Madagascar: UN Secretary-General reaffirms support for electoral process

Sep 09, 2018, at 04:16 pm

New York, Sept 9 (IBNS): The Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, has welcomed the appointment on 7 September of Rivo Rakotovao, President of the Madagascar Senate, as acting president of the country.

Brazil election: Candidate Jair Bolsonaro not returning to campaign after being stabbed

Sep 08, 2018, at 12:12 pm

Brasilia, Sept 8 (IBNS): Brazilian presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro will not return to campaign after he was stabbed during a rally on Thursday, his family has confirmed.

144 years on, Universal Postal Union meets to define its 21st Century role

Sep 08, 2018, at 08:45 am

New York, Sept 8 (IBNS):The Universal Postal Union (UPU), one of the world’s oldest international organizations, has met in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa to improve its working practices and define its role in the modern world.

UN police investigating killing of displaced people in Central African Republic

Sep 08, 2018, at 08:41 am

New York, Sept 8 (IBNS): Perpetrators behind the killing of a number of people displaced by conflict in the Central African Republic (CAR) must be brought to justice, the UN peacekeeping operation in the country said on Friday.

Halt ‘imminent’ executions of Kurdish prisoners, UN experts urge Iran

Sep 08, 2018, at 08:34 am

New York, Sept 8 (IBNS): Two independent United Nations human rights experts have called on the Iranian Government to halt the execution of three prisoners from the Kurdish community, amid concerns that they did not receive a fair trial and allegations that they were tortured while in detention.

‘Sanctity of human civilian life’ in Idlib must win out, urges UN Syria Envoy

Sep 08, 2018, at 08:31 am

New York, Sept 8 (IBNS): With the ingredients for a “perfect storm” brewing in the Syrian province of Idlib, the international community cannot allow civilians there to succumb to such a fate, the UN Envoy for the country told the Security Council on Friday.

‘Children’s crisis’ in South Sudan must be addressed, says top UN official calling for real accountability

Sep 08, 2018, at 08:26 am

New York, Sept 8 (IBNS): Virginia Gamba, the United Nations Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, on Friday called for much greater accountability and effort, to prevent grave violations against children across the world’s youngest nation, South Sudan.

WFP and UNICEF prepare for the worst in Syria’s Idlib, as insecurity mars start of another school year

Sep 08, 2018, at 08:21 am

New York, Sept 8 (IBNS): Emergency food supplies for hundreds of thousands of people in Syria’s Idlib are “ready for distribution” in the event of mass displacement caused by a full-scale military offensive on the last opposition-held region, the World Food Programme (WFP) said on Friday.

Brazilian presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro stabbed during election campaign

Sep 07, 2018, at 11:57 am

Belem, Sept 7 (IBNS): Brazilian presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro was stabbed during a campaign rally in southeastern Brazil on Thursday, media reports said.

British Airways probes customer data theft

Sep 07, 2018, at 09:53 am

London, Sept 7 (IBNS): Airlines major  British Airways on Thursday announced it is probing a customer data theft from its website and app.

Security Council must work towards ‘common approach’ as investigations continue into alleged Syria chemical attack

Sep 07, 2018, at 09:15 am

New York, Sept 7 (IBNS): Experts continue to gather information related to an alleged chemical weapons attack in Douma, Syria, earlier this year, the UN’s nuclear disarmament chief told the Security Council on Thursday.

Russian operatives carried out Salisbury chemical attack alleges UK; accusations part of ‘post-truth world’ asserts Moscow

Sep 07, 2018, at 09:11 am

New York, Sept 7 (IBNS): The United Kingdom and Russia traded a volley of words at the United Nations Security Council on Thursday, with the former laying out information which, it alleges, clearly places two Russian military intelligence operatives behind the deadly nerve-agent attack in the English city of Salisbury on 4 March.

Haiti’s security situation remains ‘fragile’: UN representative

Sep 07, 2018, at 09:09 am

New York, Sept 7 (IBNS): Haitian authorities must do more to prepare the Caribbean island nation for the planned withdrawal of the country’s UN peacekeeping mission, Bintou Keita, Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, told the Security Council on Thursday.

Caribbean hurricane season ‘will be different this time’

Sep 07, 2018, at 09:06 am

New York, Sept 7 (IBNS): In September 2017 two category five hurricanes swept across the Caribbean, devastating island communities in the region.  In the 2nd part of this special report marking the one year anniversary of hurricanes Irma and Maria hitting the Caribbean, UN News looks at how the UN has responded, helping communities to get back on their feet, and preparing them for the inevitability of more damaging hurricanes in the future.

UN chief ‘looks forward’ to progress on denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula

Sep 07, 2018, at 09:02 am

New York, Sept 6 (IBNS): United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has welcomed the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un’s commitment on Wednesday, to continue working towards the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

UN Envoy working to ‘overcome obstacles’ barring resumption of Yemen peace talks

Sep 07, 2018, at 08:59 am

New York, Sept 7 (IBNS): The United Nations Special Envoy for Yemen met Government representatives on Thursday at the start of what were due to be the first peace talks involving both warring parties to be held in two years, vowing to “overcome obstacles” which have so far prevented the Houthi rebel delegation from showing up.

Violence at school an ‘unforgettable lesson’ faced by more than half the world’s children: UNICEF

Sep 07, 2018, at 08:57 am

New York, Sept 7 (IBNS): Around 150 million school children aged 13-15 are the victims of violence from their peers, says a new report from the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF.

Verdict against South Sudan soldiers ‘finally delivers justice’ – UN Mission

Sep 07, 2018, at 08:54 am

New York, Sept 7 (IBNS): The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) has applauded the verdict by a military court on Thursday, that found ten government soldiers guilty of murder, rape and other crimes against civilians and journalists at a hotel in the capital Juba, just over two years ago.

‘Legally binding’ nuclear-test ban essential to prevent ‘catastrophic impact’ says UN chief

Sep 07, 2018, at 08:52 am

New York, Sept 7 (IBNS):  On the annual observance of the International Day Against Nuclear Tests, Secretary-General António Guterres has highlighted the “inextricable connection” between testing and eliminating nuclear weapons across the world.

UN hails ‘ground-breaking’ Supreme Court ruling to decriminalize gay sex in India

Sep 07, 2018, at 08:48 am

New York, Sept 7 (IBNS): A landmark ruling in India that decriminalizes gay sex has been welcomed as a “ground-breaking decision” by the UN agency leading the fight against HIV/AIDS.

Libya has ‘lurched from one emergency to another,’ high-level UN official tells Security Council

Sep 06, 2018, at 09:38 am

New York, Sept 6 (IBNS): The status quo in Libya is “untenable,” Ghassan Salamé, Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) told the Security Council on Wednesday.

Peace must be built ‘block after block’ UN General Assembly President tells key forum

Sep 06, 2018, at 09:35 am

New York, Sept 6 (IBNS): Under the theme of charting “A Credible Pathway to Sustaining Peace,” Miroslav Lajčák, President of the 72nd General Assembly, convened this year’s one-day High-level Forum for Member States and others on Wednesday, to further promote a global culture of peace. 

UN media seminar on peace in the Middle East, highlights ‘power of words over weapons’

Sep 06, 2018, at 09:29 am

New York, Sept 6 (IBNS): Engaging in debate over how best to advance peace in the Middle East and resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is “a welcome reminder of the power of words over weapons,” said United Nations chief António Guterres on Wednesday.

Major UN push for peace to end Yemen’s ‘hot war’ begins in Geneva

Sep 06, 2018, at 09:26 am

New York, Sept 6 (IBNS): Efforts are under way to bring a “flickering signal of hope” to war-weary civilians in Yemen with UN-organised consultations between the Government and the Houthi opposition in Geneva set to begin, the UN’s Special Envoy Martin Griffiths, said on Wednesday.

Security Council takes up Nicaragua crisis, with some reservations

Sep 06, 2018, at 09:23 am

New York, Sept 6 (IBNS): Political turmoil in Nicaragua could pose a threat to the security of countries across Central America, the UN Security Council heard on Wednesday.

In the eye of the Caribbean storm: one year on from Irma and Maria

Sep 06, 2018, at 09:20 am

New York, Sept 6 (IBNS): “It was angry. That's what it sounded like to me. When the roof came off, there were these horrible screeches, this horrible noise. It was devastating, and we all had to run”.

Burundi: ‘They’re hiding the bodies’ after summary executions, say UN investigators

Sep 06, 2018, at 09:16 am

New York, Sept 6 (IBNS): Serious rights violations are continuing in Burundi, including summary executions and hate speech at the highest level of government, UN-appointed investigators said on Wednesday.

Guatemala bars UN anti-corruption investigator from re-entering country

Sep 06, 2018, at 09:13 am

New York, Sept 6 (IBNS): Guatemalan authorities informed United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on Tuesday that they have barred Commissioner Ivan Velasquez, of the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), from re-entering the country.

Iraq milestone: Some four million people return home, displacement drops to four-year low

Sep 06, 2018, at 08:44 am

New York, Sept 6 (IBNS): For the first time in nearly four years, the number of displaced Iraqis has fallen below two million, according to a new report released on Tuesday by the United Nations migration agency.

UN Chief commends Mauritania for peaceful election process

Sep 06, 2018, at 08:41 am

New York, Sept 6 (IBNS): UN Secretary-General Antonió Gutteres has welcomed the “peaceful conduct” of the Mauritanian elections that took place on 1 September.