Page 50 - United Nations

India elected executive committee member of UN's food standard-setting body

India has been unanimously elected as a member representing the Asian region in the executive committee of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC), the food safety and quality standard-setting body created by the UN, at its meeting in Rome. The executive committee is an important arm of the CAC and the member countries have a considerable interest in getting its membership. In this capacity, India would not only get an opportunity to contribute substantially in the international standard setting process for different food product categories but will also be involved in the decision-making process, the health ministry said in a statement. The executive committee supports in the management of the commission's programme of standards development by conducting a "critical review" of proposals to undertake work and monitors the progress of standards development. The committee comprises the chair, three vice chairs, six regional coordinators and seven elected representatives from various .

Himalayas melting alarmingly: UN chief insists on urgent action at COP28

Warning of a potential catastrophe in the Himalayas where the glaciers are melting at an alarming rate, UN chief Antonio Guterres on Saturday said the ongoing annual climate talks here must respond to the needs of the developing nations, especially the vulnerable mountain countries that need urgent help. Almost 240 million people depend on the glaciers and 10 major rivers, such as Indus, Ganga, and Brahmaputra, originating in the Himalayas. Another billion people living downstream of these rivers across eight countries, including India, are also dependent on the glacier-fed rivers. Addressing a meeting with mountain countries at this year's Conference of Parties (COP28), UN Secretary-General Guterres emphasised that nearly a third of Nepal's ice had vanished in just over 30 years, and it was directly linked to greenhouse gas pollution that heats up the planet. Guterres, who visited Nepal, including the Everest region, in October last week, called for developed countries to clarify t

Developing nations press rich world to fight climate change at UN summit

Leaders of developing nations jumped into Saturday's second-day of a UN climate summit to press rich industrial countries to share their knowhow to fight global warming and ease the financial burdens they face while trumpeting their own natural resources that swallow heat-trapping carbon in the air. The 28th annual UN Conference of the Parties, or COP28, in the oil-rich United Arab Emirates featured about 150 presidents, prime ministers, royals and other leaders who are presenting their plans to cut heat-trapping emissions and mostly seek unity with other nations to avert climate catastrophe that seemed to draw closer than ever in 2023. The developing world took centre stage early Saturday. Several African leaders noted their continent's rainforests help gobble up excess carbon dioxide in the air and emphasised how their countries belch out only a tiny fraction of heat-trapping emissions compared to richer countries. Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea one of ...

India not just observing future unfolding, actively shaping it: Amb Kamboj

India, home to the world's largest youth population, is actively shaping the future and its young minds are leveraging technology as a powerful tool to accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals, India's envoy to the UN has said. In her special address to the annual 1M1B Activate Impact Summit', India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj said that India truly believes in the transformative power of youth. We recognise that the path to achieving the SDGs by 2030 is through harnessing the energy, the creativity and the innovation of our young population, she said on Thursday. India is home to the world's largest youth population, which is very unique. So we are not just observing the future unfolding, we're actually actively shaping it, she said. Kamboj said that India's young minds are leveraging technology as a powerful tool to accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). She said that projects by the country's .

South Korea launches military spy satellite amid threats from North Korea

It reported that the satellite was launched with the help of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base

COP28: PM Modi emplanes for his visit to UAE for UN climate talks

PM Modi will address the opening session of the World Climate Action Summit in the United Arab Emirates and participate in the three high-level side events, of which two will be co-hosted by India

Loss and damage fund approved on the first day of COP28 climate summit

The fund aims at supporting poor nations bearing the brunt of global warming through extreme weather events

COP28: India walked the talk when it comes to climate action, says PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday called for supporting developing countries with adequate climate financing and technology transfer to enable them to deal with climate change. As he heads to Dubai to attend the World Climate Action Summit, Modi said India has walked the talk when it comes to climate action while highlighting the importance India attached to the issue during its G20 presidency. "During our G20 presidency, climate was high on our priority. The New Delhi Leaders' Declaration includes numerous concrete steps on climate action and sustainable development. I look forward to the COP28 taking forward the consensus on these issues," Modi said in his departure statement. Modi will attend the World Climate Action Summit on Friday during the United Nations 'Conference of the Parties' on climate, known as COP28. Several world leaders are set to attend the climate action summit to discuss ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and effectively combat climate change. The

2023 is hottest year on record, brace for more climate extremes says UN

The U.N. weather agency said Thursday that 2023 is all but certain to be the hottest year on record, and a warning of worrying trends that suggest increasing floods, forest fires, glacier melt, and heat waves in the future. The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) also warned that the average temperature for the year is up some 1.4 degrees Celsius (2.5 degrees Fahrenheit) from pre-industrial times a mere one-tenth of a degree under a target limit for the end of the century as laid out by the Paris climate accord in 2015. The WMO secretary-general said the onset earlier this year of El Nino, the weather phenomenon marked by heating in the Pacific Ocean, could tip the average temperature next year over the 1.5-degree (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) target cap set in Paris. It's practically sure that during the coming four years we will hit this 1.5, at least on temporary basis, Petteri Taalas said in an interview. And in the next decade we are more or less going to be there on a permanen

China presents UN with vague Mideast peace plan as US promotes its own role

China on Wednesday presented the United Nations Security Council with a four-point plan for Middle East peace in a demonstration of its ambitions to be a global superpower. But the plan was short on details, and the United States quickly reminded the council of its attempts to ease the Gaza war. China has had little role in negotiations over the Israel-Palestinian conflict, which have been largely monopolized by the United States for decades. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told the council that the war shows the urgent need for a Palestinian state alongside Israel. We should revitalize the political prospects of the two-state solution with stronger determination, he said. The lack of a Palestinian state is the crux of the repeated turbulence in the Palestinian-Israeli situation, he said. US President Joe Biden and other US officials also have spoken in favor of working toward a two-state solution for the conflict. China made its biggest foray into Middle East politics when it ..

COP28 starts tomorrow: What to expect from UN's annual climate negotiations

Forming agreement over future of fossil fuels and who pays for climate damages on agenda

Less future warming projected, yet there's more current pain, say experts

The world is heading for considerably less warming than projected a decade ago, but that good news is overwhelmed by much more pain from current climate change than scientists anticipated, experts said. That's just one of a set of seemingly contradictory conditions facing climate negotiators who this week gather in Dubai for marathon United Nations talks that include a first-ever assessment of how well the world is doing in its battle against global warming. It's also a conference where one of the central topics will be whether fossil fuels should be phased out, but it will be run by the CEO of an oil company. Key to the session is the first global stocktake on climate, when countries look at what's happened since the 2015 Paris climate agreement, how off-track it is and probably say what's needed to get back on track. Even though emissions of heat-trapping gases are still rising every year, they're rising more slowly than projected from 2000 to 2015. Before the Paris deal, scienti

'Moment of truth': Fossil fuel lobby casts long shadow over COP28

In an interview with AFP on Saturday, Jaber had defended the large presence of heavy-emitting industries, including the oil and gas sector

Violence against women a horrific violation of human rights, says Guterres

November 25 is observed as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women

UN talks weigh goal to reduce aviation emissions via less-polluting fuels

ICAO's third Conference on Aviation and Alternative Fuels (CAAF) runs this week ahead of the COP28 U.N. climate summit in Dubai, which starts on Nov 30

CAG Girish Chandra Murmu elected as Vice-Chair of UN Panel of Auditors

Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) Girish Chandra Murmu has been elected as the Vice-Chair of the UN Panel of Auditors for the next year. This recognition underscores India's commitment to the highest standards of external audit and its active participation in shaping the global audit landscape, the CAG said in a statement. Murmu participated in the sixty-third session of the Panel of External Auditors, held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on November 20-21, 2023. The Panel of external auditors comprising heads of 12 Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) globally, oversees the external audit of the UN Secretariat, funds and programmes, and specialised agencies. The independent body, including representatives from Canada, Chile, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Philippines, Russia, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom, conducts financial, performance and compliance audits of UN entities. CAG said the annual meeting served as a unique platform f

Disturbing health crisis among women in Afghan prisons: UN report

According to the survey, the majority of jailed women in Afghanistan express concerns about their children's future and the impact on their families

Amid Gaza crisis, India donates $2.5 mn to UN for Palestinian refugees

India has donated USD 2.5 million to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, prompting the UNRWA on Tuesday to welcome the generous contribution at a "difficult time", particularly in Gaza. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA), functional since 1950, carries out direct relief and work programmes for registered Palestine refugees. It is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions from UN Member States. India on Monday gave UNRWA USD 2.5 million as part of its annual contribution of USD 5 million for the year 2023-24 to support the agency's core programmes and services, including education, healthcare, relief, and social services provided to Palestinian refugees, the Representative Office of India at Ramallah said. The contribution was handed over by the Representative of India (ROI) to Palestine, Renu Yadav, to the Director of Partnerships, Department of External Relations of UNRWA, Karim Amer. The ROI underlined India's continued support

Concerned on reports of seizure of India-bound vessel by Houthis: Guterres

The UN Secretary-General is following with "deep concern" reports of the seizure of a vessel by the Houthis in the Red Sea that was reportedly en route between Turkiye and India, a spokesperson said. On Sunday, a British-owned and Japanese-operated ship named "Galaxy Leader" was seized near Hodeida, Yemen, while sailing for India, according to the vessel's operator, NYK Line. The vehicle carrier had 25 crew members who were taken hostage by Yemen's Houthi rebels. The NYK said in a press release that it "organised a crisis management centre at its head office to gather information and manage this incident". "As the vessel's charterer, we are prioritising the safety of the 25 crew members," the NYK said. "I was asked about the incident that took place in the Red Sea concerning the ship, and I can tell you that while the circumstances around the incident remain unclear, we are following with deep concern reports of the seizure by the Houthis of a vessel flying the flag of the Bahamas

As more of world thirsts, luxury water becomes fashionable among the elite

Monsoon rains have finally passed and floods blocking the lone dirt road have retreated enough for a small truck to climb these Himalayan foothills to a gurgling spring. It spews water so fresh that people here call it nectar. Workers inside a small plant ferry sleek glass bottles along a conveyer. The bottles, filled with a whoosh of this natural mineral water, are labelled, packed into cases and placed inside a truck for a long ride. Ganesh Iyer, who heads the operation, watches like a nervous dad, later pulling out his phone, as any proud parent might, to show the underground cavern the waters have formed in this pristine kingdom, the world's last Shangri-La. This is no ordinary water. It will travel hundreds of miles to some of India's luxury hotels, restaurants and richest families, who pay about USD 6 per bottle, roughly a day's wage for an Indian labourer. Millions of people worldwide don't have clean water to drink, even though the United Nations deemed water a basic human