Australia might ban Chinese app Tik Tok
Jul 11, 2020, at 04:16 am
Sydney: Amid growing concern that the platform might pose a national security threat and even when it is feared that the user's data might be shared with China, the Australia government is planning to ban Tik Tok following the action taken by India after a border faceoff with China, media reports said.
Kenyan banks swamp debt market as COVID-19 slows down economic activities
Jul 10, 2020, at 10:50 pm
Nairobi/Xinhua: Kenya's short-term government securities received the highest subscription in history this week as banks swamped the debt market with bids amid reduced economic activities due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Iran refutes claims on explosion in western Tehran province – Reports
Jul 10, 2020, at 10:42 pm
Moscow/Sputnik: The Iranian authorities have denied reports on an alleged explosion that took place in the province of Tehran late on Thursday, the IRIB broadcaster reported on Friday, citing the head of one of the local cities.
Power cuts hit South Africa amid COVID-19
Jul 10, 2020, at 10:39 pm
Cape Town/Xinhua: A new spate of power cuts hit South Africa on Friday, the first time in four months, as the country grapples with an escalating COVID-19 pandemic.
560 hotels close in Lebanon amid COVID-19 outbreak, financial crisis
Jul 10, 2020, at 10:34 pm
Beirut/Xinhua: A total of 560 hotels shut down in Lebanon due to the absence of tourists given the COVID-19 outbreak worldwide, Elnashra, online independent newspaper, reported on Friday.
Professor charged for illegally using US grants to aid Chinese research - Justice Dept
Jul 10, 2020, at 03:46 pm
Washignton/Sputnik: A professor at a US university has been charged for allegedly using US grant funds to develop China's expertise in the areas of rheumatology and immunology, the Justice Department said in a press release.
Intercommunal violence, terrorist attacks inflame tensions in West Africa
Jul 10, 2020, at 03:24 pm
Intercommunal violence and persistent attacks by extremists, continue to undermine peace and security across West Africa, the UN’s top official in the region warned the Security Council on Thursday, calling for sustained engagement with all partners to urgently advance a holistic approach to peace.
Global Acceleration Framework to speed up water and sanitation access for all
Jul 10, 2020, at 03:21 pm
New York: A new mechanism launched on Thursday aims to speed up action so that people everywhere will have access to water and sanitation by the end of the decade, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Address ‘unprecedented’ impact of coronavirus on Latin America and the Caribbean, urges Guterres
Jul 10, 2020, at 03:18 pm
New York: As COVID-19 continues to spread throughout the world, Latin America and the Caribbean have become a “hotspot of the pandemic”, the UN chief said on Thursday, releasing a new policy initiative on how best to recover in a region already embroiled in poverty, hunger, unemployment and inequality.
Jul 10, 2020, at 02:38 pm
New York: The growing use of weaponised drones risks destabilising global peace and security and creating a “drone power club” among nations, that face no effective accountability for deploying them as part of their “war on terror”, a senior UN-appointed independent rights expert said on Thursday.
Refugees in Africa ‘even more vulnerable than ever’ amid COVID crisis
Jul 10, 2020, at 02:24 pm
New York: Millions of refugees across Africa face even greater food insecurity because of aid disruption and rising food prices linked to the COVID-19 crisis, UN humanitarians warned on Thursday.
Ivory Coast Prime Minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly dies at 61
Jul 09, 2020, at 10:08 pm
Moscow/Sputnik: Ivory Coast Prime Minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly, who was due to take part in the October presidential elections as a candidate from the ruling RHDP (Houphouetist Rally for Democracy and Peace) party, passed away at the age of 61 on Wednesday after a government meeting, the country’s incumbent president and leader of the RHDP party, Alassane Ouattara, announced on his Facebook page on Wednesday.
UN chief highlights need for decent jobs to fuel COVID-19 recovery
Jul 09, 2020, at 08:53 pm
New York: More than 50 Heads of State and government, alongside global employers’ and trade union leaders, have been taking part in an online discussion on Wednesday looking at the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the world of work.
Identify and address ‘real needs’ to recover from COVID-19, UN rights expert urges
Jul 09, 2020, at 08:50 pm
New York: There is no doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in “a serious setback” for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, an independent UN human rights expert said on Wednesday, urging a high-level meeting to “take a hard look” at implementation efforts to live up to the promise to leave no one behind.
UN expert calls for end to gender-based violence against women journalists
Jul 09, 2020, at 08:48 pm
New York: Women journalists face particular dangers while going about their work, an independent UN expert told the UN Human Rights Council on Wednesday, saying that Governments should do more to protect them.
Time is running out for Libya, UN chief warns Security Council
Jul 09, 2020, at 08:47 pm
New York/IBNS: With battle lines shifting, foreign interference growing, thousands fleeing their homes and COVID-19 cases on the rise, time is running out for bringing a peaceful end to the conflict in Libya, Secretary-General António Guterres says.
Illegal trade in fake or faulty COVID-19 products booming, new UN research reveals
Jul 09, 2020, at 08:44 pm
New York: A surge in demand for medical products to combat COVID-19 has led to a jump in the trafficking of substandard and faulty merchandise, according to new UN research published on Wednesday.
Illegal trafficking: Zimbabwe deports Pakistani diplomat
Jul 09, 2020, at 07:56 pm
In an embarrassment for Pakistan, Zimbabwe has deported a Pakistani diplomat for flouting multiple local and international laws related to illegal trafficking, media reports said.
China agrees to send WHO's team of experts to Beijing to trace COVID19 origin
Jul 08, 2020, at 07:17 pm
Beijing: The Chinese government on Wednesday agreed to send the World Health Organization's (WHO) team of experts to Beijing to trace the origin of the highly infectious coronavirus which has now hit nearly all the countries across the globe.
Panic-buying grips Melbourne ahead of second coronavirus lockdown
Jul 08, 2020, at 07:11 pm
Ottawa/Sputnik: Stores in Australia's second-largest city of Melbourne are struggling to manage a spike in demand for essential goods ahead of a six-week lockdown that takes effect on Wednesday night, media said on Wednesday.
Tibetan President in exile thanks US for imposing visa restrictions on China
Jul 08, 2020, at 04:01 pm
New Delhi/UNI: Leader of the exile Tibetan government Lobsang Sangay has expressed gratitude to United States for imposing visa restrictions on Chinese officials under the Reciprocal Access to Tibet Act.
Two police officers killed in bomb blast in Somali capital
Jul 08, 2020, at 03:39 pm
Mogadishu/Xinhua: A huge blast in the Somali capital of Mogadishu killed two police officers and injured one other early Wednesday.
At least 8 people killed in terrorist attack in Syrian city bordering Turkey: Source
Jul 08, 2020, at 09:56 am
Damascus/Sputnik: A car stuffed with a bomb exploded in the town of Tell Abyad, which borders Turkey, in Syria's northern province of Raqqa killing at least eight people and injuring 27 others, a source told Sputnik on Tuesday.
Human rights through peacekeeping essential factor in beating coronavirus
Jul 08, 2020, at 09:51 am
New York: The UN human rights chief is calling for greater investment in the human rights components of peace operations - not least to monitor the impact of efforts to contain the global COVID-19 pandemic.
'New dynamic' needed to overcome negative impacts of COVID-19 worldwide
Jul 08, 2020, at 09:34 am
New York: The dramatic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, have laid bare “weaknesses in our systems and societies”, a top official told the UN’s key international forum on sustainable development which began on Tuesday, warning that “a new dynamic” is needed to overcome the negative shocks.
Independent rights expert speaks of 'anguish, stress and disempowerment' of poverty
Jul 08, 2020, at 09:27 am
New York: More than 70 million people are expected to fall into extreme poverty because of COVID-19, the UN Human Rights Council heard on Tuesday, as a leading rights expert slammed “greatly exaggerated” claims of global poverty eradication between 1990 and 2015.
Fresh evidence of war crimes committed by all sides in Syrian conflict, probe finds
Jul 08, 2020, at 09:13 am
New York: Hospitals, schools and homes have all been targeted during Syria’s brutal and long-running conflict, said UN-appointed investigators, who on Tuesday condemned likely fresh war crimes committed by all parties.
British Journalist questions Muslim nations' silence over Chinese treatment towards Uyghurs
Jul 07, 2020, at 11:16 pm
Questioning the silence of the Muslim nations over China's continuous atrocities carried out against Uyghur Muslims, a noted British journalist said these nations only use the idea of Muslim solidarity when it suits them
Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro tests positive for COVID-19
Jul 07, 2020, at 10:53 pm
Brasilia/IBNS: Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro announced on Tuesday that he had tested positive for the novel coronavirus with mild symptoms.
At least 21 killed and 15 injured as bus falls into lake in Guizhou province of China
Jul 07, 2020, at 10:15 pm
Beijing/UNI: At least 21 people died when a bus carrying students plunged into a lake in South Western China on Tuesday.