Page 6 - United Nations General Assembly

World Pulses Day 2024: Why do we celebrate it? History significance, more

World Pulses Day 2024: World celebrates it every year on February 10 to highlight the importance and nutritional value of the pulses. Know its history, significance, theme and more

Israel's evacuation covers 67% of Gaza, leaves Palestinians crammed

Israel's evacuation orders in the Gaza Strip now cover two-thirds of the territory, or 246 square kilometers (95 square miles), United Nations humanitarian monitors said Tuesday. More than half of Gaza's population of 2.3 million people is now crammed into the town of Rafah on the border with Egypt and surrounding areas, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said. The Health Ministry in Gaza said the known Palestinian death toll is at 27,478 people after nearly four months of war. A quarter of Gaza's residents are now starving and 85% of the population has been driven from their homes, with hundreds of thousands crammed in makeshift tent camps. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman shortly after arriving in the kingdom Monday. It's Blinken's fifth visit to the Mideast since the war in Gaza broke out on Oct. 7, when Hamas stormed into southern Israel. The assault killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilian

PM Modi calls for cooperation among countries in justice delivery

Prime Minister Narendra Modi noted on Saturday that criminals have been using the latest technology for funding and operating across regions as he called for rethinking, reimagining and reforming legal systems to deliver justice. Speaking at the Commonwealth Legal Education Association (CLEA) - Commonwealth Attorneys and Solicitors General Conference (CASGC), he said countries already work with each other in the domain of air traffic control and maritime traffic, and advocated extending this to investigation and justice delivery. "When we work together then jurisdiction becomes a tool to deliver justice and not to delay it," he said, adding that the nature and scope of crime have seen radical changes. Sometime ensuring justice in one country requires working with other countries, he said. He expressed hope that the conference works to ensure that everyone has access to timely justice and no one is left behind. The rise of cryptocurrency and cyber threats presents new challenges an

EU sanctions 6 firms accused of trying to undermine stability in Sudan

The European Union imposed sanctions on Monday on six companies it said are responsible for trying to undermine stability in conflict-ravaged Sudan, largely targeting firms linked to weapons procurement and manufacturing. Sudan plunged into chaos last April when long-simmering tensions between the military, led by Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary, commanded by Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, erupted into street battles in the capital, Khartoum, and other areas including the western Darfur region. The fighting has displaced 7 million people and killed 12,000, according to the United Nations. Local doctors' groups and activists say the true death toll is far higher. Given the gravity of the situation in Sudan, the EU statement said, sanctions were imposed on two companies making weapons and vehicles for Sudan's armed forces, the Zadna International Company for Investment controlled by the armed forces and three companies involved in procuring military ...

UNGA President Dennis Francis arrives in New Delhi to advance India-UN ties

United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) President Dennis Francis on Monday arrived in New Delhi on a five-day visit to India to advance India-UN ties

Women, children main victims of Gaza conflict, with 16,000 killed: UN

Women and children are the main victims the Gaza war, with some 16,000 killed and an estimated two mothers losing their lives every hour since Hamas' surprise attack on Israel, the U.N. agency promoting gender equality said Friday. As a result of the more than 100-day conflict, UN Women added, at least 3,000 women may have become widows and heads of households and at least 10,000 children may have lost their fathers. In a report released Friday, the agency pointed to gender inequality and the burden on women fleeing the fighting with children and being displaced again and again. Of the territory's 2.3 million population, it said, 1.9 million are displaced and close to one million are women and girls seeking shelter and safety. UN Women's executive director, Sima Bahous, said this is a cruel inversion of fighting during the 15 years before the Hamas attack on Oct. 7. Previously, she said, 67% of all civilians killed in Gaza and the West Bank were men and less then 14% were women. Sh

Palestinians suffer as about 60K wounded overwhelm remaining doctors: UN

Palestinians are dying every day in Gaza's overwhelmed remaining hospitals which can't deal with the estimated 60,000 injured people and daily arrival of hundreds more hurt in Israeli's military offensive, a UN health emergency expert said on Wednesday, while a doctor with the International Rescue Committee called the situation in Gaza's hospitals the most extreme she had ever seen. The two health professionals, who recently left Gaza after weeks working in hospitals there, described overwhelmed doctors trying to save the lives of thousands of wounded people amid collapsing hospitals that have turned into impromptu refugee camps. The World Health Organisation's Sean Casey, who left Gaza recently after five weeks of trying to get more staff and supplies to the territory's 16 partially functioning hospitals, told a UN news conference that he saw "a really horrifying situation in the hospitals as the health system collapsed day by day. Al-Shifa Hospital, once Gaza's leading hospital wi

India votes in favour of UNGA draft resolution demanding ceasefire in Gaza

India voted in favour of a draft resolution in the UN General Assembly that demanded an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas conflict as well as the unconditional release of all hostages. The 193-member UN General Assembly adopted the draft resolution, introduced by Egypt, at an Emergency Special Session here Tuesday. The resolution was adopted with 153 votes in favour, while 23 nations abstained and 10 voted against the text. The resolution, sponsored among others by Algeria, Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Palestine, demanded an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza and reiterated its demand that all parties comply with their obligations under international law, notably with regard to the protection of civilians." It also demanded the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, as well as ensuring humanitarian access. The resolution however did not name Hamas and the US proposed an amendment to the draft ...

Challenge in this difficult time is to strike right balance: Ruchira Kamboj

India, voting in favour of a General Assembly resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, has said the challenge in this extraordinarily difficult time is to strike the "right balance". The 193-member UN General Assembly overwhelmingly adopted the draft resolution at an emergency special session on Tuesday, with 153 nations voting in favour, 10 against and 23 abstentions. India was among the 153 nations that voted in favour of the resolution, adopted amid a round of applause in the GA hall. Those voting against included Austria, Israel, and the US while Germany, Hungary, Italy, Ukraine, and the UK were among those who abstained. "India has voted in favour of the resolution just adopted by the General Assembly, India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj said after the vote. The resolution, introduced by Egypt, demanded an immediate humanitarian ceasefire and reiterated its demand that all parties comply with their obligations under ..

Palestinians hope vote in UNGA will show wide support for a Gaza cease-fire

The Palestinians are hoping that a vote Tuesday in the UN General Assembly on a nonbinding resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian cease-fire will demonstrate widespread global support for ending the Israel-Hamas war, now in its third month. After the United States vetoed a resolution in the Security Council on Friday demanding a humanitarian cease-fire, Arab and Islamic nations called for an emergency session of the 193-member General Assembly on Tuesday afternoon to vote on a resolution making the same demand. Unlike Security Council resolutions, General Assembly resolutions are not legally binding. But as UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said Monday, the assembly's messages "are also very important" and reflect world opinion. Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations, told The Associated Press on Sunday that the defeated resolution in the Security Council was cosponsored by 103 countries, and he is hoping for more cosponsors and a high vote for the .

India may have more elderly persons than children by 2050: UN report

UNFPA report said that most southern states and select northern states such as HP and Punjab reported a higher share of elderly population than national average in 2021; the gap is likely to widen

Russia's Lavrov lambasts West but barely mentions Ukraine in UNGA speech

Lavrov accused the West of trying to force themselves as mediators between the two countries, which he said was not needed

78th UN General Assembly: EAM S Jaishankar begins nine-day US visit

To meet with counterparts from US and other nations, American biz leaders, host India-UN event on global south

Pakistan recruiting mercenaries to pursue its political agenda: UNGA told

Plaid said when the international community applies pressure, Pakistan has a history of "choosing subterfuge over sincerity"

Zelenskyy accuses Russia of 'genocide', proposes 'peace formula' at UNGA

Zelenksyy said, "For the first time in modern history, we have a real chance to end the aggression on the terms of the nation which was attacked"

UNGA meet 2023: 'Reform or rupture', says UN chief Antonio Guterres

He emphasised that a multipolar world needs strong and effective multilateral institutions, yet global governance is stuck in time

This is not a 'vanity fair': UN chief on absence of all but one P5 leaders

With the majority of the leaders of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council absent from the UN General Assembly session this year, UN chief Antonio Guterres has said it was not a "vanity fair" and commitment made by governments on various pressing global issues are more important than the presence or absence of a particular leader. US President Joe Biden is the only head of State or Government from among the five permanent members of the powerful UN Security Council -- China, Russia, France, the UK and the US -- who is attending the high-level week. Biden arrived here on Sunday for the 78th high-level session of the UN General Assembly and will address world leaders from the UNGA lectern on the opening day of the General Debate on Tuesday morning. Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, and French President Emmanuel Macron are not attending the UNGA high-level session. Russia will be represented by Foreign Ministe

Heading for UN, Zelenskyy questions why Russia still has place there

Days before potentially crossing paths with Russia's top diplomat at the United Nations, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy suggested Monday that the world body needs to answer for allowing his country's invader a seat at the tables of power. "For us, it's very important that all our words, all our messages, will be heard by our partners. And if in the United Nations still it's a pity, but still there is a place for Russian terrorists, the question is not to me. I think it's a question to all the members of the United Nations," Zelenskyy said after visiting wounded Ukrainian military members at a New York hospital. He had just arrived in the US to make his country's case to the world and to Washington for continued help in trying to repel Russia's invasion, nearly 19 months into what has become a grinding war. Ukraine's Western allies have supplied weapons and other assistance, and the US Congress is currently weighing President Joe Biden's request to provide as much as USD 2

Blinken meets China's VP as nations increase contact on sidelines of UNGA

Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Monday with China's vice president on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly as the Biden administration and Beijing step up high-level contacts ahead of what could be a leader-level summit this fall. Blinken and Vice President Han Zheng held talks Monday at the Chinese mission to the United Nations. Their discussion came as China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi was in Moscow meeting Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov after wrapping up two days of talks with US national security adviser Jake Sullivan in Malta. The quick succession of US-China contacts is fueling speculation that President Joe Biden may meet his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in November at an Asia-Pacific Economic conference in San Francisco. "I think it's a good thing that we have this opportunity to build on the recent high-level engagements that our countries have had to make sure that we're maintaining open communications and demonstrate that we are responsibly managing the

Biden reiterates support for India's permanent seat at UN Security Council

Biden also welcomed India's candidature for the UNSC non-permanent seat in 2028-29