Pope Francis tests negative for coronavirus: reports

Mar 03, 2020, at 05:20 pm

Genoa/ Sputnik/UNI: Pope Francis has tested negative for coronavirus, he is simply suffering a minor cold, Il Messaggero newspaper reported on Tuesday.

China's endangered wildlife populations rise steadily

Mar 03, 2020, at 05:19 pm

Beijing/Xinhua/UNI: The populations of China's endangered wildlife have risen steadily over recent years, the National Forestry and Grassland Administration said on Tuesday.

Ukraine confirms first case of coronavirus infection in man returning from Italy

Mar 03, 2020, at 05:17 pm

Kiev/Sputnik/UNI: Ukraine announced its first case of coronavirus infection in a man who returned from Italy, Deputy Health Minister Viktor Lyashko said Tuesday.

Somali, US forces kill al-Shabab terrorist

Mar 03, 2020, at 05:15 pm

Mogadishu/Xinhua/UNI: A Somali and US airstrike killed an al-Shabab terrorist and wounded two others in the southern region.

Turkish air forces shoot down Syrian warplane in Idlib

Mar 03, 2020, at 05:12 pm

Damascus/Xinhua/UNI: A Turkish F-16 shot down a Syrian warplane in Syria's northwestern province of Idlib on Tuesday, a war monitor reported.  

UN urges for USD 877 mln for Rohingya refugee response in Bangladesh

Mar 03, 2020, at 05:01 pm

United Nations/UNI:  Launching a 2020 Joint Response Plan (JRP) for the Rohingya humanitarian crisis, the UN refugee agency -- UNHCR -- on Tuesday appealed to raise US$877 million to cater to the needs of more than one million Rohingya refugees.

Coronavirus Scare: Sri Lanka to quarantine passengers from Italy, Iran, S Korea

Mar 03, 2020, at 04:57 pm

Colombo/UNI: Sri Lanka's Health Ministry on Tuesday said that all passengers arriving from Italy, Iran and South Korea would have to undergo a 14-day quarantine period to prevent the COVID-19 from entering the island country.

Declaring commitment to ‘peace and stability’ for Libya, top UN envoy steps down as stress takes its toll

Mar 03, 2020, at 04:20 pm

New York/IBNS: After serving more than two years as the UN’s Special Representative in charge of finding a way to a lasting peace in war-torn Libya, Ghassan Salamé - who also heads up the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) - handed in his resignation on Monday, citing failing health caused by the immense stress of the job. 

Soldier, two terrorists killed in southern Philippine clashes

Mar 03, 2020, at 10:16 am

Manila/Xinhua/UNI: An soldier from the Philippines army and two suspected terrorists were killed in a military offensive in Maguindanao province in the southern Philippines, the military report said on Tuesday.

As children freeze to death in Syria, aid officials call for major cross-border delivery boost

Mar 03, 2020, at 09:56 am

New York/IBNS: Humanitarian assistance needs to be scaled up significantly to more than a million people displaced by fighting in northwest Syria, a senior UN aid official said on Monday, amid reports that children are freezing to death on the Turkish border.

New UN initiative to support financial systems that ‘work better for everyone, everywhere’

Mar 03, 2020, at 09:33 am

New York/IBNS: From developed to developing countries, no nation is immune from financial “gaps and vulnerabilities”, the President of the UN General Assembly said on Monday.

Use of religious beliefs to justify rights violations must be outlawed says UN expert

Mar 03, 2020, at 09:22 am

New York/IBNS: Laws underpinned by religious conviction that discriminate against women and the  LGBT+ community should be repealed, and gender-based violence carried out in the name of religion by non-State groups must be addressed, an independent UN expert said on Monday in a report presented to the Human Rights Council.

Bangladesh bans several Pakistani fairness creams for harmful substances

Mar 03, 2020, at 08:49 am

Dhaka/IBNS: After tests found harmful substances like mercury in exceeding level than what is permissible, the Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution or BSTI has banned eight Pakistani skin fairness creams, media reports said.

All hostages from mall siege in Philippines freed, gunman arrested

Mar 02, 2020, at 10:09 pm

Moscow,/Sputnik: All the hostages at a shopping mall in the Metro Manila area in the Philippines who had been taken hostage on Monday have been freed after a siege which lasted several hours.

Five killed in three-vehicle collision in South Africa

Mar 02, 2020, at 10:00 pm

Johannesburg/Xinhua: Five killed, two others sustained serious injuries in a three-vehicle collision in Vanderbiljpark in Gauteng on Sunday night, according to paramedics.

Erdogan hopes for ceasefire in Idlib after talks with Putin in Moscow on Thursday

Mar 02, 2020, at 07:09 pm

Ankara/Sputnik: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed hope for achieving ceasefire in Syrian Idlib after he meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin on March 5 in Moscow.

One illegal migrant dies of gunshot by Greek soldiers: Turkish state media

Mar 02, 2020, at 06:48 pm

Istanbul/Xinhua: Turkish state media on Monday claimed that one illegal migrant died when he was hit by a gunshot fired by Greek security forces in Turkey's border gate with Greece.

EU raises coronavirus infection risk as 2,100 cases confirmed - Health Commissioner

Mar 02, 2020, at 06:37 pm

Moscow/Sputnik/UNI:  The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control has increased the risk level of infection with the novel coronavirus in the EU from low-moderate to moderate-high, as the number of cases in the bloc reaches 2,100, European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety Stella Kyriakides said Monday.

Gunmen kill about 50 villagers in Nigeria

Mar 02, 2020, at 05:38 pm

Lagos/Xinhua/UNI: Gunmen operating in Nigeria's northern state of Kaduna on Sunday reportedly killed about 50 villagers, including infants in three local government areas of the state, a police source said on Monday.

Road accident in SW Pakistan kills 6 and injures 12

Mar 02, 2020, at 05:34 pm

Islamabad/Xinhua/UNI: A collision between a passenger van and a truck late Sunday night left six people dead and 12 others injured in Mastung district of Pakistan's southwest Balochistan province, local reports said on Monday.

One illegal migrant dies of gunshot by Greek soldiers: Turkish state media

Mar 02, 2020, at 05:31 pm

Istanbul/Xinhua/UNI:  Turkish state media on Monday claimed that one illegal migrant died when he was hit by a gunshot fired by Greek security forces in Turkey's border gate with Greece.

China welcomes U.S.-Taliban peace deal: FM spokesperson

Mar 02, 2020, at 05:07 pm

Beijing/Xinhua/UNI: China welcomes the signing of a U.S.-Taliban agreement as a positive step in achieving a political solution of the Afghan issue, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Monday.

Greek police fire tear gas, rubber bullets against refugees at border zone in Turkey

Mar 02, 2020, at 05:01 pm

Istanbul/Xinhua/UNI:  Greek police on Monday fired tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannons against illegal migrants who have been waiting at Turkey's border gate with Greece to cross into Europe, eyewitness said.

Bangladesh: 37 Rohingyas rescued, 3 human traffickers held

Mar 02, 2020, at 04:27 pm

Dhaka/IBNS: Bangladesh police rescued 37 Rohingyas, including women and children, while they were trying to go to Malaysia illegally by sea from Reju Khal area in Ramu upazila of Cox's Bazar on Monday, media reports said.

Top Iranian diplomat says US surrendered to Taliban

Mar 02, 2020, at 08:59 am

Tehran/Sputnik/UNI:  Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif on Sunday described the US-Taliban peace deal as Washington’s "surrender" that followed years of a humiliating war in Afghanistan.

Turkey says over 80,000 illegal migrants cross into Europe

Mar 02, 2020, at 08:52 am

Istanbul/Xinhua/UNI: Over 80,000 illegal migrants have so far crossed into Europe from Turkey's northwestern borders, Fahrettin Altun, communication director of the Turkish presidency, said in a statement on Sunday.

Yemen's Houthi rebels seize capital of al-Jawf province

Mar 02, 2020, at 08:46 am

Sanaa/Xinhua/UNI: Yemen's Houthi rebels on Sunday seized control of al-Hazm, the capital of the northeastern province of al-Jawf, after weeks of fighting with the government forces, officials from both sides said.

Four Sputnik scribes in Turkey freed after testimony

Mar 02, 2020, at 08:34 am

Ankara/UNI: Four journalists, including Russian news agency Sputnik's editor-in-chief, working in the Turkish capital were freed on Sunday after giving testimony.

Kenyan police rescue abducted Chinese national

Mar 01, 2020, at 10:13 pm

Nairobi/Xinhua/UNI: Kenyan police on Saturday rescued a Chinese national who was abducted in the country's capital on Thursday by four kidnappers.

Minority groups of Pakistan protest against atrocities of Army in Geneva

Mar 01, 2020, at 10:07 pm

Geneva/IBNS: Several minority groups from Pakistan protested against  Pakistani Army for its atrocities and put up banners and posters in Geneva city where the United Nations Human Rights Council session is going on.