South Sudan on ‘verge of fragmenting,’ UN officials warn Security Council
Feb 20, 2016, at 02:54 pm
New York, Feb 20 (Just Earth News/IBNS) With senior United Nations officials warning of escalating inter-communal violence and rampant human rights violations in South Sudan, the Security Council on Friday strongly condemned all attacks and provocations against civilians and the UN by armed actors, and called for calm on all sides.
With rising numbers of child deaths at sea, UN urges safety measures for those fleeing conflict
Feb 20, 2016, at 02:40 pm
New York, Feb 20 (Just Earth News/IBNS) Two children have drowned every day on average since September 2015 as their families try to cross the eastern Mediterranean, and the number is growing, three United Nations humanitarian agencies said today, calling for enhancing the safety of those escaping conflict and despair.
Two years on, Ukraine conflict affects over half a million children - UNICEF
Feb 20, 2016, at 02:36 pm
New York, Feb 20 (Just Earth News/IBNS) The conflict in Ukraine has deeply affected the lives of 580,000 children living in non-government controlled areas and close to the front line in the east of the country, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said today, highlighting that 200,000 of them – or one in three – need psychosocial support.
South Sudan: Fighting in Malakal site leaves at least 18 dead, two of them MSF staff
Feb 19, 2016, at 10:07 pm
Juba, Feb 19 (IBNS) As a result of fighting that erupted in the Malakal Protection of Civilian (PoC) site in Malakal, South Sudan, at least 18 people were killed, two of them MSF South Sudanese staff members who were attacked in their homes.
Syria: Civilians under relentless attack
Feb 19, 2016, at 10:02 pm
New York, Feb 19 (IBNS) Civilians are under relentless attack in Syria’s five-year-old conflict, with 1.9 million people under siege, borders closed to refugees and rampant bombings of medical facilities and heavily populated areas, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) warned on Friday, calling on UN Security Council member states – specifically France, Russia, UK and US as active participants in the Syrian conflict – to abide by resolutions they have passed to halt the carnage and ensure that their allies are applying due protection of civilians and avoidance of conflict in or over civilian areas.
Pope and Trump fight over 'Christianity' row
Feb 19, 2016, at 06:00 pm
Washington, Feb 19 (IBNS) Making his presence felt in the upcoming US elections, the Pope on Thursday expressed his doubts over Presidential candidate and front runner Donald Trump being a Christian, as he said Trump's ideas of building a wall was conflicting to that of Christian belief.
Feb 19, 2016, at 03:10 pm
New York, Feb 19 (Just Earth News/IBNS) Seriously concerned at the ongoing conflict in Yemen and the dire humanitarian conflict it has produced, the United Nations Security Council on Friday urged all parties to the conflict in Yemen to take urgent steps towards resuming a ceasefire.
Feb 19, 2016, at 03:05 pm
New York, Feb 19 (Just Earth News/IBNS) While violence erupting in Israel and Palestine is regrettably showing “no sign of relenting,†the United Nations and its Quartet partners are actively seeking the way forward, the UN envoy for the Middle East peace process told the Security Council today, urging both sides to end the long-standing conflict.
Syria: humanitarian air drops ‘very concrete proposal,’ says UN envoy
Feb 19, 2016, at 03:03 pm
New York, Feb 19 (Just Earth News/IBNS) As United Nations inter-agency convoys completed the delivery of humanitarian aid to more than 80,000 Syrians in five besieged towns, the UN Special Envoy for Syria on Thursday said the idea of air drops to locations that have yet to be reached “has become a very concrete proposal.â€
UN honours memory of former Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali
Feb 19, 2016, at 02:52 pm
New York, Feb 19 (Just Earth News/IBNS) The 193-member United Nations General Assembly on Friday honoured the memory of former Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, who passed away on Tuesday at the age of 93, recalling his legacy in helping the world body find its footing in a new global landscape during the tumultuous early 1990s.
‘Migrant-bashing has dangerously become the norm’ in Europe - UN rights expert
Feb 19, 2016, at 02:49 pm
New York, Feb 19 (Just Earth News/IBNS) As the European Union summit starts in Brussels, a United Nations expert on the human rights of migrants warned on Thursday that it has become impossible in Europe to have a meaningful discussion about migrant's rights, diversity, and integration.
South Sudan: UN condemns violence in Malakal civilian protection site
Feb 19, 2016, at 02:45 pm
New York, Feb 19 (Just Earth News/IBNS) United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has condemned the violence that broke out overnight and continued on Thursday in the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) civilian protection site in Malakal, in the northeast region of the country, claiming the lives of at least seven internally displaced persons and injuring approximately 40 others so far.
UN agency urges focus on rural development to 'break the chain of desperation'
Feb 19, 2016, at 02:43 pm
New York, Feb 19 (Just Earth News/IBNS) Recognizing that rural development plays a fundamental role in stabilizing communities and reducing migration and conflict, senior government officials have renewed their commitment at a United Nations conference in Rome to invest in smallholder agriculture and reduce poverty in developing countries.
Ghana: At least 53 dead as bus, truck collide
Feb 19, 2016, at 12:56 am
Accra, Feb 18 (IBNS) At least 53 people were reported dead after a bus collided with a cargo truck in Ghana on Wednesday evening, according to reports.
North Korea preparing to attack South Korea?
Feb 18, 2016, at 10:58 pm
Seoul, Feb 18 (IBNS): North Korea is preparing for terror attacks on South Korea,media reports said on Thursday.
Ban condemns explosion reportedly caused by car bomb in Ankara
Feb 18, 2016, at 02:37 pm
New York, Feb 18 (Just Earth News/IBNS) Secretary-General has condemned the explosion reportedly caused by a car bomb in the Turkish capital, Ankara, today, which reportedly killed more than two-dozen people.
Yemen: UN envoy calls on Security Council to support efforts towards cessation of hostilities
Feb 18, 2016, at 02:32 pm
New York, Feb 18 (Just Earth News/IBNS) A deep divide between the warring parties in Yemen, following the collapse of a truce, is forestalling the next round of peace talks, the United Nations envoy told the Security Council on Wednesday as he depicted a tragic picture of the political situation there.
UN and partners to closely coordinate efforts ahead of DR Congo elections
Feb 18, 2016, at 02:31 pm
New York, Feb 18 (Just Earth News/IBNS) The United Nations and its international partner organizations said they are closely following the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), particularly in view of the upcoming elections in the country.
Life-saving humanitarian aid reaches five besieged towns in Syria – UN
Feb 18, 2016, at 02:27 pm
New York, Feb 18 (Just Earth News/IBNS) As United Nations relief wing convoys reached five besieged towns in Syria with aid today, the Office of the UN Special Envoy for the country announced that a task force will meet for a second time tomorrow to discuss humanitarian access issues.
Guinea-Bissau’s political stalemate taking toll on development - UN envoy
Feb 18, 2016, at 02:25 pm
New York, Feb 18 (Just Earth News/IBNS) The political impasse in Guinea-Bissau could delay implementation of critical reforms and erode progress in the West African country’s development, the United Nations envoy there warned the Security Council today.
New trust fund launched by UN and Colombian Government for peacebuilding needs
Feb 18, 2016, at 02:19 pm
New York, Feb 18 (Just Earth News/IBNS) The United Nations and the Government of Colombia on Wednesday announced the launch of a new multi-partner trust fund in the country’s capital, Bogotá, to respond to stabilization and peacebuilding needs.
'Our task is not over,' says Ban, urging action on Paris climate pledges ahead of signing ceremony
Feb 18, 2016, at 02:16 pm
New York, Feb 18 (Just Earth News/IBNS) While the international community has provided a solid foundation for the world’s response to climate change by adopting the Paris Agreement this past December, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Wednesday that it is now necessary to build on that momentum in order to secure a safer and healthier future for all.
Darfur: amid fresh violence, thousands of displaced people now gathering near UN mission base
Feb 18, 2016, at 02:14 pm
New York, Feb 18 (Just Earth News/IBNS) The number of civilians fleeing the recent conflict in the Jebel Marra area in Sudan’s Darfur region has jumped to 73,000 from 38,000, according to United Nations estimates, as some 30,000 people flocked to Sortony, where the displaced have been gathering next to a base operated by the African Union-UN Mission in Darfur (UNAMID).
Feb 18, 2016, at 02:10 pm
New York, Feb 18 (Just Earth News/IBNS) Australia violated the rights of David Hicks by keeping him in jail, as evidence shows that he was forced to accept a plea bargain with United States authorities as a condition for his return, United Nations human rights experts have said.
UN and partner agency inaugurate first child-friendly spaces in West Bank refugee camp
Feb 18, 2016, at 02:07 pm
New York, Feb 18 (Just Earth News/IBNS) The first ever child-friendly spaces – a football pitch and a playground – were inaugurated on Wednesday in Aida refugee camp in the West Bank’s town of Bethlehem by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and the Lajee Center, a community-based grassroots creative cultural centre.
Senior UN relief official calls on Israel to halt demolitions in West Bank immediately
Feb 18, 2016, at 02:03 pm
New York, Feb 18 (Just Earth News/IBNS) A senior United Nations humanitarian official on Wednesday called for an immediate halt to the destruction of Palestinian-owned property in the occupied West Bank and for respect for international law.
Malnutrition mounts in eastern and southern Africa as El Nino takes hold - UNICEF
Feb 18, 2016, at 02:00 pm
New York, Feb 18 (Just Earth News/IBNS) Across eastern and southern Africa, millions of children are at risk from malnutrition, hunger, water shortages and disease, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) warned today, citing two years of erratic rain and drought combined with one of the most powerful El Niño events in the past 50 years.
Feb 18, 2016, at 01:48 pm
Ankara, Feb 18 (IBNS): At least 28 people were killed in a bomb attack in Turkey's Ankara city on Wednesday, media reports said.
ISIS beheads man for 'corrupting earth'
Feb 17, 2016, at 04:52 pm
Al-Raqqah, Feb 17 (IBNS) The Islamic State beheaded a man on Tuesday on grounds of 'corrupting earth' charges, according to reports.
ISIL 'losing appeal' in Iraq, but threat should not be underestimated – UN envoy
Feb 17, 2016, at 03:29 pm
New York, Feb 17 (Just Earth News/IBNS) Iraq has been steadily gaining ground against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as Da’esh), which is gradually losing its appeal to the disenfranchised population, the United Nations envoy for that country told the Security Council today, as he also warned that its threat should not be underestimated.