Page 56 - United Nations

India's UN envoy Kamboj assumes Chair of Commission for Social Development

The Chair is backed by Vice-Chairs from Luxembourg, North Macedonia, Dominican Republic, and a forthcoming African State election, as per the statement

Upcoming G20 Summit in New Delhi critical for climate action: Guterres

The upcoming G20 Summit in New Delhi and the UN Climate Summit during the high-level General Assembly session are among the critical opportunities ahead for accelerated action on climate change, UN chief Antonio Guterres said as he warned that the world has moved from the era of global warming into that of global boiling. As the World Meteorological Organisation and the European Commission's Copernicus Climate Change Service released official data confirming that July 2023 is set to be the hottest month ever recorded in human history, UN Secretary-General Guterres said humanity is in the hot seat. Guterres said that for vast parts of North America, Asia, Africa and Europe it is a cruel summer but it is a disaster for the entire planet. Climate change is here. It is terrifying. And it is just the beginning. The era of global warming has ended; the era of global boiling has arrived. The air is unbreathable. The heat is unbearable. And the level of fossil fuel profits and climate ...

Russia refuses to speak at UN on attacks on Ukraine's port city of Odesa

In an escalation of Russia's anger at Ukraine and its Western backers, Russia refused to speak at a U.N. Security Council meeting called to disuss Moscow's recent devastating attacks on the key port of Odesa immediately following its refusal to extend the Black Sea grain deal. The confrontation began at the start of a council session called by Russia on the divided Orthodox Church in Ukraine. Russia's deputy U.N. ambassador, Dmitry Polyansky ,protested that Britain, which holds the council presidency, was allowing only two briefers and Moscow wanted a third Archbishop Gideon of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. The Ukrainian government has cracked down on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church over its historic ties to the Russian Orthodox Church, whose leader, Patriarch Kirill, supported Russian President Vladimir Putin over the invasion of Ukraine. Polyansky accused the UK of bias, censorship and obstruction for limiting the number of briefers. Deputy British ambassador James Kariuki respon

Asia-Pacific needs disaster warning systems against climate change: Report

Countries in the Asia-Pacific region need to drastically increase their investments in disaster warning systems and other tools to counter rising risks from climate change, a United Nations report said Tuesday. The report issued Tuesday by the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, or ESCAP, says nearly USD 145 billion is needed to set up systems to minimise deaths and damage from floods, earthquakes, drought and other disasters. Artificial intelligence, satellites, remote sensing and other technologies can aid in forecasting, notifying the public in times of emergency and providing other services, but telecommunications systems must be fortified to ensure that vulnerable communities will get that information, said the report, which was released to mark the U.N.'s Disaster Resilience Week. Most countries have failed to spend even 10 per cent of what is needed, the report said. Half of all countries lack early warning systems and even fewer have systems that are ..

UN agency that governs int'l waters mired in debate over deep sea mining

Members of a UN agency that governs international waters were locked in a fierce debate late Friday over whether to allow deep sea mining and set a new deadline for proposed regulations still stuck in draft mode. The UN International Seabed Authority, which is based in Jamaica, began its two-week conference on the issue July 10 but discussions behind closed doors dragged on during the last day of the meeting. It's quite a marathon, Michael Lodge, the agency's secretary general, said at a press briefing Friday. There are still loose ends to tie up. The agency has yet to issue any provisional mining licenses, and it missed a July 9 deadline to approve a set of rules to govern such activity. Companies and countries can now apply for a mining license as demand surges for precious metals that are found in the deep sea and are used in electric car batteries and other green technology. The UN agency has issued more than 30 exploration licenses but none for actual mining so far. Most of t

India likely to rise as great power, West making sensible bet: Martin Wolf

India is indeed likely to be a rising "great power" and its economy will have the size similar to that of the US by 2050, according to noted economics commentator Martin Wolf who has also highlighted that Western leaders are making a sensible bet on the country. "I judge that India should be able to sustain growth of GDP per head at 5 per cent a year, or so, up to 2050. With better policies, growth might even be a bit higher, though it could also be lower," Wolf said in a column written in the Financial Times. He also said India is an obvious location for companies following a "China plus one" strategy and has the advantage over obvious competitors of a large home market. India is the world's fifth largest economy and third largest one in terms of purchasing power. The United Nations has forecast the country's population to touch 1.67 billion by 2050 and currently it is 1.43 billion. Wolf noted that the country's bank balance sheets have been repaired and in all, "the credit engine

India at UN urges immediate return to dialogue, diplomacy in Ukraine war

The permanent representative further added, We have consistently advocated that no solution can ever be arrived at the cost of human lives

UNSC holds first meeting on AI threats, officials call for regulation

He said that the technology increasingly reveals its potential risks and benefits and the UN has an opportunity to set globally agreed-upon rules of the road for monitoring and regulating

Universal Postal Union to assess UPI platform for cross-border remittances

The Universal Postal Union will evaluate UPI for integrating the unified payment interface with cross-border remittances using global postal network, an official release said on Tuesday. Director General of Universal Postal Union (DG UPU) Masahiko Metoki, who is on a three-day visit to India for the inauguration of UPU Regional Office, also met Minister of Communications, Electronics and IT Ashwini Vaishnaw here on Tuesday. "During the interaction, DG UPU appreciated India's expansion of physical post offices riding on the waves of digital infrastructure and advocated the replication of similar models in other countries. He also agreed to evaluate UPI platform for integrating it with cross-border money remittance through postal channels," the release added. Vaishnaw shared the transformation of the post offices into a digitally powered network, capable of doorstep delivery of government services in remote areas, according to the release.

India contributes $1 mn to UN for promoting use of Hindi language

India has contributed USD 1 million as part of a voluntary contribution to the United Nations to promote the use of the Hindi language in the world organisation and to foster inclusive dialogue and understanding, India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj said on Monday. Kamboj handed over the cheque of USD 1 million to Under Secretary General of the United Nations Department of Global Communications Melissa Fleming. The Indian Government is delighted to make a substantial voluntary contribution to the @UN, with a focus on promoting the usage of Hindi. A step towards fostering inclusive dialogue and understanding, Kamboj tweeted. Efforts of the United Nations to mainstream and consolidate news and multimedia content in the Hindi language have been appreciated in India and in countries where a Hindi-speaking population resides, she said. She said the Indian government will continue to promote the use of the Hindi language in the United Nations. For this ..

MP govt, UNFPA launch chatbot for adolescents on sexual health issues

The Madhya Pradesh government and the United Nations Population Fund on Monday launched an Artificial Intelligence-enabled chatbot to address the critical need for accurate and accessible information on social issues and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) among adolescents and young adults. The 'Just Ask/Khulke Poochho' chatbot was launched by MP Health Minister Prabhuram Choudhary and UNFPA India Representative Andrea M Wojnar. The 'Just Ask digital engagement platform will help users with questions related to growing up, bodily changes, menstruation, reproductive health, pregnancy and family planning, gender identity, sexual orientation and other SRHR topics, an official release said. "The chatbot engages users in interactive conversations and provides them with accurate and reliable information within minutes and free of cost. The user experience is designed to be safe, personalized, multi-lingual and empathetic. It features two aspiring role models, Dhruv and ...

What is the Black Sea grain deal that is at risk of falling apart?

Russia and Ukraine are among the world's top grain exporters, and their conflict sent food prices surging around the world

The 'more perilous adventure' of the poor marked out in a movie

The 1974 blockbuster Roti, Kapda aur Makaan tapped into popular emotions sparked by rising inequality

World must attack all emissions, everywhere, says COP28 President

The head of this year's United Nations' climate talks called on Thursday for governments and businesses to tackle global warming by reducing greenhouse gas emissions in all regions and sectors if they want to stop the planet from passing a key temperature limit agreed on more than seven years ago. Sultan al-Jaber of the United Arab Emirates, who also heads one of the country's state oil companies, told senior officials from Europe, Canada and China gathered in Brussels that record-breaking heat seen in parts of the world recently shows the need for urgent action to curb emissions. Laying out his strategy for the upcoming COP28 global climate talks in Dubai this fall, al-Jaber said that leaders must be brutally honest" about what has caused the sharp rise in temperatures since preindustrial times and how to stop them from climbing further. While many fossil fuel companies have pledged to reduce direct and indirect emissions from their operations known as scope 1 and 2 many have ...

Summit to act on reforming global financial system, says UN chief Guterres

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said that the G20 Summit to be hosted under India's Presidency provides an opportunity to take action on debt relief and reform the global financial system, as he voiced concern over the "crushing debt crisis" in the world. Speaking at the launch of a UN report 'A World of Debt' here on Wednesday, Guterres said, "Some 3.3 billion people almost half of humanity live in countries that spend more on debt interest payments than on education or health." "Half our world is sinking into a development disaster, fuelled by a crushing debt crisis," he said. Guterres said that because most of these unsustainable debts are concentrated in poor countries, they are not judged to pose a systemic risk to the global financial system. "This is a mirage," he warned, adding that 3.3 billion people is more than systemic risk. "It is a systemic failure. Markets may seem not (to) be suffering yet. But people are. Some of the poorest countries in the world are

2.4 billion people didn't have constant access to food last year, says UN

The U.N. delivered grim news on global food security Wednesday: 2.4 billion people didn't have constant access to food last year, as many as 783 million faced hunger, and 148 million children suffered from stunted growth. Five U.N. agencies said in the 2023 State of Food Security and Nutrition report that while global hunger numbers stalled between 2021 and 2022 many places are facing deepening food crises. They pointed to Western Asia, the Caribbean, and Africa where 20 per cent of the continent's population is experiencing hunger, more than twice the global average. "Recovery from the global pandemic has been uneven, and the war in Ukraine has affected the nutritious food and healthy diets," Qu Dongyu, director-general of the Food and Agriculture Organization said in a statement. "This is the 'new normal' where climate change, conflict, and economic instability are pushing those on the margins even further from safety." According to the report, people's access to healthy diets has

'3.3 bn live in countries that spend more on debt interest than education'

Some 3.3 billion people almost half of humanity now live in countries that spend more money paying interest on their debts than on education or health, according to a new UN report released Wednesday. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told a press conference launching the report that because this crushing debt crisis is concentrated mostly in poor developing countries, it is not judged to pose a systemic risk to the global financial system. This is a mirage, the U.N. chief warned. 3.3 billion people is more than a systemic risk, it is a systemic failure. Guterres said financial markets may seem not to be suffering yet but billions of people are and the levels of public debt are staggering and surging. In 2022, global public debt reached a record $92 trillion and developing countries shoulder a disproportionate amount, he said. According to the report, the number of countries facing high debt levels has increased sharply from 22 nations in 2011 to 59 in 2022. The ...

World is losing battle to wipe out hunger by end of decade: Report

Hunger was still rising in western Asia, the Caribbean and throughout Africa last year

Traces of explosives found in yacht in Nord Stream sabotage probe: Diplomat

Investigators found traces of subsea explosives in samples taken from a yacht that has been one aspect of a probe into the sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines under the Baltic Sea last year, European diplomats have told the United Nations Security Council. They say that the investigation hasn't yet established who the perpetrators were and whether a state was involved. Denmark, Sweden and Germany have been investigating the Sept 26 attack, and the Danish Foreign Ministry tweeted a letter Tuesday from the three countries' UN ambassadors to the president of the Security Council with information on their activities so far. Officials voiced caution in March over media reports that a pro-Ukraine group was involved in the sabotage. German media reported then that five men and a woman used a yacht hired by a Ukrainian-owned company in Poland to carry out the attack, and that it set off from the German port of Rostock. German federal prosecutors declined direct comment on that and ot

India registers poverty reduction with 415 mn coming out in 15 years: UN

A total of 415 million people moved out of poverty in India within just 15 years from 2005/2006 to 2019/2021, the UN said on Tuesday, highlighting the remarkable achievement by the world's most populous nation. The latest update of the global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) was released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) at the University of Oxford. It said that 25 countries, including India, successfully halved their global MPI values within 15 years, showing that rapid progress is attainable. These countries include Cambodia, China, Congo, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Morocco, Serbia, and Vietnam. In April, India surpassed China to become the world's most populous nation with 142.86 crore people, according to UN data. "Notably, India saw a remarkable reduction in poverty, with 415 million people exiting poverty within a span of just 15 years (2005/619/21)," the report said. The report demonstrate