UN chief welcomes climate change plan unveiled by President Obama

Aug 04, 2015, at 02:28 pm

New York, Aug 4 (IBNS): United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has welcomed the Clean Power Plan formally unveiled on Monday by President Barack Obama, saying it shows the determination of the United States to address global warming while also saving money and growing the economy.

Central Africa: Security Council condemns attacks that killed peacekeeper

Aug 04, 2015, at 02:26 pm

New York, Aug 4 (IBNS): The members of the Security Council condemned on Monday in the strongest terms the attacks against a convoy of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA), which were perpetrated on Sunday in Bangui and resulted in the death of one peacekeeper.

UN chief condemns killing of peacekeeper in Central African Republic

Aug 03, 2015, at 11:17 pm

New York, Aug 3 (IBNS) United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned today the killing of a peacekeeper from the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA).

Ban hails UN Member States' agreement on 'people's agenda' to end poverty, promote sustainability

Aug 03, 2015, at 11:05 pm

New York, Aug 3 (IBNS) United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has praised UN Member States for reaching agreement on the draft outcome document that will constitute the new sustainable development agenda, which will be formally adopted by world leaders in New York this September.

MH 370: Another plane part found

Aug 02, 2015, at 10:22 pm

London, Aug 2 (IBNS): After the debris of an air craft suspected to be a part of the missing flight MH370 was found last week, another suspected plane debris has also washed ashore on the Indian Ocean island of Reunion, media reports said on Sunday.

New Afghan Taliban leader releases audio message

Aug 02, 2015, at 02:56 am

Kabul, Aug 1 (IBNS) Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour has released a audio message where he has called for unity among Talibans, media reports said.

UN officials condemn West Bank arson attack that killed Palestinian child

Aug 01, 2015, at 02:24 pm

New York, Aug 1 (IBNS): United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the UN special envoy on the Middle East have strongly condemned Friday’s arson attack in the West Bank that killed a Palestinian child and left the child’s parents severely injured.

In ISIL-controlled territory, 8 million civilians living in ‘state of fear’: UN expert

Aug 01, 2015, at 02:21 pm

New York, Aug 1 (IBNS): The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) has engaged in widespread and systematic human rights violations of the most serious kinds in Syria and Iraq, brutally forcing some 8 million people to “assimilate, flee or face death,” according to a United Nations expert.

Ebola: WHO announces possible ‘game changer’ vaccine

Aug 01, 2015, at 02:18 pm

New York, Aug 1 (IBNS): Having achieved its “core objective” of scaling up global action to tackle the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, the United Nations Mission for Ebola Emergency Response will officially wind down on Friday, transferring its role to the World Health Organization (WHO), which just announced that an experimental vaccine being tested in Guinea appears to be highly effective and could be a “game changer.”

UN envoy Angelina Jolie visits displaced people in Myanmar’s Kachin state

Aug 01, 2015, at 02:15 pm

New York, Aug 1 (IBNS): Oscar-winning actress and United Nations refugee agency Special Envoy, Angelina Jolie, travelled on Thursday to Myanmar’s Kachin state, where internally displaced persons (IDPs), including a number of women, told her their stories

Gunmen opens fire at political rally in Sri Lank's Colombo, one killed

Jul 31, 2015, at 10:13 pm

Colombo, July 31 (IBNS): Unidentified gunmen on Friday opened fire at a political rally in Sri Lanka's Colombo city, leaving one person dead.

Yemen: UN begins food aid distribution in war-torn districts of Aden

Jul 31, 2015, at 02:30 pm

New York, Jul 31 (IBNS): The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has begun distribution of food to around 340,000 people in eight of the worst-affected areas of the southern Yemeni port city of Aden.

Small islands need partnerships to battle climate change: Ban

Jul 31, 2015, at 02:28 pm

New York, Jul 31 (IBNS): The global challenges facing the small island developing States (SIDS) are the international community’s collective responsibility, on Thursday stated the top United Nations official at the Security Council.

UN urges action to combat human trafficking, give victims ‘hope and justice’

Jul 31, 2015, at 02:27 pm

New York, Jul 31 (IBNS): Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday urged every country to join the fight against human trafficking as United Nations agencies and their partners vowed to work together to support and protect victims of this transnational crime, while pursuing and prosecuting criminals and their networks.

UN urges action to tackle illegal wildlife trade

Jul 31, 2015, at 02:25 pm

New York, Jul 31 (IBNS): Recognizing that wild animals and plants are an “irreplaceable part of the natural systems of the Earth,” the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday urged its Member States to take decisive steps to prevent, combat and eradicate the illegal trade in wildlife, “on both the supply and demand sides.”

Momentum building for UN-backed accord to combat rogue fishing business

Jul 31, 2015, at 02:23 pm

New York, Jul 31 (IBNS): Thirteen additional countries need to ratify an agreement brokered by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to combat illegal fishing by blocking ports to ships known or believed to be carrying illicit catches that account for more than 15 per cent of global output, the agency said onn Thursday.

Marking International Day of Friendship, Ban hails power of the human spirit

Jul 31, 2015, at 02:21 pm

New York, Jul 31 (IBNS): United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday praised a Paraguayan man whose “profound vision that the forces of animosity and hatred in our world are no match for the power of the human spirit” led to the creation of the International Day of Friendship, which falls on July 30 every year.

UNESCO voices alarm at reported killing of Iraqi journalists by extremists

Jul 31, 2015, at 02:20 pm

New York, Jul 31 (IBNS): The Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) voiced deep concern on Thursday over the reported killing of two Iraqi journalists in Mosul.

Amnesty International says more Myanmar prisoners of conscience remain behind bars

Jul 31, 2015, at 03:42 am

London, July 30 (IBNS) The release of at least 11 prisoners of conscience in a mass prisoner amnesty in Myanmar Thursday is a step in the right direction, but authorities must immediately clear the country's jails of the scores of peaceful activists who still remain behind bars, Amnesty International said.

UN-backed plan sets disaster resilience standards for hotels in Asia and Pacific

Jul 30, 2015, at 02:12 pm

New York, Jul 30 (IBNS): A United Nations-backed plan to develop and pilot disaster risk management standards for the hotel industry in Asia and the Pacific, home to 80 per cent of the world's disaster events, has been announced on Wednesday.

Security Council: Ban and UN envoy outline talk about political solution for Syria

Jul 30, 2015, at 02:10 pm

New York, Jul 30 (IBNS): Describing the more than four years of “slaughter” in Syria as a “shameful symbol of the international community’s divisions and failure,” United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday appealed to the Security Council to endorse his Special Envoy’s recommendations on reaching the political solution that “all parties claim to support.”

Orangutans face extinction on Borneo where deforestation is unsustainable: UN

Jul 30, 2015, at 02:08 pm

New York, Jul 30 (IBNS): The massive conversion of Borneo’s forests for the production palm oil together with the impact of climate change is driving to extinction the orangutan on Asia’s largest island, making it “clear that a future without sustainable development will be a future with a different climate and, eventually, without orangutans, one of our closest relatives,” a new United Nations report revealed on Wednesday.

UN projects world population to reach 8.5 billion by 2030

Jul 30, 2015, at 02:06 pm

New York, Jul 30 (IBNS): The world’s population is projected to reach 8.5 billion by 2030, 9.7 billion by 2050 and exceed 11 billion in 2100, with India expected to surpass China as the most populous around seven years from now and Nigeria overtaking the United States to become the world’s third largest country around 35 years from now, according to a new United Nations report released on Wednesday.

Economic ‘slowdown’ predicted for Latin America and Caribbean in 2015: UN forum

Jul 30, 2015, at 02:05 pm

New York, Jul 30 (IBNS): Panama will lead Latin America and the Caribbean countries in economic growth that will average 0.5 per cent in 2015, according to United Nations projections released on Wednesday, which not that to reverse the region’s economic slowdown, more investments are needed to boost growth and improve productivity.

UN mission in Cyprus renewed for six months by Security Council

Jul 30, 2015, at 02:03 pm

New York, Jul 30 (IBNS): The Security Council on Wednesday extended the mandate of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) for six months, until 31 January 2016, and welcomed resumed negotiations between the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders to reach a comprehensive settlement.

Ban condemns Israel’s approval of new settlement construction in West Bank

Jul 30, 2015, at 02:01 pm

New York, Jul 30 (IBNS): United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned the announcement on Wednesday that Israel has approved construction of some 300 housing units in the West Bank settlement of Beit El, as well as the planning and construction of nearly 500 housing units in a number of settlements in East Jerusalem.

Security Council fails to adopt proposal to create tribunal on crash of flight MH17

Jul 30, 2015, at 01:59 pm

New York, Jul 30 (IBNS): The United Nations Security Council was unable to adopt a new resolution on Wednesday following Russia’s negative vote on a measure that would have established an international tribunal to prosecute persons responsible for the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, which crashed on 17 July 2014 in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine.

Bahrain: UN chief condemns bomb attack in southern village

Jul 30, 2015, at 01:57 pm

New York, Jul 30 (IBNS): United Nations Secretary-General has condemned the bomb attack on Monday in the village of Sitra, Bahrain, which reportedly killed two policemen and injured several others.

Premature to say debris belongs to MH370: Malaysia Airlines

Jul 30, 2015, at 01:25 pm

Kuala Lumpur , July 30 (IBNS) Malaysia Airlines on Thursday said it was 'premature to speculate' on the origin of the debris of an air craft that has washed up on the French Indian Ocean island of La Reunion.

'Prevent hepatitis; Act now,' declares UN targeting hepatitis B and C

Jul 29, 2015, at 02:30 pm

New York, Jul 29 (IBNS): Marking World Hepatitis Day 2015, which falls on 28 July in honour of the birthday of the scientist who discovered the hepatitis B virus and its first vaccine, the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) and its partners are urging policy-makers, health workers and the public to act now to prevent infection and death from the infectious disease.