UN ‘fully mobilized’ to support the Sudanese people, Security Council hears
Apr 25, 2020, at 01:41 pm
New York/IBNS: The “exceptional circumstances” of the COVID-19 pandemic have impacted the peace process in Sudan as well as the drawing down of the United Nations mission there, the head of UN peacekeeping updated the Security Council on Friday.
Put aside political agendas ‘to save lives’, top UN official in Kosovo urges
Apr 25, 2020, at 01:40 pm
New York/IBNS: The senior UN official in Kosovo is stressing that strong leadership and political unity are needed now more than ever, as local leaders and their international partners wage war on the “enormous challenge” posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cash help crucial for informal workers, says UN labour chief, stressing primacy of multilateralism
Apr 25, 2020, at 01:38 pm
New York/IBNS: Informal workers who live day to day urgently need cash support from their governments to survive the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the head of the UN labour agency said on Friday.
Apr 25, 2020, at 12:54 pm
New York/IBNS: The coronavirus pandemic has spawned new threats to press freedom in some countries, according to the UN human rights chief, who declared on Friday that “credible, accurate reporting is a lifeline for all of us”.
Turkey kills eight PKK members in northern Iraq
Apr 25, 2020, at 10:54 am
Ankara/Xinhua/UNI: Turkish airstrikes killed eight members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) as part of counter-terrorism operations in northern Iraq, Turkey's Defense Ministry said on Friday.
Number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Brazil nears 50,000 - Ministry of Health
Apr 24, 2020, at 06:30 pm
Rio de Janeiro/Sputnik: The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Brazil has increased to 49,492, the National Ministry of Health said on late Thursday.
Two flights to evacuate Russian citizens from Bangkok on late Sunday - Ministry
Apr 24, 2020, at 05:39 pm
Moscow/Sputnik: Two flights from Bangkok to Russia's Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk and Samara (via Irkutsk) – will evacuate Russian citizens from Thailand on late Sunday amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russian Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media said.
Russia spotted 21 foreign spy jets close to national airspace over past week - Reports
Apr 24, 2020, at 05:28 pm
Moscow/Sputnik: The Russian Armed Forces detected 21 foreign jets that were engaged in reconnaissance activities close to Russia’s airspace last week, the military’s official newspaper Krasnaya Zvezda reported on Friday.
Canada’s Saskatchewan province to begin lifting COVID-19 restrictions May 4 - Premier
Apr 24, 2020, at 05:17 pm
Toronto/Sputnik: The Canadian province of Saskatchewan will begin phasing out on May 4 some of the restrictions implemented to fight the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Premier Scott Moe announced at a press conference.
Common coronavirus enemy, forges some Palestine-Israel cooperation, but West Bank annexation looms
Apr 24, 2020, at 02:34 pm
New York/IBNS: The COVID-19 pandemic is creating opportunities for cooperation that Israelis and Palestinians must embrace to sustain Middle East peace efforts and bring an end to decades of conflict, the United Nations’ top envoy in the region said on Thursday.
Human rights ‘uplift everyone’; must guide COVID-19 recovery response, says UN chief
Apr 24, 2020, at 02:11 pm
New York/IBNS: The coronavirus pandemic is not only a critical public health danger, it is also a human, economic and social emergency that is “fast becoming a human rights crisis”, the UN chief said on Thursday, releasing a new policy brief on shaping an effective, inclusive response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Apple iPhone at risk of hacking through email app, claims mobile security firm
Apr 23, 2020, at 05:50 pm
New York/IBNS: A flaw in the popular tech giant Apple's mobile operating system might have left several users of iPhone and iPad vulnerable to hackers, a mobile security firm has claimed.
Merkel lauds Germany's interim success in COVID-19 response, says situation still fragile
Apr 23, 2020, at 03:28 pm
Berlin/Sputnik/UNI: Although Germany has reached some intermediate success in COVID-19 response, the situation remains fragile, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday.
Economic impact of coronavirus threatens hard-won progress across Africa’s Great Lakes region
Apr 23, 2020, at 03:08 pm
New York/IBNS: Sweeping preventative measures seem to be curbing the spread of COVID-19 in the Great Lakes region of Africa, but the economic impact of the global pandemic threatens hard-won gains made along the long road back to peace and stability, the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the region said on Wednesday.
UN rights chief rejects killings acknowledged by Cameroon, and Iran’s execution of child offenders
Apr 23, 2020, at 02:48 pm
New York/IBNS: The UN’s human rights chief has been weighing in on recent killings committed by State authorities, or by rogue members of State military forces, emphasizing that all Governments must strictly abide by international law and hold those who serve, accountable for any violations.
COVID-19: 5G broadband conspiracy ‘a hoax with no technical basis’, UN telecoms agency
Apr 23, 2020, at 02:37 pm
New York/IBNS: The latest generation of fast broadband, commonly known as 5G, is in no way responsible for the spread of the COVID-19 virus, the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) – the UN’s agency for information and communication technologies – confirmed on Wednesday.
COVID-19 pandemic, an ‘unprecedented wake-up call’ for all inhabitants of Mother Earth
Apr 23, 2020, at 02:18 pm
New York/IBNS: In his message for International Mother Earth Day this Wednesday, UN Secretary-General António Guterres acknowledged that all eyes are on the COVID-19 pandemic, which he flagged as “an unprecedented wake-up call”
Russia to increase artificial lung ventilators production 8-fold to 800 in April- Minister
Apr 22, 2020, at 07:08 pm
Moscow/Sputnik: Russia will increase its artificial lung ventilators production eight-fold in April, bringing it to 800 pieces, with further increases to follow, Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov said on Wednesday.
Australia: Four police officers killed in multi-car collision in Melbourne
Apr 22, 2020, at 06:50 pm
Melbourne/UNI: At least four police officers were killed in a multi-car collision on Wednesday here in Australia.
At least 15 killed in landslide in Kenya
Apr 22, 2020, at 06:47 pm
Moscow/UNI:At least 15 people were killed while 22 others went missing after a landslide hit Kenya's Elgeyo-Marakwet county, media reported on Wednesday.
Three IS suspects arrested in southern Spain
Apr 22, 2020, at 06:01 pm
Madrid/Xinhua/UNI: Three members of the Islamic State (IS), including one described as "one of the most wanted foreign fighters", have been arrested in the city of Almeria in southern Spain, Spain's Interior Ministry confirmed.
At sea for nearly a month, a young couple finally realizes that world is combating COVID-19
Apr 22, 2020, at 05:29 pm
Manchester/IBNS: Travelling far away in their boat, Elena Manighetti and Ryan Osborne from Manchester, UK, could only know about the severity of the COVID-19 outbreak recently.
UN condemns killing of WHO staffer in Myanmar transporting COVID-19 samples
Apr 22, 2020, at 01:32 pm
New York/IBNS: A World Health Organization (WHO) worker has been killed while driving a vehicle carrying COVID-19 samples in Myanmar’s western Rakhine state, the United Nations country office confirmed in a statement on Tuesday.
Guterres vows support for island States in twin fight against COVID-19, climate crisis
Apr 22, 2020, at 01:30 pm
New York/IBNS: In an era of new challenges wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic, Secretary-General António Guterres is pledging the UN’s continued support to small island States – longtime leaders in the global fight against the devastating impacts of climate change.
As famines of ‘biblical proportion’ loom, Security Council urged to ‘act fast’
Apr 22, 2020, at 01:28 pm
New York/IBNS: The world is not only facing “a global health pandemic but also a global humanitarian catastrophe”, the UN food relief agency chief told the Security Council on Tuesday via video link.
Assistance ramped up to DR Congo’s South Kivu as floods kill dozens
Apr 22, 2020, at 01:23 pm
New York/IBNS: Aid is being rushed to eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) where deadly flooding has swept away people and homes and affected tens of thousands more, including many displaced by violence, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Tuesday.
Keep critical food supply chains operating to save lives during COVID-19, urges new UN-backed report
Apr 22, 2020, at 01:22 pm
New York/IBNS: A new study on food insecurity by an alliance of UN, governmental, and non-governmental agencies analyzes what is fueling global food crises and examines how, among other emergencies, the COVID-19 pandemic is perpetuating downward cycle for millions.
Funerals become hotspots of COVID-19 infections in South Africa
Apr 22, 2020, at 11:48 am
Cape Town/Xinhua/UNI: Funerals have been found to pose the biggest risk for the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said.
China wants authoritarianism as democracy's alternative, warns former US NSA
Apr 21, 2020, at 06:29 pm
Washington/IBNS: Former United States National Security Advisor (NSA) H. R. McMaster warned the world that China has become a threat to the world due to its Communist leaders who are promoting a closed, authoritarian model as an alternative to other democratic governments and free-market economies.
British lawmakers to probe advisers who help China target British businesses
Apr 21, 2020, at 06:25 pm
London/IBNS: British lawmakers have called for a probe against the political figures and advisers who profit by helping the Chinese government to target British businesses.