In crisis-torn Sahel, UN anti-drugs and crime agency helps bolster justice system
Mar 02, 2018, at 02:14 pm
New York, Mar 2 (JEN): Africa’s vast Sahel – plagued by humanitarian crises, armed conflict and terrorism – is now witnessing improvements in its criminal justice system thanks to a special programme by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), which assists Governments in the region to come together to fight corruption, and human and drug trafficking.
UN launches new global data collection tool to help reduce disaster, losses taking ‘a huge toll’
Mar 02, 2018, at 02:11 pm
New York, Mar 2 (JEN): The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) kick-offed on Thursday a historic new effort to collect comprehensive global data on disaster losses.
Mar 02, 2018, at 02:07 pm
New York, Mar 2 (JEN): With 4.4 million people in Ukraine soon to enter a fifth year of conflict, the international community has an important role to play in supporting conflict resolution and bringing about lasting peace – the only durable humanitarian solution for the affected population, a senior United Nations official has said.
On ‘Zero Discrimination Day’ UN urges tackling everyday biases; ask yourself ‘what if...?
Mar 02, 2018, at 02:00 pm
New York, Mar 2 (JEN): To mark Zero Discrimination Day, the United Nations agency coordinating the global effort to tackle HIV/AIDS is challenging people to recognize where everyday discrimination takes place and take action to stop it by asking themselves simple questions: ‘What if the person you bought your vegetables from was living with HIV? Would you buy tomatoes from him?’
Australia: Firearm amnesty yields over 55,000 weapons
Mar 01, 2018, at 06:15 pm
Melbourne, Mar 1 (IBNS): Over 55,000 firearms were handed over to authorities by civilians in Australia in last year's national amnesty, reports said.
Three people arrested over Leicester explosion: Police
Mar 01, 2018, at 03:19 pm
London, Mar 1 (IBNS): The police on Thursday said they have arrested three men on suspicion of manslaughter f ollowing an explosion in Leicester on Sunday.
UN Committee against Torture issues new guidelines on asylum seekers’ rights
Mar 01, 2018, at 02:56 pm
New York, Mar 1 (JEN): New guidelines developed by the United Nations Committee against Torture aim to help Governments avoid violating international human rights law, and to help asylum seekers avoid torture or other ill-treatment.
Mar 01, 2018, at 02:53 pm
New York, Mar 1 (JEN):Despite the Security Council’s demand for a ceasefire throughout Syria, violence continues to plague the war-ravaged country, worsening the humanitarian situation and the suffering of its people, top United Nations political and relief officials said Wednesday, calling on all parties to the conflict to “fulfil their obligations to end the fighting.”
Top UN aid official calls for urgent support for Chad
Mar 01, 2018, at 02:49 pm
New York, Mar 1 (JEN): A senior United Nations aid official has called for urgent funding to support 4.4 million people in Chad, including refugees, returnees and internally displaced persons, as well as the communities hosting them.
Libya: Tawerghans must not be held hostage to political crisis, UN says, urging safe return
Mar 01, 2018, at 02:43 pm
New York, Mar 1 (JEN): The United Nations and its partners in Libya have called for the voluntary, safe and dignified return of the population displaced from the northern town of Tawergha without a delay, expressing deep concern about the situation faced by these people living in makeshift-tented settlements in nearby areas.
UN chief condemns abduction of school girls in north-east Nigeria, calls for their immediate release
Mar 01, 2018, at 02:39 pm
New York, Mar 1 (JEN): United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has denounced the abduction of more than one hundred school girls by suspected Boko Haram insurgents during an attack on an educational institution in north-eastern Nigeria and called for their safe return to their families.
Syria: ‘Actions, not words’ needed to save lives in East Ghouta – UN humanitarian wing
Feb 28, 2018, at 03:29 pm
New York, Feb 28 (JEN): Following Sunday’s military operations in Syria’s east Ghouta, which claimed 30 lives, including women and children, reliable reports indicate that fighting continued and that shelling between East Ghouta and Damascus was ongoing in both directions, the United Nations humanitarian wing reported Tuesday.
With proposed reforms, UN closer than ever to a development system that is ‘fit for purpose’
Feb 28, 2018, at 03:26 pm
New York, Feb 28 (JEN): There are serious threats to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the United Nations, especially its development system, must be effectively reformed in order to be able to limit the impact of those threats Secretary-General António Guterres said on Tuesday.
Feb 28, 2018, at 03:23 pm
New York, Feb 28 (JEN): A destructive pattern of zero-sum politics has plunged Yemen into ever deeper poverty and desolation, the United Nations envoy for the war-torn country said Tuesday, emphasizing that while the UN and the wider international community can try to bring about a favourable environment for a path to peace, Yemeni decision-makers must stop the fighting and bloodshed.
UN peacekeeping chief wraps up three-day visit to Lebanon
Feb 28, 2018, at 03:19 pm
New York, Feb 28 (JEN): The head of United Nations Peacekeeping Operations has wrapped up a visit to Lebanon with a call on leaders from Lebanon as well as Israel to take advantage of the role UN peacekeeping can play in finding political solutions to conflict.
Dry, hot weather likely to reduce harvests in southern Africa, UN warns
Feb 28, 2018, at 03:16 pm
New York, Feb 28 (JEN): Southern Africa’s water sources and crops are under serious pressure as a long dry spell and high temperatures have taken hold in the region, the United Nations agriculture agency said Tuesday, warning that after record maize production in 2017, food shortages are set to worsen this year.
In Geneva, UN chief urges new push to free world from nuclear weapons
Feb 27, 2018, at 02:46 pm
New York, Feb 27 (JEN): Warning that nuclear weapons pose catastrophic risks to human life and the environment, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on Monday called on the international community to make a reinvigorated push to rid the world of such weapons.
Feb 27, 2018, at 02:41 pm
New York, Feb 27 (JEN): Urgent efforts are needed to keep the “hard-won” gains in Burundi from eroding, a senior United Nations official told the Security Council on Monday, noting that while the security situation is calm, there is still the potential for volatility as political tensions persist.
UN launches 24-hour hotline for staff to report sexual harassment
Feb 27, 2018, at 02:36 pm
New York, Feb 27 (JEN): The United Nations is launching a 24-hour helpline to enable staff to call out sexual harassment in the workplace, Secretary-General António Guterres said on Monday.
In Cameroon, UN deputy aid chief urges assistance as insecurity deepens in Lake Chad basin
Feb 27, 2018, at 02:33 pm
New York, Feb 27 (JEN): Amid growing insecurity in Lake Chad, a senior United Nations relief official on Monday said the international community and the Government of Cameroon must step up support for humanitarian action in the country, which is most affected by regionwide violence sparked by Boko Haram.
‘Hell on earth’ in Syria’s eastern Ghouta must end – UN chief Guterres
Feb 27, 2018, at 02:29 pm
New York, Feb 27 (JEN): Syria’s war-battered east Ghouta, the troubled Kasais region in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Northern Rakhine state in Myanmar, where violence has sparked a major exodus of Muslim Rohingyas, were all in the spotlight as the Geneva-based Human Rights Council opened its session today, with UN officials warning that these situations spiraled into crisis “because not enough was done, early and collectively, to prevent the rising horrors.”
Feb 27, 2018, at 02:25 pm
New York, Feb 27 (JEN): One year after famine was declared in parts of South Sudan, three United Nations agencies warned on Monday that without sustained humanitarian assistance and access, more than seven million people in the crisis-torn country– almost two-thirds of the population – could become severely food insecure in the coming months.
-1519701151.jpg "Syrian refugee children in Jordan deprived of the most basic needs – UNICEF")
Syrian refugee children in Jordan deprived of the most basic needs – UNICEF
Feb 27, 2018, at 02:12 pm
New York, Feb 27 (JEN): Eighty five per cent of Syrian refugee children in Jordan are living below the poverty line and a staggering 94 per cent of those under five in “multidimensional” poverty, meaning that they are deprived of some of the most basic needs such as education, health or protection, an assessment by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has revealed.
Nigeria: Government widens search for missing school girls
Feb 26, 2018, at 05:35 pm
Abuja, Feb 26 (IBNS): The Nigerian government has widened its search for the missing 110 girls who have been kidnapped by Boko Haram militants last week.
Spain's King Felipe faces protests in Catalonia
Feb 26, 2018, at 05:05 pm
Barcelona, Feb 26 (IBNS): Spain's King Felipe faced protests in his maiden visit to Catalonia since October 2017's failed separation saga.
Steve Jobs CV up for auction, set to fetch $50,000
Feb 26, 2018, at 12:43 am
Washington, Feb 25 (IBNS): Apple co-founder Steve Jobs' job application, which was written by him 45 years ago, will go up for auction next month.
North Korea willing to hold talks with U.S?
Feb 25, 2018, at 10:55 pm
Seoul, Feb 25 (IBNS): A ranking North Korean official told South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Sunday that his nation is willing to hold talks with the United States, media reports said.
UN chief condemns Mogadishu attacks, reiterates support in fight against terrorism
Feb 25, 2018, at 03:02 pm
New York, Feb 25 (JEN): Secretary-General Antonio Guterres strongly condemned the 23 February attacks in Mogadishu, Somalia, which claimed the lives of many civilians and injured numerous others.
Asia-Pacific countries pledge women, girl’s empowerment at high-level UN forum
Feb 25, 2018, at 02:59 pm
New York, Feb 25 (JEN): At a high-level United Nations regional consultation in Bangkok, senior government representatives from Asia and the Pacific committed to empower rural women and girls, to lift their standard of living and combat structural barriers impacting their human rights.
Somalia: Two blasts in Mogadishu kills 18
Feb 24, 2018, at 03:20 pm
Mogadishu, Feb 24 (IBNS): Two blasts rocked Somalian capital Mogadishu on Friday, killing at least 18 people, media reports said.