UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) – by Carole LANDRY A UN investigation has established that President Bashar al-Assad’s forces carried out at least two chemical attacks in Syria and that Islamic State jihadists used mustard gas as a weapon, according to a report seen by AFP on Wednesday. The panel was able to identify the perpetrators of three chemical attacks carried out in 2014 and 2015, but was unable to draw conclusions in the other six […]
Tag: United Nations
UN bracing for massive flight from Iraq’s Mosul
GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) – The United Nations said Tuesday it was rushing to build camps to accommodate what it expects to be a mass exodus from Mosul once a battle begins for Iraq’s second city. The UN refugee agency warned that an expected battle to liberate Mosul, the Islamic State group’s last major urban stronghold in Iraq, was likely to “dramatically worsen” the displacement situation in the country. Iraq is already facing one of the world’s […]
Libya parliament rejects UN-backed unity government
BENGHAZI, Libya (AFP) – Libya’s internationally recognised parliament on Monday voted no confidence in a UN-backed unity government, in a blow to efforts to end the country’s political chaos. But lawmakers gave prime minister-designate Fayez al-Sarraj a 10-day deadline to come up with a new unity government line-up, they said in a statement issued later. The Government of National Accord led by Sarraj is struggling to assert its authority in Libya, which has been riven by […]
Philippines remains committed to the United Nations – foreign minister
(REUTERS) The Philippine is not leaving the United Nations, the foreign minister said on Monday, a day after President Rodrigo Duterte threatened to quit the body after it called for an end to the wave of killings unleashed by his war on drugs. Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay said Duterte’s statement “is a statement expressing profound disappointment and frustration”. “We are committed to the U.N. despite our numerous frustrations with this international agency,” Yasay […]
Philippines’ Duterte threatens to quit U.N. after drugs war censure
(REUTERS) Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte railed against the United Nations on Sunday after it called for an end to the wave of killings unleashed by his war on drugs, saying he might leave the organization and invite China and others to form a new one. Two U.N. human rights experts last week urged Manila to stop the extra-judicial executions and killings that have escalated since Duterte won the presidency on a promise to wipe […]
‘Alarming’ disparity in broadband connectivity within Asia-Pacific, UN regional study finds
(UNITED NATIONS) New findings by the economic and social development arm of the United Nations in the Asia-Pacific have revealed that nearly 75 per cent of the region’s broadband capabilities and access are concentrated in countries in East and North-East Asia while the Pacific subregion accounts for a mere 1.93 per cent. “As a result of this digital divide, millions of people are shut out from transformative digital opportunities in education, health, business and […]
UN promises ‘material’ aid to cholera victims in Haiti
UNITED NATIONS,, United States (AFP) – The United Nations will give “material” aid to cholera victims in Haiti and their families, the secretary general’s spokesman said Friday, citing the international body’s “moral responsibility.” UN chief Ban Ki-moon, in a statement by a spokesman, also noted that a decision Thursday by a US federal appeals court “upheld the immunity of the organization from legal proceedings” brought against it over the cholera crisis. US courts have consistently found […]
Colombia urges UN to supervise ceasefire with rebels
UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) – Bogota pushed Friday for the United Nations to supervise Colombia’s ceasefire with the FARC rebels, even before the country votes on a peace deal to end the long-running civil war. The government and the country’s biggest rebel force, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), laid the groundwork for a full peace deal when they signed a definitive ceasefire in June. That deal will be followed by a full peace accord only […]
UN officials say fight vs illegal drugs by Phl gov’t does not absolve it from killings
MANILA, Philippines (AFP) — The war of words between Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and the United Nations escalated Thursday, with a UN envoy warning that “state actors” could be held responsible over hundreds of killings in a controversial anti-drug crackdown. More than 1,500 people have died in Duterte’s fight against narcotics, police chief Director General Ronald de la Rosa told a Senate hearing, saying that 665 drug suspects were killed in “legitimate (police) operations” […]
Haiti cholera victims welcome UN recognizing role in outbreak
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AFP) – by Amelie BARON The United Nations’ belated acknowledgement it played a role in a cholera epidemic in Haiti that has killed nearly 10,000 people was hailed by victims’ advocates Thursday as vindication of their efforts to hold the world body accountable. The epidemic broke out in 2010 in the vicinity of a base housing UN peacekeepers, in an impoverished Caribbean country that previously had been considered cholera-free. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s […]
Yemen peace talks end in failure
Kuwait City, Kuwait—The United Nations special envoy for Yemen announced the end of peace talks Saturday without any major breakthrough, but also said a new round of negotiations would begin after one month. “We will be leaving Kuwait today but the Yemeni peace talks are continuing,” Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed told a press conference. He said he will be holding bilateral consultations with the two delegations in the coming few weeks to work out details […]
UN: Quest to end global AIDS epidemic at risk
SWITZERLAND (AFP) — Efforts to end the global AIDS pandemic by 2030 are lagging, the UN warned Tuesday, decrying rising numbers of new HIV infections among adults in many regions, with Sub-Saharan Africa especially hard-hit. https://youtu.be/zdIWE6EPpRE
