United Nations, United States | AFP | More than 150 women and girls have come forward in the past 12 days to seek help in South Sudan after they were raped or suffered other forms of sexual violence, the heads of three UN agencies said Monday. Armed men, many in …
Read More »Nations pressed to tackle ‘urgent threats’ at UN climate talks
Katowice, Poland | AFP | With the direst environmental warnings yet still ringing in their ears, nations gathered in Poland Sunday for a UN summit aimed at heading off the “urgent threat” of runaway climate change. The UN talks come at a crucial juncture in mankind’s response to planetary warming. …
Read More »At-risk nations to make case at UN climate summit
Katowice, Poland | AFP | Nations most threatened by rising sea levels and devastating droughts will use a UN summit in Poland on Monday to urge richer countries to pay their fair share in the climate change fight. The presidents of at-risk states such as Honduras, Nigeria and Bangladesh are expected …
Read More »Reggae, music ‘of love and humanity’, secures UN culture listing
Port Louis, Mauritius | AFP | Jamaican reggae, the music of the oppressed which Bob Marley catapulted onto the global stage, won a coveted spot on the United Nations’ list of global cultural treasures Thursday. UNESCO, the world body’s cultural and scientific agency, added reggae to its collection of “intangible …
Read More »Measles cases rise 30 percent worldwide
Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | Measles cases worldwide jumped more than 30 percent last year compared to 2016, with increases recorded in wealthy European countries like Germany where vaccination coverage has historically been high, the UN said Thursday. The World Health Organization said the worrying trend of resurgent measles cases …
Read More »Global warming outpaces efforts to slow it: UN
Paris, France | AFP | Humanity is falling further behind in the race against climate change, with the gap between greenhouse gas emissions and levels needed to achieve the Paris climate treaty temperature goals continuing to widen, the UN said Tuesday. With only a single degree Celsius of warming so …
Read More »Drought, conflict driving Afghans to marry off children: UN
Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | With a devastating drought worsening an already horrendous humanitarian situation in Afghanistan, parents are increasingly compelled to “sell” young daughters into marriage to pay off debt or buy food, the UN said Tuesday. In the drought-hit Herat and Baghdis provinces of Afghanistan, the UN children’s …
Read More »Uganda rebels fire on UN helicopter in eastern DR Congo
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | Ugandan rebels on Thursday fired on a UN helicopter in an attack in the volatile east of DR Congo, though there were no victims, UN sources said. “One of our helicopters was fired on in Semuliki valley by rebels — we reacted in legitimate …
Read More »No room for climate delay, UN chief tells online summit
Majuro, Marshall Islands | AFP | The world is not moving fast enough to curb global warming and needs immediate action to address the issue, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told an online climate change conference Thursday. Guterres issued the call to arms ahead of next month’s COP24 climate talks in …
Read More »Under-fire UN environment chief resigns
United Nations, United States | AFP | UN environment chief Erik Solheim resigned on Tuesday after an audit questioning his huge travel expenses triggered an outcry, UN officials said. The former environment minister of Norway had been at the helm of the Nairobi-based UN Environment Programme (UNEP) since June 2016. …
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