Tag: United Nations

U.S.-led forces strike Syrian troops, prompting emergency U.N. meeting

  (REUTERS)  U.S.-led coalition air strikes reportedly killed dozens of Syrian soldiers on Saturday, endangering a U.S.-Russian brokered ceasefire and prompting an emergency U.N. Security Council meeting as tensions between Moscow and Washington escalated. The United States military said the coalition stopped the attacks against what it had believed to be Islamic State positions in northeast Syria after Russia informed it that Syrian military personnel and vehicles may have been hit. The United States relayed […]

North Korea says sanctions push after nuclear test ‘laughable’

  (REUTERS) North Korea said on Sunday a push for further sanctions following its fifth and biggest nuclear test was “laughable”, and vowed to continue to strengthen its nuclear power. The isolated state on Friday set off its most powerful nuclear explosion to date, saying it had mastered the ability to mount a warhead on a ballistic missile, ratcheting up a threat that its rivals and the United Nations have been powerless to contain. A […]

Kerry, Lavrov concerned after latest North Korea nuclear test

  (Reuters) — Speaking to media after talks on the crisis in Syria in the early hours of Saturday (September 10) U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also spoke of their worries over North Korea and its latest nuclear missile test, which took place on Friday (September 9). John Kerry said he expected President Barack Obama to address the issue and said there would be discussions at the United […]

Global anger over N. Korea nuclear test as UN set to meet

UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) – by Carole LANDRY with Jung Ha-Won in Seoul World powers expressed outrage Friday after North Korea claimed it had successfully tested a nuclear warhead that could be mounted on a missile, prompting urgent UN talks and calls for new sanctions. South Korea, the United States, Japan, Russia and China all condemned the blast at the Punggye-ri nuclear site, the North’s fifth and most powerful yet at 10 kilotons. At the […]

U.N.’s Ban urges ASEAN to ratify Paris climate agreement

(Reuters) — United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, addressing the ASEAN summit on Wednesday (September 7) in the Laotian capital Vientiane, urged member countries to ratify the Paris agreement. In Paris last December, nearly 200 countries agreed on a binding global compact to slash greenhouse gases and keep global temperature increases to “well below” 2 degrees Celsius. While 180 countries have now signed the agreement, 55 nations – covering at least 55 percent of global emissions […]

Duterte skips ASEAN-US and ASEAN-UN meetings

  (Eagle News)– President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday (September 8) skipped the ASEAN-United States Summit with US President Barack Obama, and the ASEAN-UN meeting with UN Secretary General Ban Ki -moon on Wednesday as well. Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr. represented the Philippines in Duterte’s place in both important meetings. On Wednesday, Duterte also skipped the ASEAN-UN meeting with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon as he had a courtesy call on Laos President Bounnhang Vorachith.     […]

UN condemns Davao terror blast, expresses support for Phl gov’t

  (Eagle News) —  The United Nations on Sunday (September 4) condemned the attack carried out by still unidentfied suspects in Davao City, the hometown of Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte, urging that the perpetrators of this dastardly act be brought to justice. United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon issued the statement on Sunday stressing “the need to ensure accountability and to bring to justice the perpetrators of these terrorist attacks.” He also expressed his deepest […]

Syria rebel gains as UN raps govt evacuation ‘strategy’

BEIRUT, Lebanon (AFP) – by Rana Moussaoui Rebels and jihadists battled pro-government forces in the central Syrian province of Hama Thursday as the country’s UN envoy warned that more people could be forcibly evacuated from towns besieged by the regime. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said at least 25 civilians, including children, were killed in government air strikes as fighting raged in Hama, south of the opposition-held Idlib province. Anti-government groups, which […]

UN slams Syria ‘strategy’ of forced evacuation of besieged towns

GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) – by Nina LARSON The UN Syria envoy on Thursday criticised Damascus’ “strategy” of forced evacuation from Daraya following a brutal four-year government siege, warning that other besieged towns could follow. Staffan de Mistura told reporters in Geneva that there were “indications that after Daraya we may have other Darayas,” adding that “there is clearly a strategy at the moment to move from Daraya” to other besieged areas “in a similar pattern”. Long […]

Philippines’ Duterte: Obama must listen to me on human rights

(REUTERS)  Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said on Wednesday he was ready to discuss any issues with Barack Obama when they meet in Laos next week, but added that the U.S. president must listen to him first before bringing up the question of human rights. Washington has expressed concern about a surge in drug-related killings since Duterte became president two months ago promising to wipe out narcotics in the Southeast Asian nation. Asked if he would […]

On leaving the UN

QUEZON City, Philippines (August 30) – Call it Phexit or what-have-you, our country is now facing the possibility of leaving the UN. Or so many thought, with newspapers even making this announcement of President Rodrigo Duterte as their banner story The President threatened the august international body of  separation in response to the United Nations’ criticism regarding his administration.  The President made the announcement in response to a statement from United Nations Special Rapporteurs Agnes Callamard […]

South Africa documents may offer clues on UN chief’s death

UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) – UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday pushed for a further inquiry of the mysterious 1961 plane crash that killed ex-UN chief Dag Hammarskjold, saying documents from South Africa may help shed light. The former secretary-general died when his plane crashed on September 17 or 18, 1961, near Ndola in Northern Rhodesia, now known as Zambia. The cause of the crash has never been established. Ban proposed appointing an eminent person to […]