UN launches 2016 International Year of Pulses, celebrating benefits of legumes
Nov 11, 2015, at 02:32 pm
New York, Nov 11 (Just Earth News/IBNS): Under the slogan 'nutritious seeds for a sustainable future,' the United Nations, led by its Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), on Tuesday launched the 2016 International Year of Pulses to raise awareness about the protein power and health benefits of all kinds of dried beans and peas, boost their production and trade, and encourage new and smarter uses throughout the food chain.
UN urges immediate release of detained Egyptian human rights defender
Nov 11, 2015, at 02:30 pm
New York, Nov 11 (Just Earth News/IBNS): The United Nations has called for the immediate release of detained Egyptian human rights defender Hossam Bahgat with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon describing as "profoundly worrying" the latest in a series of such detentions.
Somalia: Security Council reauthorizes naval forces to fight piracy off East Africa
Nov 11, 2015, at 02:28 pm
New York, Nov 11 (Just Earth News/IBNS): The United Nations Security Council on Tuesday renewed for another year its authorization for international naval forces to join in fighting piracy off the coast of Somalia, stressing that while the threat from Somali pirates has declined, it still remains a matter of "grave concern."
Millions of children's lives at stake as El Niño strengthens: UNICEF report
Nov 11, 2015, at 02:26 pm
New York, Nov 11 (Just Earth News/IBNS): As a result of a strengthening El Niño, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) is warning that an estimated 11 million children are at risk from hunger, disease and lack of water in eastern and southern Africa alone, as the weather phenomenon has left droughts and floods in its wake throughout parts of Asia, the Pacific and Latin America.
Affordable vaccine brings Africa near elimination of meningitis A: WHO
Nov 11, 2015, at 02:24 pm
New York, Nov 11 (Just Earth News/IBNS): Scientists have found that 90 per cent of individuals vaccinated with a meningitis A vaccine costing less than 50 cents a dose had protective antibodies in their system 5 years later, bringing Africa close to elimination of the 'highly feared' disease on the continent, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Tuesday.
UN agency expands meals programme to more than 1,600 schools across Guinea
Nov 11, 2015, at 02:23 pm
New York, Nov 11 (Just Earth News/IBNS): More than 240,000 children will receive daily hot meals in school this academic year in Guinea, according to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), which is expanding its school meals programme from 735 to 1,605 primary schools across the country.
'Turn digital divides into digital opportunities,' Ban tells annual UN forum
Nov 11, 2015, at 02:21 pm
New York, Nov 11 (Just Earth NEWS/IBNS): To cover the "breadth and depth" of the recently adopted Sustainable Development Goals, the potential of the data revolution must be explored through the use of new and non-traditional sources of data, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stressed at the 10th annual Internet Governance Forum (IGF), which opened today in João Pessoa, Brazil.
Mali entering new era of opportunity with women central to recovery: UN relief official
Nov 11, 2015, at 02:19 pm
New York, Nov 11 (Just Earth News/IBNS): Mali is entering a new era of opportunity, but while significant progress has been made, the international community 'must not take its foot off the accelerator,' a senior UN relief official said on Tuesday, returning from a three-day visit to the country.
Saudi Arabia: Ban calls fighting terrorism with heavy-handed tactics counter-productive
Nov 11, 2015, at 02:15 pm
New York, Nov 11 (Just Earth News/IBNS): Speaking in a region that has been torn apart by violent extremism, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told Arab and South America leaders in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday that heavy-handed tactics in fighting terrorism only add fuel to the fire.
UN envoy commends South Sudanese opposition commanders' plan to prevent rape
Nov 11, 2015, at 02:13 pm
New York, Nov 11 (Just Earth News/IBNS): The United Nations Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict on Tuesday commended 54 ranking members of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Sudan People's Liberation Army-in Opposition (SPLA-IO) for signing "explicit undertakings' to prevent conflict-related sexual violence.
Ban stresses empowering youth to lead global progress
Nov 11, 2015, at 02:12 pm
New York, Nov 11 (Just Earth News/IBNS): United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday commemorated the fifth anniversary of the UN Academic Impact and lauded the contributions made by the initiative in providing the world with ideas for some of its most pressing problems.
Murder of two Syrian citizen journalists condemned by UNESCO chief
Nov 10, 2015, at 02:25 pm
New York, Nov 11 (Just Earth News/IBNS): The head of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on Monday condemned the killing of two Syrian citizen journalists, found dead a little over a week ago in the city of Sanliurfa, in the southeast of Turkey.
Helsinki innovators' summit seeks to help make children a part of the solution: UNICEF
Nov 10, 2015, at 02:23 pm
New York, Nov 11 (Just Earth News/IBNS): More than 500 leading thinkers from the technological, academic, corporate, development and humanitarian world are convening today in Helsinki, Finland, for a summit co-organized by the Finnish Government and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to explore new technologies to improve life for the world’s most vulnerable children.
Flooding in Baghdad, emergency response hurt by lagging funds: UN relief wing
Nov 10, 2015, at 02:21 pm
New York, Nov 11 (Just Earth News/IBNS): Torrential downpours have caused flooding in and around the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, prompting a state of emergency to be declared in areas overwhelmed by heavy rains, with more than 80,000 displaced people sheltering in some 40 sites and camps, according to the latest update from the United Nations humanitarian wing.
UN refugee agency delivers aid to eastern Ukraine for first time in months
Nov 10, 2015, at 02:20 pm
New York, Nov 11 (Just Earth News/IBNS): The United Nations refugee agency has managed to deliver aid for the first time in over two months to areas of eastern Ukraine beyond Government control where two million people are in urgent need of assistance, reaching 12,000 people – a "small drop in the ocean of needs" – with plans to expand greatly as the harsh winter sets in.
Greenhouse gas concentrations hit yet another record: UN weather agency
Nov 10, 2015, at 02:17 pm
New York, Nov 11 (Just Earth News/IBNS): The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) announced on Monday that the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere reached yet another new record high in 2014, continuing a relentless rise which is fuelling climate change and will make the planet more dangerous and inhospitable for future generations.
Security Council enhances role of UN support office in Somalia
Nov 10, 2015, at 02:15 pm
New York, Nov 11 (Just Earth News/IBNS): The Security Council on Monday approved a successor operation to the six-year-old United Nations Support Office for the African Union Mission to Somalia, known as UNSOA, underlining the role of the new entity to close gaps in UNSOA's ability to deliver and to "consolidate and prioritize its efforts in line with the [Council’s] strategic objectives in the country."
UN chief congratulates people of Myanmar on participating in polls
Nov 10, 2015, at 02:13 pm
New York, Nov 11 (Just Earth News/IBNS): United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has congratulated the people of Myanmar for "their patience, dignity and enthusiasm" in historic elections and has encouraged all stakeholders "to maintain the dignified spirit, calm and respect throughout the completion of the electoral process."
DR Congo: Security Council calls for total neutralization of foreign, local armed groups
Nov 10, 2015, at 02:11 pm
New York, Nov 11 (Just Earth News/IBNS): The United Nations Security Council on Monday called for the elimination of local and foreign armed groups which have for decades devastated the eastern regions of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and urged the immediate resumption of joint operations between the UN peacekeeping force’s Intervention Brigade and the national army.
South Sudan: UN relief wing warns of 80 per cent increase in food insecurity
Nov 10, 2015, at 02:09 pm
New York, Nov 11 (Just Earth News/IBNS): South Sudan remains engulfed in a spiral of violence – with clashes in southern and central Unity state having "intensified with grave consequences for civilians" – leaving at-risk populations food insecure and vulnerable to diseases, the United Nations humanitarian wing has warned, announcing that relief organizations on the ground are boosting efforts there despite access challenges and lagging funding.
Ban appoints veteran UN senior leader Benomar as his Special Adviser
Nov 10, 2015, at 02:07 pm
New York, Nov 11 (Just Earth News/IBNS): United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday announced the appointment of Jamal Benomar of the United Kingdom as his Special Adviser, at the level of Under-Secretary-General.
Burundi experiencing political crisis with hundreds dead since April: Security Council
Nov 10, 2015, at 02:05 pm
New York, Nov 11 (Just Earth News/IBNS): Senior United Nations officials on Monday warned the UN Security Council that Burundi is at a critical juncture, experiencing a deep political crisis and rapidly escalating violence with serious implications for the country’s stability and ethnic harmony, as bodies are regularly dumped in the streets of the capital, Bujumbura, and thousands of people flee the bloodshed.
Two years after super typhoon in Philippines, UNICEF lauds recovery efforts
Nov 09, 2015, at 01:29 pm
New York, Nov 9 (Just Earth News/IBNS): On the second anniversary of Super Typhoon Haiyan, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has commended the significant progress made in recovery and rehabilitation efforts in the Philippines, but remains concerned about the unmet needs of children and their families, some still living in temporary housing.
Climate-smart development can keep 100 million people out of poverty: World Bank
Nov 09, 2015, at 01:26 pm
New York, Nov 9 (Just Earth News/IBNS): Without inclusive and climate-smart development, alongside efforts to rein in greenhouse gas emissions that protect the poor, agricultural shocks, natural disasters and the spread of diseases could push more than 100 million additional people into poverty by 2030, the World Bank warns in a new report released just weeks ahead of a major United Nations climate conference in Paris.
-1446890298.jpg "Lahore factory collapse: Death toll touches 45")
Lahore factory collapse: Death toll touches 45
Nov 07, 2015, at 08:58 pm
Lahore, Nov 7 (IBNS): Rescue workers pulled out four more bodies on Saturday as the death toll in the collapse of a factory in Pakistan's Sunder Estate touched 45, media reports said.
UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador David Beckham's Fund helps children in New Guinea
Nov 07, 2015, at 03:34 pm
New York, Nov 7 (Just Earth News/IBNS): International football icon and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Goodwill Ambassador David Beckham met children receiving treatment for malnutrition at a UNICEF-supported hospital in Papua New Guinea.
WHO scales up coordination for effects of El Niño expected worldwide
Nov 07, 2015, at 03:32 pm
New York, Nov 7 (Just Earth News/IBNS): Deeply concerned about potential deaths, illness, malnutrition and psychosocial effects brought by the ongoing El Niño phenomenon, the strongest in nearly two decades, the World Health Organization (WHO) is ramping up its efforts with regional offices and partners to guide countries on El Niño preparedness and timely response to curb its health risks.
Amid fears of cholera outbreak in Iraq, UN agencies support government-led response
Nov 07, 2015, at 03:31 pm
New York, Nov 7 (Just Earth News/IBNS): With the cholera spreading further in Iraq, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), which is providing assistance Iraqi health authorities, has on Friday urged accelerated action to shield communities and families from the outbreak, which has already infected more than 2,000 people across the country.
Yemen: UN agency provides emergency relief items to people displaced by Cyclone
Nov 07, 2015, at 03:29 pm
New York, Nov 7 (Just Earth News/IBNS): The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) indicated on Friday that prior to tropical cyclone Chapala making landfall on Yemen last Tuesday, the agency had moved 1,000 tents and 3,000 non-food items kits into a number of governorates to support people in affected areas.
Boats packed with new arrivals continue to land in Greek Islands: UNHCR
Nov 07, 2015, at 03:26 pm
New York, Nov 7 (Just Earth News/IBNS): Despite a four-day shipping strike that affected refugees, migrants and host communities, the United Nations refugee agency has continued its work in the Greek Islands, where an estimated 20,000 refugees and migrants are currently staying, placing considerable strain on the limited reception facilities of several islands.