Lebanon has lodged a complaint with the United Nations after Israeli regime warplanes violated the West Asian country’s airspace to carry out separate airstrikes against positions near the Syrian capital city of Damascus and the western city of Homs. Caretaker Lebanese Defense Minister Zeina Akar, in a statement, condemned the …
Read More »UN chief calls on Taliban to halt offensive against Afghan govt. forces
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called on Taliban to “immediately halt” their military campaign against government troops and return to the negotiating table in good faith “in the interest of Afghanistan, and its people.” The Taliban group significantly increased their attacks to seize more territories from government forces after the withdrawal of …
Read More »At least 20 people, including children, shot dead by paramilitary group in Sudan
At least 20 people, including women and children, have been shot dead by members of a paramilitary group in southern Sudan, a tribal source says. The victims were those who were visiting farmers in Sudan’s war-ravaged Darfur region for the first time in years, said Ibrahim Ahmad, a tribal chief, …
Read More »At least 57 migrants die in shipwreck off Libyan coast -UN
At least 57 people drowned on Monday after a boat capsized off the Libyan coast near Khums, the latest tragedy in the central Mediterranean, the U.N.’s International Organization for Migration (IOM) said. “According to survivors brought to shore by fishermen and the coast guard, at least 20 women and two …
Read More »Australia avoids UNESCO downgrade of Great Barrier Reef
The Great Barrier Reef will not be added to a list of World Heritage Sites that are “in danger” after a UN panel on Friday agreed to defer a vote until 2022 amid intensive lobbying by Australia. A United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) committee last month recommended …
Read More »Over 140 Palestinians injured as Israeli forces use rubber bullets and tear gas to break up West Bank protest (PHOTOS, VIDEO)
Scores of Palestinians have been injured in clashes with Israeli forces in the West Bank town of Beita, medics said. Protests there have been ongoing for several months since Israel installed an outpost settlement in the area. At least 146 Palestinians were “injured by live and rubber bullets and tear …
Read More »Syria hails UN resolution to extend cross-border aid mechanism as ‘achievement’
The Syrian foreign minister has hailed as an “achievement” a newly-adopted United Nations resolution to extend the cross-border aid operation into the West Asian country, as the move would compel the West to respect the territorial integrity of Syria. According to reports, Faisal al-Mekdad made the remarks in a statement …
Read More »Damascus slams UN extension of Syria cross-border aid mechanism as ‘politicized’
Syria has censured as “politicized” the UN Security Council’s decision to extend a cross-border aid operation into the war-ravaged country from Turkey for the next 12 months, stating that the measure undermines the country’s sovereignty. Syria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Bassam Sabbagh said Western states solely insisted on the extension of …
Read More »Yemenis rally to support Ansarullah, condemn UN blacklist
Yemenis have roundly denounced UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’s decision to add the Ansarullah resistance movement to its annual blacklist of parties violating children’s rights, describing the measure as “foolish.” A large number of children on Saturday demonstrated in the northwestern city of Sa’ada, slamming the UN move to blacklist the …
Read More »Sudan asks UN Security Council to meet over Ethiopia’s Blue Nile dam
Sudan asked the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday to meet and discuss a dispute over a giant dam being built by Ethiopia on the Blue Nile, a government statement said.
Read More »Russian forces block US military patrol in northeast Syria
Russian forces have blocked an American military convoy, comprising four armored vehicles, in Syria’s northeastern Hasakah province.
Read More »HRW demands probe into UN ‘improper’ sharing of Rohingya data
Human Rights Watch (HRW) demands an investigation into the United Nations’ data collection on Rohingya Muslim refugees in Bangladesh, saying the UN refugee agency has “improperly” shared the information with authorities in Myanmar. The UN Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, has registered hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees in Bangladeshi camps …
Read More »UN warns of ‘mass deaths’ in Myanmar after 100,000 flee fighting
UN says people fleeing military’s ‘brutal, indiscriminate attacks’ in eastern Kayah are in dire need of food and water. A United Nations rights expert has warned of “mass deaths from starvation, disease, and exposure” in eastern Myanmar after “brutal, indiscriminate attacks” by the military forced tens of thousands of people …
Read More »Israeli demolition of Palestinian structures in West Bank soared by 90% y/y in April: UN
The United Nations says Israel’s demolition campaign against Palestinian homes and structures across the West Bank and East Jerusalem al-Quds soared dramatically in April compared to the similar month last year, marking a 90 percent increase in the number of structures targeted across the occupied territories. Israeli authorities demolished, forced …
Read More »Pandemic threatens peace, risks new conflicts: UN chief
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned Wednesday that the COVID-19 pandemic not only threatens gains in fighting global poverty and building peace but risks exacerbating existing conflicts and generating new ones. According to reports, the UN Chief told a Security Council meeting on the challenge of sustaining peace during the pandemic …
Read More »Qatar distances itself from PGCC call for UN to extend Iran embargo
Qatar has distanced itself from a hostile call by the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (PGCC) for the UN Security Council to back a US-proposed extension of the UN arms ban against Iran, highlighting good neighborly relations between the two countries. According to Press TV, speaking in an interview with al-Jazeera …
Read More »Report: UN set to reject US push to extend Iran arms embargo
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is set for a showdown over a US draft resolution to extend an Iranian arms embargo, with the motion lacking the minimum votes in favor to trigger any vetoes. UN diplomats said opposition to the resolution is so widespread that the US is unlikely …
Read More »Armed groups killed 1,300 in first half of 2020 in DR Congo: UN
More than 1,300 people have been killed in the first half of 2020 by armed groups in DR Congo, three times more than in the same period in 2019, according to a report published by the United Nations. Between January and June 2020, fighters of all armed groups were responsible …
Read More »Kalamar regrets the UN’s “failure” to investigate Khashoggi’s crime
The UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial executions, Agnes Kalamar, regretted what she saw as the failure of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to take a more courageous stand regarding her investigation into the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. “After my investigation into the killing of Khashoggi, I concluded that there …
Read More »Over 1 million displaced by violence in eastern DR Congo: UN
More than one million people have been forced to flee their homes in the violence-ravaged eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) since the start of the year, the UN said Tuesday. The UNHCR, the United Nations’ refugee agency, voiced alarm at an increasing number of attacks by armed groups …
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