Escalating Burkina Faso violence brings wider Sahel displacement emergency into focus

Feb 22, 2020, at 10:13 am

New York/IBNS: Deadly attacks on villages in Burkina Faso have forced 150,000 people to flee in just the last three weeks, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Friday, warning of a displacement emergency in the wider Sahel region.

On World Social Justice Day, the UN labour agency says ‘put people and planet first'

Feb 21, 2020, at 06:04 pm

New York/IBNS: Reduce inequality around the world, the United Nations labour agency urged on Thursday, World Social Justice Day.

Haitian leaders urged to end political impasse

Feb 21, 2020, at 06:03 pm

New York/IBNS: Leaders in Haiti must step up and end the political impasse between President Jovenel Moïse and a surging opposition movement that has paralyzed the island nation since July 2018, the top UN official there said on Thursday in a briefing to the UN Security Council in New York.

More than $1 billion pledged for post-earthquake recovery in Albania

Feb 21, 2020, at 06:02 pm

New York/IBNS: The international community has pledged $1.25 billion to help Albania recover from a devastating earthquake during a European Union-led donors’ conference in Brussels. 

Central African Republic: Security Council reflects on peace deal anniversary

Feb 21, 2020, at 06:00 pm

New York/IBNS: One year after the signing of a peace deal in the Central African Republic (CAR), State authority is being extended throughout the country, violence against civilians has decreased, and an inclusive Government remains in place, the UN Security Council heard on Thursday.

End hostilities, ‘preserve lives’: UN refugee chief makes appeal for people trapped in Syria’s Idlib

Feb 21, 2020, at 05:59 pm

New York/IBNS: As the already dire situation in north-west Syria dramatically continues to worsen in Idlib province, the head of the United Nations refugee agency called on Thursday for an end to the hostilities and appealed for urgent action to allow the people trapped there to move to places of safety.

‘Deliberate starvation’ tactics used in South Sudan could be a war crime

Feb 21, 2020, at 04:52 pm

New York/IBNS: The people of South Sudan have been “deliberately starved” in different parts of the country for ethnic and political reasons, and sexual violence against women and men as a weapon of war is ongoing, UN investigators said on Thursday.

China Shouguang vegetable price index down 2.41 pct

Feb 21, 2020, at 04:38 pm

Jinan/Xinhua/UNI: The China Shouguang vegetable price index, a barometer of the country's vegetable market, fell 2.41 percent to 178.7 points on Friday.

Train derailment leaves 2 dead in Australia

Feb 21, 2020, at 04:35 pm

Sydney/UNI: Two people were killed and 11 injured when a train carrying 153 passengers derailed near a town north of Melbourne, officials said on Friday.

2 babies killed in Mongolia home fire

Feb 21, 2020, at 04:33 pm

Ulan Bator/Xinhua/UNI:  Two babies have been killed in a home fire in southwestern Mongolia, the country's National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) reported Friday.

Shanghai rolls out guideline for tourist attractions to control epidemic

Feb 21, 2020, at 04:32 pm

Shanghai/Xinhua/UNI: Shanghai on Friday rolled out a guideline for the municipality's A-grade tourist attractions to combat the novel coronavirus epidemic.

Iran to hold parliamentary elections on Friday

Feb 21, 2020, at 04:30 pm

Tehran/Sputnik/UNI: The elections to Iran's 290-seat unicameral parliament will be held across the country on February 21.

Australia issues 42 arrest warrants for nationals in Syria suspected of IS links

Feb 21, 2020, at 04:25 pm

Canberra,/UNI: Australian Federal Police has obtained 42 arrest warrants for its citizens accused of supporting the Islamic State in Syria, including women from the Al-Hawl camp, The Guardian newspaper reported on Friday.

South Korea registers first Coronavirus death

Feb 20, 2020, at 08:25 pm

Seoul/UNI: South Korea confirmed the country's first fatality from the new Coronavirus on Thursday, while the total number of people infected by the deadly disease, recently named Covid-19, rose to 104.

Southern Philippine grenade blast kills 2 children

Feb 20, 2020, at 07:27 pm

Manila/Xinhua: A rifle grenade exploded inside a house in Dipolog City in the southern Philippines on Thursday, killing two boys aged eight and five, a military general said.

Suspected perpetrator of Hanau attack in Germany found dead at home, 1 more body discovered

Feb 20, 2020, at 10:31 am

Moscow, Feb 20 (Sputnik) A suspected perpetrator of the shooting attacks in the German town of Hanau was found dead at his home on Thursday, the police of southeastern Hessen said.

China's doping control officers need to go through strict medical check before work

Feb 19, 2020, at 06:46 pm

Beijing/Xinhua:The doping control officers (DCOs) must pass virus test and relative medical check before they are allowed to carry out doping tests amid a nationwide fight against the new coronavirus, China Anti-Doping Agency (CHINADA) said here on Wednesday.

Chinese military hackers steal Equifax data of 13 million Britons

Feb 18, 2020, at 08:35 pm

Beijing/IBNS: In a “criminal heist” spanning the globe, Chinese military hackers allegedly stole personal information of more than 13 million Britons, media reports said on Tuesday.

Leaked Chinese document on Uyghur Muslims show people detained for veil, beard or clicking on foreign website

Feb 18, 2020, at 08:31 pm

Beijing/IBNS: A leaked Chinese government document has shown how issues, like growing a beard, wearing a veil or accidentally visiting a foreign website, were among the justifications shown to send  Uyghur Muslims to China’s detention camps in Xinjiang province.

Thai economy to surge over 3 pct next year: central bank

Feb 18, 2020, at 05:13 pm

Banghok/Xinhua/UNI:  The Bank of Thailand (BOT) on Tuesday said that despite the slowing global economy, drought and delay of the fiscal 2020 budget, a gradual recovery will come at the second and third quarter this year.

Syrian army completely secures Aleppo city from rebels' shelling

Feb 18, 2020, at 05:10 pm

Damascus/Xinhua/UNI: The Syrian government forces on Monday said that Syria's northern city Aleppo has been finally made safe from shelling after a wide-scale military operation, saying that dozens of villages and towns returned under government control as a result of the current military operation..

South Korea sends presidential jet to return 4 citizens aboard virus-stricken liner: reports

Feb 18, 2020, at 05:06 pm

Seoul/Sputnik/UNI:  South Korea has sent a presidential plane to Japan to evacuate four of its citizens from the coronavirus-stricken Diamond Princess cruise liner, media reported on Tuesday.

Car explosion on highway in western Colombia kills 7, injures 11: Local Army Chief

Feb 18, 2020, at 05:01 pm

Moscow/Sputnik/UNI: At least seven people have died, and 11 others were injured as a result of a car explosion in western Colombia, Major General Jorge Isaacs Hoyos Rojas, a local army commander, said on Tuesday.

China's airlines cancel 78,000 flights, return 13 million tickets amid COVID-19 outbreak

Feb 18, 2020, at 04:59 pm

Beijing/Sputnik/UNI: China's numerous airlines have canceled some 78,000 flights and returned about 13 million tickets due to the deadly coronavirus outbreak, deputy head of the country's state property control and management committee, Ren Hongbin, said on Tuesday.

Norway charges 2019 mosque shooter with terrorism, murder

Feb 18, 2020, at 10:43 am

Moscow/Sputnik/UNI: Norwegian prosecutors on Monday pressed terrorism and murder charges against Philip Manshaus, who attacked a mosque and killed his step-sister last August.

Iraq: Education access still a challenge in former ISIL-controlled areas

Feb 18, 2020, at 10:21 am

New York/IBNS: More than two years after the defeat of ISIL in Iraq, some children in areas formerly controlled by the terrorist group still cannot access school or get the necessary documentation required for enrollment, a UN report published on Monday finds.

As north-west Syria violence reaches ‘horrifying’ new level, UN relief chief says ceasefire is only option

Feb 18, 2020, at 10:19 am

New York/IBNS: The crisis in north-west Syria has reached a “horrifying new level”, the UN Humanitarian Affairs chief warned on Monday.

Amid global ‘learning crisis’, Parliaments can ensure adequate resources for education, says UN Assembly President

Feb 18, 2020, at 10:07 am

New York/IBNS: Education is the “great equalizer” and Parliaments have a major role to play in scaling up action to ensure that adequate financial resources are allocated to education, girls’ education and technical and vocational training throughout in national budgetary processes, the President of the UN General Assembly said on Monday.

European council president highlights role of EU-US alliance in conversation with Pelosi

Feb 17, 2020, at 07:58 pm

Brussels/Sputnik: European Council President Charles Michel on Monday stressed the importance of the transatlantic alliance between the European Union and the United States, as well as shared EU-US values with US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

World Bank Group launches initiatives supporting women entrepreneurs

Feb 17, 2020, at 05:52 pm

Dubai/IBNS: The World Bank Group announced two new initiatives to improve access to start-up financing and e-commerce markets for women entrepreneurs, at the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi) Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Summit.