World leaders must address ‘shameful’ disparities in education spending: UN children’s agency

Jan 20, 2020, at 09:55 am

New York/IBNS: A new report from the UN children’s fund, UNICEF, shows that a third of adolescent girls from the poorest households have never been to school, and spending on education is heavily skewed towards wealthier households.

‘This terrible situation cannot be allowed to continue’, UN chief tells world leaders at major Libya summit

Jan 20, 2020, at 09:50 am

New York/IBNS: Speaking at a major, high-level summit on Libya, held in the German capital Berlin on Sunday, UN Secretary-General António Guterres evoked the disastrous humanitarian situation faced by thousands of civilians, as conflict in the North African country grows deeper and more destructive.

Civil war in Yemen made over 3 million people homeless: ICRC

Jan 19, 2020, at 05:48 pm

New York/IBNS: The International Committee of the Red Cross on Sunday said over three million people, the majority of which are women and children, have been made homeless as a result of ongoing fighting in Yemen’s civil war that has raged since 2015. 

Eight killed, dozens injured in Indonesia's bus crash

Jan 19, 2020, at 05:38 pm

Jakarta/Xinhua/UNI: Eight people were killed and 30 others wounded when a passenger bus overturned in Indonesia's West Java province on Saturday, media reported on Sunday.

North Korea appoints Korean Unification Talks Chief as new Foreign Minister – Reports

Jan 19, 2020, at 04:40 pm

Seoul/Sputnik/UNI: North Korea has appointed Ri Son Gwon, the former head of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Country (CPRC), as the country’s new foreign minister, South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported on Sunday, citing sources in Pyongyang.

Erdogan says too early to talk of draft communique for Berlin peace conference on Libya

Jan 19, 2020, at 03:33 pm

Ankara/Sputnik:Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that Ankara does not have a draft communique ahead of Sunday’s peace conference on Libya to be held in the German capital of Berlin, as it is too early to talk of one, although he expressed hope that the talks would yield positive results.

Iran's home-made satellite Zafar ready for launch

Jan 19, 2020, at 02:47 pm

Tehran/Xinhua: The indigenous satellite Zafar has been delivered to Iran Space Agency (ISA) for launch, official IRNA news agency reported Sunday.

Prince Harry and Megan will no more use royal titles: Buckingham Palace

Jan 19, 2020, at 10:22 am

London/IBNS: The Royal Family UK has informed that Prince Harry and his wife Meghan will no longer use their royal titles and will not receive public funds for royal duties.

Ukraine's president rejects prime minister's resignation

Jan 18, 2020, at 04:26 pm

Kiev/Xinhua/UNI: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky declined a resignation offer by the country's Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk, Interfax-Ukraine news agency reported on Friday.

Haiti earthquake victims honoured at UN, with pledge to safeguard the nation’s future

Jan 18, 2020, at 09:36 am

New York/IBNS: More than 200,000 Haitians who perished in the devastating earthquake which struck the island nation ten years ago, were honoured in a solemn ceremony of remembrance at UN Headquarters in New York on Friday, along with 102 staffers who died – the single greatest loss of life in the Organization’s history.

French Security Forces Evacuated Macron From Theater Besieged by Protesters – Reports

Jan 18, 2020, at 09:32 am

Moscow/Sputnik/UNI: French security forces evacuated President Emmanuel Macron from the Bouffes du Nord Theater in Paris as protesters tried to enter the building, French media reported.

Libya: 'Dire and untenable' situation for tens of thousands of children in unrelenting conflict

Jan 18, 2020, at 09:23 am

New York/IBNS: The world should not accept the “dire and untenable” situation facing children in wartorn Libya the head of the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, said on Friday.

Tackling femicide in Argentina: a UN Resident Coordinator blog

Jan 18, 2020, at 09:13 am

New York/IBNS: Tackling violence against women is crucial to realizing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In January, the United Nations launched a Decade of Action to support meeting the 17 goals by 2030.

About 30 Civilians Killed in Aleppo by Militants’ Attacks in 3 Days –Reconciliation Center

Jan 18, 2020, at 08:52 am

Aleppo/Sputnik/UNI: Illegal armed units continue to shell the Syrian city of Aleppo, leaving 28 civilians dead within the past three days, the Russian Center for Syrian reconciliation said.

Five soldiers killed in roadside explosion in Burkina Faso

Jan 18, 2020, at 08:31 am

Ouagaddougou/Xinhua/UNI: At least five soldiers were killed in a roadside explosion on Friday in northern Burkina Faso's province of Soum, a security source told Xinhua.

Ukraine wants Iran's guilty plea over plane crash formalized: Foreign Minister

Jan 17, 2020, at 08:08 pm

Kiev/Sputnik: Kiev wants Iran’s guilty plea for shooting down a Ukrainian plane near Tehran be cemented in an internationally recognized document, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko said Friday.

Russia doesn't back any move to discuss Kashmir at UN

Jan 17, 2020, at 07:02 pm

Moscow/UNI: The Kashmir problem is a matter of direct talks between India and Pakistan and Russia doesn’t support the initiative to discuss it within the United Nations, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Friday.

Iran's missile attacks on US bases in Iraq left 11 servicemen injured

Jan 17, 2020, at 06:52 pm

Washington/UNI: Missile attacks by Iran on US bases in Iraq, staged on January 8, left 11 US servicemen injured, media reported.

Aid to vulnerable Iraqis may ‘come to a complete halt within weeks’

Jan 17, 2020, at 10:35 am

New York/IBNS: Aid to vulnerable people in Iraq risks being completely blocked within weeks, warned the UN’s humanitarian chief in Iraq, Marta Ruedas, on Tuesday, as a result of the suspension of government documents allowing humanitarians to carry out critical missions.

Yemen resilient and ‘unscathed’ in face of latest Gulf crisis

Jan 17, 2020, at 10:28 am

New York/IBNS: Despite the threat posed by recent tensions in the Gulf, Yemen was able to weather the crisis thanks in part to restraint exercised by its political leaders, the UN Special Envoy for the country said on Thursday.

Syrian conflict has ‘erased’ children’s dreams: new UN report

Jan 17, 2020, at 10:16 am

New York/IBNS: Nearly nine years of conflict in Syria have robbed boys and girls of their childhood and subjected them to “unabated violations of their rights”, including being killed, maimed, displaced, forced to fight or subjected to torture, rape and sexual slavery.

Six soldiers killed, 13 others injured in car bomb explosion in Syria's Tell Abyad: source

Jan 16, 2020, at 10:23 pm

Antakya,Turkey/Sputnik: Six officers were killed and 13 others were injured in a car bomb explosion in front of the military headquarters in Syria's Tell Abyad border town, a source in the Free Syrian army told Sputnik on Thursday.

Poland to sign F-35 acquisition deal by end of Jan: Defence Minister

Jan 16, 2020, at 07:51 pm

Warsaw/Sputnik: Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said on Thursday that Warsaw and Washington had completed negotiations on the former's purchase of 32 US-made F-35 fighter jets and were expected to finalize the acquisition by the end of the month.

Terrorists attack humanitarian corridors in Syrian Idlib, Aleppo: Reports

Jan 16, 2020, at 07:14 pm

Beirut/Sputnik: Terrorist groups have attacked humanitarian corridors opened for the withdrawal of civilians from militant-controlled areas in the Syrian provinces of Idlib and Aleppo, media reported on Thursday, citing a military source.

UN peacekeepers protecting hundreds displaced by Central African Republic fighting

Jan 16, 2020, at 09:51 am

New York: Fresh clashes in the Central African Republic’s southeast have driven some 400 people to seek shelter at a UN base there, the United Nations Spokesperson said on Wednesday.

Implementing peace deal only path for stabilization in Mali: UN peacekeeping chief

Jan 16, 2020, at 09:32 am

New York/IBNS: Implementation of the 2015 peace agreement in Mali provides the only pathway for stabilization there, the head of UN peacekeeping told the Security Council on Wednesday.

Sudan: Lives of traumatized, displaced women in West Darfur under threat

Jan 16, 2020, at 09:18 am

New York/IBNS: Ongoing instability in Sudan’s West Darfur region has left the lives, health and safety of thousands of women hanging in the balance, according to the  United Nations Population Fund, UNFPA.

Philippines volcano: UN aid operation in place as thousands told to flee

Jan 16, 2020, at 08:51 am

New York/IBNS: The UN is concerned over warnings issued by Philippines’ authorities that volcanic eruptions on the country’s most populous island could last “days, months or even years”.

Egypt inaugurates largest military base in Red Sea region

Jan 15, 2020, at 09:24 pm

Cairo/Xinhua: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi inaugurated on Wednesday Bernice military base, the largest base in the Red Sea region.

France's new ambassador to Russia to arrive in Moscow on Wednesday: Embassy

Jan 15, 2020, at 08:02 pm

Moscow,/Sputnik: French diplomat Pierre Levy, who previously served as the ambassador of the republic to Poland, will arrive in Moscow late on Wednesday to start his mission in Russia, Science and Technology Adviser of the French embassy Abdo Malac said.Levy will succeed the previous ambassador to Russia, Sylvie Bermann, who completed her diplomatic mission in December 2019.