Norwegian General to head UN peacekeeping force
May 13, 2014, at 05:17 pm
New York, May 13 (IBNS): Major General Kristin Lund, of Norway, has become the first woman ever to serve as Force Commander in a United Nations peacekeeping operation, it was announced on Monday.
Ban urges restraint amid breaches of South Sudan ceasefire
May 13, 2014, at 05:15 pm
New York, May 13 (IBNS): Political dialogue is the only answer to the conflict in South Sudan, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stressed on Monday, as he urged maximum restraint by all parties amid accusations of breaches of the ceasefire agreement signed just a few days ago.
Ban urges Israelis, Palestinians to resume negotiations
May 13, 2014, at 05:12 pm
New York, May 13 (IBNS): Continued inaction in the Middle East peace process could lead to further instability in the region, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned on Monday at an international meeting in Turkey, reiterating his calls on Israelis and Palestinians to avoid unilateral steps that would aggravate the situation and diminish prospects for negotiations to resume.
Libya: UN condemns attacks on security personnel, civilians
May 13, 2014, at 05:08 pm
New York, May 13 (IBNS): The United Nations mission in Libya on Monday voiced deep concern about ongoing violence across the country and condemned attacks on security personnel and civilians.
Despite recent escalation, conflict in Ukraine can be averted: Ban
May 13, 2014, at 05:06 pm
New York, May 13 (IBNS): There is still time to avert a full-blown conflict in Ukraine, where the crisis continues to escalate, particularly in the east and south of the country, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Monday.
Sex with 7-year-old: US man jailed for 30 ys
May 13, 2014, at 04:45 pm
Baltimore, May 13 (IBNS) U.S. District Judge Roger W. Titus sentenced Anthony Palomino-Coronado, age 21, of Laurel, Maryland, today to 30 years in prison, followed by lifetime supervised release, for sexual abuse of a minor to produce child pornography.
New video 'show' abducted girls
May 13, 2014, at 06:45 am
London, May 12 (IBNS): A video released by militant group Boko Haram claimed to show the abducted Nigerian school girls, media reports said.
British PM joins 'Bring Back Our Girls' campaign
May 12, 2014, at 02:34 am
London, May 11 (IBNS) British Prime Minister David Cameron has promised that the country would 'do what we can' to find out over 200 schoolgirls abducted by militants in Nigeria.
May 12, 2014, at 01:58 am
Peshawar, May 11 (IBNS): At least five people were killed in a blast at a mosque in Pakistan's Peshawar city on Sunday, media reports said.
Two regions of Ukraine holding referendums
May 11, 2014, at 08:25 pm
Donetsk, Ukraine, May 11 (IBNS): Pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine's two eastern regions are voting on Sunday in referendums to split from the rest of the former Soviet republic even as the move is condemned by the Ukrainian government and the United States.
US President, First Lady heartbroken over Nigeria abductions
May 11, 2014, at 05:04 am
Washington, May 10 (IBNS): US First Lady Michelle Obama on Saturday said she and her husband President Barack Obama were 'outraged and heartbroken' over the kidnapping of more than 200 Nigerian girls from their school dormitory by militants last month.
UN urges investigation into murder of Pakistani lawyer
May 10, 2014, at 05:34 pm
New York, May 10 (IBNS): The United Nations on Friday condemned the killing of prominent human rights lawyer Rashid Khan Rehman in Pakistan and urged the Government to bring the perpetrators to justice.
Venezuela: UN concerned at renewed violence, use of force
May 10, 2014, at 05:31 pm
New York, May 10 (IBNS): The United Nations human rights office on Friday voiced concern at renewed violence in Venezuela, and at the reported excessive use of force by the authorities in response to protests.
South Sudan: UN urges political rivals to end dispute
May 10, 2014, at 05:29 pm
New York, May 10 (IBNS): Warning that the litany of grave atrocities committed in South Sudan and catalogued in a new United Nations report bears the grim hallmarks of genocide, the Organization's human rights chief on Friday called on the sparring political leaders there to take immediate steps to stop the killing, "before the fire they have ignited [brings] the entire country down in flames."
UN concerned by recent wave of attacks in northeast Nigeria
May 10, 2014, at 05:19 pm
New York, May 10 (IBNS): The United Nations refugee agency said on Friday it is alarmed at the recent wave of attacks on civilians in north-east Nigeria which has led to population displacement both inside the country and into neighbouring States.
UNICEF concerned over education system in CAR
May 10, 2014, at 05:16 pm
New York, May 10 (IBNS): More than half way through the 12-month school year, almost two thirds of schools in the conflict-ridden Central African Republic (CAR) remain closed, according to a recent survey by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and its partners.
UN appeals for urgent funding in Somalia
May 10, 2014, at 05:13 pm
New York, May 10 (IBNS): Poor rains, high food prices and ongoing conflict have intersected to push Somalia once gain to the brink of crisis, the United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator in the country said on Friday, warning that without immediate action, the fragile food security situation could worsen in the coming months, especially if funding shortages force essential projects to shut down.
UNSC demands immediate release of abducted Nigerian girls
May 10, 2014, at 05:11 pm
New York, May 10 (IBNS): The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Friday demanded the "immediate and unconditional" release of the schoolgirls abducted a few weeks ago by Boko Haram militants in Nigeria, and called on the international community to work closely with the authorities to ensure their safe return.
UN urges Azerbaijan to drop charges against rights defenders
May 10, 2014, at 05:08 pm
New York, May 10 (IBNS): Three human rights defenders facing 12 years in prison for charges brought against them in the aftermath of Azerbaijan's 2013 presidential elections have drawn the serious concern of United Nations independent experts.
UN counts on Catholic Church to help promote dignity for all
May 10, 2014, at 05:05 pm
New York, May 10 (IBNS): United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday hailed the personal commitment of Pope Francis I to eradicating poverty and promoting sustainable development, and said he counted on the Catholic Church to continue working closely with the United Nations to promote a life of dignity for all.
US: Former eBay executive pleads guilty to insider trading charges
May 10, 2014, at 03:45 pm
Philadelphia, May 10 (IBNS) Christopher Saridakis, 45, of Wilmington Delaware, pleaded guilty on Friday to securities fraud for giving another person confidential information about a company’s stock.
Nigeria: In wake of abductions, Ban set to send high-level envoy
May 09, 2014, at 05:41 pm
New York, May 9 (IBNS): United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday voiced his deep concern at the fate of the recently kidnapped schoolgirls in Nigeria during a phone call with the country's President, Goodluck Jonathan, who has accepted the United Nations chief's offer to send a high-level envoy to discuss how the world body can support the Government tackle internal challenges.
UN concerned over disparity in access to clean water, sanitation
May 09, 2014, at 05:38 pm
New York, May 9 (IBNS): Despite a narrowing disparity in access to cleaner water and better sanitation between rural and urban areas, sharp inequalities still persist around the world, says a new United Nations report.
Ban congratulates South Africa on peaceful polls
May 09, 2014, at 05:36 pm
New York, May 9 (IBNS): United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has congratulated the people and Government of South Africa on the peaceful holding of parliamentary and provincial elections, amid reports of high voter turnout.
UNSC creates new medal to honour courage of personnel
May 09, 2014, at 05:33 pm
New York, May 9 (IBNS): The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Thursday decided to create 'the Captain Mbaye Diagne Medal for Exceptional Courage' in honour of a United Nations peacekeeper credited with saving hundreds of, perhaps even a thousand, Rwandans from death during the 1994 genocide.
South Sudan: UN reports gross rights abuses in conflict
May 09, 2014, at 05:30 pm
New York, May 9 (IBNS): Gross human rights abuses have been committed by both sides in the brutal conflict that erupted in South Sudan at the end of last year, including rapes, mass killings and torture, and, according to a new United Nations report released on Thursday, civilians were not only caught up in the violence, they were directly targeted, often along ethnic lines.
Syria: UN urges complete removal of chemical weapons
May 09, 2014, at 05:27 pm
New York, May 9 (IBNS): The head of the Joint Mission of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and the United Nations (OPCW-UN) on Thursday called for safe and unfettered access to the remaining eight per cent of Syria's chemical weapons material that needs to be removed and destroyed.
UN wraps up Pakistan visit with calls to support for insecurity
May 09, 2014, at 05:24 pm
New York, May 9 (IBNS): Wrapping up a mission to Pakistan that included time in the country's tribal region, where the protracted suffering of the displaced is "heart-wrenching," a senior United Nations humanitarian official on Thursday stressed the need for more support to millions of people affected by insecurity, natural disasters and chronic malnutrition in the country.
DR Congo: UN disappointed over mass rape verdict
May 09, 2014, at 05:21 pm
New York, May 9 (IBNS): The United Nations envoy on sexual violence in conflict on Thursday voiced her disappointment that only two people were convicted of rape during the recent trial of 39 soldiers and officers charged with committing crimes in and around the town of Minova in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) two years ago.
Ban appoints deputy head of UN Guinea-Bissau office
May 09, 2014, at 05:18 pm
New York, May 9 (IBNS): United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday appointed Marco Carmignani of Brazil as his Deputy Special Representative with the United Nations Peacebuilding Support Office in Guinea-Bissau (UNIOGBIS).