Joint UN-Red Cross appeal to end rising sexual violence as a weapon of war
Feb 26, 2019, at 09:58 am
New York, Feb 26 (IBNS): Sexual violence in conflict - and the stigma that survivors often face - must be addressed urgently, UN chief António Guterres said on Monday, in a joint appeal for more funding and international action, together with the head of the Red Cross, Peter Maurer.
Youth, indigenous peoples, migrants and refugees boost hope for human rights: Guterres
Feb 26, 2019, at 09:50 am
New York, Feb 26 (IBNS): People’s rights are under fire “in many parts of the globe,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres told the Human Rights Council on Monday, before insisting that he was not “losing hope”, thanks to the progress made by powerful grassroots movements for social justice.
UK to ban Lebanon's Hezbollah as terrorist group
Feb 25, 2019, at 10:37 pm
London, Feb 25 (UNI): The United Kingdom will ban Lebanese organisation Hezbollah in is entirety, along with Ansar ul Islam and Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM), both mainly operating in Africa, as terrorist organisations, the UK Home Office said in a statement on Monday.
China mine accident: Death toll rises to 22
Feb 25, 2019, at 01:40 pm
Beijing, Feb 25 (UNI/IBNS) : The death toll from a coal mine accident in north China's Mongolia has risen to 22 after one injured- died, local authorities said on Monday.
Feb 25, 2019, at 10:03 am
New York, Feb 25 (IBNS): As tensions escalated on Saturday at various points along Venezuela’s borders with Colombia and Brazil, as well as within the country itself, resulting in the death and injury of various civilians, the United Nations chief, António Guterres, and the head of the UN human rights office (OHCHR), Michelle Bachelet, expressed their shock and appealed for calm.
Feb 25, 2019, at 09:59 am
New York, Feb 25 (IBNS): Preparations are being finalized at the UN for a $4.2 billion appeal to scale up help to millions of people in Yemen, where years of war have created the world’s worst humanitarian emergency.
UK Parliament will hold another vote on Brexit deal by Mar 12, pledges May
Feb 24, 2019, at 08:53 pm
London, Feb 24 (UNI): UK Prime Minister Theresa May pledged on Sunday that the country's parliament would hold another vote on London's Brexit deal by March 12, after the government makes another attempt to renegotiate the terms of the agreement with Brussels.
Mali: UN mourns three Guinean peacekeepers killed, condemns attack 'in strongest terms'
Feb 24, 2019, at 04:00 pm
New York, Feb 24 (IBNS): The United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres and the UN Security Council condemned on Saturday in the strongest terms the attack against vehicles of the peacekeeping mission in Mali (MINUSMA), which took place on Friday and in which three "blue helmets" from Guinea were killed and at least another injured.
Venezuelan National Guard’s vehicle set on fire at Brazil border by radicals
Feb 24, 2019, at 12:19 pm
Pacaraima (Brazil), February 24 (Sputnik/UNI) A group of radicals in the Brazilian town of Pacaraima attacked the Venezuelan border post and set the Venezuelan National Guard’s vehicle on fire amid the escalating crisis with aid deliveries to Venezuela on Saturday, a Sputnik correspondent reported.
Feb 23, 2019, at 09:38 am
New York, Feb 23 (IBNS): United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres congratulated the Philippines on Friday for establishing a government body to push forward the formal creation of an autonomous region.
Nicaragua: UN rights chief ‘deeply concerned’ over increasing criminalization of dissenters
Feb 23, 2019, at 09:35 am
New York, Feb 23 (IBNS): While the Nicaraguan Government claims to want to resolve its political and social unrest, dissenters continue to be arrested and convicted, clearly hindering a conducive environment for “genuine and inclusive dialogue,” the United Nations rights chief said on Friday.
Venezuelan refugees now number 3.4 million; humanitarian implications massive, UN warns
Feb 23, 2019, at 09:33 am
New York, Feb 23 (IBNS): As the number of refugees and migrants from Venezuela continues to rise – hitting the 3.4 million mark this month – United Nations agencies sounded the alarm on Friday over the humanitarian needs these women, children and men face, and the strain this represents for communities hosting them.
Without scaled-up humanitarian assistance ‘more and more people’ at risk in South Sudan
Feb 23, 2019, at 09:29 am
New York, Feb 23 (IBNS): “Alarming” food insecurity threatens nearly seven million people in South Sudan, according to a new report by three United Nations agencies appealing for greater assistance and better access to humanitarian relief.
UN rights office urges Egypt to halt death row executions amid torture allegations
Feb 23, 2019, at 09:12 am
New York, Feb 23 (IBNS): Fifteen death row inmates have been executed in Egypt so far this month despite claims from many that they were tortured to secure a confession, the UN human rights office, OHCHR, said on Friday.
Global terror financing watchdog condemns Pulwama attack, chides Pakistan on terror-curb efforts
Feb 22, 2019, at 07:49 pm
Paris, Feb 22 (IBNS): Global terror financing watchdog Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has expressed "grave concern" and condemned the February 14 terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Puwama district that killed 40 Indian soldiers.
China, Saudi Arabia agree to expand cooperation
Feb 22, 2019, at 03:23 pm
Beijing, Feb 22 (Xinhua/UNI) Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng on Friday met and co-chaired a meeting of a high-level steering committee with Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, Saudi Arabia's crown prince, deputy prime minister and minister of defence.
Venezuela crisis: Maduro to close border with Brazil to block aid
Feb 22, 2019, at 10:17 am
Caracas, Feb 22 (UNI) Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has announced that he will close the border with Brazil as as a row over foreign humanitarian aid continues.
Parliamentarians directly called to take action on global issues by UN chief
Feb 22, 2019, at 09:39 am
New York, Feb 22 (IBNS): Addressing parliament elected officials from around the world gathered at United Nations Headquarters in New York on Thursday for an annual hearing, UN chief António Guterres called for their support on legislation and financing of global solutions to global problems, such as climate change, uncoordinated migration and the dangers of some new technologies.
Feb 22, 2019, at 09:29 am
New York, Feb 22 (IBNS): Despite the signing of a recent peace deal between the Government of the Central African Republic (CAR) and 14 armed groups, “we should not forget that the situation in the country remains serious,” a senior UN envoy told the Security Council on Thursday.
UN decolonization successes can ‘inspire us today,’ UN chief tells Special Committee
Feb 22, 2019, at 09:26 am
New York, Feb 22 (IBNS): Since the early 1960s, the United Nations decolonization committee has “accompanied many territories in their journey”, Secretary-General António Guterres said on Thursday, opening the body’s 2019 session.
Feb 21, 2019, at 08:53 am
New York, Feb 21 (IBNS): United Nations investigators on Wednesday denounced a raft of gross human rights violations being perpetrated in South Sudan, where over the past year, incidents of rape have surged and abductions, sexual slavery and brutal killings “have become commonplace.”
Prospect of lasting peace ‘fading by the day’ in Gaza and West Bank, senior UN envoy warns
Feb 21, 2019, at 08:50 am
New York, Feb 21 (IBNS): The spectres of violence and radicalism in the Occupied Palestinian Territory are growing, and the prospect of sustainable peace is fading by the day, a senior UN envoy in the region told the Security Council on Wednesday.
Man arrested in $8.5Mln business fraud scheme sent funds to Russia - US Justice Dept
Feb 21, 2019, at 08:34 am
New York City, Feb 21 (Sputnik) Florida resident Igor Buzyukov was arrested on charges of laundering $8.5 million in a business fraud scheme and sending funds to bank accounts in Russia, Turkey and Ukraine, the Justice Department said in statement.
Punish those behind Pulwama attack, US tells Pakistan
Feb 20, 2019, at 05:01 pm
Washington, Feb 20 (UNI) The United States, voicing its "strong support" for India, has pressed Pakistan to punish those behind the Pulwama terrorist attack.
Feb 20, 2019, at 09:54 am
New York, Feb 20 (IBNS): At a time of rapid urbanization, cities face challenges that are global in nature but require “the full engagement of local authorities” for multilateral solutions, the head of the United Nations agriculture agency told a special gathering of mayors on Tuesday.
Feb 20, 2019, at 09:45 am
New York, Feb 20 (IBNS): An inter-Burundian, inclusive dialogue remains the only viable option for lasting settlement of the political crisis and the holding of elections in 2020 in a peaceful environment, the United Nations Special Envoy for the country, Michel Kafando, told the Security Council on Tuesday
Moving from a promise made in Sweden to hope for peace in Yemen
Feb 20, 2019, at 09:41 am
New York, Feb 20 (IBNS): “Significant progress” is being made in implementing the deal reached in Stockholm last December between Government and Houthi leaders in Yemen, according to United Nations Special Envoy Martin Griffiths.
Not enough resettlement solutions for refugees worldwide, says UN
Feb 20, 2019, at 08:59 am
New York, Feb 20 (IBNS): Despite record numbers of people forcibly displaced across borders, with 1.2 million in need of a new permanent place to call home last year, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) released new data on Tuesday showing that only 55,700 of them – 4.7 per cent – were able to be resettled in 2018.
UK Prime Minister to present new proposals on Irish backstop issue on Wednesday
Feb 20, 2019, at 08:55 am
Moscow, Feb 20 (Sputnik) UK Prime Minister Theresa May will present new proposals on the Irish border backstop issue in a new attempt to gain support for the deal on the country's withdrawal from the European Union, local media reported on Wednesday.
Myanmar and UN agriculture agency agree framework to improve nutrition and food security
Feb 20, 2019, at 08:51 am
New York, Feb 20 (IBNS): The Myanmar Government and the UN’s agriculture agency signed on Tuesday a multi-year agreement that will create conditions to help improve nutrition and food security in the south-east Asian country, while safeguarding and sustainably managing the use of natural resources.