Asia-Pacific countries pledge women, girl’s empowerment at high-level UN forum

Feb 25, 2018, at 02:59 pm

New York, Feb 25 (JEN): At a high-level United Nations regional consultation in Bangkok, senior government representatives from Asia and the Pacific committed to empower rural women and girls, to lift their standard of living and combat structural barriers impacting their human rights.

Canada: Patrick Brown sends libel notice to CTV News

Feb 25, 2018, at 05:19 am

Toronto, Feb 24 (IBNS): Resigned Ontario Progressive Conservative leader Patrick Brown has sent a libel notice to Bell Media, a parent firm of CTV News, for allegedly reporting a false sexual harassment case against him, media reports said.

Taliban attack leave 20 ANA soldiers killed

Feb 24, 2018, at 11:39 pm

Kabul, Feb 24 (IBNS): Taliban attacked military base in Afghanistan, killing at least 20 Afghan National Army soldiers on Saturday, media reports said.

Suicide blast in Kabul leaves 3 killed, 6 injured

Feb 24, 2018, at 11:17 pm

Kabul, Feb 24 (IBNS): At least three people were killed as a suicide blast rocked  Shash Darak area of Afghanistan's Kabul city on Saturday, media reports said.

Afghanistan: At least one dead in Kabul suicide attack

Feb 24, 2018, at 04:34 pm

Kabul, Feb 24 (IBNS): At least one person has died in a suicide bombing incident which rocked Afghanistan's Kabul city on Saturday, local media reports said.

Somalia: Two blasts in Mogadishu kills 18

Feb 24, 2018, at 03:20 pm

Mogadishu, Feb 24 (IBNS): Two blasts rocked Somalian capital Mogadishu on Friday, killing at least 18 people, media reports said.

‘We can achieve peace, stability, prosperity in the Sahel,’ UN chief tells Brussels conference

Feb 24, 2018, at 02:59 pm

New York, Feb 24 (JEN): The United Nations and its partners met in Brussels, Belgium, on Friday to strengthen support for a group of five nations in Africa’s troubled Sahel region which are facing pressing challenges including extreme poverty, food and nutrition crises and violent extremism.

More Canadians smoking pot compared to 1985: Statistics Canada

Feb 24, 2018, at 02:56 pm

Ottawa, Feb 24 (IBNS): Consumption of Cannabis has more than doubled among Canadians who are 15 and older, a new Statistics Canada report said.

UN migration agency reports rise in displacement in northern Mali

Feb 24, 2018, at 02:55 pm

New York, Feb 24 (JEN): A resurgence of communal violence and armed conflict in recent weeks has led to an increase in the number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in northern Mali, the United Nations International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported on Friday.

Canada: A document released from LAC unveils history of Canada's First Nations sick children

Feb 24, 2018, at 02:53 pm

Ottawa, Feb 24 (IBNS): Library and Archives Canada's (LAC) move to finally release a 98-year-old document on Ottawa's treatment of sick First Nations children has unveiled a part of Canada's history that has been hidden in the darkness of locked archives, media reports said.

UN chief inks pact to better coordinate counter-terrorism support to Governments

Feb 24, 2018, at 02:41 pm

New York, Feb 24 (JEN): Secretary-General António Guterres has signed a United Nations systemwide agreement to improve the coordination and coherence of the Organization’s activities to help Member States implement the UN’s counter-terrorism strategy.

Ethiopia: UN welcomes steps towards governance reforms and increased political participation

Feb 24, 2018, at 02:38 pm

New York, Feb 24 (JEN): The United Nations on Friday took note of the recent decision by the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Hailemariam Desalegn, to resign, to ‘allow further political reforms to take place in the country aimed at widening democratic space,’ and welcomed the Government’s expressed intention to follow through with governance reforms.

Uruguay: Helping the UN to keep the peace around the globe for nearly 70 years

Feb 24, 2018, at 02:33 pm

New York, Feb 24 (IBNS): Uruguay is one of over 120 countries working with the United Nations to help keep the peace around the globe. Whether military, police or civilian personnel, they share a common purpose: the protection of vulnerable communities and the provision of support to countries struggling to move from conflict to peace.

Rights violations in South Sudan may amount to crimes against humanity and war crimes, concludes UN panel

Feb 24, 2018, at 02:28 pm

Fresh threats loom over 720,000 Rohingya children ‘cast adrift, trapped in limbo’ – UNICEF

Feb 24, 2018, at 02:23 pm

New York, Feb 24 (JEN): Rohingya children are facing threats either from severe weather approaching Bangladesh where hundreds of thousands are sheltered in squalid, overcrowded refugee camps, or by ongoing violence in their Myanmar homeland,  the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned on Friday, calling urgently for scaled-up assistance ahead of the region’s storm season and to address the root causes of the crisis.

Top UN officials urge stronger support for Syrians and host communities amid escalating violence

Feb 24, 2018, at 02:17 pm

Survey: More than half of U.S. gun owners do not safely store their guns

Feb 23, 2018, at 11:51 pm

Washington, Feb 23 (IBNS): More than half of gun owners do not safely store all their guns, according to a new survey of 1,444 U.S. gun owners conducted by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Flabbergasted at Atwal's invitation to an event with Canada PM Trudeau, says former B.C. Premier

Feb 23, 2018, at 06:50 pm

Ottawa, Feb 23 (IBNS): Former B.C. Premier Ujjal Dosanjh has said he was "flabbergasted" at convicted pro-Khalistani Jaspal Atwal's invitation to an event with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife in India, media reports said.

Australia: Barnaby Joyce to resign as Deputy PM

Feb 23, 2018, at 06:48 pm

Melbourne, Feb 23 (IBNS): Scandal-hit Australia's Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce said on Friday that he'll resign from his post three days later.

Road to peace in Central African Republic remains ‘long and difficult,’ says UN envoy

Feb 23, 2018, at 02:51 pm

New York, Fe 23 (JEN): The violence plaguing communities across the Central African Republic (CAR) is a reminder that despite the efforts of all stakeholders, the path to peace, stability and reconciliation in the country remains long and difficult, a senior United Nations official told the Security Council on Thursday.

‘You can still save lives’; UN aid chief urges Security Council action to halt violence in Syria’s war-battered east Ghouta

Feb 23, 2018, at 02:47 pm

New York, Feb 23 (JEN): The United Nations humanitarian chief on Thursday called for action by the Security Council to halt the appalling destruction of Syria’s eastern Ghouta, where nearly 300 people have reportedly been killed in just the past few days, as “bombs and mortars have rained down on bakeries and medical facilities.”

UN receives 40 allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse in last quarter of 2017

Feb 23, 2018, at 02:43 pm

New York, Feb 23 (JEN): The United Nations has received 40 allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse across its entities and implementing partners for the last three months of 2017, including 15 reported from peacekeeping operations, UN Spokesman Stéphane Dujarric announced on Thursday.

New UN report cites violations of rights to freedom of opinion and expression in South Sudan

Feb 23, 2018, at 02:40 pm

New York, Feb 23 (JEN): Undue restrictions on freedom of expression are having a “chilling effect” and “further shrinking the space for debate and dissent” in war-torn South Sudan, a new United Nations human rights report has revealed.

Lack of funding for aid operations means ‘people will die’ in Central African Republic – UN official

Feb 23, 2018, at 02:35 pm

New York, Feb 23 (JEN): A senior United Nations relief official is urging the international community to boost support for humanitarian efforts in crisis-gripped Central African Republic (CAR), where nearly half the population requires assistance.

Afghanistan: UN mission welcomes new penal code, urges measures to protect women from violence

Feb 23, 2018, at 02:31 pm

New York, Feb 23 (JEN): While welcoming the entry to force of a new Penal Code in Afghanistan as a having the “potential to trigger real change,” the United Nations mission in the country said on Thursday that it is concerned by the removal of the chapter penalizing violence against women.

Job creation around agriculture can spur youth employment in Africa – UN agency

Feb 23, 2018, at 02:28 pm

New York, Feb 23 (JEN): Agriculture will continue to generate employment in Africa over the coming decades, but businesses around farming, including processing, packaging, transportation, distribution, marketing and financial services, could also create jobs for young people, especially those in rural areas, a senior United Nations official said Thursday.

Canadian MP Ruby Sahota's India visit with PM Trudeau on last leg

Feb 23, 2018, at 12:51 am

Ottawa/New Delhi, Feb 22 (IBNS): Member of Parliament for Brampton North, Ruby Sahota, is on the last leg of her week-long India visit with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Donald Trump backs his theory of 'armed teachers' to prevent shootings in school

Feb 23, 2018, at 12:33 am

Washington, Feb 22 (IBNS): US President Donald Trump on Thursday backed his own proposed theory of 'armed teachers' in order to prevent shootings in schools.

Three ISIS militants killed, 1 wounded in US drone strike in Afghanistan

Feb 22, 2018, at 08:54 pm

Afghanistan, Feb 22 (IBNS) : At least three militants affiliated with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terrorist group were killed in a US drone strike in eastern Nangarhar province of Afghanistan.

Five Afghan intelligence staff killed in Parwan attack

Feb 22, 2018, at 08:53 pm

Afghanistan, Feb 22 (IBNS) : At least five workers of the Afghan Intelligence Agency, National Directorate of Security (NDS), were killed in militant attack in northern Parwan province of Afghanistan.