Page 42 - United Nations

World food price index falls near three-year lows in January, shows data

Global coarse grain output was pegged at an all-time high of 1.523 billion tons, following a 12-million-ton upward adjustment this month

Expect Pak's new govt to take deep structural problems seriously: IMF MD

IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva has said that she expects the new government in Pakistan to take seriously solving its "very deep structural problems" and help the cash-strapped country to reach its potential. Her remarks came days after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its World Economic Outlook lowered Pakistan's economic growth forecast to two per cent for the current fiscal year, down 0.5 percentage points from its October estimate of 2.5 per cent. Pakistan, currently facing an economic crisis, is set to hold its general elections on February 8. A caretaker government currently runs the cash-strapped country. What we expect is a government that would take seriously solving the very deep structural problems of Pakistan, Georgieva told reporters during a media round table here. We see the problem we have with this caretaker government. They have done a good job of moving in the right direction. But of course, the problems of Pakistan are not solved. So more nee

Gaza's economy post war could take decades to recover, says UN trade body

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development said the conflict had precipitated a 24% contraction in Gaza's GDP (gross domestic product) and a 26.1% drop in GDP per capita for all of 2023

US suspends $300,000 funding to UNRWA amid probe into alleged Hamas ties

Last week, the US announced the temporary suspension of funding after reports surfaced about UNRWA staff potentially being linked to the Hamas attacks

UN to rule Friday on jurisdiction in Ukraine case over genocide claim

The United Nations' top court will rule on Friday whether it has jurisdiction in a case brought by Ukraine accusing Russia of violating international law by using a false accusation of genocide as the pretext for its 2022 invasion. Kyiv launched the case at the International Court of Justice days after the start of the full-scale war in 2022, arguing that Russia breached the 1948 Genocide Convention by wrongly claiming Ukraine was committing genocide against Russian-speaking people in the country. Russia has flouted an order by The Hague-based court to halt hostilities. Moscow snubbed hearings over provisional measures in 2022 but filed an objection to the court's jurisdiction. During hearings in 2023, lawyers for Russia asked the court to toss out the complaint, calling the legal case an abuse of process. Ukraine is not claiming Russia is committing genocide but rather arguing that the false accusation of genocide is enough to violate the 1948 treaty. Kyiv told judges the neighbor

UN court misrepresented my comments in genocide ruling: Israel's president

Israel's president on Sunday accused the UN world court of misrepresenting his words in a ruling that ordered Israel to take steps to protect Palestinians and prevent a genocide in the Gaza Strip. The court's ruling on Friday cited a series of statements made by Israeli leaders as evidence of incitement and dehumanizing language against Palestinians. They included comments by President Isaac Herzog made just days after the October 7 Hamas cross-border attack that triggered Israel's war against the Islamic militant group. Hamas militants killed around 1,200 people in that attack and took about 250 others hostage. The Israeli offensive has left more than 26,000 Palestinians dead, displaced more than 80 per cent of Gaza's inhabitants and led to a humanitarian crisis in the territory. Talking about Gaza's Palestinians at an October 12 news conference, Herzog said that an entire nation was responsible for the massacre, the report by the International Court of Justice noted. But Herzog s

Embattled UN agency warns operation in Gaza collapsing over funding cuts

The head of the main UN aid agency in the war-battered Gaza Strip warned late Saturday that its work is collapsing after nine countries decided to suspend funding over allegations that several agency employees participated in the deadly Hamas attack on Israel four months ago. Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, said he was shocked such decisions were taken as famine looms in the Israel-Hamas war. Palestinians in Gaza did not need this additional collective punishment, he wrote on X. This stains all of us. His warning came a day after he announced he had fired and was investigating several agency employees over allegations that they participated in the Oct. 7 attack on Israel that sparked the war. The United States, which said 12 agency employees were under investigation, immediately suspended funding, followed by several other countries, including Britain, Germany and Italy. The agency, with its 13,000 employees in Gaza, most of them Palestinians, is

United Nations fires Gaza staff over claims they joined Hamas attack

A vast majority of UNRWA's 30,000 staff is Palestinian, with 13,000 of those in Gaza. The US State Department said in a statement Friday that 12 UNRWA staff had been accused of links to the attacks

UN Court to rule on South Africa's genocide case against Israel in Gaza

South Africa submitted a plea with the International Court of Justice for provisional measures, including a halt to Israel's Gaza offensive that has claimed at least 23,000 Palestinian lives

'Mass casualties' at UN centre as Israel forces advance through Khan Younis

"Dismantling Hamas' military framework in western Khan Yunis is the heart of the logic behind the operation," it said

UN court to issue ruling on South Africa's case against Israel on Friday

The United Nations' top court will issue a decision on Friday on South Africa's request for interim orders in a genocide case against Israel, including that Israel halt its offensive in Gaza. The decision is a preliminary stage of a case filed by South Africa at the International Court of Justice alleging that Israel's military action in its war with Hamas in Gaza amounts to genocide. Israel strongly rejects the accusation and has asked the court to throw out the case. The court announced the timing of the interim ruling on Wednesday. Israel launched its massive air and ground assault on Gaza soon after Hamas militants stormed through Israeli communities on October 7 and killed some 1,200 people, mainly civilians. Israel often boycotts international tribunals and UN investigations, saying they are unfair and biased. But the country's leaders sent a high-level legal team to two days of hearings earlier this month a sign of how seriously they regard the case and and an indication of

Israel's rejection of two-state solution threatens global peace: UN chief

The United Nations chief warned Israel on Tuesday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu 's rejection of a two-state solution will indefinitely prolong a conflict that is threatening global peace and emboldening extremists everywhere. In his toughest language yet on the Israeli-Hamas war, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told a ministerial meeting of the UN Security Council that the right of the Palestinian people to build their own fully independent state must be recognised by all, and a refusal to accept the two-state solution by any party must be firmly rejected. The alternative of a one-state solution with such a large number of Palestinians inside without any real sense of freedom, rights and dignity will be inconceivable, he said. Guterres also warned that the risks of regional escalation of the conflict are now becoming a reality, pointing to Lebanon, Yemen, Syria, Iraq and Pakistan. He urged all parties to step back from the brink and to consider the horrendous costs of a

UN body in Afghanistan thanks India for aid in combating locust threat

Earlier, the Taliban-controlled Ministry of Agriculture also expressed gratitude for this assistance made through the Chabahar port

India not having permanent seat on UNSC is absurd, says Elon Musk

The remarks by Tesla CEO came after UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres raised concerns about the absence of any African nation from the list of permanent members of the UNSC

Russia clashes with US, Ukraine supporters, rules out any peace plan

Russia's foreign minister clashed with the United States and Ukraine's supporters at a UN meeting Monday where Moscow ruled out any peace plan backed by Kyiv and the West, and China warned that further global chaos could impact the slowing global economy. Sergey Lavrov, Russia's top diplomat, claimed that Ukrainian forces have been a complete failure on the battlefield and are incapable of defeating or weakening Russia. He told the UN Security Council that Moscow is always ready to negotiate peace, but he claimed peace plans presented by Ukraine and its Western masters are only used as cover to continue war and continue getting money from Western taxpayers. All of these formulas are a road to nowhere, and the sooner Washington, London, Paris and Brussels realise this the better for Ukraine and the West, he said, warning that their crusade against Russia has already created new, clear, reputational and existential risks. U.S. deputy ambassador Robert Wood dismissed Lavrov's claims a

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 ...

Taliban enforcing restrictions on single, unaccompanied Afghan women: UN

The Taliban are restricting Afghan women's access to work, travel and healthcare if they are unmarried or don't have a male guardian, according to a UN report published Monday. In one incident, officials from the Vice and Virtue Ministry advised a woman to get married if she wanted to keep her job at a health care facility, saying it was inappropriate for an unwed woman to work, it said. The Taliban have barred women from most areas of public life and stopped girls from going to school beyond the sixth grade as part of harsh measures they imposed after taking power in 2021, despite initially promising more moderate rule. They have also shut down beauty parlors and started enforcing a dress code, arresting women who don't comply with their interpretation of hijab, or Islamic headscarf. In May 2022, the Taliban issued a decree calling for women to only show their eyes and recommending they wear the head-to-toe burqa, similar to restrictions during the Taliban's previous rule between .

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

President of UN General Assembly Francis to pay five-day visit to India

President of UN General Assembly Dennis Francis will kick-start a five-day visit to India beginning Monday during which New Delhi is expected to press him to make forward movement in long-pending reform of the Security Council. Besides holding talks with his Indian interlocutors in New Delhi, the top UN official will also travel to Jaipur and Mumbai. In Mumbai, Francis will pay floral tributes at the 26/11 memorial, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said Saturday, announcing his visit from January 22-26. It said the visit by the President of the 78th Session of the UN General Assembly (PGA) to India will also be an opportunity to enhance the country's collaboration with the global body. "The PGA's visit to India presents a unique opportunity to strengthen India-UN ties and especially with the General Assembly, which is the most representative organ of the United Nations," the MEA said in a statement. The UN official is scheduled to hold wide-ranging talks with External Affair

Women and children main victims of Israel-Hamas war with 16,000 killed: UN

Women and children are the main victims in the Israel-Hamas war, with some 16,000 killed and an estimated two mothers losing their lives every hour since Hamas' surprise attack on Israel, the United Nations 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 the