DR Congo: Agencies appeal for funding for refugee support and Ebola response

Mar 07, 2020, at 10:26 am

New York/IBNS: Urgent resources are needed to support countries in southern Africa and the Great Lakes region which are hosting more than 900,000 refugees and asylum seekers from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, and partners said in a $621 million appeal launched on Friday.

International Women's Day: progress on gender equality remains slow

Mar 06, 2020, at 10:18 am

New York/IBNS: Women's Rights in Review, 25 years after Beijing takes stock of how the landmark gender equality plan, the Beijing Platform for Action, is being implemented and calls for greater parity and justice.

Guterres calls for ‘immediate and lasting’ end to Syria fighting as Turkey and Russia agree ceasefire

Mar 06, 2020, at 10:14 am

New York/IBNS: The UN Secretary-General said on Thursday that he hoped the latest ceasefire agreement between Russia and Turkey to end fighting across Syria’s stricken Idlib region, would finally lead to “an immediate and lasting cessation”, that would protect civilian lives.

International Women's Day: progress on gender equality remains slow

Mar 06, 2020, at 10:08 am

New York/IBNS: Despite decades of progress in closing the gender equality gap, close to nine out of 10 men and women around the world, hold some sort of bias against women, according to new findings published on Thursday from the UN Development Programmme (UNDP).

Bulgarian GDP grows by 3.4 pct in 2019

Mar 05, 2020, at 07:14 pm

Sofia/Xinhua: Bulgarian gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 3.4 percent year-on-year in 2019 in real terms, according to preliminary data released Thursday by the country's National Statistical Institute (NSI).

Egypt confirms 3rd case of novel coronavirus: ministry

Mar 05, 2020, at 07:03 pm

Cairo/Xinhua: Egypt's Health Ministry and the World Health Organization said in a joint statement Thursday that an Egyptian citizen was tested positive for the novel coronavirus, bringing the number of confirmed cases inside Egypt to three.

Morocco, Turkmenistan to boost bilateral cooperation

Mar 05, 2020, at 06:55 pm

Rabat/Xinhua: Morocco and Turkmenistan have agreed to boost cooperation, commerce and investment, an official statement said on Thursday.  

UN mourns passing of former Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuéllar

Mar 05, 2020, at 02:35 pm

New York/IBNS: Javier Perez de Cuéllar, the fifth United Nations Secretary-General, praised for his ability to foster dialogue and for leading the Organization through a turbulent decade, has passed away at the age of 100.

Violent extremism prevention ‘only effective’ if human rights are enshrined

Mar 05, 2020, at 02:34 pm

New York/IBNS: Many global programmes aimed at countering violent extremism have negative impacts on human rights and may even ‘foster radicalization’ rather than preventing it, an independent UN human rights expert warned on Wednesday.

Syria: UN food relief agency ‘doing everything we can’ to reach Idlib civilians

Mar 05, 2020, at 02:33 pm

New York/IBNS: Difficult winter weather conditions, road congestion and military manoeuvres are restricting humanitarian aid delivery to desperate civilians in the Syrian province of Idlib, where a Government operation to weed out extremists has uprooted nearly one million people since December.

Human rights defenders, too often left defenceless themselves – UN expert

Mar 05, 2020, at 02:32 pm

New York/IBNS: Human rights defenders working in conflict and post-conflict situations need to be given greater recognition, protection and support, an independent UN expert said on Wednesday, in his latest report to the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

Deadlock broken, South Sudan on road to ‘sustainable peace’, but international support still key

Mar 05, 2020, at 01:57 pm

New York/IBNS: Positive developments in South Sudan have “moved the country further along the road to sustainable peace”, the top UN official there told Security Council members on Wednesday.

Russia's security service says fake news about coronavirus comes from abroad: Putin

Mar 04, 2020, at 07:44 pm

Moscow/Sputnik: The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) reported that fake news regarding cases of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Russia is coming from foreign countries, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday.

Turkey rescues 220 illegal immigrants off Aegean coast in 2 days

Mar 04, 2020, at 07:35 pm

Istanbul/Xinhua: The Turkish coast guard rescued at least 220 illegal immigrants in separate incidents off Turkey's Aegean coast during the last two days, the force announced on its website.

Chinese police seize 13 kg of drugs in border province

Mar 04, 2020, at 04:09 pm

Kunming/Xinhua/UNI: Police in southwest China's Yunnan Province have captured a suspect and seized 13 kg of drugs in a drug trafficking case, local authorities said Wednesday.

Somali forces arrest al-Shabab militant behind suicide bombings

Mar 04, 2020, at 04:05 pm

Mogadishu/Xinhua/UNI: Somali government forces said they have arrested a senior al-Shabab fighter behind suicide bombings in the Horn of Africa nation.

World remains a ‘violent, highly discriminatory place’ for girls

Mar 04, 2020, at 09:59 am

New York/IBNS: Twenty-five years after the historic Beijing women’s conference in China – a milestone in advancing equal rights – violence against women and girls is not only common, but widely accepted, a new UN report revealed on Wednesday.

‘Critical’ window of opportunity closing fast in Iraq, Security Council hears

Mar 04, 2020, at 09:42 am

New York/IBNS: Political leaders in Iraq will have to “step up to the plate” and prioritize national interests if the country is to realize a more just and prosperous future, the top UN official there said in the Security Council on Tuesday.

Myanmar doing too little to ensure displaced Rohingya return: UN refugee agency chief

Mar 04, 2020, at 09:37 am

New York/IBNS: UN agencies together with the Bangladesh authorities have appealed for $877 million to support hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees from Myanmar, where conditions are still not conducive for their safe return, UN refugee agency chief Filippo Grandi said on Tuesday.

UN ‘determined to stand by the people of Syria’ says Lowcock, as grave humanitarian crisis intensifies around Idlib

Mar 04, 2020, at 09:33 am

New York/IBNS: The United Nations is “determined to stand by” civilians across Syria’s war-torn northwest, as “a grave humanitarian crisis” continues, the UN emergency relief chief said on Tuesday.

Denmark's confirmed COVID-19 cases reach 6

Mar 03, 2020, at 07:14 pm

Copenhagen/Xinhua/UNI: A further two cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed here by both the Danish Patient Safety Authority and the National Health Board in press releases on Tuesday, bringing the total number to six.

Moscow hopes US, Taliban comply with peace agreement - Russia's top Afghanistan diplomat

Mar 03, 2020, at 07:02 pm

Moscow/Sputnik/UNI:  Moscow hopes that both the United States and Taliban will comply with the agreement they have recently reached, Russia’s Presidential Representative for Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov, told reporters in Moscow Tuesday.

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.  

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.