Cyclone Komen further burdens thousands of displaced people Myanmar: UN
Aug 05, 2015, at 01:52 pm
New York, Aug 5 (IBNS): Sweeping across western Myanmar last week, Cyclone Komen has caused extensive damage in the region, hampering assessment and relief efforts, including to areas where thousands of displaced people are living, the United Nations refugee agency reported on Tuesday.
Iraq: Millions left in need after funding shortage forces WHO to cut services
Aug 05, 2015, at 01:50 pm
New York, Aug 5 (IBNS): The United Nations health agency was forced to suspend 84 per cent of frontline programmes in 10 governorates in Iraq in July due to insufficient funding, leaving almost three million people without access to urgently-needed healthcare services.
Donors urged to meet critical funding shortfall faced by UNRWA for Palestinian refugees
Aug 05, 2015, at 01:48 pm
New York, Aug 5 (IBNS): Voicing concern over the financial situation confronting the United Nations agency assisting Palestine refugees, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday called on all donors to urgently ensure adequate and sustainable financing for vital services as soon as possible.
'Catastrophic' floods in Myanmar hit most vulnerable, including children: UN
Aug 04, 2015, at 02:35 pm
New York, Aug 4 (IBNS): Myanmar has suffered heavy rains, winds and flooding since Cyclone Komen made landfall in Bangladesh on 30 July, causing landslides and damage in different parts of the country, according to United Nations agencies.
UN-backed international forum delivers roadmap for Somalia’s future
Aug 04, 2015, at 02:33 pm
New York, Aug 4 (IBNS): The United Nations and its partners have welcomed the significant commitments made at a recent high-level forum in Somalia that will be critical to the future of the Horn of Africa nation, including the holding of inclusive elections.
Ban concerned over ongoing deterioration of security in post-election Burundi
Aug 04, 2015, at 02:31 pm
New York, Aug 4 (IBNS): Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today voiced concern over the situation in Burundi, where the security situation continues to worsen following the recent elections, and strongly condemned the assassination on Sunday of General Adolphe Nshimirimana.
Member States lauded for reaching agreement on UN development agenda
Aug 04, 2015, at 02:29 pm
New York, Aug 4 (IBNS): Member States answered the call to make 2015 a year of global action by agreeing on a “bold, ambitious and transformative†sustainable development agenda for the next 15 years, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Monday.
Central Africa: Security Council condemns attacks that killed peacekeeper
Aug 04, 2015, at 02:26 pm
New York, Aug 4 (IBNS): The members of the Security Council condemned on Monday in the strongest terms the attacks against a convoy of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA), which were perpetrated on Sunday in Bangui and resulted in the death of one peacekeeper.
UN chief condemns killing of peacekeeper in Central African Republic
Aug 03, 2015, at 11:17 pm
New York, Aug 3 (IBNS) United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned today the killing of a peacekeeper from the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA).
Ban hails UN Member States' agreement on 'people's agenda' to end poverty, promote sustainability
Aug 03, 2015, at 11:05 pm
New York, Aug 3 (IBNS) United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has praised UN Member States for reaching agreement on the draft outcome document that will constitute the new sustainable development agenda, which will be formally adopted by world leaders in New York this September.
MH 370: Another plane part found
Aug 02, 2015, at 10:22 pm
London, Aug 2 (IBNS): After the debris of an air craft suspected to be a part of the missing flight MH370 was found last week, another suspected plane debris has also washed ashore on the Indian Ocean island of Reunion, media reports said on Sunday.
UN officials condemn West Bank arson attack that killed Palestinian child
Aug 01, 2015, at 02:24 pm
New York, Aug 1 (IBNS): United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the UN special envoy on the Middle East have strongly condemned Friday’s arson attack in the West Bank that killed a Palestinian child and left the child’s parents severely injured.
In ISIL-controlled territory, 8 million civilians living in ‘state of fear’: UN expert
Aug 01, 2015, at 02:21 pm
New York, Aug 1 (IBNS): The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) has engaged in widespread and systematic human rights violations of the most serious kinds in Syria and Iraq, brutally forcing some 8 million people to “assimilate, flee or face death,†according to a United Nations expert.
Ebola: WHO announces possible ‘game changer’ vaccine
Aug 01, 2015, at 02:18 pm
New York, Aug 1 (IBNS): Having achieved its “core objective†of scaling up global action to tackle the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, the United Nations Mission for Ebola Emergency Response will officially wind down on Friday, transferring its role to the World Health Organization (WHO), which just announced that an experimental vaccine being tested in Guinea appears to be highly effective and could be a “game changer.â€
UN envoy Angelina Jolie visits displaced people in Myanmar’s Kachin state
Aug 01, 2015, at 02:15 pm
New York, Aug 1 (IBNS): Oscar-winning actress and United Nations refugee agency Special Envoy, Angelina Jolie, travelled on Thursday to Myanmar’s Kachin state, where internally displaced persons (IDPs), including a number of women, told her their stories
Yemen: UN begins food aid distribution in war-torn districts of Aden
Jul 31, 2015, at 02:30 pm
New York, Jul 31 (IBNS): The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has begun distribution of food to around 340,000 people in eight of the worst-affected areas of the southern Yemeni port city of Aden.
Small islands need partnerships to battle climate change: Ban
Jul 31, 2015, at 02:28 pm
New York, Jul 31 (IBNS): The global challenges facing the small island developing States (SIDS) are the international community’s collective responsibility, on Thursday stated the top United Nations official at the Security Council.
UN urges action to combat human trafficking, give victims ‘hope and justice’
Jul 31, 2015, at 02:27 pm
New York, Jul 31 (IBNS): Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday urged every country to join the fight against human trafficking as United Nations agencies and their partners vowed to work together to support and protect victims of this transnational crime, while pursuing and prosecuting criminals and their networks.
UN urges action to tackle illegal wildlife trade
Jul 31, 2015, at 02:25 pm
New York, Jul 31 (IBNS): Recognizing that wild animals and plants are an “irreplaceable part of the natural systems of the Earth,†the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday urged its Member States to take decisive steps to prevent, combat and eradicate the illegal trade in wildlife, “on both the supply and demand sides.â€
Momentum building for UN-backed accord to combat rogue fishing business
Jul 31, 2015, at 02:23 pm
New York, Jul 31 (IBNS): Thirteen additional countries need to ratify an agreement brokered by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to combat illegal fishing by blocking ports to ships known or believed to be carrying illicit catches that account for more than 15 per cent of global output, the agency said onn Thursday.
Marking International Day of Friendship, Ban hails power of the human spirit
Jul 31, 2015, at 02:21 pm
New York, Jul 31 (IBNS): United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday praised a Paraguayan man whose “profound vision that the forces of animosity and hatred in our world are no match for the power of the human spirit†led to the creation of the International Day of Friendship, which falls on July 30 every year.
UNESCO voices alarm at reported killing of Iraqi journalists by extremists
Jul 31, 2015, at 02:20 pm
New York, Jul 31 (IBNS): The Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) voiced deep concern on Thursday over the reported killing of two Iraqi journalists in Mosul.
UN-backed plan sets disaster resilience standards for hotels in Asia and Pacific
Jul 30, 2015, at 02:12 pm
New York, Jul 30 (IBNS): A United Nations-backed plan to develop and pilot disaster risk management standards for the hotel industry in Asia and the Pacific, home to 80 per cent of the world's disaster events, has been announced on Wednesday.
Security Council: Ban and UN envoy outline talk about political solution for Syria
Jul 30, 2015, at 02:10 pm
New York, Jul 30 (IBNS): Describing the more than four years of “slaughter†in Syria as a “shameful symbol of the international community’s divisions and failure,†United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday appealed to the Security Council to endorse his Special Envoy’s recommendations on reaching the political solution that “all parties claim to support.â€
Orangutans face extinction on Borneo where deforestation is unsustainable: UN
Jul 30, 2015, at 02:08 pm
New York, Jul 30 (IBNS): The massive conversion of Borneo’s forests for the production palm oil together with the impact of climate change is driving to extinction the orangutan on Asia’s largest island, making it “clear that a future without sustainable development will be a future with a different climate and, eventually, without orangutans, one of our closest relatives,†a new United Nations report revealed on Wednesday.
UN projects world population to reach 8.5 billion by 2030
Jul 30, 2015, at 02:06 pm
New York, Jul 30 (IBNS): The world’s population is projected to reach 8.5 billion by 2030, 9.7 billion by 2050 and exceed 11 billion in 2100, with India expected to surpass China as the most populous around seven years from now and Nigeria overtaking the United States to become the world’s third largest country around 35 years from now, according to a new United Nations report released on Wednesday.
Economic ‘slowdown’ predicted for Latin America and Caribbean in 2015: UN forum
Jul 30, 2015, at 02:05 pm
New York, Jul 30 (IBNS): Panama will lead Latin America and the Caribbean countries in economic growth that will average 0.5 per cent in 2015, according to United Nations projections released on Wednesday, which not that to reverse the region’s economic slowdown, more investments are needed to boost growth and improve productivity.
UN mission in Cyprus renewed for six months by Security Council
Jul 30, 2015, at 02:03 pm
New York, Jul 30 (IBNS): The Security Council on Wednesday extended the mandate of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) for six months, until 31 January 2016, and welcomed resumed negotiations between the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders to reach a comprehensive settlement.
Ban condemns Israel’s approval of new settlement construction in West Bank
Jul 30, 2015, at 02:01 pm
New York, Jul 30 (IBNS): United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned the announcement on Wednesday that Israel has approved construction of some 300 housing units in the West Bank settlement of Beit El, as well as the planning and construction of nearly 500 housing units in a number of settlements in East Jerusalem.
Security Council fails to adopt proposal to create tribunal on crash of flight MH17
Jul 30, 2015, at 01:59 pm
New York, Jul 30 (IBNS): The United Nations Security Council was unable to adopt a new resolution on Wednesday following Russia’s negative vote on a measure that would have established an international tribunal to prosecute persons responsible for the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, which crashed on 17 July 2014 in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine.