G20 leaders pose for family photo as Summit begins in Japan's Osaka
Jun 28, 2019, at 10:15 am
Osaka, June 28 (Sputnik/UNI) Leaders of the Group of Twenty (G20) posed in front of cameras for a family photo during a welcoming ceremony of the G20 summit in Japan's second largest city of Osaka on Friday.
Madagascar villagers learn dangers of outdoor defecation
Jun 28, 2019, at 10:05 am
New York, June 28 (IBNS): The discussion with villagers starts early in the morning. Volunteers are invited to draw a map of their village on the ground with chalk. One woman’s sketch shows 17 families – a total of 65 people – living in 11 red clay houses. She explains they share the three latrines that have been there for some time.
Jun 28, 2019, at 09:59 am
New York, June 28 (IBNS): The heads of 11 global humanitarian organizations warned on Thursday that the embattled rebel-held province of Idlib in Syria, stands on the brink of disaster, with three million civilian lives at risk, including one million children.
After Rio Grande tragedy, UNICEF chief highlights ‘dire’ detention centres on US-Mexico border
Jun 28, 2019, at 09:51 am
New York, June 28 (IBNS): The shocking image of a drowned Central American migrant and his infant daughter on the banks of the river dividing Mexico and the United States, continues to evoke strong reactions, the latest from the head of the UN Children’s Fund.
Khashoggi's fiancee says Washington's 'nothing happened' attitude after murder shameful
Jun 27, 2019, at 01:45 pm
Geneva, Jun 27 (Sputnik): Hatice Cengiz, the fiance of slain Saudi-born journalist Jamal Khashoggi, told Sputnik that US State Secretary Mike Pompeo's behaviour during his visit to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, where he failed to make any mention of the reporter's high-profile murder as though it never happened, was truly disgraceful and that US citizens would likely want to hold Washington accountable for such inaction.
Two-thirds of global drug deaths now from opioids: UN drugs report
Jun 27, 2019, at 08:49 am
New York, June 27 (IBNS): Opioids, which include both heroin and legal pain relievers, were responsible for around two-thirds of drug-related deaths in 2017, a new UN report revealed on Wednesday. The number for global opioid users contained within the World Drug Report, some 585,000 people, is more than double the previous estimate.
Jun 26, 2019, at 10:13 am
New York, June 26 (IBNS): The peace dividend from last year’s ceasefire in South Sudan is palpable, but political elites need to follow the example set by local communities on the ground if lasting progress is to be achieved, said the top UN official in the country on Tuesday.
Syria: Ease suffering, save lives, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator tells Security Council
Jun 26, 2019, at 10:08 am
New York, June 26 (IBNS): “Week after week, month after month, year after year”, the Security Council has been briefed on Syria’s humanitarian suffering, and on Tuesday, the UN’s Emergency Relief Coordinator once again described “the latest horror facing civilians”, pleading for greater humanitarian access.
Jun 26, 2019, at 10:02 am
New York, June 26 (IBNS): The Security Council on Monday approved a resolution to create a UN “Integrated Office” in Haiti, designed to support the country’s government in strengthening political stability and good governance. The Office, named BINUH, will replace the 15-year long peacekeeping mission, MINUJUSTH, on October 16.
World faces ‘climate apartheid’ risk, 120 more million in poverty: UN expert
Jun 26, 2019, at 09:57 am
New York, June 26 (IBNS): Climate change “threatens to undo the last 50 years” of development, global health and poverty reduction, a United Nations expert said on Tuesday, citing the risk of a new era of “climate apartheid” where the rich buy their way out of rising heat and hunger.
Jun 26, 2019, at 09:53 am
New York, June 26 (IBNS): The work of the UN body responsible for assisting Palestine refugees, UNRWA, which has allowed millions of children to receive an education that promotes UN values of human rights and tolerance, as well as democracy and conflict resolution, should be viewed “not only as our common responsibility, but as our common success”, said Secretary-General António Guterres on Tuesday.
Moratorium call on surveillance technology to end ‘free-for-all’ abuses: UN expert
Jun 26, 2019, at 09:49 am
New York, June 26 (IBNS): Surveillance technology should be banned immediately until “effective” national or international controls are put in place to lessen its harmful impact, a UN-appointed independent rights expert said on Tuesday.
New UN report on families in a changing world puts ‘women’s rights at their core’
Jun 26, 2019, at 09:32 am
New York, June 26 (IBNS): While women’s rights have advanced over the decades, gender inequalities and other fundamental human rights violations within families persist, according to a flagship study released on Tuesday, from the UN’s gender empowerment agency.
No-confidence motion against Japanese PM Abe's Cabinet voted down
Jun 25, 2019, at 05:36 pm
Tokyo, Jun 25 (Xinhua/UNI) A no-confidence motion against the Cabinet of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was voted down Tuesday in the lower house, with the ruling bloc fending off opposition camp criticism about the government's handling of a pension report before an upper house election.
Houthi sniper operations leave 11 Yemeni soldiers killed
Jun 25, 2019, at 05:35 pm
Aden, Yemen, Jun 25 (Xinhua/UNI) Yemen's Houthi rebel group announced Tuesday that 11 soldiers of the pro-government forces were killed during sniper operations in the country's northeastern province of Jawf.
‘Wanton destruction’ in Sudan’s Darfur region, ‘blatant violation’ of international law
Jun 25, 2019, at 10:20 am
New York, June 25 (IBNS): The looting and destruction of UN food relief agency premises and property in Sudan, has prompted the UN-African Union mission in Darfur (UNAMID) and UN Country Team, to condemn the assault as a “blatant violation of international humanitarian law”.
Don’t take African generosity towards refugees for granted, says UN refugee chief
Jun 25, 2019, at 10:15 am
New York, June 25 (IBNS): The international community must not take the generosity of Africans for granted, UN refugee chief, Filippo Grandi, told an informal meeting of Security Council members at UN Headquarters in New York on Monday.
Jun 25, 2019, at 10:09 am
New York, June 25 (IBNS): With “no media access” in parts of the country and “serious restrictions” on humanitarian organizations, the United Nations expert on the situation of human rights in Myanmar urged the Government on Monday to “reverse its decision” and lift the mobile internet ban.
Statelessness for terrorists’ families, never an acceptable option, urges UN rights chief
Jun 25, 2019, at 10:04 am
New York, June 25 (IBNS): Thousands of suspected foreign ISIL terrorist fighters and their families who are being held in detention in Syria and Iraq, must be treated fairly by their captors and taken back by their home countries, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said on Monday.
New Zealanders spend 2.77 bln USD online last year
Jun 24, 2019, at 05:17 pm
Wellington, Jun 24 (Xinhua) New Zealanders spent 2.77 billion US dollars online last year, which saw a 16 percent increase comparing to 2.38 billion dollars recorded one year earlier, said New Zealand Post on Monday.
Police kill knife attacker in Russia’s Chechnya
Jun 24, 2019, at 09:56 am
Grozny, June 24 (Sputnik/UNI) A man was shot dead in the main city of Russia’s Chechnya after stabbing two officers, the regional interior ministry told Sputnik. A traffic police officer stopped the suspect who was driving a Hyundai in the center of Grozny at 6:05 p.m. local time and asked for his ID.
Yemen's Houthi rebels claim drone attacks on 2 Saudi airports
Jun 24, 2019, at 09:53 am
Sanaa, June 24 (Xinhua/UNI) Yemen's Houthi rebels said that they launched multiple drone strikes on two Saudi regional airports on Sunday, the group's al-Masirah TV reported.
Two wounded in motorcycle explosion in Syria's Qamishli
Jun 24, 2019, at 09:51 am
Damascus, Jun 24 (Xinhua/UNI) At least two people were wounded on Sunday by the explosion of a motorcycle in Syria's northeastern city of Qamishli, state news agency SANA reported.
One killed, 8 wounded in Saudi's Abha airport attack
Jun 24, 2019, at 09:47 am
Riyadh, June 24 (Xinhua/UNI) At least one person was killed and eight others injured in an attack that targeted the Abha International Airport in the southern province of Saudi Arabia on Sunday, Al Arabiya TV reported.
Assassinations in Ethiopia amidst regional ‘coup’ attempt, condemned by UN chief
Jun 24, 2019, at 09:42 am
New York, June 24 (IBNS): The assassination of the chief of staff of the Ethiopian army and killing of a regional governor in what the Government has described as a regional coup attempt, has been condemned by the UN Secretary-General.
Jun 24, 2019, at 09:36 am
New York, June 24 (IBNS): Older generations have “failed to respond properly” to the climate emergency said the UN chief on Sunday, while the young are “stepping up to the challenge” and taking the lead to slow the destructive pace of global warming.
Ethiopian chief of staff killed as result of coup attempt
Jun 23, 2019, at 07:01 pm
Moscow, June 23 (Sputnik/UNI) Ethiopian Chief of Staff, Gen. Seare Mekonnen, was killed during a coup attempt in Addis Ababa, local media reported on Saturday citing Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.
Iran says to file legal action against US over drone issue
Jun 23, 2019, at 06:58 pm
Tehran, Jun 23 (Xinhua/UNI) Iran will take legal action against the United States for "violating the country's airspace" by its drone, Tasnim news agency quoted an Iranian presidential official as saying on Sunday.
Ensure that widows are ‘not left out or left behind’, UN chief urges on International Day
Jun 23, 2019, at 03:46 pm
New York, June 23 (IBNS): On International Widow’s Day, marked on Sunday, UN Secretary-General António Guterres is asking everyone to reflect on the “economic hardship and increased vulnerability” of these bereaved women and ensure “they are not left out or left behind”.
Jun 23, 2019, at 03:39 pm
New York, June 23 (IBNS): Speaking at the end of the first-ever official mission to Venezuela by a UN human rights chief, Michelle Bachelet called on the Government to release all those detained for peacefully protesting and announced that a team from her office would remain in Caracas to monitor the human rights situation.