COVID-19 threatening global peace and security, UN chief warns
Apr 11, 2020, at 11:58 am
New York/IBNS: While the COVID-19 pandemic is first and foremost a health crisis, its implications are more far-reaching and could threaten global peace and security, the UN Secretary-General told members of the Security Council in a closed video-conference held on Thursday.
Apr 10, 2020, at 05:43 pm
Beijing/IBNS: With China claiming that it is significantly recovering from COVID-19 crisis while other nations, including the UK and the US are struggling to contain the virus, some experts believe Beijing is trying to exploit the situation to its own advantage.
Syrian army brings reinforcement to battle zone with IS
Apr 10, 2020, at 04:32 pm
Damascus/Xinhua/UNI: The Syrian army on Friday brought in reinforcement to the desert region in eastern Syria as battles with Islamic State (IS) militants continued, a war monitor reported.
Teachers in Singapore stop using Zoom after 'obscene image' incident
Apr 10, 2020, at 03:47 pm
Singapore/IBNS: Amid reports of breaches involving obscene images, teachers will now suspend use of video conferencing tool Zoom in the country, Singapore's Ministry of Education (MOE) said.
Coronavirus: 92 dead, more than 10,000 test positive in Israel
Apr 10, 2020, at 02:52 pm
Tel Aviv/UNI: At least 92 people died and 10,095 were tested positive for the coronavirus in Israel, country’s Health Ministry said on Friday.
German State halts payments to coronavirus-hit businesses amid fraud
Apr 10, 2020, at 12:39 pm
Berlin/Sputnik/UNI: The German state of North Rhine-Westphalia froze one-off aid payments to freelancers and small businesses on Thursday after thousands were caught in online data scams.
Vietnamese tourist tests positive for COVID-19 in Cambodia, 119 in total
Apr 10, 2020, at 12:11 pm
Phnom Penh/Xinhua/UNI: Cambodia on Friday confirmed a Vietnamese female-tourist had tested positive for the COVID-19, increasing the total number of the confirmed cases in the country to 119.
Coronavirus-driven debt crisis threatens poor countries already at risk, says UN report
Apr 10, 2020, at 11:39 am
New York/IBNS: As governments struggle to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic, billions of people living in countries teetering on the brink of economic collapse are being threatened further by a looming debt crisis, according to a new UN report released on Thursday.
Put women and girls at centre of COVID-19 recovery: UN Secretary-General
Apr 10, 2020, at 11:26 am
New York/IBNS: Limited gains in gender equality and women’s rights made over the decades are in danger of being rolled back due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the UN Secretary-General said on Thursday.
Living apart, ‘we must stand together’ to battle coronavirus pandemic – UN rights chief
Apr 10, 2020, at 11:13 am
New York/IBNS: The COVID-19 pandemic is a “colossal test of leadership”, the top UN rights official said on Thursday, underscoring the need for “decisive, coordinated and innovative action from all, and for all”.
COVID-19 in Yemen: Saudi coalition ceasefire declared in bid to contain coronavirus
Apr 10, 2020, at 11:03 am
New York/IBNS: A ceasefire declaration by Saudi Arabia in war-shattered Yemen that was due to come into effect on Thursday has been welcomed by United Nations chief António Guterres as a way to promote peace and slow the advance of COVID-19.
Apr 10, 2020, at 10:43 am
New Delhi/IBNS: Hours after Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu thanked Narendra Modi for sending hydroxychloroquine medicine, which is being considered as a possible cure for Covid-19, the Indian PM on Friday said both the nations need to fight the disease together.
150 members of the Saudi Royal family believed to be infected by coronavirus: Report
Apr 09, 2020, at 09:13 pm
Riyadh/IBNS: At least 150 members of Saudi Arabia's royal family are believed to be infected by coronavirus, said a media report.
Thai authorities put Pattaya under 21-day lockdown due to COVID-19: Response centre
Apr 09, 2020, at 08:04 pm
Bangkok/Sputnik: The world-famous resort city of Pattaya in the Thai province of Chonburi will be closed for non-residents for 21 days, starting at 2 p.m. (07.00 GMT) on April 9 to combat the spread of COVID-19, a spokesman of the national coronavirus response centre said on Thursday.
Tablighi Jamaat faces criticism in Pakistan for assembling thousands amid COVID-19 scare
Apr 09, 2020, at 07:45 pm
Lahore/IBNS: Like India, Tablighi Jamaat is under fire in Pakistan for organising annual mass congregation at Rawalpindi Markaz last month at a time the world reeled under Covid-19 outbreak and India and Pakistan still had fewer cases of the deadly infection, a media report said.
Apr 09, 2020, at 01:08 pm
Sao Paolo/IBNS: Brazil's education minister Abraham Weintraub recently voiced his doubts that the COVID-19 outbreak, which first occurred in China, will benefit Beijing's “plan for world domination”.
5G: British politician sceptical about UK accepting Chinese COVID-19 aid
Apr 09, 2020, at 01:04 pm
London/IBNS: British politician and broadcaster Nigel Paul Farage feels that accepting COVID-19 aid from China may lead Beijing having a hand in UK's 5G network.
Syrian air force used deadly chemical weapons in 2017 attacks, UN watchdog finds
Apr 09, 2020, at 12:17 pm
New York/IBNS: The Syrian air force used deadly chemical weapons in three separate attacks in March 2017 on the central town of Ltamenah that affected a total of at least 106 people, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said in a report on Wednesday.
No need to politicize COVID-19: UN health agency chief
Apr 09, 2020, at 12:16 pm
New York/IBNS: The COVID-19 pandemic should not be politicized as unity is the “only option” to defeat the disease, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday.
Swift rebound for world trade still possible through joint action to thwart coronavirus
Apr 09, 2020, at 12:14 pm
New york/IBNS: Global trade in goods could fall by as much as a third this year due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, but a swift rebound in 2021 is possible if the world’s economic policymakers – working together – act immediately, the World Trade Organization (WTO) said on Wednesday.
WHO Chief says received death threats over coronavirus response
Apr 09, 2020, at 02:59 am
Geneva/Sputnik: The chief of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus of Ethiopia, said Wednesday he had faced death threats and racist insults over the UN health agency's response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Bernie Sanders drops out of 2020 Democratic race for President
Apr 09, 2020, at 02:52 am
Washington/UNI/IBNS: Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont dropped out of the Democratic presidential race on Wednesday, concluding a quest for the White House that began five years ago in relative obscurity but ultimately elevated him as a champion of the working class, a standard-bearer of American liberalism and the leader of a self-styled political revolution.
Apr 08, 2020, at 06:45 pm
Wuhan/IBNS: Even as the lockdown in Wuhan, the capital city of Hubei province and the epicentre of coronavirus pandemic, has been lifted, China has been forced to shut down other places due to the rising coronavirus cases, a media report said.
US military eliminates senior Al-Shabab leader in Somalia
Apr 08, 2020, at 01:41 pm
Mogadishu/Sputnik/UNI: The US military eliminated a senior al-Shabab terrorist leader during an airstrike in Somalia last week, US Africa Command (AFRICOM) said in a statement on Tuesday.
Canada invests $3 mln to combat COVID-19 misinformation
Apr 08, 2020, at 12:27 pm
Ottawa/UNI: As the world is fighting coronavirus amid reports of fake news which are daily misleading the people, Canada on Wednesday decided to invest $ 3 million to counter misinformation online about the pandemic.
Twitter CEO doantes $1Bln to fight pandemic coronavirus
Apr 08, 2020, at 12:23 pm
Washington/UNI: Twitter founder and CEO Jack Dorsey on Wednesday announced that he has donated one billion dollars to fund the global fight against the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).
Australia "exposed" to global medical supply shortage: Minister
Apr 08, 2020, at 12:13 pm
Canberra/Xinhua/UNI: Australia's Finance Minister has warned that the nation's medical stockpile has been "somewhat exposed" to international shortages amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
UN General Assembly: The world’s ‘town hall’ remains open during COVID-19 crisis
Apr 08, 2020, at 12:12 pm
New York/IBNS: Although it seems the whole world is on lockdown as countries follow health guidelines to curb the spread of COVID-19, the global “town hall” at UN Headquarters in New York remains open for business, albeit with a technical twist.
Mali: UN mission fulfills mandate, aids battle against coronavirus
Apr 08, 2020, at 12:11 pm
New York/IBNS: As the COVID-19 pandemic plagues the world, the head of the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali told the Security Council on Tuesday that the mission continues to fulfill its mandate while doing whatever it can to prevent the coronavirus outbreak from overrunning the country.
Children vulnerable to abuse and violence during coronavirus lockdowns, UN experts warn
Apr 08, 2020, at 12:10 pm
New York/IBNS: Independent UN human rights experts have called on States to boost child protection measures to help safeguard the welfare of millions of children who may be more exposed to violence, sale, trafficking, sexual abuse and exploitation during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.