Ahead of Social Justice Day, UN agency calls for fair labour migration governance
Feb 20, 2018, at 01:19 pm
New York, Feb 20 (JEN): Many migrant workers end up trapped in low-pay, unsafe and unhealthy jobs, the head of the United Nations labour agency warned Monday, calling for the adoption of fair labour migration governance frameworks at the global, regional and national levels.
United States: Planned execution of seriously ill man may amount to torture, warn UN experts
Feb 20, 2018, at 01:15 pm
New York, Feb 20 (JEN): Two United Nations human rights experts have urged the Government of the United States to halt the execution a seriously ill person stressing that given his health condition, the use of lethal injection could possibly amount to torture.
More than 80 people trapped inside cable cars in Malayasia
Feb 19, 2018, at 09:01 pm
Kuala Lumpur, Feb 19 (IBNS) : More the 80 people were trapped inside the cable cars while hundreds more stranded for hours due to a breakdown at Malaysia's northern resort island of Langkawi late Sunday, Xinhua reported quoting local media.
Polish embassy in Tel Aviv vandalised
Feb 19, 2018, at 05:26 pm
Tel Aviv, Feb 19 (IBNS): The Polish embassy in Tel Aviv has been vandalised by unknown miscreants, a day after the Polish Prime Minister said that even Jews were among people guilty of carrying out the Holocaust.
Feb 19, 2018, at 03:03 pm
New York, Feb 19 (JEN): The top United Nations humanitarian official in Somalia has commended the drought relief and recovery efforts of the authorities in the northern state of Puntland, while cautioning that the current humanitarian crisis is far from over.
Iranian passenger plane with 66 people on board crashes into mountains, all feared killed
Feb 18, 2018, at 07:49 pm
Tehran, Feb 18 (IBNS): An Iranian passenger plane, with 66 people on board, has crashed into the country’s Zagros mountains, media reports said on Sunday.
Korean nuclear crisis, Middle East quagmire eroding global security, UN chief tells Munich summit
Feb 17, 2018, at 02:00 pm
New York, Feb 17 (JEN): A nuclear threat on the Korean Peninsula and a quagmire in the Middle East are “two qualitative changes” that further eroded global security over the past year, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres told an annual conference on international security policy in Munich, Germany.
Feb 17, 2018, at 01:56 pm
New York, Feb Countries need to strengthen the effectiveness of their tax regimes to unleash much-needed domestic resources to ensure the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as well as the promotion of inclusive economic growth, United Nations and as key international economic and financial organizations have urged.
Haiti: UN determined to support authorities in strengthening rule of law
Feb 17, 2018, at 01:50 pm
New York, Feb 17 (JEN): Strengthening the rule of law and improving the national police and the judicial system in Haiti will require political will on the part of the authorities, and the United Nations is determined to support this goal, said Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Bintou Keita.
UN development agency remains committed to support Lebanon, says agency head
Feb 17, 2018, at 01:46 pm
New York, Feb 17 (JEN): Reverberations of the Syrian conflict – which has now lasted longer than World War II – are being felt throughout the region, including in Lebanon, which shares most of its land border with the war-torn country, and hosts hundreds of thousands of its refugees, the head of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) warned on Friday.
crisis-torn eastern DR Congo, UN food relief agency expands operations to stem hunger
Feb 17, 2018, at 01:43 pm
New York, Feb 17 (JEN): Escalating violence, daunting logistical challenges and insufficient funding have prompted the United Nations food relief agency to broaden its emergency operation in the war-ravaged Kasai region in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Feb 17, 2018, at 01:33 pm
New York, Feb 17 (JEN): Bold, innovative solutions are now on the table to accelerate the prevention and control of deadly noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) – such as heart and lung disease, cancers and diabetes – as a new United Nations health agency high-level commission gets set to begin its work.
UN, partners complete first aid delivery in months to Syria’s war-battered east Ghouta
Feb 17, 2018, at 01:30 pm
New York, Feb 17 (JEN): Thousands of civilians in east Ghouta now have life-saving food and medical supplies after the first aid convoy in nearly three months reached the besieged enclave just outside the Syrian capital of Damascus, the top United Nations humanitarian official in the country said on Friday.
Service and Sacrifice: Honouring Nigeria’s contribution to UN peacekeeping
Feb 17, 2018, at 01:26 pm
New York, Feb 17 (JEN): Since the 1960s, Nigeria has been a major contributor of troops and police to United Nations peace operations, having served in dozens of missions. Most recently, Nigerian troops were the military backbone of the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL), from 2003-2018, helping to restore security throughout a country that had undergone a brutal civil war.
UN rights chief urges Iran to halt executions of juveniles on death row
Feb 17, 2018, at 01:16 pm
New York, Feb 17 (JEN): Expressing concern over a “surge” in the number of juvenile offenders being executed in Iran, the United Nations top human rights official called on the country to abide by its obligations under international law and immediately halt all executions of people sentenced to death for crimes committed when they were under the age of eighteen.
UN chief expresses ‘profound sadness’ at Florida gun massacre
Feb 16, 2018, at 02:24 pm
Feb 16, 2018, at 02:20 pm
New York, Feb 16 (JEN): Aid agencies in Mali have launched the 2018 Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP ), asking for $263 million to provide humanitarian assistance to the most vulnerable people, a senior United Nations aid official in the country said
Alarming gaps in reliable data leave 28 million uprooted children unprotected – UN
Feb 16, 2018, at 02:08 pm
New York, Feb 16 (JEN): There are “alarming holes” in the availability, reliability, timeliness and accessibility of the data and evidence essential for understanding how children and their families are impacted by migration and forced displacement, United Nations agencies and their partners warned on Thursday.
New guidelines on global care standards during childbirth issued by UN health agency
Feb 16, 2018, at 01:53 pm
New York, Feb 16 (JEN): The United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) has issued new guidelines on global care standards throughout labour and immediately after childbirth aimed at reducing the use of needless and potentially harmful routine clinical and medical interventions.
Zimbabwe main opposition leader Tsvangirai succumbs to colon cancer
Feb 15, 2018, at 04:49 pm
Harare/Cape Town, Feb 15 (IBNS): Zimbabwe's opposition leader and former Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has died. He was aged 65.
Guinea-Bissau: Political crisis requires continued UN presence, Security Council told
Feb 15, 2018, at 02:55 pm
New York, Feb 15 (JEN): The United Nations will need to focus its efforts on supporting Guinea-Bissau’s national leaders in their efforts to appoint an acceptable Prime Minister, establish an inclusive Government, organize and conduct timely elections, and implement the priority reforms, a UN envoy for the West African country said Wednesday.
In Johannesburg, UN youth envoy spotlights need to boost support for reproductive health
Feb 15, 2018, at 02:49 pm
New York, Feb 15 (IBNS): In this century, child marriage cannot be allowed to happen, and similarly, children should not give birth to children, the United Nations youth envoy told an African forum on reproductive health and rights on Wednesday.
Without firm action on gender equality, women’s empowerment, world may miss development targets
Feb 15, 2018, at 02:37 pm
New York, Feb 15 (IBNS): Without speedy progress on gender equality and real action to end pervasive discrimination against women and girls, the global community will not be able to keep the promise to ‘leave no one behind’ on the road to ending poverty, protecting the planet and advancing prosperity by 2030, according to a new United Nations report launched on Wednesday.
Syria: Civilians killed on ‘horrific scale’ as conflict begins spilling across borders
Feb 15, 2018, at 02:30 pm
New York, Feb 15 (IBNS): The conflict in Syria is now spilling over the country’s borders amid increased military intervention from multiple sources, a senior United Nations mediator said on Wednesday, warning that civilians are being killed on a horrific scale and the crisis is at one of the most “dangerous and worrying moments” in over four years.
At donor conference, UN chief launches two-year plan to fast-track Iraq reconstruction
Feb 15, 2018, at 02:18 pm
New York, Feb 15 (IBNS): United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on Wednesday launched a reconstruction programme for Iraq, urging the global community to support Iraqis as they embark on the journey to rebuild their country and make sure that it is committed to unity and inclusivity.
South Africa President Jacob Zuma resigns
Feb 15, 2018, at 02:04 pm
Johannesburg, Feb 15 (IBNS): Amid intense pressure from his party, South African President Jacob Zuma on Wednesday resigned from his office.
Israel police say Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu must face corruption probe
Feb 14, 2018, at 04:54 pm
Jerusalem, Feb 14 (IBNS): Israeli police have said that the country's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ought to face corruption charges.
Actress Minnie Driver steps down as Oxfam ambassador over Haiti scandal
Feb 14, 2018, at 03:29 pm
Los Angeles, Feb 14 (IBNS): In a major move since revelations of sexual abuse by aid workers in Haiti, actress Minnie Driver has stepped down as the ambassador of UK-based charity Oxfam.
Oxfam International chairman Juan Alberto Fuentes detained over corruption charges
Feb 14, 2018, at 03:13 pm
Guatemala, Feb 14 (IBNS): Police in Guatemala have detained Juan Alberto Fuentes, Chairman of the charity Oxfam International, on Tuesday, media reports said.
New study finds sea level rise accelerating
Feb 14, 2018, at 02:35 pm
Washington, Feb 14 (IBNS): Global sea level rise has been accelerating in recent decades, rather than increasing steadily, according to a new study based on 25 years of NASA and European satellite data.