Human rights ‘uplift everyone’; must guide COVID-19 recovery response, says UN chief
Apr 24, 2020, at 02:11 pm
New York/IBNS: The coronavirus pandemic is not only a critical public health danger, it is also a human, economic and social emergency that is “fast becoming a human rights crisis”, the UN chief said on Thursday, releasing a new policy brief on shaping an effective, inclusive response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Apple iPhone at risk of hacking through email app, claims mobile security firm
Apr 23, 2020, at 05:50 pm
New York/IBNS: A flaw in the popular tech giant Apple's mobile operating system might have left several users of iPhone and iPad vulnerable to hackers, a mobile security firm has claimed.
Merkel lauds Germany's interim success in COVID-19 response, says situation still fragile
Apr 23, 2020, at 03:28 pm
Berlin/Sputnik/UNI: Although Germany has reached some intermediate success in COVID-19 response, the situation remains fragile, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday.
Economic impact of coronavirus threatens hard-won progress across Africa’s Great Lakes region
Apr 23, 2020, at 03:08 pm
New York/IBNS: Sweeping preventative measures seem to be curbing the spread of COVID-19 in the Great Lakes region of Africa, but the economic impact of the global pandemic threatens hard-won gains made along the long road back to peace and stability, the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the region said on Wednesday.
UN rights chief rejects killings acknowledged by Cameroon, and Iran’s execution of child offenders
Apr 23, 2020, at 02:48 pm
New York/IBNS: The UN’s human rights chief has been weighing in on recent killings committed by State authorities, or by rogue members of State military forces, emphasizing that all Governments must strictly abide by international law and hold those who serve, accountable for any violations.
COVID-19: 5G broadband conspiracy ‘a hoax with no technical basis’, UN telecoms agency
Apr 23, 2020, at 02:37 pm
New York/IBNS: The latest generation of fast broadband, commonly known as 5G, is in no way responsible for the spread of the COVID-19 virus, the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) – the UN’s agency for information and communication technologies – confirmed on Wednesday.
COVID-19 pandemic, an ‘unprecedented wake-up call’ for all inhabitants of Mother Earth
Apr 23, 2020, at 02:18 pm
New York/IBNS: In his message for International Mother Earth Day this Wednesday, UN Secretary-General António Guterres acknowledged that all eyes are on the COVID-19 pandemic, which he flagged as “an unprecedented wake-up call”
Russia to increase artificial lung ventilators production 8-fold to 800 in April- Minister
Apr 22, 2020, at 07:08 pm
Moscow/Sputnik: Russia will increase its artificial lung ventilators production eight-fold in April, bringing it to 800 pieces, with further increases to follow, Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov said on Wednesday.
Australia: Four police officers killed in multi-car collision in Melbourne
Apr 22, 2020, at 06:50 pm
Melbourne/UNI: At least four police officers were killed in a multi-car collision on Wednesday here in Australia.
At least 15 killed in landslide in Kenya
Apr 22, 2020, at 06:47 pm
Moscow/UNI:At least 15 people were killed while 22 others went missing after a landslide hit Kenya's Elgeyo-Marakwet county, media reported on Wednesday.
Three IS suspects arrested in southern Spain
Apr 22, 2020, at 06:01 pm
Madrid/Xinhua/UNI: Three members of the Islamic State (IS), including one described as "one of the most wanted foreign fighters", have been arrested in the city of Almeria in southern Spain, Spain's Interior Ministry confirmed.
At sea for nearly a month, a young couple finally realizes that world is combating COVID-19
Apr 22, 2020, at 05:29 pm
Manchester/IBNS: Travelling far away in their boat, Elena Manighetti and Ryan Osborne from Manchester, UK, could only know about the severity of the COVID-19 outbreak recently.
UN condemns killing of WHO staffer in Myanmar transporting COVID-19 samples
Apr 22, 2020, at 01:32 pm
New York/IBNS: A World Health Organization (WHO) worker has been killed while driving a vehicle carrying COVID-19 samples in Myanmar’s western Rakhine state, the United Nations country office confirmed in a statement on Tuesday.
Guterres vows support for island States in twin fight against COVID-19, climate crisis
Apr 22, 2020, at 01:30 pm
New York/IBNS: In an era of new challenges wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic, Secretary-General António Guterres is pledging the UN’s continued support to small island States – longtime leaders in the global fight against the devastating impacts of climate change.
As famines of ‘biblical proportion’ loom, Security Council urged to ‘act fast’
Apr 22, 2020, at 01:28 pm
New York/IBNS: The world is not only facing “a global health pandemic but also a global humanitarian catastrophe”, the UN food relief agency chief told the Security Council on Tuesday via video link.
Assistance ramped up to DR Congo’s South Kivu as floods kill dozens
Apr 22, 2020, at 01:23 pm
New York/IBNS: Aid is being rushed to eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) where deadly flooding has swept away people and homes and affected tens of thousands more, including many displaced by violence, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Tuesday.
Keep critical food supply chains operating to save lives during COVID-19, urges new UN-backed report
Apr 22, 2020, at 01:22 pm
New York/IBNS: A new study on food insecurity by an alliance of UN, governmental, and non-governmental agencies analyzes what is fueling global food crises and examines how, among other emergencies, the COVID-19 pandemic is perpetuating downward cycle for millions.
Funerals become hotspots of COVID-19 infections in South Africa
Apr 22, 2020, at 11:48 am
Cape Town/Xinhua/UNI: Funerals have been found to pose the biggest risk for the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said.
China wants authoritarianism as democracy's alternative, warns former US NSA
Apr 21, 2020, at 06:29 pm
Washington/IBNS: Former United States National Security Advisor (NSA) H. R. McMaster warned the world that China has become a threat to the world due to its Communist leaders who are promoting a closed, authoritarian model as an alternative to other democratic governments and free-market economies.
British lawmakers to probe advisers who help China target British businesses
Apr 21, 2020, at 06:25 pm
London/IBNS: British lawmakers have called for a probe against the political figures and advisers who profit by helping the Chinese government to target British businesses.
Advantage COVID-19: China takes 'aggressive' stance on South China Sea, Vietnam voices concern
Apr 21, 2020, at 04:55 pm
Hanoi/IBNS: While the world calls out China for its role in the global transmission of COVID-19, the Asian giant is following an aggressive stance on South China Sea (SCS) region drawing protest from Vietnam which asked Beijing to maintain its sovereignty.
Apr 21, 2020, at 02:40 pm
Paris/IBNS: Amid growing discontent against China internationally over the alleged epicentre of COVID-19 being Wuhan city and reports of silencing information on the death toll in the country, the French foreign office recently summoned the Chinese ambassador, Lu Shaye, to express its deep disapproval about Chinese diplomats’ claims that France had left its older citizens to die, media reports said.
Nigeria confirms key Boko Haram leaders killed in military airstrikes
Apr 21, 2020, at 01:57 pm
Abuja/Xinhua/UNI: Key leaders of the Boko Haram group were recently killed following multiple airstrikes by the Nigerian military in the country's northeast region, said the defense headquarters in Abuja on Monday.
Suspect involved in manslaughter of 39 migrants detained in Ireland
Apr 21, 2020, at 01:44 pm
Dublin/Sputnik/UNI: A suspect in the case involving the death of 39 Vietnamese migrants in the UK county of Essex has been detained in Ireland under a European arrest warrant, the Essex police said on Monday.
Oman reports 144 new COVID-19 cases, 1,410 in total
Apr 21, 2020, at 01:37 pm
Muscat/Xinhua/UNI: The Omani Ministry of Health announced on Monday that 144 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 have been registered in the country, bringing the total to 1,410.
Death toll rises to 18 in Canada's worst mass shooting
Apr 21, 2020, at 01:34 pm
Ottawa/Xinhua/UNI: The death toll has risen to 18 in the mass shooting in the Canadian province Nova Scotia, the worst of its kind in the country's history, according the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Monday afternoon.
UN agencies pledge scaled-up efforts to protect uprooted children as pandemic upends lives
Apr 21, 2020, at 12:58 pm
New York/IBNS: Two UN agency chiefs are pledging to accelerate work to expand refugee children’s access to protection, education, clean water and sanitation, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread across the globe.
Displaced and stateless women and girls face heightened risk of violence amid coronavirus pandemic
Apr 21, 2020, at 11:29 am
New York/IBNS: As COVID-19 continues to take lives and change communities around the world, the virus is also creating massive protection risks for women and girls forced to flee their homes, a top official at the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Monday, stressing that global protection staff are on high alert and adapting life-saving support programmes for those subjected to violence.
Onset of COVID-19 pandemic boosts support for international cooperation
Apr 21, 2020, at 11:22 am
New York/IBNS: Initial results of a UN initiative to help decide the future direction of the Organization have revealed overwhelming support for international cooperation, which has grown significantly since COVID-19 began spreading around the world.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is in 'grave danger' after surgery: Reports
Apr 21, 2020, at 10:51 am
Washington/IBNS: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is in 'grave danger' after a surgery, media reports said on Tuesday.