Trump letter to Chinese President talks of 'constructive' relations
Feb 09, 2017, at 06:52 pm
Washington, Feb 9 (IBNS): US President Donald Trump in a letter to Chinese President Xi Jinping said that he looked forward to constructive relations between the two countries, according to media reports on Thursday.
US claims killing 11 Al-Qaeda militants in Syrian airstrike
Feb 09, 2017, at 06:49 pm
Washington, Feb 9 (IBNS): The United States has claimed killing at least 11 Al-Qaeda militants in a recently concluded air raid in Syria, media reports said.
Colombia: UN chief Guterres welcomes start of peace talks with ELN
Feb 09, 2017, at 01:26 pm
New York, Feb 9 (Just Earth News): United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has welcomed yesterday’s launch of formal peace talks between the Government of Colombia and the National Liberation Army (ELN) in Ecuador’s capital, Quito, his spokesperson said on Wednesday in a statement.
Somalia: UN mission pledges support as new President will face ‘daunting challenges’
Feb 09, 2017, at 01:23 pm
New York, Feb 9 (Just Earth News): Côte d’Ivoire is on the path to durable stability, the United Nations envoy for the country on Wednesday told the Security Council, but warned that authorities need to invest more in national reconciliation and transitional justice, and to improve the economic, social and cultural rights of Ivoirians.
Feb 09, 2017, at 01:21 pm
New York, Feb 9 (Just Earth News): Côte d’Ivoire is on the path to durable stability, the United Nations envoy for the country on Wednesday told the Security Council, but warned that authorities need to invest more in national reconciliation and transitional justice, and to improve the economic, social and cultural rights of Ivoirians.
UN commemorates 20 years of protecting children in armed conflicts
Feb 09, 2017, at 01:19 pm
New York, Feb 9 (Just Earth News): Top officials from the United Nations and the international community on Wednesday applauded two decades of efforts to protect children from the scourge of war by marking the 20th anniversary of General Assembly resolution 51/77 (1997) on promotion and protection of the rights of children.
Libyans must make 2017 the ‘year of decisions,’ UN envoy tells Security Council
Feb 09, 2017, at 01:18 pm
New York, Feb 9 (Just Earth News): Still seeking to implement a political accord signed more than a year ago, Libyans must make 2017 “the year of decisions†and political breakthrough, the United Nations envoy for the North African country urged on Wednesday.
With UN support, surgeon Denis Mukwege and Panzi Hospital aid rape survivors in Guinea
Feb 09, 2017, at 01:16 pm
New York, Feb 9 (Just Earth News): The United Nations office working to end conflict-related sexual violence helped to bring world-renowned surgeon Denis Mukwege and a team from his Panzi Hospital to Conakry, Guinea, to provide medical and psychological treatment for 30 of the women and girls raped in politically-motivated violence in 2009, it was announced on Wednesday.
Yemen: UN, partners seek $2.1 billion to stave off famine in 2017
Feb 09, 2017, at 04:11 am
New York, Feb 8 (Just Earth News): The United Nations and humanitarian partners on Wednesday launched an international appeal for $2.1 billion to provide life-saving assistance to 12 million people in Yemen in 2017 – the largest-ever humanitarian response plan for the war-torn country.
Somalia polls: Roads, airport sealed off ahead of elections
Feb 08, 2017, at 07:14 pm
Mogadishu, Feb 8 (IBNS): The Somali government has imposed a traffic ban and blocked several roads in the capital ahead of the presidential polls, media reports said.
Haitian Government, UN and partners launch two-year plan aimed at saving lives, building resilience
Feb 08, 2017, at 02:41 pm
New York, Feb 8 (Just Earth News): The United Nations together with relief organizations in Haiti have launched a two-year, $291 million response plan with the Government to reach more than 2.4 million people across the island that was struck by a devastating hurricane last October.
INTERVIEW: UN marks 20 years of work to improve protection of children affected by conflict
Feb 08, 2017, at 02:40 pm
New York, Feb 8 (Just Earth News): The senior United Nations advocate for children caught up in conflict is reaching out to parents, elders, and the entire international community to keep children away from armies and militias – a UN role that over the past two decades has helped more than 115,000 child soldiers regain their youth.
Feb 08, 2017, at 02:39 pm
New York, Feb 8 (Just Earth News): The setting up of the International Criminal Court (ICC) was a “reckoning†for those who had long disregarded the lives and dignity of their people, the United Nations Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide has said and warned that withdrawing from the tribunal could have grave implications for victims seeking redress for serious human rights violations.
Russia, Turkey, Iran and UN hash out details of monitoring regime for Syria ceasefire
Feb 08, 2017, at 02:38 pm
New York, Feb 8 (Just Earth News): The delegations of Russia, Turkey and Iran as well as United Nations representatives held their first meeting yesterday to discuss the establishment of a ceasefire implementation regime in Syria that was decided at the 23-24 January talks held in the Kazakh capital of Astana, a UN spokesperson in Geneva said on Tuesday.
Adapting to increased military pressure, ISIL shifts to ‘dark web,’ UN Security Council told
Feb 08, 2017, at 02:37 pm
New York, Feb 8 (Just Earth News): The terrorist group, known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da’esh), is on the defensive militarily in several regions, but is also adapting to military pressure by resorting to covert communications such as the ‘dark web,’ the top United Nations political affairs official warned on Tuesday.
Israeli legislation on settlements violates international law, says UN chief Guterres
Feb 08, 2017, at 02:36 pm
New York, Feb 8 (Just Earth News): United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on Tuesday deeply regretted the adoption by Israel’s legislative body, the Knesset, of the so called “Regularisation bill,†saying the measure contravenes international law and will have “far-reaching legal consequences†for the country.
Senior UN official urges Libya to protect migrants from conflict-related sexual violence
Feb 08, 2017, at 02:35 pm
New York, Feb 8 (Just Earth News): The highest United Nations official tasked with advocating against the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war urged on Tuesday Libyan authorities to protect migrants from rape and other human rights violations.
FEATURE: Diplomacy of the conscience – The Holy See at the United Nations
Feb 08, 2017, at 02:33 pm
New York, Feb 8 (Just Earth News): Ever since 1964, when it was informally accepted to the United Nations General Assembly, the Holy See has had a permanent seat at international discussions and used its observer status to go on record about matters of peace and human dignity.
Feb 08, 2017, at 05:51 am
New York, Feb 8 (Just Earth News): Stalled peace talks in Burundi are forcing hundreds to flee every day seeking refuge in neighbouring countries, the United Nations refugee agency warned on Tuesday, appealing for more support, particularly land to shelter for new arrivals and to ensure protection of children and prevention of sexual and gender-based violence.
Thousands of children out of school as classrooms shelled in eastern Ukraine – UNICEF
Feb 08, 2017, at 05:50 am
New York, Feb 8 (Just Earth News): With thousands of children forced out of school in eastern Ukraine due to last week's surge in fighting, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and its partners have strongly condemned the indiscriminate shelling of schools, and called for all sides to immediately recommit to the ceasefire signed in Minsk in August 2015.
UN rights expert urges Thailand to loosen restrictions around monarchy defamation law
Feb 08, 2017, at 05:48 am
New York, Feb 8 (Just Earth News): As a student activist awaits trial in detention for posting a news article about the new monarchy on social media, an independent United Nations expert on Tuesday called on Thai authorities to stop using royal defamation laws to stifle free speech
Man tries to commit suicide next to Kaaba in Mecca
Feb 08, 2017, at 01:47 am
Manama, Feb 7 (IBNS): A man attempted to set himself on fire close to Kaaba in Mecca on Monday, media reports said.
Secret campaign of mass hangings and extermination in Syrian prison, says Amnesty International
Feb 07, 2017, at 11:33 pm
New York, Feb 7 (IBNS): A chilling new report by Amnesty International exposes the Syrian government’s calculated campaign of extrajudicial executions by mass hangings at Saydnaya Prison.
Syria: UN provides emergency water around Aleppo, as 1.8 million cut off from water supply
Feb 07, 2017, at 01:49 pm
New York, Feb 7 (Just Earth News): The United Nations on Monday voiced grave concern about nearly two million Syrians in the area of Aleppo who have been without water for almost a month, as UN agencies are helping to provide emergency access to some of the people in need.
Violence in Myanmar's Rakhine state could amount to crimes against humanity – UN special adviser
Feb 07, 2017, at 01:48 pm
New York, Feb 7 (Just Earth News): The scale of violence against the Rohingya community in Myanmar's Rakhine state documented in a recent United Nations human rights report is a level of dehumanization and cruelty that is “revolting and unacceptable,†the UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide said on Monday, underlining the Government's responsibility to ensure that populations are protected.
UN Middle East envoy 'concerned' over scheduled vote on Israel's settlement regularisation bill
Feb 07, 2017, at 06:19 am
New York, Feb 7 (Just Earth News): The top United Nations Middle East envoy on Monday expressed concern about the scheduled vote by the Knesset, Israel's legislative body, on a bill that would “legalize†Israeli settlements on privately-owned Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank.
Burundi: Measures being used to ‘criminalize’ work of human rights defenders, warn UN experts
Feb 07, 2017, at 06:18 am
New York, Feb 7 (Just Earth News): Speaking out against a ban and provisional suspension of a number of civil society organizations in Burundi, United Nations rights experts warned on Monday of growing repression of human rights defenders and groups amid the already difficult environment in which they.
UN urges renewed fight to end female genital mutilation as populations grow where practice occurs
Feb 07, 2017, at 06:16 am
New York, Feb 7 (Just Earth News): Female genital mutilation denies women and girls their dignity and causes needless pain and suffering, with consequences that endure for a lifetime and can even be fatal, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has said, stressing that the UN Sustainable Development Agenda promises an end to this practice by 2030.
'Horrific' 2.4 million assaults on officers a year, says report
Feb 06, 2017, at 11:23 pm
London, Feb 6 (IBNS): New figures released on Monday revealed the 'horrific' extent and frequency of assaults* on police officers.
Ontario to provide life-saving treatment to sick kids affected by US travel ban
Feb 06, 2017, at 10:08 pm
Toronto, Feb 6 (IBNS): Ontario has been arranging to provide critical health care to children who were denied life-saving surgeries in America due to the U.S. President Donald Trump's travel ban last week.