Leaders at UN summit take steps to ensure food security for 9 billion people by 2050
Sep 24, 2014, at 06:52 pm
New York, Sept 24 (IBNS) With demand for food set to increase 60 per cent by 2050, world leaders, major corporations and civil society at the United Nations Climate Summit on Tuesday pledged commitments to transform agricultural practices by increasing productivity while reducing carbon emissions.
Hundreds of thousands of Syrian Kurds live in fear of Islamist extremist violence – UN
Sep 24, 2014, at 06:41 pm
New York, Sept 24 (IBNS) With 138,000 Syrians having already fled to Turkey from the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), United Nations officials on Tuesday voiced grave concern for hundreds of thousands more who remained, living in fear of the sort of persecution perpetrated by ISIL against religious and ethnic minorities elsewhere.
UN experts urge real dialogue with children about their rights, decisions that affect them
Sep 24, 2014, at 06:37 pm
New York, Sept 24 (IBNS) A group of United Nations independents experts on Tuesday called on governments to make renewed efforts to ensure that children’s views are heard and taken into account.
On eve of Security Council summit, Ban calls for decisive action against terrorism
Sep 24, 2014, at 06:27 pm
New York, Sept 24 (IBNS) Ahead of on Wednesday’s United Nations Security Council summit on foreign terrorist fighters, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is calling for decisive action in support of efforts to confront extremists.
Cross-border attacks force movement of Nigerian refugees in Cameroon – UN agency
Sep 24, 2014, at 06:13 pm
New York, Sept 24 (IBNS) The United Nations refugee agency announced on Tuesday that it is stepping up efforts to move some 5,000 Nigerian refugees in Cameroon away from a border town amidst ongoing cross border attacks by insurgents.
Iraq: UN delivers food to over 1 million displaced people; refugee numbers rise sharply
Sep 24, 2014, at 06:09 pm
New York, Sept 24 (IBNS) Despite insecurity and the continuous movement of people, the United Nations said on Tuesday it has reached more than one million people uprooted by violence across Iraq with food assistance, while also noting a sharp increase in refugees fleeing into neighbouring Jordan and Turkey.
UN rights office disappointed as Thai court upholds conviction on insulting monarchy
Sep 24, 2014, at 05:56 pm
New York, Sept 24 (IBNS) The United Nations human rights office on Tuesday voiced its disappointment at the decision of a court in Thailand to uphold the conviction and sentencing of an editor for publishing articles considered offensive to the monarchy.
Thousands of children at risk of starvation in South Sudan, UNICEF warns
Sep 24, 2014, at 05:03 pm
New York, Sept 24 (IBNS) Thousands of children under the age of five are at risk of dying from malnutrition in South Sudan and 1.5 million people will be in crisis and emergency food insecurity levels from September through December, warned the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on Tuesday .
ISIS releases second video of British hostage
Sep 24, 2014, at 04:51 am
London, Sept 23 (IBNS): The Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) on Tuesday released a second video of British freelance photographer John Cantlie in less than a week.
Karzai slams US, Pakistan in farewell speech
Sep 24, 2014, at 02:58 am
Kabul, Sept 23 (IBNS): Outgoing Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Tuesday blamed the United States and Pakistan for his country's long war situation.
DR Congo: Ban says recommitment to peace framework critical to addressing root cause of conflict
Sep 23, 2014, at 06:10 pm
New York, Sept 23 (IBNS) United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Monday said that addressing the root causes of the conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the region requires a recommitment to all national and regional commitments under the agreed-to peace Framework.
Global film industry perpetuates discrimination against women – UN-backed study
Sep 23, 2014, at 06:07 pm
New York, Sept 23 (IBNS) Nowhere to be “scene,†women protagonists have less than one-third of all speaking roles in film and are largely absent from powerful positions, according to a United Nations-backed survey released on Monday which argues for the involvement of more female film-makers in the industry, and for greater sensitivity to gender imbalance on screen.
New UN-Arab League pact aims to better protect children affected by armed conflict
Sep 23, 2014, at 05:58 pm
New York, Sept 23 (IBNS) The United Nations and the League of Arab States on Monday signed an agreement to strengthen the protection of children affected by armed conflict in the Arab world.
Absence of 'credible political solution' causing severe consequences in Middle East: UN chief
Sep 23, 2014, at 05:55 pm
New York , Sept 23 (IBNS) The absence of a credible political solution is having "severe consequences" on the Middle East, said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on0 Monday as he urged all parties to reverse the negative trend toward hostilities and return to peace talks that tackle the root causes of the crisis.
Ban welcomes release of Turkish hostages seized three months ago in Iraq
Sep 23, 2014, at 05:36 pm
New York, Sept 23 (IBNS) United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday welcomed the release of a group of Turkish nations held since June by the group, the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
Accountability for Israeli, Palestinian rights violations vital for peace – UN official
Sep 23, 2014, at 05:32 pm
New York, Sept 23 (IBNS) A senior United Nations official on Monday urged both the Israeli and Palestinian sides to carry out their own investigations into the recent conflict and take steps to ensure accountability for violations of international human rights and humanitarian law that were committed.
Cairo+20: General Assembly reaffirms UN goals on population, development
Sep 23, 2014, at 05:28 pm
New York, Sept 23 (IBNS) The international community must renew its pledge to protect women and girls as it strives to improve the dignity of all people and secure the future of the planet, senior United Nations officials told General Assembly on Monday, marking 20 years since a landmark conference that reinforced the principle that people should be at the centre of development.
Success of Indigenous Peoples World Conference 'integral to humanity's progress'-Ban
Sep 23, 2014, at 05:21 pm
New York, Sept 23 (IBNS) Opening on Monday the first-ever World Conference on Indigenous Peoples, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said that deliberations and decisions made during the two-day event will reverberate across the world, with concrete impacts on the lives of millions.
PLA must have absolute faith in Communist Party of China: Jinping
Sep 23, 2014, at 05:14 pm
Beijing, Sep 23 (IBNS): Chinese President Xi Jinping demanded “absolute loyalty†from People's Liberation Army (PLA)'s top brass, media reports said.
Yemen: Ban welcomes signing of UN-brokered agreement as step towards peace, stability
Sep 23, 2014, at 05:07 pm
New York, Sept 23(IBNS) United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is calling for the implementation “in full, without delay†of a newly-agreed peace deal in Yemen which strives to end violence that has killed and displaced hundreds of people in recent weeks.
Rizwan Akhtar appointed as Pakistan's ISI chief
Sep 23, 2014, at 06:01 am
Islamabad, Sept 22 (IBNS) Rizwan Akhtar has been appointed as the new Director General of Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), officials said on Monday.
Turkish hostages held by IS released
Sep 21, 2014, at 02:52 am
Istanbul, Sept 20 (IBNS): After three months of captivity, several Turkish hostages, who were abducted by Islamist militants form northern Iraq, were released on Saturday, media reports said.
Pakistan: Bird hits plane,passengers safe
Sep 21, 2014, at 02:50 am
Islamabad, Sept 20 (IBNS) Hit by a bird, a plane was grounded shortly after it took off from Pakistan's Islamabad airport on Saturday, media reports said.
In presidential statement, Security Council condemns attacks against UN Golan force
Sep 20, 2014, at 05:39 pm
New York, Sept 20 (IBNS)Condemning recent hostile acts against United Nations peacekeepers in the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) area of operations, the Security Council on Friday demanded that all groups other than UNDOF must abandon all Force positions and the Quneitra crossing point, and return the peacekeepers’ vehicles, weapons and other equipment.
Iraq: Security Council urges international support for Government’s combat against insurgents
Sep 20, 2014, at 05:12 pm
New York, Sept 20 (IBNS) The Security Council on Friday strongly condemned attacks by terrorist organizations including the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), and urged Member States to assist the Iraqi Government’s efforts to combat militants and implement its new political agenda, while the United Nations envoy to the country briefed on the latest developments.
UN human rights office welcomes conditional release of Bahraini rights defender
Sep 20, 2014, at 04:58 pm
New York, Sept 20 (IBNS) The United Nations Human Rights Office on Friday welcomed the conditional release of Bahraini human rights defender Maryam Al-Khawaja, who had been in detention since her arrest at Manama airport on 30 August.
Ukraine: UN political chief says adverse security conditions hampering full access to crash site
Sep 20, 2014, at 04:44 pm
New York, Sept 20 (IBNS) Two months after the crash of a Malaysia Airlines flight over Ukraine that killed 298 people on board, the top United Nations political official updated the Security Council on developments related to the investigation of the incident.
Mali: Security Council, Ban condemn attack that killed five UN peacekeepers
Sep 20, 2014, at 04:39 pm
New York, Sept 20 (IBNS) The Security Council and Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday condemned in the strongest terms on Thursday ’s attack by an explosive device on a road in Mali, in which five Chadian peacekeepers were killed and three other peacekeepers were severely injured.
Sinking of Mediterranean migrant boat amounts to 'mass murder' - UN rights chief
Sep 20, 2014, at 04:26 pm
New York, Sept 20 (IBNS) The UN's top human rights official on Friday urged Egypt and other North African and European States to help bring to justice the people smugglers who allegedly deliberately sank a boat causing the deaths of hundreds of refugees and migrants in last week's "truly horrendous incident" in the Mediterranean.
Marking International Day, UN affirms people's right to 'imagine' world at peace
Sep 20, 2014, at 04:17 pm
New York, Sept 20 (IBNS) With John Lennon's iconic song "Imagine" as the backdrop, the United Nations on Friday marked the International Day of Peace underscoring that all people have the right to peace.