Page 77 - United Nations

Russia-Ukraine grain deal extended by four months in win for food prices

A wartime agreement that unblocked grain shipments from Ukraine and helped temper rising global food prices will be extended by four months, the United Nations and other parties to the deal said on Thursday, preventing a price shock to some of the world's most vulnerable countries where many are struggling with hunger. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the 120-day extension a "key decision in the global fight against the food crisis". Struck during Russia's war in Ukraine, the initiative established a safe shipping corridor in the Black Sea and inspection procedures to address concerns that cargo vessels might carry weapons or launch attacks. The deal that Ukraine and Russia signed in separate agreements with the UN and Turkey on July 22 was due to expire on Saturday. Russia confirmed the extension but said it expected progress on removing obstacles to the export of Russian food and fertilisers. Ukraine and Russia are key global suppliers of wheat, barley, sunflower oil

War, slowdown prompt Tiruppur exporters to explore alternate markets

Move follows 21% YoY dip in exports in October; some exporters believe things will improve in the coming months as yarn prices have declined and dollar rates are favourable

Around 13% drug abuse victims in India are below 20 years: UN official

Child trafficking, child labour and exploitation by criminals often result in poor mental and physical health of children, leading to high risk of drugs and alcohol abuse

COP27 draft text omits India's proposal of phasing down all fossil fuels

The United Nations published a first draft of the climate deal on Thursday and it doesn't mention a phase down of all fossil fuels, a proposal that was put forward by India and supported by the European Union and many other countries. The draft encourages "the continued efforts to accelerate measures towards the phase down of unabated coal power and phase out and rationalize inefficient fossil fuel subsidies, in line with national circumstances and recognizing the need for support towards just transitions". Nearly the same language was used in the Glasgow Climate Pact last year. When contacted, a spokesperson of the Environment Ministry said the Indian negotiators do not wish to comment "as negotiations are going on". The cover text also doesn't mention when a loss and damage finance facility will be launched and what its contours will be. Poor and developing countries have demanded that the COP27 concludes with a decision to launch a fund to address loss and damage -- a term used

UN: India voices concerns on energy, food security due to Ukraine conflict

India's top ambassador to the UN, underscored the adverse impact of the Ukraine conflict, especially the developing countries

India's aviation safety rank to improve after UN agency audit: DGCA

Says country fared well in ICAO audit of Nov 9-16 covering legislation, licensing, operations, airworthiness, among other areas; India was placed below Pakistan and Nepal an earlier exercise

South Korea to provide $2.72 million to international global climate fund

Seoul will contribute 1.2 billion won per annum to the Adaptation Fund over the next three years from 2023, Yonhap news agency reported, citing a statement by the ministry

UN chief calls for making roads safe, reduce traffic deaths by half by 2030

One of the best ways to remember and honor the victims is by doing our part to make roads safer around the world

UN voices concern over reports of further curbs on rights of Afghan women

aliban prohibited Afghan women from visiting all public parks in the country. Taliban spokesperson said they have also banned women's public bathhouses as they are contrary to the sharia law.

Global population hits 8 bn: How it changes the world over next few decades

Much of the world's population growth has come in the last century as better living standards and health advancements extended life expectancy

UN human rights ooffice urges Iran to free detained peaceful protesters

The UN human rights office is calling on Iran's government to immediately release thousands of people who have been detained for participating in peaceful protests, faulting its increasing harshness as Western countries seek to ratchet up scrutiny of Tehran's crackdown against demonstrators. Spokesman Jeremy Laurence of the office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said it was calling for all charges to be dropped against the demonstrators and cautioned that Iran can only mete out the death penalty for the most serious crimes" under international law amid concerns that some protesters could be facing capital punishment. Instead of opening space for dialogue on legitimate grievances, the authorities are responding to unprecedented protests with increasing harshness, Laurence said at a regular UN press briefing in Geneva. He said at least 10 protesters had been charged with offenses that carry the death penalty including one found guilty of either "waging war against God o

With 177 mn, India largest contributor to global population milestone: UN

As the world population touched 8 billion on Tuesday, India was the largest contributor to the milestone, having added 177 million people, while China, whose contribution to the next billion in the global population is projected to be in the negative, the UN said. India is expected to surpass China as the world's most populous nation by next year. The UN Population Fund (UNFPA), in a special graphic to mark the global population reaching eight billion, said Asia and Africa has driven much of this growth is expected to drive the next billion by 2037, while Europe's contribution will be negative due to declining population. The world added a billion people in the last 12 years. UNFPA said that as the world adds the next billion to its tally of inhabitants, China's contribution will be negative. India, the largest contributor to the 8 billion (177 million) will surpass China, which was the second largest contributor (73 million) and whose contribution to the next billion will be ...

World population hits 8 billion, grows 1 billion in just 12 years

In a milestone for humanity, the global population hit 8 billion on Tuesday after having added a billion people in the last 12 years, with India on the cusp of overtaking China as the world's most populous country next year. The United Nations said the global milestone signals major improvements in public health that have lowered the risk of death and increased life expectancy but the moment is also a clarion call for humanity to look beyond the numbers and meet its shared responsibility to protect people and the planet, starting with the most vulnerable. "8 billion hopes. 8 billion dreams. 8 billion possibilities. Our planet is now home to 8 billion people," the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) tweeted. Unless we bridge the yawning chasm between the global haves and have-nots, we are setting ourselves up for an 8-billion-strong world filled with tensions and mistrust, crisis and conflict, said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. India is projected to surpass China as the

World population projected to hit 8 billion people today: UN estimates

The latest projections by the United Nations suggest that the global population could grow to around 8.5 billion in 2030, 9.7 billion in 2050 and 10.4 billion in 2100.

Story in charts: World nears 8 bn mark, India must focus on human capital

In 2026, the age group of 25 and 29 will have the highest number of people, and in 2036, India's largest population group will be in the late 30s

UN probes Egypt police misconduct claims at international climate talks

The United Nations says it is investigating allegations of misconduct by Egyptian police officers providing security at this year's international climate talks. This follows claims that attendees of events at the German pavilion for the COP27 summit were photographed and filmed after Germany hosted an event there with the sister of a jailed Egyptian pro-democracy activist, Alaa Abdel Fattah, who also holds U.K. citizenship. In a statement provided Sunday to The Associated Press, the U.N. climate office confirmed that some of the security officers working in the part of the venue designated as United Nations territory come from the host country, Egypt. This was due to the scale and complexity of providing security at a large scale event" such as the COP27 climate talks, the global body said. It added that their work takes place under the direction of the operations of the U.N. Department for Safety and Security (UN DSS). The security officers provided for this COP by the host countr

Statsguru: From net-zero target to forest cover, India's climate standing

The Emissions Gap Report 2022 showed India's per capita carbon dioxide emissions in 2030 will be nearly the same as its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) target

COP27: Hundreds of activists protest for climate action at UN summit

Hundreds of activists called on industrialised nations to pay for the impact of climate change and to speed up the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy on Saturday in the largest protest yet at the UN climate summit in Egypt. Protests have mostly been muted at the conference, known as COP27, which is taking place in the seaside resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. Activists blamed high cost of travel, accommodation and restrictions in the isolated city for limiting numbers of demonstrators. The protesters marched through the conference's Blue Zone,' which is considered a UN territory and ruled by international law. They chanted, sang, and danced in an area not far from where climate talks and negotiations are taking place. The protests came at the end of the first week of the two-week summit, when typically protest action at climate summits is at its biggest. Pay for loss and damage now, said Friday Nbani, a Nigerian environmental activist who was leading a group of African ...

UN officials report progress on Russia's grain and fertiliser exports

Top U.N. officials updated a high-level Russian delegation Friday on progress to facilitate Russia's exports of food and fertiliser to global markets which have faced obstacles under an expiring wartime deal that has enabled Ukraine to ship over 10 million metric tons of grain from three Black Sea ports. U.N. humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths and U.N. trade chief Rebeca Grynspan, who has been in charge of the Russian side of the agreement, informed the Russian team led by Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin on steps taken to address key Russian issues -- facilitating payments, shipping, insurance for shipments of its grain and fertiliser and getting access to European Union ports, U.N. associate spokeswoman Stephanie Tremblay said in a statement. The meeting took place ahead of the Nov. 19 expiration of the separate agreements with Russia and Ukraine brokered by the U.N. and Turkey and signed in Istanbul on July 22. Russia briefly suspended its participation in the deal two .

Key UN committee seeks ICJ's legal opinion on Israel's occupation

A key UN committee approved a draft resolution Friday calling on the International Court of Justice to urgently issue its opinion on the legal consequences of denying the Palestinian people the right to self-determination as a result of Israel's actions since the 1967 Mideast war. The measure was vehemently opposed by Israel, which argued it would destroy any chance of reconciliation with the Palestinians. The vote in the General Assembly's Special Political and Decolonization Committee was 98-17, with 52 abstentions. The resolution will now go to the 193-member assembly for a final vote before the end of the year, when it is virtually certain of approval. The draft cites Israel's violation of Palestinian rights to self-determination from its prolonged occupation, settlement and annexation of the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including measures aimed at altering the demographic composition, character and status of the holy city of Jerusalem, and from its adoption of ...