INTERVIEW: The Syrian forces and ISIL used toxic chemicals as weapons – report
Aug 31, 2016, at 02:02 pm
New York, Aug 31 (Just Earth News): The Syrian Airforce and ISIL used toxic chemicals as weapons, according to a new report issued on Tuesday by an “independent, impartial, and objective†Leadership Panel, mandated by the UN Security Council.
Aug 31, 2016, at 02:00 pm
New York, Aug 31 (Just Earth News): The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has helped resettle more than 10,000 Syrian refugees to the United States during the year ending 30 September, without compromising the integrity and security of the processing mechanism.
UN envoy ‘greatly regrets’ intensification of fighting in Syria
Aug 31, 2016, at 01:58 pm
New York, Aug 31 (Just Earth News): Regretting the intensified fighting and grave humanitarian situation in Syria, the United Nations Special Envoy for the country, Staffan de Mistura, reiterates the need for a political solution to the conflict there, according to his spokesperson Jessy Chahine.
On World Day, UN chief highlights plight of family and friends of victims of enforced disappearances
Aug 31, 2016, at 01:57 pm
New York, Aug 31 (Just Earth News): Marking the 2016 International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Tuesday that the anguished women and men – parents, children, partners or friends – desperately seeking any information on their loved ones who have disappeared are also victims of enforced disappearances.
Aug 31, 2016, at 01:56 pm
New York, Aug 31 (Just Earth News): Noting that national policies often tend to treat women and girls with disabilities as helpless objects of pity or allow them to be treated in that manner, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has stressed that, instead, they need to be empowered and allowed to enjoy their fundamental rights and freedoms, as any other person.
UN chief voices concern over premature declarations on outcome of Gabon’s presidential elections
Aug 31, 2016, at 01:55 pm
New York, Aug 31 (Just Earth News): In telephone conversations on Tuesday with the Gabonese leaders vying for the country’s presidency, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon voiced his concerns over early calls on the polls results, outside of any official process.
In Myanmar, UN chief spotlights country’s challenging path towards multi-ethnic democracy
Aug 31, 2016, at 01:54 pm
New York, Aug 31 (Just Earth News): Following a meeting with Myanmar’s foreign minister, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday highlighted the great challenges her country faces on its path of reform towards a harmonious, multi-ethnic, multi-religious and prosperous democracy.
UNESCO chief condemns deaths of media workers in Brazil and Iraq
Aug 31, 2016, at 01:53 pm
New York, Aug 31 (Just Earth News): The head of the United Nations agency tasked with defending press freedom has spoken out against the murder of two media workers – Mauricio Campos Rosa, a journalist and newspaper owner in Brazil, and Ali Ghani, a broadcast technician in Iraq.
State aid: Ireland gave illegal tax benefits to Apple worth up to €13 billion
Aug 31, 2016, at 06:50 am
London, Aug 31 (IBNS): The European Commission on Tuesday said it has concluded that Ireland granted undue tax benefits of up to €13 billion to Apple.
Aug 31, 2016, at 03:57 am
New York, Aug 30 (Just Earth News): The United Nations health agency has issued new guidelines for the treatment of three common sexually transmitted infections (STIs) – chlamydia, gonorrhoea and syphilis – in response to the growing threat of antibiotic resistance.
Bolivia: UN human rights office condemns killing of vice minister and three miners
Aug 31, 2016, at 03:55 am
New York, Aug 30 (Just Earth News): The United Nations human rights office on Tuesday spoke out against the killing of a government minister by a group of striking miners last Thursday, as well as deadly clashes between police and people opposed to a new mining law.
UN food relief agency needs $48 million for school meals programme in West and Central Africa
Aug 31, 2016, at 03:53 am
New York, Aug 30 (Just Earth News): The United Nations food relief agency on Tuesday warned that it urgently needs $48 million for its school meals assistance programme in West and Central Africa to avoid having more than 1.3 million children across West and Central Africa risk missing out its school meals as widening financial constraints force it to reduce its reach in the region.
UN human rights office welcomes France’s court ruling to suspend seaside ban on burkini
Aug 31, 2016, at 03:50 am
New York, Aug 30 (Just Earth News): The United Nations human rights office on Tuesday welcomed last Friday’s decision by France’s highest administrative court to suspend the ban on “inappropriate†beachwear, which was adopted by a seaside town and had been widely interpreted as targeting the burkini and other forms of dress worn by Muslim women.
More than 300 reindeer killed in lightning in Norway
Aug 30, 2016, at 06:35 pm
Oslo, Aug 30 (IBNS) : More than 300 wild reindeer were recently killed by lightning at a Norwegian national park, National Geographic said quoting officials.
N Korea: Kim Jong-un orders public execution of two senior bureaucrats
Aug 30, 2016, at 06:30 pm
Pyongyang, Aug 30 (IBNS): North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ordered public execution of two senior bureaucrats with anti-aircraft guns, reports said.
Kyrgyzstan: Heavy explosion in Chinese Embassy kills one
Aug 30, 2016, at 04:46 pm
Bishkek, Aug 30 (IBNS): At least one person was killed in a suicide blast inside the Chinese Embassy compound in the southern part of Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan's capital, reports said.
Reverse ‘negative trajectory’ and restore hope for two-state solution, says UN Middle East envoy
Aug 30, 2016, at 01:41 pm
New York, Aug 30 (Just Earth News): The United Nations senior official coordinating efforts towards the peaceful resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on Monday reiterated a call for both sides to work towards a negotiated two-state solution which envisages the co-existence of Palestine and Israel as amicable neighbours.
UN cultural agency hails creation of world’s largest marine protected area
Aug 30, 2016, at 01:39 pm
New York, Aug 30 (Just Earth News): The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on Monday welcomed the establishment by US President Barack Obama of the largest nature reserve in the world, done through expanding a marine reserve in the state of Hawaii.
Aug 30, 2016, at 01:38 pm
New York, Aug 30 (Just Earth News): As World Water Week kick off on Monday, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has highlighted that the opportunity cost from a lack of access to water disproportionately falls on women and girls who collectively spend as much as 200 million hours – or more than 22,800 years – every day collecting this vital resource.
Yemen: UN humanitarian coordinator ‘deeply concerned’ by failures to protect civilians
Aug 30, 2016, at 01:35 pm
New York, Aug 30 (Just Earth News): A senior United Nations humanitarian official said on Monday he “is deeply concerned†by the devastating impact that the recent upsurge in fighting is having on civilians in Yemen and along the border the country shares with Saudi Arabia.
On World Day, top UN officials call for prompt entry into force of nuclear test ban treaty
Aug 30, 2016, at 01:34 pm
New York, Aug 30 (Just Earth News): Marking the International Day against Nuclear Tests, senior United Nations officials on Monday called for the entry into force of a multilateral treaty that bans all nuclear explosions, for both civilian and military purposes, in all environments.
Aug 30, 2016, at 01:33 pm
New York, Aug 30 (Just Earth News): Speaking at the end of a four-day visit to Nigeria, the United Nations expert on internally displaced persons (IPDs) has called on the country’s authorities and the international community to act urgently to ensure that the hundreds of thousands of displaced people in its northeast are protected.
UN agency stresses importance of investing in Colombia’s rural communities in wake of peace accord
Aug 30, 2016, at 01:32 pm
New York, Aug 30 (Just Earth News): A senior official at the United Nations rural development agency has stressed the importance of investing in Colombia’s small farmers and rural communities to ensure lasting peace in the country.
Sudan: Two UN agencies team up to help smallholder farmers, promote food security
Aug 30, 2016, at 01:31 pm
New York, Aug 30 (Just Earth News): Two United Nations agencies – the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the World Food Programme (WFP) – on Monday agreed to strengthen their cooperation in Sudan to help smallholder farmers improve their production and thus promote food security.
Upcoming peace conference an opportunity to transform Myanmar – UN rights expert
Aug 30, 2016, at 03:58 am
New York, Aug 29 (Just Earth News): Speaking ahead of a major peace conference in Myanmar, a United Nations independent expert has urged its participants to prioritise human rights issues in their discussions over the coming days, and to do more to ensure the process is fully inclusive.
‘Make human rights the priority in all conservation efforts’ – UN experts urge governments
Aug 30, 2016, at 03:52 am
New York, Aug 29 (Just Earth News): Ahead of the world’s largest forum for the adoption of conservation policies on protected areas, two United Nations experts on environment and indigenous peoples on Monday highlighted that effective and sustainable conservation requires respect for human rights.
UN rights expert condemns Iran’s ‘illegal’ execution of 12 people on drug-related charges
Aug 30, 2016, at 03:50 am
New York, Aug 29 (Just Earth News): The United Nations rights expert on the situation of human rights in Iran has expressed outrage over the execution of 12 people on drug-related charges, just days after he had publicly appealed to the Iranian authorities not to go ahead with the capital punishment.
UN chief congratulates Gabon for peaceful presidential poll, urges acceptance of results
Aug 30, 2016, at 03:48 am
New York, Aug 29 (Just Earth News): While congratulating the people and Government of Gabon for the holding of a peaceful and orderly presidential election on Saturday, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday also urged all Gabonese to accept the poll results.
Ban 'deeply concerned' over tensions in south-western Western Sahara
Aug 29, 2016, at 12:36 pm
New York, Aug 29 (Just Earth News): United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is deeply concerned over the tense situation that has developed in the narrow buffer strip in south-western Western Sahara between the Moroccan berm and the Mauritanian border as a result of changes in the status quo and the introduction of armed units from Morocco and the Polisario Front in close proximity to each other.
Indonesian priest injured inside church in suspected terror attack
Aug 28, 2016, at 07:59 pm
Medan, Indonesia, Aug 28 (IBNS): In a suspected case of terrorist attack, a priest in a church in Indonesia's Medan city was injured after being stabbed by knife-wielding man on Sunday, media reports said.