Page 3 - United Nations

Nearly 55K kids in Gaza under age 5 may be acutely malnourished: UN study

After two years of war and dire food shortages, more than 54,600 children younger than 5 in Gaza may be acutely malnourished, with more than 12,800 severely affected, according to a new study by a United Nations agency. By early August, roughly 16 per cent of children ages 6 months to just under 5 years in Gaza were suffering from a life-threatening type of malnutrition known as acute wasting, including nearly 4 per cent with severe wasting, according to the analysis by the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, the primary health care provider to Palestinian refugees in the region. Wasting requires treatment with therapeutic food over several weeks and, sometimes, hospitalization. The study, published Wednesday in The Lancet medical journal, is the most comprehensive study of child hunger in the region to date, the authors said. It relied on screenings of nearly 220,000 children from dozens of health centres and medical sites in Gaza between January 202

US' unilateral moves have rendered global multilateralism toothless

As the US sidelines institutions like the IMF, UN, and WTO, the post-War global order faces its most serious crisis yet

Houthis detain nine more UN staff in Yemen amid ongoing crackdown

Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen have detained nine employees of the United Nations as part of a long-running crackdown on the organisation, the UN said. The detentions bring the number of detained UN workers in Houthi-held territories in Yemen to 53 since 2021, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement late Monday. No details about the circumstances or timing of the latest detentions were given. Dujarric said the crackdown has impeded the UN's ability to operate in Yemen and to deliver critical assistance to the local population in the Arab world's poorest country. He called for the immediate and unconditional release of all UN staff as well as workers from other international organisations and diplomatic missions who have been detained by the rebels. They must be respected and protected in accordance with applicable international law, Dujarric said. A spokesman for the rebels did not respond to calls and messages seeking comment. The rebels have previously said that th

Israel-Hamas conflict: Two years of violence, strikes, and ceasefires

Since the war broke out after Hamas attacked Israel, Israel's military campaign in Gaza has killed at least 67,000 Palestinians and left the majority of 2.2 million homeless and hungry

Bombs its own people, conducts systematic genocide: India slams Pak at UN

India's response came to the remarks of Counsellor Saima Saleem, who is part of Permanent Mission of Pakistan to the United Nations

UN grants travel ban exemption for Afghan FM to visit India from Oct 9-16

Under Security Council resolution 1988 (2011), certain individuals linked to the Taliban are subject to travel bans

Zelenskyy, UN atomic agency head warn of rising risks at Zaporizhzhia

Ukraine's president and the UN nuclear agency head are sounding the alarm about increased safety risks at the Russia-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in southern Ukraine, which lost its external power supply more than a week ago as the war raged around it. Emergency diesel generators are providing power for crucial cooling systems for the facility's six shutdown reactors and spent fuel, and there is no immediate danger to Europe's biggest nuclear plant, according to International Atomic Energy Agency Director-General Rafael Mariano Grossi. But it is clearly not a sustainable situation in terms of nuclear safety, he said. The backup generators have never needed to run for so long, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The generators and the plant were not designed for this, Zelenskyy said late Tuesday, describing the situation as critical. Zaporizhzhia is one of the 10 biggest nuclear plants in the world, and its fate amid the fighting has caused fears of a

UN mission urges Taliban to restore internet access across Afghanistan

The United Nations mission in Afghanistan urged the Taliban on Tuesday to restore internet and telecommunications access across the country, saying the blackout imposed by the government in Kabul has left the nation almost entirely cut off from the outside world. The outage, reported the previous day, was the first nationwide shutdown since the Taliban returned to power in August 2021 and was part of their professed crackdown on immorality. Earlier this month, several provinces lost their fibre-optic connections after Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada issued a decree banning the service to prevent immorality. The disruption threatened economic stability and deepened one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, said the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan. It warned that the blackout is crippling banking and financial systems, isolating women and girls, limiting access to medical care and remittances, and disrupting aviation. The UN said such restrictions further undermine free

North Korea vows to keep nuclear weapons, cites balance of power at UNGA

A senior North Korean diplomat reiterated at the UN Monday that his country won't give up its nuclear weapons despite numerous demands to do so, calling them crucial to keeping a balance of power with South Korea. We will never talk away from this position, he said. Under the spotlight of the General Assembly's annual meeting of world leaders, Vice Foreign Minister Kim Son Gyong amplified his country's longstanding complaints about US-led military exercises with South Korea and Japan. Complaining that the US and its allies are mounting a growing threat of aggression, he portrayed his own country's arsenal as the reason the balance of power on the Korean Peninsula is ensured. Still, his address was more tempered, especially toward the United States, than many of his country's prior remarks on the world stage and elsewhere. While Kim lambasted without naming names hegemonic forces and an indiscriminate tariff war, there were no personal insults, and there was more sternness than ...

All about Iran's nuclear programme as UN reimposes 'snapback' sanctions

United Nations sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme were reimposed on Sunday, putting Tehran under new pressure as tensions remain high in the wider Mideast over the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. At the UN General Assembly this week in New York, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi tried a last-minute diplomatic push to stop the sanctions. However, Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, boxed in their efforts by describing diplomacy with the United States as a sheer dead end. Meanwhile, efforts by China and Russia to halt the sanctions failed on Friday. A 30-day clock for the sanctions started when France, Germany and the United Kingdom on Aug. 28 declared Iran wasn't complying with its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. Tehran has argued without success that the deal was voided by the United States' unilateral withdrawal from the accord in 2018 under President Donald Trump's first administration. Since then, Iran has severely ...

UN imposes 'snapback' sanctions on hungrier, poorer, more anxious Iran

The United Nations reimposed sanctions on Iran early Sunday over its nuclear programme, further squeezing the Islamic Republic as its people increasingly find themselves priced out of the food they need to survive and worried about their futures. After last-minute diplomacy failed at the UN, the sanctions took effect Sunday at 0000 GMT (8 pm Eastern). The sanctions will again freeze Iranian assets abroad, halt arms deals with Tehran, and penalise any development of Iran's ballistic missile programme, among other measures. It came via a mechanism known as "snapback", included in Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. Iran had claimed the UN had no power to reimpose the sanctions while also insisting they'd have no effect on the country. However, they come after Israel launched a punishing 12-day war on the country in June that also saw the United States bomb the country's nuclear sites.

Iran weighs how to respond to reimposed UN sanctions over nuclear programme

Iran weighed Sunday how to respond to reimposed United Nations sanctions over its atomic program, with one lawmaker suggesting parliament would consider potentially withdrawing from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. The sanctions again freeze Iranian assets abroad, halt arms deals with Tehran and penalise any development of Iran's ballistic missile programme, among other measures. It came via a mechanism known as snapback, included in Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, and comes as Iran's economy already is reeling. Iran's rial currency sits at a record low, increasing pressure on food prices and making daily life that much more challenging. That includes meat, rice and other staples of the Iranian dinner table. Meanwhile, people worry about a new round of fighting between Iran and Israel, as well as potentially the United States, as missile sites struck during the 12-day war in June now appear to be being rebuilt. Speaking to the Young Journalists Club, which is ...

Jaishankar holds key meetings on UNGA sidelines, discusses UN reforms

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has held a series of high-level bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the 80th United Nations General Assembly session here, engaging with top officials, including UN chief Antonio Guterres and UNGA President Annalena Baerbock. Jaishankar met with UN Secretary-General Guterres on Saturday and discussed a wide range of issues, including geopolitical developments and global hotspots. He also shared India's perspectives on current challenges. "Pleased to meet UN Secretary-General @antonioguterres today in New York. Discussed UN@80, geopolitical trends, current hotspots & India's perspectives," Jaishankar said in a post on X. In a separate meeting with UNGA President Baerbock, Jaishankar conveyed India's full support for her Presidency and reiterated India's commitment to working with the United Nations to make it "more relevant and reflective of our times". Jaishankar also held bilateral discussions with Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince ..

Pak's reaction to Jaishankar's UN speech 'admission of terrorism': India

India has slammed Pakistan for responding to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar's UN General Assembly remarks on terrorism, despite the neighbour not being named, describing Islamabad's reaction as an admission of its longstanding practice of cross-border terrorism. During his address at the UNGA General Debate on Saturday, Jaishankar, without naming Pakistan, said, Major international terrorist attacks are traced back to that one country. Referring to a neighbour that is an epicentre of global terrorism, he said India has confronted the challenge of terrorism since independence. Later in the evening, in its Right of Reply, the Pakistani delegate accused India of attempting to malign Pakistan with malicious accusations about terrorism, even though Jaishankar had not named the country in his address while talking about the scourge of terrorism. The Pakistani delegate claimed that India's allegations were a deliberate attempt to repeat lies. Responding to Pakistan's Right of Rep

Iran says Trump admin sought full uranium stock for temporary UN relief

A Russian- and Chinese-drafted resolution aimed at delaying the reinstatement of UN sanctions on Iran failed to pass at the Security Council

New Zealand breaks with partners, says won't recognise Palestinian state

New Zealand's surprise decision puts it at odds with a growing chorus of Western nations who formally recognised a Palestinian state in the lead-up to the UNGA meeting

'Absurd theatrics': India slams Pak PM Shehbaz Sharif's remarks at UNGA

India strongly rejected Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif's UN speech, accusing Islamabad of supporting terrorism, glorifying militants, and spreading false claims about the May conflict

Tibetan activists protest outside UN in New York, demand independence

This protest took place alongside the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), where world leaders gathered to discuss pressing global issues

UNSC rejects Russia, China's last-ditch effort to delay sanctions on Iran

The UN Security Council has rejected another last-ditch effort to delay the reimposition of sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme a day before the deadline and after Western countries claimed that weeks of meetings failed to result in a "concrete" agreement. The resolution put forth by Russia and China Iran's most powerful and closest allies on the 15-member council failed to garner support on Friday from the nine countries required to halt the series of UN sanctions from taking effect Saturday, as outlined in Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. "We had hoped that European colleagues and the US would think twice, and they would opt for the path of diplomacy and dialogue instead of their clumsy blackmail, which merely results in escalation of the situation in the region," Dmitry Polyanskiy, the deputy Russian ambassador to the UN, said during the meeting. Barring an eleventh-hour deal, the reinstatement of sanctions triggered by Britain, France and Germany will onc

Israeli PM Netanyahu to address UN as pressure mounts over Gaza conflict

Facing international isolation, accusations of war crimes and growing pressure to end a conflict he has continued to escalate, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gets his chance to push back Friday on the international community's biggest platform. Netanyahu's annual speech to the UN General Assembly is always closely watched, often protested, reliably emphatic and sometimes a venue for dramatic allegations. But this time, the stakes are higher than ever for the Israeli leader. In recent days, Australia, Canada, France, the United Kingdom and others announced their recognition of an independent Palestinian state. The European Union is considering tariffs and sanctions on Israel. The assembly this month passed a nonbinding resolution urging Israel to commit to an independent Palestinian nation, which Netanyahu has said is a non-starter. The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant accusing Netanyahu of crimes against humanity, which he denies. And the UN's ..