Senior panel probing violations in Syria, examining new measures to safeguard humanitarians
Jan 22, 2021, at 04:06 pm
New York: The UN chief announced on Thursday that he has set up an independent Senior Advisory Panel on strengthening the mechanism whereby humanitarian workers and sites are better protected from attack in Syria, according to a statement released by his spokesperson.
Central African Republic: UN mission chief appeals for more peacekeepers
Jan 22, 2021, at 04:02 pm
New York: The top UN official in the Central African Republic (CAR) appealed to the Security Council on Thursday for more peacekeepers and equipment amid escalating violence surrounding elections last month.
Hurting Beijing: Denmark govt mulls Taiwan's WHO return
Jan 22, 2021, at 02:59 am
Copenhagen: The Denmark parliament is considering a resolution to support Taiwan's bid to return to the World Health Organization, a step that might annoy China.
‘Swift action’ needed in Tigray to save thousands at risk, UNHCR warns
Jan 20, 2021, at 03:54 pm
New York: Two months after conflict forced humanitarian workers to withdraw from the Tigray region of Ethiopia, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), on Tuesday, stressed the need for “swift action” to restore safe access to “save thousands of lives at risk”.
Israel: ‘Halt and reverse’ new settlement construction: UN chief
Jan 20, 2021, at 03:45 pm
New York: Israel’s decision to advance plans for some 800 new settlement units, most of which are located deep inside the occupied West Bank, has sparked the concern of UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
Spectre of unrest, violent repression looming over Haiti, warns UN rights office
Jan 20, 2021, at 03:34 pm
New York: Increasing political tensions in Haiti coupled with insecurity and structural inequalities could result in protests followed by violent crackdowns by authorities, the United Nations human rights office (OHCHR) warned on Tuesday.
Swiss government calls on voters to reject burqa, niqab ban in upcoming referendum
Jan 20, 2021, at 03:08 pm
Bern/Sputnik: The Swiss government on Tuesday urged the country's voters to reject a proposal to ban full facial coverings, such as the Islamic burqa and niqab, in an upcoming March referendum.
Two UN peacekeepers killed in an ambush in Central African Republic
Jan 19, 2021, at 10:33 pm
Bangui/New York/New Delhi/Two United Nations peacekeepers were killed after their convoy was ambushed by members of the UPC and anti-Balaka armed groups in southern Central African Republic (CAR), the UN Mission in the country said on Monday.
Guterres commends Libya forum for breakthrough on interim leadership deal
Jan 19, 2021, at 03:56 pm
New York: The UN Secretary-General has praised the breakthrough made by a key committee of the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum at the weekend, over an interim political leadership deal, ahead of nationwide elections at the end of the year.
UN rights office ‘deeply troubled’ by Russian activist Aleksei Navalny’s arrest
Jan 19, 2021, at 03:47 pm
New York: The UN human rights office (OHCHR) have raised alarm over the arrest of Russian opposition activist Aleksei Navalny and called for his immediate release. The office said in a tweet that they were "deeply troubled" by the arrest and called on the Government to respect his right to legal due process.
UN chief calls for protection of civilians as violence spikes in Sudan’s West Darfur
Jan 19, 2021, at 03:11 pm
New York: The United Nations Secretary-General has voiced deep concern over escalating violence in West Darfur and called on the Sudanese authorities to “expend all efforts” to end the fighting and protect civilians.
Woman aged 96 becomes first Spaniard to get 2nd dose of Pfizer vaccine : Health Ministry
Jan 18, 2021, at 11:58 pm
Moscow/Sputnik: The first person to receive the COVID-19 vaccine developed by US company Pfizer in Spain, a 96-year-old resident of a care home, Araceli Rosario Hidalgo, has now received the second shot of the vaccine, the Spanish Health Ministry said on Monday.
Corruption scam: Samsung heir Lee Jae Yong gets 2.5-yr prison term
Jan 18, 2021, at 11:03 pm
Seoul/UNI: The de facto chief of South Korea's Samsung company Lee Jae Yong was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in jail over corruption charges on Monday.
Armed bandits kill over 20 people in Nigeria : Reports
Jan 18, 2021, at 10:36 pm
Moscow/Sputnik: At least 24 people were killed across Nigeria over the weekend in attacks carried out by bandits and cultists, Nigeria’s Vanguard newspaper reported on Monday.
UK think tank warns gov't peak of living standards crisis if COVID-19 benefits terminated
Jan 18, 2021, at 10:32 pm
Moscow/Sputnik: The Resolution Foundation called on the UK government on Monday to not cancel the 20 pound ($27) uplift to Universal Credit benefits, warning that the worst hit of the pandemic on living standards of low-income households was still ahead despite the vaccine-driven economic recovery.
Switzerland closes two hotels in St. Moritz resort due to spread of mutated COVID-19
Jan 18, 2021, at 10:22 pm
Zurich/Sputnik: Graubünden, a canton in the south-east of Switzerland, on Monday shut down the St. Moritz ski resort and put guests and staff on quarantine, after health authorities registered a surge in the spread of the mutated strain of coronavirus.
Russia sends 300 more troops to Syria’s Al-Hasakah to reinforce observation posts-military
Jan 18, 2021, at 03:14 pm
Moscow/Sputnik: Additional units of Russian military police, about 300 servicemen in total, are being deployed to Syria’s northeastern Al-Hasakah province in order to reinforce joint observation posts, the Russian military has announced.
Japan culled record 5.8mln chickens since November: Reports
Jan 18, 2021, at 04:42 am
Moscow/Sputnik: Japan has culled record 5.8 million chickens since November due to bird flu, the NHK broadcaster reported Sunday.
Guterres welcomes Palestinian announcement of elections as ‘crucial step’ towards united
Jan 18, 2021, at 03:25 am
New York: The UN Secretary-General has welcomed Friday’s announcement from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of the first full parliamentary and presidential elections in 15 years, scheduled to begin in May.
Peacekeepers under attack again in Mali, as one Egyptian blue helmet dies, another seriously injured
Jan 18, 2021, at 03:20 am
New York: The UN Secretary-General António Guterres has strongly condemned another fatal attack carried out against a peacekeeping convoy that left a ‘blue helmet’ from Egypt dead, and another seriously injured on Friday.
UK to host G7 summit in June to discuss COVID-19 recovery, climate change
Jan 17, 2021, at 03:19 pm
London/Sputnik: The leaders of the seven world's leading industrial nations (G7) will meet from June 11-13 2021 in the English coastal county of Cornwall to address shared challenges such as the recovery from the COVID-19 crisis and climate change, the UK government announced on Sunday.
Jan 17, 2021, at 06:26 am
New York: A French think tank group has recommended that the European Union should create a united front with the US to tighten control of the transfer of semiconductor technologies to China that could be used to advance weapons developed by the Chinese military.
Some 10,000 join anti-lockdown protest in Vienna: Police
Jan 17, 2021, at 04:49 am
Vienna/Sputnik: Some 10,000 people are taking part in an anti-lockdown protest in Vienna on Saturday, police spokesman Markus Dittrich told Sputnik.
France: Government shuts places of worship to check Islamic separatism
Jan 16, 2021, at 09:50 pm
Paris/UNI: As part of its campaign to curb the propagation of radical Islamic ideology and separatism, France has closed nine places of worship, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin has said here.
Child labour ‘robs children of their future’, scourge must end urges UN
Jan 16, 2021, at 03:28 pm
New York: Although child labour has decreased significantly over the last decade, one-in-ten children are still caught up in harmful work, the UN’s labour agency said on Friday, kicking off a year-long bid to eradicate the practice.
Pandemic curbs trend towards ever-increasing migration
Jan 16, 2021, at 03:19 pm
New York: Travel restrictions and other curbs to movement put in place in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic, have put a significant dent in migration figures, but the overall trend shows 100 million more people living outside their countries of origin in 2020, compared to the year 2000, a new UN report revealed on Friday.
Jan 16, 2021, at 03:09 pm
New York: “Worsening” election violence in the Central African Republic (CAR) has forced 120,000 people from their homes, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Friday, as the UN Secretary-General also condemned another attack by combatants on a UN convoy, which left a peacekeeper from Burundi dead, and two others wounded.
Jammu and Kashmir: 2-day training programme on GeM begins at Kashmir University
Jan 15, 2021, at 10:34 pm
Srinagar: Registrar of University of Kashmir Dr Nisar Ahmad Mir inaugurated on Thursday a two-day training programme for officers and officials of the varsity about the Government e-Market Place (GeM).
Ethiopia: Safe access and swift action needed for refugees in Tigray
Jan 15, 2021, at 04:53 pm
New York: The head of the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) on Wednesday expressed his deep concern over the humanitarian situation in the Tigray region of Ethiopia, including its impact on Eritrean refugees hosted there.
UN officials fear US terrorist designation will hasten famine in Yemen
Jan 15, 2021, at 04:31 pm
Senior UN officials have expressed concern over the potential impact of the decision by the United States to designate Yemen’s Ansar Allah, more commonly known as the Houthi movement, a terrorist group, the Security Council heard on Thursday.