UK think tank warns gov't peak of living standards crisis if COVID-19 benefits terminated
Jan 18, 2021, at 10:32 pm
Moscow/Sputnik: The Resolution Foundation called on the UK government on Monday to not cancel the 20 pound ($27) uplift to Universal Credit benefits, warning that the worst hit of the pandemic on living standards of low-income households was still ahead despite the vaccine-driven economic recovery.
Switzerland closes two hotels in St. Moritz resort due to spread of mutated COVID-19
Jan 18, 2021, at 10:22 pm
Zurich/Sputnik: Graubünden, a canton in the south-east of Switzerland, on Monday shut down the St. Moritz ski resort and put guests and staff on quarantine, after health authorities registered a surge in the spread of the mutated strain of coronavirus.
Russia sends 300 more troops to Syria’s Al-Hasakah to reinforce observation posts-military
Jan 18, 2021, at 03:14 pm
Moscow/Sputnik: Additional units of Russian military police, about 300 servicemen in total, are being deployed to Syria’s northeastern Al-Hasakah province in order to reinforce joint observation posts, the Russian military has announced.
Japan culled record 5.8mln chickens since November: Reports
Jan 18, 2021, at 04:42 am
Moscow/Sputnik: Japan has culled record 5.8 million chickens since November due to bird flu, the NHK broadcaster reported Sunday.
Guterres welcomes Palestinian announcement of elections as ‘crucial step’ towards united
Jan 18, 2021, at 03:25 am
New York: The UN Secretary-General has welcomed Friday’s announcement from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of the first full parliamentary and presidential elections in 15 years, scheduled to begin in May.
Peacekeepers under attack again in Mali, as one Egyptian blue helmet dies, another seriously injured
Jan 18, 2021, at 03:20 am
New York: The UN Secretary-General António Guterres has strongly condemned another fatal attack carried out against a peacekeeping convoy that left a ‘blue helmet’ from Egypt dead, and another seriously injured on Friday.
UK to host G7 summit in June to discuss COVID-19 recovery, climate change
Jan 17, 2021, at 03:19 pm
London/Sputnik: The leaders of the seven world's leading industrial nations (G7) will meet from June 11-13 2021 in the English coastal county of Cornwall to address shared challenges such as the recovery from the COVID-19 crisis and climate change, the UK government announced on Sunday.
Jan 17, 2021, at 06:26 am
New York: A French think tank group has recommended that the European Union should create a united front with the US to tighten control of the transfer of semiconductor technologies to China that could be used to advance weapons developed by the Chinese military.
Some 10,000 join anti-lockdown protest in Vienna: Police
Jan 17, 2021, at 04:49 am
Vienna/Sputnik: Some 10,000 people are taking part in an anti-lockdown protest in Vienna on Saturday, police spokesman Markus Dittrich told Sputnik.
France: Government shuts places of worship to check Islamic separatism
Jan 16, 2021, at 09:50 pm
Paris/UNI: As part of its campaign to curb the propagation of radical Islamic ideology and separatism, France has closed nine places of worship, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin has said here.
Child labour ‘robs children of their future’, scourge must end urges UN
Jan 16, 2021, at 03:28 pm
New York: Although child labour has decreased significantly over the last decade, one-in-ten children are still caught up in harmful work, the UN’s labour agency said on Friday, kicking off a year-long bid to eradicate the practice.
Pandemic curbs trend towards ever-increasing migration
Jan 16, 2021, at 03:19 pm
New York: Travel restrictions and other curbs to movement put in place in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic, have put a significant dent in migration figures, but the overall trend shows 100 million more people living outside their countries of origin in 2020, compared to the year 2000, a new UN report revealed on Friday.
Jan 16, 2021, at 03:09 pm
New York: “Worsening” election violence in the Central African Republic (CAR) has forced 120,000 people from their homes, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Friday, as the UN Secretary-General also condemned another attack by combatants on a UN convoy, which left a peacekeeper from Burundi dead, and two others wounded.
Jammu and Kashmir: 2-day training programme on GeM begins at Kashmir University
Jan 15, 2021, at 10:34 pm
Srinagar: Registrar of University of Kashmir Dr Nisar Ahmad Mir inaugurated on Thursday a two-day training programme for officers and officials of the varsity about the Government e-Market Place (GeM).
Ethiopia: Safe access and swift action needed for refugees in Tigray
Jan 15, 2021, at 04:53 pm
New York: The head of the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) on Wednesday expressed his deep concern over the humanitarian situation in the Tigray region of Ethiopia, including its impact on Eritrean refugees hosted there.
UN officials fear US terrorist designation will hasten famine in Yemen
Jan 15, 2021, at 04:31 pm
Senior UN officials have expressed concern over the potential impact of the decision by the United States to designate Yemen’s Ansar Allah, more commonly known as the Houthi movement, a terrorist group, the Security Council heard on Thursday.
Four UN peacekeepers killed, five wounded in attack in Mali
Jan 15, 2021, at 03:05 pm
New York: Four United Nations peacekeepers in Mali were killed and five others wounded in an attack by unidentified armed elements on Wednesday, the UN mission in the country has said.
UK seeing first signs of Covid-linked lockdown's positive effect: Prime Minister
Jan 13, 2021, at 11:48 pm
Moscow/Sputnik: The first positive effects of strict lockdown measures are starting to manifest in the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Wednesday.
Japanese Prime Minister halts entry of all non-resident foreign nationals: Reports
Jan 13, 2021, at 09:52 pm
Moscow/Sputnik: Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, who earlier in the day expanded the coronavirus-related state of emergency to seven more prefectures, announced that the country was halting entry of all non-resident foreign nationals amid the continuing spike in new cases, Kyodo news agency reported.
Humanitarian crisis looms in Madagascar amid drought and pandemic
Jan 13, 2021, at 05:17 pm
New York: In southern Madagascar, “famine-like conditions” have doubled the number of people in need of humanitarian assistance compared with last year, to more than 1.3 million. Successive droughts and a lack of jobs linked to COVID-19 restrictions are to blame, the World Food Programme (WFP) said on Tuesday.
UNICEF chief: Closing schools should be ‘measure of last resort’
Jan 13, 2021, at 05:10 pm
New York: The head of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) underscored on Tuesday that “no effort should be spared” to keep children in school, as the coronavirus pandemic continues into a second year.
UN counter-terrorism chief urges continued vigilance against ‘real’ ongoing threat
Jan 13, 2021, at 04:49 pm
New York: Despite important strikes against terrorism over the past two decades, including in bringing perpetrators to justice and disrupting additional attacks, countries cannot afford to let down their guard, the UN’s counter-terrorism chief told a virtual meeting of the Security Council on Tuesday.
UN refugee agency calls for ‘new chapter for refugee protection’ across Europe
Jan 13, 2021, at 04:32 pm
New York: As Portugal assumes the presidency of the European Union (EU), to be followed by Slovenia later this year, the UN refugee Agency (UNHCR) on Tuesday called on them to lead the effort to forge a better protection system for those seeking refuge across the continent and beyond.
Peru: UN rights office decries excessive use of force in November protests
Jan 13, 2021, at 04:25 pm
New York: Police in Peru used unnecessary and excessive force during protests in the capital last November challenging the legitimacy of the interim President, a report published on Tuesday by the UN Human Rights Office, OHCHR has found.
Syrian state TV reports Israeli air strikes on Syria's southeastern regions
Jan 13, 2021, at 02:58 pm
Cairo/Sputnik: The Syrian state television reported about Israeli air strikes on Syria's southeastern regions.
Pence opposes invoking 25th amendment, warns of setting 'Terrible' precedent: Letter
Jan 13, 2021, at 02:34 pm
Washington/Sputnik: US Vice President Mike Pence in a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi urged her to refrain from moving forward with legislation to remove President Donald Trump from office due to the risk it could further destabilize the United States.
S Korean gyms, cafes sue government over losses amid COVID-19 restrictions: Reports
Jan 12, 2021, at 10:53 pm
Moscow/ Sputnik: Hundreds of gym and cafe owners in South Korea have filed or will soon file for compensation to cover losses incurred due to the COVID-19 restrictions, the Yonhap news agency reported on Tuesday.
Guterres to seek second five-year term as UN Secretary-General
Jan 12, 2021, at 04:52 pm
New York: António Guterres confirmed on Monday that he will be seeking a second five-year term as UN Secretary-General, which would begin in January 2022.
Serious repercussions likely to follow US plan to designate Yemen combatants terrorists, UN warns
Jan 12, 2021, at 04:45 pm
New York: The United States government’s decision to designate Ansar Allah, more commonly known as the Houthi rebel group in Yemen, as terrorists, is likely to have “serious humanitarian and political repercussions”, the UN spokesperson said on Monday.
West Africa: Democracy ‘a constant process’ top UN official tells Security Council
Jan 12, 2021, at 04:37 pm
New York: While elections are one-time events, “democracy is a constant process of deliberation and consultation” where dialogue provides an “important arena for the building of national consensus”, the top UN official in West Africa told the Security Council on Monday.