongolia, the country's National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) reported Friday.

Shanghai rolls out guideline for tourist attractions to control epidemic

Feb 21, 2020, at 04:32 pm

Shanghai/Xinhua/UNI: Shanghai on Friday rolled out a guideline for the municipality's A-grade tourist attractions to combat the novel coronavirus epidemic.

Iran to hold parliamentary elections on Friday

Feb 21, 2020, at 04:30 pm

Tehran/Sputnik/UNI: The elections to Iran's 290-seat unicameral parliament will be held across the country on February 21.

Australia issues 42 arrest warrants for nationals in Syria suspected of IS links

Feb 21, 2020, at 04:25 pm

Canberra,/UNI: Australian Federal Police has obtained 42 arrest warrants for its citizens accused of supporting the Islamic State in Syria, including women from the Al-Hawl camp, The Guardian newspaper reported on Friday.

South Korea registers first Coronavirus death

Feb 20, 2020, at 08:25 pm

Seoul/UNI: South Korea confirmed the country's first fatality from the new Coronavirus on Thursday, while the total number of people infected by the deadly disease, recently named Covid-19, rose to 104.

Southern Philippine grenade blast kills 2 children

Feb 20, 2020, at 07:27 pm

Manila/Xinhua: A rifle grenade exploded inside a house in Dipolog City in the southern Philippines on Thursday, killing two boys aged eight and five, a military general said.

Suspected perpetrator of Hanau attack in Germany found dead at home, 1 more body discovered

Feb 20, 2020, at 10:31 am

Moscow, Feb 20 (Sputnik) A suspected perpetrator of the shooting attacks in the German town of Hanau was found dead at his home on Thursday, the police of southeastern Hessen said.