‘Sanctity of human civilian life’ in Idlib must win out, urges UN Syria Envoy
Sep 08, 2018, at 08:31 am
New York, Sept 8 (IBNS): With the ingredients for a “perfect storm” brewing in the Syrian province of Idlib, the international community cannot allow civilians there to succumb to such a fate, the UN Envoy for the country told the Security Council on Friday.
Sep 08, 2018, at 08:26 am
New York, Sept 8 (IBNS): Virginia Gamba, the United Nations Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, on Friday called for much greater accountability and effort, to prevent grave violations against children across the world’s youngest nation, South Sudan.
Sep 08, 2018, at 08:21 am
New York, Sept 8 (IBNS): Emergency food supplies for hundreds of thousands of people in Syria’s Idlib are “ready for distribution” in the event of mass displacement caused by a full-scale military offensive on the last opposition-held region, the World Food Programme (WFP) said on Friday.
Brazilian presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro stabbed during election campaign
Sep 07, 2018, at 11:57 am
Belem, Sept 7 (IBNS): Brazilian presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro was stabbed during a campaign rally in southeastern Brazil on Thursday, media reports said.
British Airways probes customer data theft
Sep 07, 2018, at 09:53 am
London, Sept 7 (IBNS): Airlines major British Airways on Thursday announced it is probing a customer data theft from its website and app.
Sep 07, 2018, at 09:15 am
New York, Sept 7 (IBNS): Experts continue to gather information related to an alleged chemical weapons attack in Douma, Syria, earlier this year, the UN’s nuclear disarmament chief told the Security Council on Thursday.
Sep 07, 2018, at 09:11 am
New York, Sept 7 (IBNS): The United Kingdom and Russia traded a volley of words at the United Nations Security Council on Thursday, with the former laying out information which, it alleges, clearly places two Russian military intelligence operatives behind the deadly nerve-agent attack in the English city of Salisbury on 4 March.
Haiti’s security situation remains ‘fragile’: UN representative
Sep 07, 2018, at 09:09 am
New York, Sept 7 (IBNS): Haitian authorities must do more to prepare the Caribbean island nation for the planned withdrawal of the country’s UN peacekeeping mission, Bintou Keita, Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, told the Security Council on Thursday.
Caribbean hurricane season ‘will be different this time’
Sep 07, 2018, at 09:06 am
New York, Sept 7 (IBNS): In September 2017 two category five hurricanes swept across the Caribbean, devastating island communities in the region. In the 2nd part of this special report marking the one year anniversary of hurricanes Irma and Maria hitting the Caribbean, UN News looks at how the UN has responded, helping communities to get back on their feet, and preparing them for the inevitability of more damaging hurricanes in the future.
UN chief ‘looks forward’ to progress on denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula
Sep 07, 2018, at 09:02 am
New York, Sept 6 (IBNS): United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has welcomed the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un’s commitment on Wednesday, to continue working towards the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
UN Envoy working to ‘overcome obstacles’ barring resumption of Yemen peace talks
Sep 07, 2018, at 08:59 am
New York, Sept 7 (IBNS): The United Nations Special Envoy for Yemen met Government representatives on Thursday at the start of what were due to be the first peace talks involving both warring parties to be held in two years, vowing to “overcome obstacles” which have so far prevented the Houthi rebel delegation from showing up.
Sep 07, 2018, at 08:57 am
New York, Sept 7 (IBNS): Around 150 million school children aged 13-15 are the victims of violence from their peers, says a new report from the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF.
Verdict against South Sudan soldiers ‘finally delivers justice’ – UN Mission
Sep 07, 2018, at 08:54 am
New York, Sept 7 (IBNS): The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) has applauded the verdict by a military court on Thursday, that found ten government soldiers guilty of murder, rape and other crimes against civilians and journalists at a hotel in the capital Juba, just over two years ago.
‘Legally binding’ nuclear-test ban essential to prevent ‘catastrophic impact’ says UN chief
Sep 07, 2018, at 08:52 am
New York, Sept 7 (IBNS): On the annual observance of the International Day Against Nuclear Tests, Secretary-General António Guterres has highlighted the “inextricable connection” between testing and eliminating nuclear weapons across the world.
UN hails ‘ground-breaking’ Supreme Court ruling to decriminalize gay sex in India
Sep 07, 2018, at 08:48 am
New York, Sept 7 (IBNS): A landmark ruling in India that decriminalizes gay sex has been welcomed as a “ground-breaking decision” by the UN agency leading the fight against HIV/AIDS.
Libya has ‘lurched from one emergency to another,’ high-level UN official tells Security Council
Sep 06, 2018, at 09:38 am
New York, Sept 6 (IBNS): The status quo in Libya is “untenable,” Ghassan Salamé, Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) told the Security Council on Wednesday.
Peace must be built ‘block after block’ UN General Assembly President tells key forum
Sep 06, 2018, at 09:35 am
New York, Sept 6 (IBNS): Under the theme of charting “A Credible Pathway to Sustaining Peace,” Miroslav LajÄák, President of the 72nd General Assembly, convened this year’s one-day High-level Forum for Member States and others on Wednesday, to further promote a global culture of peace.
UN media seminar on peace in the Middle East, highlights ‘power of words over weapons’
Sep 06, 2018, at 09:29 am
New York, Sept 6 (IBNS): Engaging in debate over how best to advance peace in the Middle East and resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is “a welcome reminder of the power of words over weapons,” said United Nations chief António Guterres on Wednesday.
Major UN push for peace to end Yemen’s ‘hot war’ begins in Geneva
Sep 06, 2018, at 09:26 am
New York, Sept 6 (IBNS): Efforts are under way to bring a “flickering signal of hope” to war-weary civilians in Yemen with UN-organised consultations between the Government and the Houthi opposition in Geneva set to begin, the UN’s Special Envoy Martin Griffiths, said on Wednesday.
Security Council takes up Nicaragua crisis, with some reservations
Sep 06, 2018, at 09:23 am
New York, Sept 6 (IBNS): Political turmoil in Nicaragua could pose a threat to the security of countries across Central America, the UN Security Council heard on Wednesday.
In the eye of the Caribbean storm: one year on from Irma and Maria
Sep 06, 2018, at 09:20 am
New York, Sept 6 (IBNS): “It was angry. That's what it sounded like to me. When the roof came off, there were these horrible screeches, this horrible noise. It was devastating, and we all had to run”.
Burundi: ‘They’re hiding the bodies’ after summary executions, say UN investigators
Sep 06, 2018, at 09:16 am
New York, Sept 6 (IBNS): Serious rights violations are continuing in Burundi, including summary executions and hate speech at the highest level of government, UN-appointed investigators said on Wednesday.
-1536205394.jpg "Guatemala bars UN anti-corruption investigator from re-entering country")
Guatemala bars UN anti-corruption investigator from re-entering country
Sep 06, 2018, at 09:13 am
New York, Sept 6 (IBNS): Guatemalan authorities informed United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on Tuesday that they have barred Commissioner Ivan Velasquez, of the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), from re-entering the country.
Iraq milestone: Some four million people return home, displacement drops to four-year low
Sep 06, 2018, at 08:44 am
New York, Sept 6 (IBNS): For the first time in nearly four years, the number of displaced Iraqis has fallen below two million, according to a new report released on Tuesday by the United Nations migration agency.
UN Chief commends Mauritania for peaceful election process
Sep 06, 2018, at 08:41 am
New York, Sept 6 (IBNS): UN Secretary-General Antonió Gutteres has welcomed the “peaceful conduct” of the Mauritanian elections that took place on 1 September.
Africa’s Lake Chad Basin: Over $2.1 billion pledged, to provide comprehensive crisis response
Sep 05, 2018, at 09:15 am
New York, Sept 5 (IBNS): A United Nations-backed humanitarian conference to raise much needed resources for relief, development and peacebuilding programmes in Africa’s Lake Chad Basin concluded on Tuesday, raising some $2.17 billion in support and about $467 million in concessional loans for the crisis-ridden region.
Major increase in Europe’s refugee and migrant death rate: UNHCR
Sep 05, 2018, at 09:12 am
New York, Sept 5(IBNS): The number of refugees and migrants reaching the European continent is going down, but the rate of fatalities has gone up dramatically, according to a new report from the UN refugee agency, UNHCR
It’s time to apply maximum ‘moral pressure’ to save lives in Syria’s Idlib: UN negotiator
Sep 05, 2018, at 09:09 am
New York,Sept 5 (IBNS): All countries with influence over the grinding conflict in Syria should use all the “moral pressure” they can to avoid a full-scale military attack on Idlib, particularly Russia and Turkey, the United Nations top negotiator Staffan de Mistura said on Tuesday.
New home for scores of South Sudan's displaced
Sep 05, 2018, at 09:07 am
New York, Sept 5 (IBNS): Nearly 3,500 people displaced by violence in South Sudan have been relocated from a UN-run camp in the capital, Juba, to temporary housing, the organization’s mission in the country, UNMISS, reported on Tuesday.
Tobacco control, a ‘major component’ of environmental protection efforts – UN health official
Sep 05, 2018, at 09:01 am
New York, Sept 5 (IBNS): From deforestation to soil degradation and pollution, tobacco production and its use by consumers, is “tremendously destructive” for the environment, although control measures can help curb its negative environmental effects, including the damaging impact of climate change, the head of the UN tobacco control treaty watchdog – formally known as the Secretariat of the WHO FCTC - has told UN News.