‘UN stands with the people of Lebanon’, declares Guterres
Dec 18, 2021, at 04:21 pm
New York: Elections next year will be key to a better future for Lebanon, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Friday ahead of an official visit to the country later this weekend.
‘Solidarity with migrants has never been more urgent’: Guterres
Dec 18, 2021, at 04:17 pm
New York: In a message just ahead of International Migrants Day, celebrated on Saturday, the United Nations Secretary-General said that expressing solidarity with migrants on the move, “has never been more urgent.”
UN rights office urges Viet Nam to release jailed activists
Dec 18, 2021, at 04:14 pm
New York: Authorities in Viet Nam must immediately release four activists jailed this week for spreading anti-State propaganda, the UN human rights office, OHCHR, said on Friday.
Cameroon: Intercommunal clashes continue to displace thousands
Dec 18, 2021, at 04:10 pm
New York: Intercommunal clashes that erupted in Cameroon’s Far North region over the past two weeks have driven at least 100,000 people from their homes, although the actual number may be much higher, UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, said on Friday.
Omicron: School closures must be ‘avoided whenever possible’
Dec 18, 2021, at 04:07 pm
New York: COVID-19 cases are spiking all over the world, but the Executive Director of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Friday that despite the rise of the highly transmissible Omicron variant “nationwide school closures should be avoided whenever possible.”
Afghanistan: Religious scholar hurt as blast targets his vehicle in Kabul
Dec 18, 2021, at 03:48 am
Kabul: A blast targeted the vehicle of a religious scholar in Afghanistan's Kabul city and left him injured on Friday.
Pakistan: 71 inmates in Karachi prison found infected with hepatitis
Dec 18, 2021, at 12:01 am
Karachi: A large number of inmates in Pakistan's Malir district jail have been found infected with hepatitis B and hepatitis C during a screening camp, media reports said on Friday.
Pakistan: Karachi reports second Omicron case, patient escapes quarantine centre
Dec 17, 2021, at 11:39 pm
Karachi: Pakistan city of Karachi has recorded its second case of an Omicron infected patient, media reports said on Friday.
Japan: Fire breaks out in Osaka building, 24 dead
Dec 17, 2021, at 11:33 pm
Osaka: A fire broke out at a building in the Japanese city of Osaka which left at least 24 people dead, media reports said.
Women leaders examine how to end ‘invisible emergency’ of gender-based violence
Dec 17, 2021, at 11:15 pm
New York: Whether at home, at work, in the streets or even online, women and girls across the world remain highly vulnerable to gender-based violence, something which the COVID-19 pandemic has only magnified, six senior UN women leaders said on Thursday.
Dec 17, 2021, at 11:07 pm
Four UN independent human rights experts called on Thursday for Morocco to reverse its decision to extradite a Uyghur Muslim to China as his return would place him under threat of serious human rights violations.
Afghanistan: Kabul residents facing trouble with rising food, fuel prices
Dec 17, 2021, at 09:17 pm
Kabul/IBNS: A number of people from Kabul city have expressed concerns over the rising prices of food and fuel and other basic items amid the winter's cold weather.
Pakistan: MQM-P holds women-only demonstration against Sindh Local Government (Amendment) Bill, 2021
Dec 17, 2021, at 09:09 pm
Karachi, Pakistan: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) on Wednesday staged a women-only demonstration to protest against Sindh Local Government (Amendment) Bill, 2021 which was recently passed by the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) provincial government.
Pakistan: Police round up 33 more suspects in Silakot lynching case
Dec 17, 2021, at 09:05 pm
Pakistan police have arrested 33 people, who are the primary suspects, in the lynching of a Sri Lankan national in Sialkot city, media reports said on Friday.
Dec 17, 2021, at 09:03 pm
Four UN independent human rights experts called on Thursday for Morocco to reverse its decision to extradite a Uyghur Muslim to China as his return would place him under threat of serious human rights violations.
UN chief: ‘We cannot defeat a pandemic in an uncoordinated way’
Dec 17, 2021, at 08:50 pm
Arguing that the world “cannot defeat a pandemic in an uncoordinated way”, the UN Secretary-General said on Thursday that countries “must take concrete action in the coming days” to vaccinate 40 per cent of the world’s population by the end of the year.
Pak govt has no right to pardon those who killed APS School children: Asif Ali Zardari
Dec 17, 2021, at 07:51 pm
Islamabad/IBNS: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) co-chairman and former Pak president Asif Ali Zardari expressed concerns over the non-implementation of the National Action Plan (NAP) against terrorism and said the state had no right or authority to pardon the killers of the innocent children who had died in 2014 Peshwar school massacre.
Bike rallies by exiled Tibetans call for boycott of 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics
Dec 17, 2021, at 07:45 pm
Dharamshala/IBNS: Several long-distance rallies were held in different parts of India in recent times to campaign and call for the boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing to protest against human rights abuse in China.
Migrant workers still at great risk despite key role in global economy
Dec 17, 2021, at 04:57 pm
New York: The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the key role that migrant workers play in the global economy, as well as the “terrible risks” that they are forced to take, to find work.
Joe Biden says Omicron variant spreading in US, 'going to increase'
Dec 17, 2021, at 02:51 pm
Washington/UNI/Sputnik: US President Joe Biden warned on Thursday that the coronavirus Omicron variant has begun spreading in the United States.
Chinese govt cracks down further on religious groups
Dec 16, 2021, at 11:59 pm
Taipei, Taiwan: The Chinese authorities have been pushing forward with their planned move to amend Chinese Communist Party (CCP) doctrine on religious policy as it tightens control on religious groups of all sorts throughout the country.
Pakistan: Minorities seek inclusion in policymaking process
Dec 16, 2021, at 11:47 pm
Peshawar, Pakistan/IBNS: Speakers participating in a consultative meeting on the rights of minority groups on Monday stressed the need for taking non-Muslims on board in the legislative and policy-making process, media reports said.
Pakistan govt spikes tariffs on water and power, triggers protest
Dec 16, 2021, at 11:14 pm
Islamabad/IBNS: Amid deepening economic crisis, the Imran Khan-led PTI government in Pakistan is adding woes for its citizens as tariffs on water and power were hiked recently, according to media reports.
Rights defenders under attack in Asia – UN experts
Dec 16, 2021, at 10:54 pm
New York: Reprisals against human rights defenders were in the spotlight on Wednesday as UN independent experts documented instances of abuse in Indonesia and Pakistan.
UN rights office urges Colombia to reform policing of protests
Dec 16, 2021, at 10:46 pm
New York: Colombia must urgently reform how it polices protests in the wake of demonstrations earlier this year in which several people were killed or injured, the UN human rights office, OHCHR, said in a report published on Wednesday.
COVID-19 leads to over 50 million more hungry people in Asia-Pacific
Dec 16, 2021, at 10:41 pm
New York: COVID-19 led to rising food insecurity for around 54 million people living in the vast Asia-Pacific region during 2020, according to a joint UN agency report published on Wednesday.
Fundamental freedoms squeezed in Ukraine, Human Rights Council hears
Dec 16, 2021, at 08:54 pm
New York: The UN Human Rights Council heard on Wednesday that fundamental freedoms in Ukraine have been squeezed in Government-controlled areas, as well as across the contact line in eastern territories, held by mainly pro-Russian separatists.
Pakistan: Doctors, nurses baton-charged in Karachi, 23 taken to custody briefly
Dec 16, 2021, at 12:21 am
Karachi/IBNS: Police in the Pakistani city of Karachi on Monday baton-charged protesting doctors and nurses and also prevented them from marching towards the Chief Minister's House.
Counterfeit Afghani bills increasing in Afghanistan market: Merchants
Dec 16, 2021, at 12:15 am
Kabul: Shopkeepers in Afghanistan capital Kabul are complaining that counterfeit currency is spreading in the markets as the value of Afghani is sharply declining against the US dollar.
Nanjing Massacre: Hong Kong school faces backlash after students shown graphic footage
Dec 16, 2021, at 12:00 am
Hong Kong: A primary school in Hong Kong has apologized after students were left crying following teachers' attempt to show them unsettling video footage of the Nanjing massacre ahead of its 84th anniversary on Monday, according to media reports.