Feb 20, 2017, at 05:30 am
New York, Feb 20 (Just Earth News): With military operations to retake western Mosul starting, United Nations humanitarian agencies in Iraq are rushing to prepare for the humanitarian impact of the fighting amid grave concerns that tens of thousands of families are at extreme risks.
Feb 19, 2017, at 08:14 am
New York, Feb 19 (Just Earth News): Highlighting the complex and interlinked challenges confronting the global community that also compound the suffering of the most vulnerable, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres called for a boost in preventive diplomacy and mediation efforts, as well as for a strategy to address root causes of such conflicts in the world.
Venezuela again delays withdrawal of 100 bolivar notes
Feb 18, 2017, at 09:15 pm
Caracas, Feb 18 (IBNS): Venezuela, for the second time, decided to delay the withdrawal of its 100 bolivar banknotes from circulation, according to media reports on Saturday.
A decade on, UN urges all Governments to endorse convention on enforced disappearance
Feb 18, 2017, at 05:44 pm
New York, Feb 18 (Just Earth News): Marking the tenth anniversary of an historic treaty to keep people from suffering enforced disappearance or secret detentions, the United Nations on Friday urged all Governments that have not done so to ratify it, as the world body honoured victims separated from their loved ones.
Atrocities will end in South Sudan only when perpetrators 'face consequences' – UN rights official
Feb 18, 2017, at 05:42 pm
New York, Feb 18 (Just Earth News): A senior United Nations human rights official on Friday called for holding accountable those committing atrocity crimes in conflict-torn South Sudan.
Central African Republic: UN mission reinforces presence in restive Bambari
Feb 18, 2017, at 05:34 pm
New York, Feb 18 (Just Earth News): Amid ongoing rebel activity in and around Bambari in strife-torn Central African Republic, the United Nations mission – known as MINUSCA – said on Friday that it has reinforced its presence in the city with the arrival of additional troops, including a quick reaction unit and Special Forces.
One million Ukrainian children now need aid as number doubles over past year – UNICEF
Feb 18, 2017, at 05:29 pm
New York, Feb 18 (Just Earth News): As the volatile conflict in eastern Ukraine enters its fourth year, one million children are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance – nearly double the number this time last year, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) reported on Friday.
Feb 18, 2017, at 05:23 pm
New York, Feb 18 (Just Earth News): Despite progress in the realization of children’s rights, as set out in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which entered into force on 2 September 1990, too many commitments remain unfulfilled. This is particularly true for children deprived of liberty, who often remain invisible and forgotten.
'No time to lose' as humanitarian catastrophe looms in Somalia – UN agencies
Feb 18, 2017, at 05:22 pm
New York, Feb 18 (Just Earth News): Amid worsening of an already devastating drought in Somalia, United Nations agencies have underlined that only a massive and immediate scale-up of humanitarian assistance can help the country avoid falling into another catastrophe.
Global heat melts Arctic and Antarctic sea ice to record lows – UN agency
Feb 18, 2017, at 05:15 pm
New York, Feb 18 (Just Earth News): It should be winter on the Arctic pole – the northern most point in the world – but the equivalent of heatwaves have passed over the region this season melting the sea ice volume to a record low in January, the United Nations meteorological agency said.
Britain partners with Tiecon Chandigarh
Feb 17, 2017, at 06:45 pm
London, Feb 17 (IBNS): British Deputy High Commissioner Chandigarh David Lelliott and Deputy Trade and Investment Commissioner Amo Kalar from the British High Commission in New Delhi will be among the high-profile speakers for the second ‘TiECON Chandigarh’ to be held on Feb 17-18.
PODCAST: The power of bearing witness – how rape became an ‘act of genocide’
Feb 16, 2017, at 03:33 pm
New York, Feb 16 (Just Earth News): Shame and stigma prevent many rape survivors in conflict zones from reporting the horrific abuses they endure at the hands of war but the criminals whose sole aim in carrying out these horrific deeds is to torture and humiliate their enemy.
UN kicks off preparations for upcoming summit on oceans, launches voluntary commitment website
Feb 16, 2017, at 03:32 pm
New York, Feb 16 (Just Earth News): The world dumps the equivalent of one garbage truck of plastic into the ocean every minute, the United Nations heard on Wednesday at the start of a two-day meeting to prepare for this June's Ocean Conference that will aim to help safeguard the planet's oceans and help them recover from human-induced proble
Feb 16, 2017, at 03:30 pm
New York, Feb 16 (Just Earth News): Despite improving security situation in Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic (CAR), concerns remain in other parts of the country, the top United Nations peacekeeping official told the Security Council on Wednesday, underlining the need for continued international attention.
In Cairo, UN chief Guterres underscores political solutions to ease tensions in regional hotspots
Feb 16, 2017, at 03:29 pm
New York, Feb 13 (Just Earth News): United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on Wednesday reiterated his commitment to fighting terrorism but underlined also the importance of political solutions to the crises in Syria and the wider region, and put his weight behind the intra-Syrian negotiations expected to begin later this month in Geneva.
Innovative, coordinated response helps end yellow fever outbreak in Angola, DR Congo – UN agency
Feb 16, 2017, at 03:27 pm
New York, Feb 16 (Just Earth News): With concerted response, Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have successfully controlled one of the world’s largest and most challenging outbreaks of yellow fever, the United Nations health agency announced.
Teleworking may seem easier, but it could disrupt your work-life balance – UN reports
Feb 16, 2017, at 03:03 pm
New York, Feb 16 (Just Earth News): Using smartphones, laptops and other technology to work from home can be a blessing – it does away with rush hour traffic, for example – but it also diminishes personal space and contact with colleagues, according to a new study released on Wednesday by the United Nations labour agency and a private sector partner, which recommends how to address these work-life disparities.
Feb 16, 2017, at 03:01 pm
New York, Feb 13 (Just Earth News): Urging action for greater freedoms, stronger respect and more compassion, the United Nations human rights arm on Wednesday launched a $253 million appeal – its largest to date – to bolster its 2017 work programme to protect and advance the rights of people around the world.
UN emergency food agency to feed some 220,000 people in conflict-affected Ukraine
Feb 16, 2017, at 03:00 pm
New York, Feb 13 (Just Earth News): Access to food is becoming harder in eastern Ukraine as prices are outpacing incomes, the United Nations emergency food agency on Wednesday said, warning that without longer-term intervention, more people will need humanitarian aid in the months and years to come.
Julian Assange calls Pamela Anderson ' attractive personality'
Feb 16, 2017, at 02:57 pm
Los Angeles, Feb 16 (IBNS): Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has said actress Pamela Anderson has an attractive personality.
Kim Jong-nam: Post-mortem finished
Feb 16, 2017, at 02:36 pm
Seoul, Feb 16 (IBNS): The post-mortem examination of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's brother Kim Jong-nam has been completed, media reports said on Thursday.
Nine countries join UN-supported network to halve maternal, newborn deaths in clinics
Feb 15, 2017, at 07:00 pm
New York, Feb 15 (Just Earth News): A health network is being created, with support of United Nations agencies, in nine countries – Bangladesh, Cote d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Malawi, Nigeria, Tanzania and Uganda – whose Governments have pledged to halve maternal and newborn deaths in health facilities by 2022.
Synthetic drugs are making headway in Afghanistan, UN agency reports
Feb 15, 2017, at 06:43 pm
New York, Feb 15 (Just Earth News): Methamphetamine is increasingly being seized by law enforcement in Afghanistan, and there is also evidence that it is being produced in the country, according to the first of its kind assessment on synthetic drugs released on Tuesday by the United Nations drug and crime agency.
Drought drives food price spike in East Africa, UN warns
Feb 15, 2017, at 06:37 pm
New York, Feb 15 (Just Earth News): East Africa’s ongoing drought has sharply curbed harvests and drive up the prices of cereals and other staple foods to unusually high levels, posing a heavy burden to households and special risks for pastoralists in the region, the United Nations agricultural agency said on Tuesday.
Guinea-Bissau: Sustaining economic growth requires political stability, says UN envoy
Feb 15, 2017, at 06:33 pm
New York, Feb 15 (Just Earth News): In the face of continued political crisis in Guinea-Bissau, a more sustained and well-coordinated approach is required to sustain economic gains, said the United Nations envoy for the country, calling for “faithful†implementation of a regionally-brokered road-map.
UN food relief agency working with Sri Lanka to end hunger and malnutrition
Feb 15, 2017, at 06:11 pm
New York, Feb 15 (Just Earth News): Sri Lanka is making efforts to achieve zero hunger and zero under-nutrition, having launched a national review of food security and nutrition with the United Nations emergency food relief agency.
Guterres announces steps towards reforming Organization’s peace and security architecture
Feb 15, 2017, at 06:06 pm
New York, Feb 15 (Just Earth News): United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on Tuesday announced the establishment of an internal review team that will take forward the reforms to the UN Secretariat peace and security strategy, functioning and architecture, which he outlined when he was appointed the Secretary-General last year.
Ukraine: UN warns of civilian casualties in ‘face to face’ fighting in country's east
Feb 15, 2017, at 06:03 pm
New York, Feb 15 (Just Earth News): Intensified fighting between Government and non-Government forces near densely populated areas in eastern Ukraine is endangering civilians, the senior United Nations humanitarian representative in the country told reporters in Geneva on Tuesday.
North Korea confirms Kim Jong-nam's death
Feb 15, 2017, at 05:51 pm
Pyongyang, Feb 15 (IBNS): North Korea has confirmed the death of its leader Kim Jong-un's half brother Kim Jong-nam, media reports said.
Canada: Brampton house fire kills three
Feb 15, 2017, at 02:42 am
Toronto, Feb. 14 (IBNS): Peel Regional Police received a call shortly after 4 a.m. on Tuesday about a fire on Madison Street, near Dixie Road and Bovaird Drive East, near Toronto, media reports said.