UN rights chief sees ‘worrying signs’ in Bulgaria’s detention regime for migrants

Aug 12, 2016, at 04:36 am

New York, Aug 11 (Just Earth News): United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein on Thursday expressed serious concern that virtually all people entering Bulgaria in an “irregular manner” are subjected to detention, and that they could be prosecuted and even jailed if they try to leave, “placing many of them in an invidious Catch-22 situation.”

Syria: UN refugee agency 'gravely concerned' by attacks on civilians, internally displaced persons

Aug 12, 2016, at 04:34 am

New York, Aug 11 (Just Earth News): The United Nations refugee agency has expressed grave concern at the dire situation of civilians in the Syrian city of Aleppo and at attacks on internally displaced people (IDP) settlements in its Idleb Governorate.

Afghanistan: Explosion in Laghman kills 3

Aug 11, 2016, at 10:31 pm

Kabul, Aug 11 (IBNS): An explosion in Afghanistan's Laghman province on on Wednesday left at least three people, media reports said.

Former British retail chain head dubbed the unacceptable face of capitalism

Aug 11, 2016, at 09:29 pm

London/Toronto, Aug 11 (IBNS): A parliamentary probe into Sir Philip Green selling off British Home Stores (BHS) and a deficit in the company's pension account, has recently revealed that he had been siphoning off the company’s money for years allegedly to support his luxurious lifestyle, according to media reports.

Trump calls Obama 'founder of ISIS'

Aug 11, 2016, at 06:52 pm

Washington,Aug 11 (IBNS): Republican Nominee for President Donald J. Trump has slammed US President Barack Obama and accused him of creating the militant group Islamic State.

Pakistan: Quetta explosion injures 13

Aug 11, 2016, at 05:46 pm

Quetta, Aug 11 (IBNS): At least 13 people were injured as an explosion rocked near Saryab Flyover in Pakistan's Quetta area on Thursday, media reports said.

Two death row convicts escape from Pakistan jail

Aug 11, 2016, at 05:36 pm

Azad Kashmir, Aug 11 (IBNS): Two death row convicts escaped from Kotli Jail in Pakistan on Wednesday, media reports said.

Karachi: Rangers kill four militants planning to attack on I-Day

Aug 11, 2016, at 05:15 pm

Karachi,, Aug 11 (IBNS): Pakistan Rangers on Wednesday shot dead 'terrorists' in Karachi.

Pakistan: Explosion in Quetta injures 4

Aug 11, 2016, at 04:42 pm

Quetta, Aug 11 (IBNS): An explosion close to the Saryab Flyover in Pakistan's Quetta city which left at least four people injured, media reports said.

South Sudan crisis deepens as once-stable areas fall into violence – UN relief chief

Aug 11, 2016, at 12:42 pm

New York, Aug 11 (Just Earth News): Recently returned from a three-day visit to South Sudan, United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator Stephen O’Brien on Wednesday painted a grave picture of the enormous humanitarian crisis facing the world’s newest country and the devastating impact of the ongoing violence on its people.

Supported by the UN cultural agency, Nepal’s quake-damaged museums re-open

Aug 11, 2016, at 12:41 pm

New York, Aug 11 (Just Earth News): More than a year since the devastating earthquakes that struck Nepal in April and May 2015, through the combined work of the United Nations cultural agency and its partners, some of the country’s notable museums and institutions, including the National Museum, and the National Art Gallery are once again open and visitors are coming back to enjoy their rich collections.

Child-directed advertising must be better regulated to curb adverse impacts – UN experts

Aug 11, 2016, at 12:39 pm

New York, Aug 11 (Just Earth News): Just head of International Youth Day, two United Nations human rights experts are drawing attention to the impact of commercial advertising directed at young children that instils, at an early age, over-consumption and indebtedness, and have urged the Governments to redefine those child-directed advertisements.

New law a ‘direct attack’ on free expression in Maldives, UN rights expert warns

Aug 11, 2016, at 12:37 pm

New York, Aug 11 (Just Earth News): Denouncing a new law in Maldives as a “direct attack” on free speech, a United Nations human rights expert warned on Wednesday that elements of the bill, such as the vague use of religion, social norms and defamation as reasons for punishing expression, contradict not only international norms, but also obligations set out in the country’s own Constitution.

UN study charts extent of unregulated gold mining in Colombia, links to organized crime

Aug 11, 2016, at 12:36 pm

New York, Aug 11 (Just Earth News): An estimated 60 per cent of Colombia’s alluvial gold exploitation – through mining streams or riverbeds, often dredged with heavy machinery – is not established within existing normative frameworks and in many cases finances and strengthens organized criminal groups, according to a joint United Nations and Colombian Government study.

UNESCO chief 'denounces' terrorist attack that killed dozens in Pakistan

Aug 11, 2016, at 03:49 am

New York, Aug 10 (Just Earth News): The head of the United Nations agency tasked with defending press freedom denounced the recent terrorist attack that killed at least 70 people, including two journalists, in Quetta, the capital of Pakistan's Baluchistan province.

Court hands over death to former Bangladesh lawmaker Shakhawat Hossain

Aug 11, 2016, at 12:26 am

Dhaka, Aug 10 (IBNS): The International Crimes Tribunal-1 on Wednesday handed death to former lawmaker of Bangladesh Shakhawat Hossain over crimes committed against humanity during the 1971 Liberation War.

Bangladesh: RAB arrests 6 JMB men

Aug 10, 2016, at 09:00 pm

Dhaka, Aug 10 (IBNS): Bangladesh's RAB has arrested six suspected members of militant outfit Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) on Tuesday, media reports said on Wednesday.

Afghanistan: Afghan forces, Taliban insurgents face off in Baghlan province

Aug 10, 2016, at 06:17 pm

Kabul, Aug 10 (IBNS): A clash is underway between the Afghan military forces and the Talibani insurgents in Dahana-e-Ghori district of Afghanistan's Baghlan province, reports said.

Ontario's University of Waterloo rushes to correct gender bias in salary

Aug 10, 2016, at 06:07 pm

Ontario, Aug 10 (IBNS): A top notch university in Canada, University of Waterloo, through a recent email to its faculty notified that a task group of the university assigned to analyse faculty salaries has uncovered a “systemic gender anomaly” that was “consistent across the university,” and which is being rectified, according to media reports.

Measures to control yellow fever still needed despite drop in number of cases – UN health agency

Aug 10, 2016, at 01:40 pm

New York, Aug 10 (Just Earth News): The United Nations health agency and its partners are continuing their programmes against yellow fever outbreaks even though the epidemic, first reported in January 2016, appears to be declining, with no new cases confirmed in the last six weeks.

Sudan: Ban welcomes signing of peace roadmap by opposition groups

Aug 10, 2016, at 01:37 pm

New York, Aug 10 (Just Earth News): Welcoming the signing by Sudanese opposition groups of an African Union-brokered roadmap for ending conflicts in the country, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday called the parties to “maintain this positive momentum” and work towards agreement on cessation of hostilities.

‘You are leaders of on Tuesday,’ says Ban, urging youth delegates in Argentina to back Global Goals

Aug 10, 2016, at 01:34 pm

New York, Aug 10 (Just Earth News): Young people are at the heart of many of on Tuesday’s challenges, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Tuesday in Buenos Aires, urging a gathering of youth and civil society delegates to claim the new UN Sustainable Development Agenda as their own and to hold their leaders accountable for its implementation.

UN chief honours Nagasaki victims, urges recommitment to ‘a more secure future for all’

Aug 10, 2016, at 01:33 pm

New York, Aug 10 (Just Earth News): Mourning those who perished in the 1945 atomic bombing and suffered through its horrendous after-effects, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday conveyed his solidarity to a peace memorial ceremony in Nagasaki, Japan, and urged all to “recommit to building a safer and more secure future.”

Ban welcomes election timetable in Somalia, says ‘milestone’ process must be fair and transparent

Aug 10, 2016, at 01:31 pm

New York, Aug 10 (Just Earth News): Welcoming on Tuesday the announcement by Somalia of a timetable for the 2016 electoral process, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon noted that process for the upcoming polls, which sets October for presidential elections, is an important milestone in the country’s journey towards democracy.

Children paying ‘heaviest price’ of Yemen conflict, UNICEF warns amid reports of escalating violence

Aug 10, 2016, at 01:28 pm

New York, Aug 10 (Just Earth News): Four children were reportedly killed and three were injured on 7 August in the Nihm District, east of the Yemeni capital, Sana’a, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said in a statement on Tuesday.

As temperatures soar and taps run dry in war-ravaged Aleppo, UN warns of looming ‘catastrophe’

Aug 10, 2016, at 01:27 pm

New York, Aug 10 (Just Earth News): As the United Nations relief wing warned on Tuesday that soaring temperatures and dwindling medical supplies are deepening the woes of some two million people trapped by fighting in and around Aleppo, the world body kept up its call for an immediate halt to the hostilities and, at a minimum, a two-day weekly humanitarian pause so the city’s heavily damaged water and electrical systems can be repaired.

INTERVIEW: UN summit to provide blueprint for better response to large movements of refugees and migrants, says senior advisor

Aug 10, 2016, at 04:04 am

New York, Aug 9 (Just Earth News): On 2 August, following five months of negotiations, Member States of the United Nations agreed by consensus upon a political declaration that will serve as the basis for discussions and the outcome of the first-ever UN Summit on Addressing Large Movements of Refugees and Migrants which will be held, on 19 September, at UN Headquarters in New York.

UN rights chief urges Maldives to retain decades-long death penalty moratorium

Aug 10, 2016, at 04:02 am

New York, Aug 9 (Just Earth News): Voicing concern over a number of worrying developments regarding capital punishment in the Maldives, the United Nations human rights chief on Tuesday called on the Government to refrain from carrying out planned executions and to uphold the de facto moratorium that has been in place in the country for over six decades.

Urgent farming support needed amid rampant food insecurity in parts of north-east Nigeria – UN agency

Aug 10, 2016, at 04:00 am

New York, Aug 9 (Just Earth News): As more areas previously controlled by Boko Haram become accessible to humanitarian assistance, a critical opportunity has arisen to tackle “alarming levels” of food insecurity in north-east Nigeria, the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) said on Tuesday.

On International Day, UN spotlights indigenous peoples' right to education

Aug 10, 2016, at 03:58 am

New York, Aug 9 (Just Earth News): To mark the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples, senior United Nations officials are calling on Governments to improve access to education and ensure that the most vulnerable are not left behind as the journey to achieve the new UN Sustainable Development Goals gets under way.