Ban seeks 'vision, concrete action' from world leaders at UN climate summit
Sep 23, 2014, at 06:14 pm
New York, Sept 3 (IBNS) True to his belief that tackling climate change requires “all hands on deckâ€, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is gathering a new and unique mix of partners at United Nations Headquarters Tuesday – from Government, business, finance and civil society – for a summit aiming to raise ambition, mobilize resources, and generate action towards a universal climate deal.
UN Women, Mary Robinson, to host special climate change event for women leaders
Sep 23, 2014, at 05:50 pm
New York, Sept 23 (IBNS) On the eve of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Climate Summit, UN climate envoy Mary Robinson and Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, the head of UN Women, are gathering with some 130 other women leaders to show their commitment to climate action.
Advance team of UN mission for Ebola response arrives in West Africa
Sep 23, 2014, at 05:25 pm
New York, Sept 23 (IBNS) Laying the groundwork for the effective and coherent action necessary to stop the Ebola outbreak in West Africa that has sickened more than 5,800 people and killed some 2,800, an advance team of the United Nations Mission for Ebola Emergency Response arrived on Monday in Accra, Ghana to set up the operation's headquarters.
Newly-detected bird flu in Southeast Asia poses threat to animal health, people's livelihoods
Sep 23, 2014, at 05:03 pm
New York, Sept 23 (IBNS) The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on Monday warned that a recently-emerged strain of avian influenza virus detected in poultry in Southeast Asia presents a new threat to animal health and livelihoods and must be closely monitored.
Extreme weather hits Asia, Europe as world leaders gear up for UN climate summit
Sep 23, 2014, at 04:58 pm
New York, Sept 23 (IBNS) Heavy rains and flooding devastated parts of the Philippines, France and Italy over the weekend and may be further indications of the ‘new normal’ that the world will have to deal with if no accelerated action is taken to curb global warming, the head of United Nations Disaster Reduction Office said on Monday on the eve of the UN Climate Summit in New York.
Extreme weather hits Asia, Europe as world leaders gear up for UN climate summit
Sep 23, 2014, at 02:53 pm
New York, Sept 23 (IBNS) Heavy rains and flooding devastated parts of the Philippines, France and Italy over the weekend and may be further indications of the ‘new normal’ that the world will have to deal with if no accelerated action is taken to curb global warming, the head of United Nations Disaster Reduction Office said on Monday on the eve of the UN Climate Summit in New York.
Extreme weather hits Asia, Europe as world leaders gear up for UN climate summit
Sep 23, 2014, at 02:53 pm
New York, Sept 23 (IBNS) Heavy rains and flooding devastated parts of the Philippines, France and Italy over the weekend and may be further indications of the ‘new normal’ that the world will have to deal with if no accelerated action is taken to curb global warming, the head of United Nations Disaster Reduction Office said on Monday on the eve of the UN Climate Summit in New York.
2014 Arctic sea ice minimum sixth lowest on record
Sep 23, 2014, at 06:12 am
California, Sept 22 (IBNS): Arctic sea ice coverage continued its below-average trend this year as the ice declined to its annual minimum on Sept. 17, according to the NASA-supported National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) at the University of Colorado, Boulder.
ISRO successfully test fires Mars Orbiter Spacecraft's main liquid engine
Sep 23, 2014, at 01:50 am
Sriharikota, Sept 22 (IBNS): In a significant achievement, India's Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) satellite "Mangalyaan" on Monday cleared a crucial four-second motor fire test just 48 hours ahead of its insertion into the martian orbit.
"Mangalyaan" clears rehearsal test, readies for D-day
Sep 22, 2014, at 09:41 pm
Sriharikota, Sept 22 (IBNS): India,s Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) satellite "Mangalyaan" on Monday cleared a crucial four-second motor fire test just 48 hours ahead of its insertion into the martian orbit, when history will be created, media reported.
NASA's newest Mars mission spacecraft enters orbit around Red Planet
Sep 22, 2014, at 05:30 pm
California, Sept 22 (IBNS) NASA's Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) spacecraft successfully entered Mars' orbit at 10:24 p.m. EDT Sunday, Sept. 21, where it now will prepare to study the Red Planet's upper atmosphere as never done before. MAVEN is the first spacecraft dedicated to exploring the tenuous upper atmosphere of Mars.
Feature: No 'Plan B' for climate action as there is no 'Planet B, says UN chief
Sep 22, 2014, at 05:28 pm
New York, Sept 22 (IBNS) UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Sunday told what is thought to be the largest ever march in the United States demanding measures to halt the advance of global climate change, that there is no "Plan B" for action as there is no "Planet B."
NASA Cargo launches to space station aboard SpaceX resupply mission
Sep 22, 2014, at 07:51 am
California, Sept 21 (IBNS) About 5,000 pounds of NASA science investigations and cargo are on their way to the International Space Station aboard SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft.
Ban launches UN Ebola response mission; advance teams to arrive in West Africa on Monday
Sep 21, 2014, at 03:28 am
New York, Sept 20 (IBNS) UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has officially established the United Nations Mission for Ebola Emergency Response and has instructed the advance teams for the first-of-its-kind operation to head to its base in Accra, Ghana, by Monday.
UN agencies 'shocked and saddened' by vaccination deaths in Syria
Sep 20, 2014, at 05:51 pm
New York, Sept 20 (IBNS) Some 15 children died and 50 others were reportedly affected by a contaminated measles vaccination in Idlib, Syria, according to the United Nations.
UN General Assembly underlines 'strong commitment' to bolster response to Ebola outbreak
Sep 20, 2014, at 05:19 pm
New York, Sept 20 (IBNS) As an Ebola outbreak of “unprecedented nature and scope†continues its spread through Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, the United Nations General Assembly on Friday underlined it strong commitment to responding to the emergency in a timely, effective and coordinated manner and to support the affected countries in tackling the virus.
Ahead of Alzheimer's Day, UN expert urges greater protections for people with dementia
Sep 20, 2014, at 04:52 pm
New York, Sept 20 (IBNS) A United Nations independent expert on Friday called on Member States to do more to protect older people affected by dementia from stigmatization, discrimination, victimization and neglect.
Ebola: Joint UN assessment response team heads to Liberia
Sep 20, 2014, at 04:48 pm
New York, Sept 20 (IBNS) Hours after the United Nations decided to establish an emergency health mission to tackle the West African Ebola outbreak, a joint disaster team is heading to Liberia to assess the response to the virus, while a senior UN health official said that a vaccine could be ready by the end of this year.
Gates Foundation announced USD 7 lakh for J&K relief operations
Sep 19, 2014, at 09:49 pm
New Delhi, Sept 19 (IBNS): Bill Gates, Co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation on Friday announced emergency relief of USD 7 lakh for the flood victims of Jammu & Kashmir, in response to a request for his home state from Dr. Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences, MoS in Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Space & Atomic Energy.
Ahead of UN climate summit, leading investors urge transition to low-carbon economy
Sep 19, 2014, at 09:23 pm
New York, Sept 19 (IBNS) Just days before United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon convenes his much-anticipated climate summit, more than 340 global institutional investors representing over $24 trillion in assets are calling on Governments to take action that supports, rather than limits, investments in clean energy and climate solutions.
UN announces mission to combat Ebola, declares outbreak 'threat to peace and security'
Sep 19, 2014, at 09:18 pm
New York, Sept 19 (IBNS) The Security Council, in its first emergency meeting on a public health crisis, on Thursday declared the Ebola outbreak in West Africa a threat to peace and security, asSecretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced that the United Nations will deploy a new emergency health mission to combat one of most horrific diseases on the planet that has shattered the lives of millions.
Bhopal Gas victims chain themselves to CM's house demanding compensation
Sep 19, 2014, at 03:34 am
Bhopal, Sept 18 (IBNS): Survivors of the Bhopal gas disaster, neighbourhood residents of the abandoned Union Carbide factory and their supporters on Thursday locked themselves to the Chief Minister's residence with a chain seeking adequate compensation and clean up of the contaminated factory site.
CERN, APS announce partnership for Open Access
Sep 19, 2014, at 12:22 am
Geneva, Sept 18 (IBNS): The American Physical Society (APS) and the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) on Thursday jointly announced a partnership to make all CERN-authored articles published in the APS journal collection to be Open Access.
Ban welcomes US support in Ebola response ahead of Security Council emergency session on outbreak
Sep 18, 2014, at 03:18 pm
New York, Sept 18 (IBNS) Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, together with the head of the United Nations health agency, will outline the international action plan to contain Ebola on Thursday when the Security Council convenes an emergency meeting on the outbreak.
UN: nearly $1 billion needed to combat Ebola outbreak
Sep 17, 2014, at 02:59 pm
New York, Sept 17 (IBNS) The United Nations announced on Tuesday that it would need nearly $1 billion for an exceptional, international response to Ebola outbreak in West Africa, withSecretary-General Ban Ki-moon declaring: "Every day we delay, the cost and the suffering will grow exponentially."
Marking International Day, UN officials hail progress in reducing damage to ozone layer
Sep 17, 2014, at 02:57 pm
New York, Sept 17 (IBNS) United Nations officials on Tuesday hailed the progress made in reducing damage to the ozone layer and the vital role played by one of the most successful environmental treaties in history in phasing out ozone-depleting substances.
Kashmir susceptible to the outbreak of diseases: Omar
Sep 16, 2014, at 06:30 pm
Srinagar, Sep 16 (IBNS): Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said that certain areas in Kashmir Valley could be susceptible to the outbreak of diseases as those regions had been under water for past 10-12 days, reports said.
UN Security Council to hold emergency meeting on Ebola crisis
Sep 16, 2014, at 02:14 pm
New York, Sept 16 (IBNS) The United Nations Security Council will hold an emergency meeting on Thursday to discuss the Ebola outbreak that has gripped West Africa, the president of the 15-member body announced on Monday.
Aircel offers free 'Aircel Locate' service in Jammu and Kashmir
Sep 15, 2014, at 08:45 pm
Kolkata, Sept 15 (IBNS): Aircel offers free location based tracking service 'Aircel Locate' to help people locate their family and friends stranded in severe flood affected areas in Jammu & Kashmir, the company said on Monday.
New UN-backed protections for sharks, manta rays enter into effect
Sep 13, 2014, at 03:14 pm
New York, Sept 13 (IBNS) Beginning Sunday 14 September, international trade in specimens of five shark species and all manta ray species, including their meat, gills and fins, will need to be accompanied by permits and certificates confirming that they have been harvested sustainably and legally, as new United Nations-backed trade protections go into effect.