Page 2 - United Nations General Assembly

2025- 2034 to be decade to combat sand storms from Africa to China: UN

The UN General Assembly on Wednesday declared 2025 to 2034 the United Nations Decade on Combating Sand and Dust Storms extreme weather events that are increasing and threatening health and economies from central Africa to northern China. Uganda's UN Ambassador Godfrey Kwoba, who introduced the resolution on behalf of the Group of 77, a powerful UN group of 134 developing countries and China, told the 193-member assembly the initiative aims to halt and mitigate the negative effects of sand and dust storms through international and regional cooperation. The assembly adopted the resolution by consensus and a bang of the gavel by assembly president Dennis Francis. In a 2022 report, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification said sand and dust storms have increased dramatically in frequency in recent years. It said storms can exacerbate respiratory illnesses, kill crops and livestock, and increase desertification, though documentation of their impact is limited. The ...

Taliban's morality police intimidating Afghans, instilling fear: UN

The Taliban's morality police are contributing to a climate of fear and intimidation among Afghans, according to a UN report published Tuesday. Edicts and some of the methods used to enforce them constituted a violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms, the report said. The Taliban set up a ministry for the propagation of virtue and the prevention of vice after seizing power in 2021. Since then, the ministry has enforced decrees issued by the Taliban leadership that have a disproportionate impact on women and girls, like dress codes, segregated education and employment, and having a male guardian when they travel. The punishments attached to non-compliance with instructions and decrees are often arbitrary, severe and disproportionate, said the report from the UN Mission in Afghanistan. Sweeping bans with a discriminatory effect on women have been introduced. Human rights violations, as well as the unpredictability of enforcement measures, contribute to a climate of fear and

UN Secy-Gen Antonio Guterres calls for global unity, action at SCO Summit

He urged stronger commitments from developed countries and innovative financing mechanisms to support climate action

From Black Sea to US Midwest, extreme climate threatens crop output

Global wheat prices jumped to a 10-month high in May after adverse weather trimmed yields for the maturing crop in Russia, the biggest exporter

India can play bigger role in climate talks; should host COP: Sunita Narain

India can play an "even bigger" role in climate talks by emerging as the voice of the global south and presenting the challenges faced by them, leading environmentalist Sunita Narain said as Prime Minister Narendra Modi eyes hosting the UN climate summit in 2028. In an interaction with PTI editors here, Narain, the Director General of the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), said the Conference of Parties, under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, was the only forum where multilateral decisions can be taken to deal with the challenges posed by climate change. "We can play an even bigger role as a country which stands for countries of the south. We have challenges. We can talk about our challenges, not paper over them. And, we can help the world to find a better way ahead. We can play a leadership role," Narain said. Modi, in his address at the Conference of Parties (COP-28) in Dubai, had offered to host the climate conference in India in 2028. The COP presidency ...

Denmark, Greece, Pakistan, Panama, Somalia set to get seats on UNSC

Denmark, Greece, Pakistan, Panama and Somalia were set to get seats on the UN Security Council in a secret ballot Thursday in the General Assembly. The 193-member world body is scheduled to vote to elect five countries to serve two-year terms on the council. The 10 non-permanent seats on the 15-member council are allotted to regional groups who usually select their candidates but sometimes can't agree on one. There are no such surprises this year. Last year, Slovenia soundly defeated Russia's close ally Belarus for the seat representing the East European regional group, a vote that reflected strong global opposition to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. This time, the regional groups put forward Somalia for an African seat, Pakistan for an Asia-Pacific seat, Panama for a Latin America and Caribbean seat, and Denmark and Greece for two mainly Western seats. The five council members elected Thursday will start their terms on Jan. 1, replacing those whose two-year terms end on D

UN court orders halt on military ops in Rafah; Israel unlikely to comply

The United Nations' top court ordered Israel on Friday to immediately halt its military offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, but stopped short of ordering a cease-fire for the enclave. Although Israel is unlikely to comply with the order, it will ratchet up the pressure on the increasingly isolated country. Criticism of Israel's conduct in the war in Gaza has been growing, particularly since it turned its focus to Rafah. This week alone, three European countries announced they would recognize a Palestinian state, and the chief prosecutor for another international court requested arrest warrants for Israeli leaders, along with Hamas officials. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is also under some pressure at home to end the war, which was triggered when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel, killing 1,200 people, most civilians, and taking roughly 250 hostage. Thousands of Israelis have joined weekly demonstrations calling on the government to reach a deal to bring .

West prefers India over China, economic prospects robust: UN expert

He further said the oil price and special import arrangements that India has with Russia is also 'helping India tremendously in terms of keeping its import costs down'

UN revises India's 2024 economic growth projection upwards to nearly 7%

The United Nations has revised upwards India's growth projections for 2024, with the country's economy now forecast to expand by close to seven per cent this year, mainly driven by strong public investment and resilient private consumption. The World Economic Situation and Prospects as of mid-2024, released Thursday, said, India's economy is forecast to expand by 6.9 per cent in 2024 and 6.6 per cent in 2025, mainly driven by strong public investment and resilient private consumption. Although subdued external demand will continue to weigh on merchandise export growth, pharmaceuticals and chemicals exports are expected to expand strongly. The 6.9 per cent economic growth projections for India in the mid-year update is an upward revision from the 6.2 per cent GDP forecast made by the UN in January this year. The UN World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) 2024 report that was launched in January had said that growth in India was projected to reach 6.2 per cent in 2024, amid robus

Somalia wants to terminate UN mission assisting peace efforts in country

Somalia is asking the United Nations to terminate its political mission in the country, which has been assisting the government to bring peace and stability in the face of attacks by the al-Qaida-linked extremist group al-Shabab. In a letter to the Security Council and Secretary-General Antonio Guterres obtained Friday by The Associated Press, Somali Foreign Minister Ahmed Moalim Fiqi said the decision followed a thorough consideration of our strategic priorities. The current mandate of the mission, known as UNSOM, expires Oct. 31 and Fiqi asked for the swift conclusion of the necessary procedures for the termination of the mission by the end of the mandate. The U.N. mission has worked closely with African Union peacekeepers, whose current transitional mission, ATMIS, has been scaling back its presence and is expected to turn over security responsibilities to Somali forces at the end of the year. In November, the Security Council suspended the AU pullout for three months at Somalia'

India supports UN resolution on Palestinian bid for full membership

The resolution on Friday won a resounding majority of 143 votes in favour, including by India. 25 countries abstained, while nine nations, including Israel and the United States, voted against it

Iraqi govt requests UN to end its political mission in country by 2025

The Iraqi government has requested that the United Nations end a mission set up to promote governance and human rights reforms in the country by the end of 2025, the latest in a series of international bodies operating in the nation that Iraq has sought to wind down. The letter sent Wednesday by Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres declared that there is no need for the continuation of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI). Sudani said Iraq's government has been able to achieve a number of important steps in areas that fall under the body's mandate. rendering it redundant. Typically, the mission is extended annually by the UN Security Council, with the current term expiring at the end of this month. Sudani's letter did not oppose a one-year extension but said the mission should focus on wrapping up its tasks to ensure a permanent closure and transfer of its responsibilities by the end of 2025. Established in 2003 in the w

Warfare in Sudan's Darfur risks starvation, death if aid isn't allowed: UN

The United Nations food agency warned Sudan's warring parties Friday that there is a serious risk of widespread starvation and death in Darfur and elsewhere in Sudan if they don't allow humanitarian aid into the vast western region. Leni Kinzli, the World Food Program's regional spokesperson, said at least 1.7 million people in Darfur were experiencing emergency levels of hunger in December, and the number is expected to be much higher today. Our calls for humanitarian access to conflict hotspots in Sudan have never been more critical, she told a virtual U.N. press conference from Nairobi. Sudan plunged into chaos in mid-April 2023, when long-simmering tensions between its military led by Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces commanded by Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, broke out into street battles in the capital, Khartoum. Fighting has spread to other parts of the country, especially urban areas and the Darfur region. The paramilitary forces, known as the RS

Famine in northern Gaza is already 'full-blown', says UN official

A top UN official said Friday that hard-hit northern Gaza was now in full-blown famine" after more than six months of war between Israel and Hamas and severe Israeli restrictions on food deliveries to the Palestinian territory. Cindy McCain, the American director of the UN World Food Programme, became the most prominent international official so far to declare that trapped civilians in the most cut-off part of Gaza had gone over the brink into famine. It's horror," McCain told NBC's Meet the Press in an interview to air Sunday. There is famine full-blown famine in the north, and it's moving its way south." She said a cease-fire and a greatly increased flow of aid through land and sea routes was essential to confronting the growing humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, home to 2.3 million people. There was no immediate comment from Israel, which controls entrance into Gaza and says it is beginning to allow in more food and other humanitarian aid through land crossings. The panel that

World food prices up in April for second consecutive month, says UN agency

Dairy prices edged down, ending a run of six consecutive monthly gains

Hope Palestine application for UN membership will be reconsidered: India

India has voiced hope that Palestine's bid to become a full member of the United Nations, which was blocked by the US last month, will be reconsidered and its endeavour to become a member of the world organisation will get endorsed. The US vetoed a resolution in the UN Security Council on a Palestinian bid to be granted full membership of the United Nations last month. The 15-nation Council had voted on a draft resolution that would have recommended to the 193-member UN General Assembly that the State of Palestine be admitted to membership in the United Nations. The resolution got 12 votes in its favour, with Switzerland and the UK abstaining and the US casting its veto. To be adopted, the draft resolution required at least nine Council members voting in its favour, with no vetoes by any of its five permanent members China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States. While we have noted that Palestine's application for membership at the United Nations was not approved

India calls for revitalisation of UNGA, reform in global governance

He further highlighted that for the revitalisation of the General Assembly, the sanctity of the Annual General Debate and its associated elements must be restored, Pratik Mathur said

US attacks Russia for vetoing UNSC resolution on Outer Space Treaty

The United States slammed Russia on Wednesday for vetoing a UN Security Council resolution on the Outer Space Treaty that put a legally-binding obligation that countries should not be putting weapons of mass destruction (WMD), including nuclear weapons, in orbit. "As we have noted previously, the United States assesses that Russia is developing a new satellite carrying a nuclear device. We have heard President (Vladimir) Putin say publicly that Russia has no intention of deploying nuclear weapons in space. If that were the case, Russia would not have vetoed this resolution," US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said in a statement, after Russia vetoed the resolution at the UN headquarters in New York. "Today, Russia vetoed a UN Security Council resolution, proposed jointly by the United States and Japan, that would have reaffirmed the fundamental obligation of State Parties to the Outer Space Treaty not to place nuclear weapons in orbit around the Earth," Sullivan said. The ...

282 mn faced acute hunger in 2023, with the worst famine in Gaza: UN

Nearly 282 million people in 59 countries suffered from acute hunger in 2023, with war-torn Gaza as the territory with the largest number of people facing famine, according to the Global Report on Food Crises released on Wednesday. The UN report said 24 million more people faced an acute lack of food than in 2022, due to the sharp deterioration in food security, especially in the Gaza Strip and Sudan. The number of nations with food crises that are monitored has also been expanded. Mximo Torero, chief economist for the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation, said 705,000 people in five countries are at Phase 5, the highest level, on a scale of hunger determined by international experts the highest number since the global report began in 2016 and quadruple the number that year. Over 80 per cent of those facing imminent famine 577,000 people were in Gaza, he said. South Sudan, Burkina Faso, Somalia and Mali each host many thousands also facing catastrophic hunger. According to th

Despite uncertainties, services exports grow 11.4% in 2023: UNCTAD report

India's services exports jumped 11.4 per cent to USD 345 billion in 2023 despite global economic uncertainties, while China's shipments from the sector contracted by 10.1 per cent to USD 381 billion, according to a UNCTAD report. Sectors that contribute to India's services export growth include travel, transport, medical and hospitality. With an 8.9 per cent annual rise in current dollar value terms, the world services exports surpassed USD 7.9 trillion in 2023, a quarterly bulletin of UNCTAD said. The leading exporters among developing economies include India, China, Singapore, Turkiye, Thailand, Mexico, and Saudi Arabia, it added. India's services imports, however, dipped marginally by 0.4 per cent to USD 248 billion last year. "The main driver of the YoY (year-on-year) rise of services exports in Q4 2023 was the ample growth of international travel receipts. In the post-COVID-19 recovery, travel receipts increased by 70 per cent in Asia (YoY)," the report said. Commenting on .