Diplomacy

G20 to discuss the new pandemic infected affected ‘world’

Leaders of the 20 biggest world economies (G20) will debate this weekend how to deal with the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic that has caused a global recession and how to manage…

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Turkey must stop provocations in eastern Mediterranean – Germany

Turkey has to cease provocations in the eastern Mediterranean if it wants to avoid new discussions about European Union sanctions against Ankara at an EU summit in December, German Foreign…

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Lockdowns in Europe avoidable, school closures not effective – WHO Europe

Fresh lockdowns in Europe are avoidable, including through near-universal mask-wearing, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) Europe office said on Thursday. Hans Kluge, WHO regional director for Europe,…

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No firm evidence of food trade spreading coronavirus -FAO

There is no significant evidence of coronavirus being spread through food trade and such reports "need to be minimised", Maximo Torero Cullen, chief economist of the United Nations food and…

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U.N. warns on ‘full-scale’ humanitarian crisis unfolding in Ethiopia

A major humanitarian crisis is unfolding in Ethiopia, the United Nations refugee agency said, with more than 27,000 people now having fled heavy fighting to Sudan. The pace of the…

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UN warns of humanitarian crisis in Ethiopia

The United Nations agency for refugees said it was worried about a refugee emergency if more civilians are forced to flee fighting between federal troops and local forces in the…

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WHO chief warns coronavirus is “not tired”, urges vigilance

People are becoming weary of the coronavirus pandemic but should remain vigilant and continue to take precautions while the world awaits a vaccine, World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus…

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U.N. announces Libyan talks election breakthrough

Political talks on Libya's future have reached agreement on holding elections within 18 months, the United Nations acting Libya envoy said on Wednesday, hailing a "breakthrough" in a peacemaking process…

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WHO chief says welcomes efforts to strengthen the organization

The World Health Organization chief opened a key meeting addressing the pandemic on Monday by welcoming efforts to strengthen the Geneva-based body through reform. "We welcome any and all efforts…

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Arabs doubt Biden will herald change in the Middle East

Arab leaders congratulated Joe Biden on his election victory, but some people in the Middle East expressed cynicism over U.S. policy even if he pursues diplomacy rather than President Donald…

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WTO leadership election in limbo

The World Trade Organization has cancelled a meeting on Nov. 9 to decide on the appointment of Nigeria's Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as the body's next director general after the United States…

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International concern after Danish transmission of the virus between animals and humans

The World Health Organization is looking at biosecurity around mink farms in countries across the world to prevent further “spillover events” after Denmark ordered a national mink cull because of…

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World food price index rises in October for fifth month running -FAO

World food prices rose for a fifth month running in October, fully recovering from the shock caused by the global coronavirus pandemic and with gains seen in most sectors, the…

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Covid-19: WHO warns it’s ‘not too late’ to take critical action

World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Monday that a recent increase in Covid-19 cases in a number of countries in Europe and North America presented leaders with…

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WHO head identified as contact of COVID-19 positive person

World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Sunday that he had been identified as a contact of someone who tested positive for COVID-19, but added that he was…

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WHO says nationwide lockdowns should be treated as a “last-resort option”

The World Health Organization in Europe on Thursday said nationwide lockdowns should be treated as a “last-resort option” even as it noted that the continent was back at the pandemic’s…

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Encouraging signs in vaccine trials but WHO warns it’ll take time to ensure it’s safe for everyone

The World Health Organization has welcomed updates from developers scrambling to deliver a safe and effective Covid-19 vaccine, but cautioned it is still “going to take time” before one is…

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U.N. in New York cancels in-person meetings over coronavirus infections

The United Nations cancelled all in-person meetings at its New York headquarters for the rest of the week after five people in Niger’s U.N. mission were infected with the novel…

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Europe needs ‘serious acceleration’ in fight against coronavirus: WHO

Europe needs a "serious acceleration" in the fight against the coronavirus and a lack of contact-tracing capacity could drive the disease into the darkness, a top World Health Organization official…

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UN Treaty to ban nuclear weapons can come into force in 90 days

An international treaty banning nuclear weapons will come into force at the end of January after a 50th country ratified the agreement. The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons…

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WHO warns hospitals running close to capacity across Europe

The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued a stark warning to European nations highlighting the acute situation for hospitals and intensive care units, which it said are running close to…

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Libya’s long path to peace after the permanent cease-fire

Libya’s warring factions signed a permanent cease-fire agreement on Friday, but any lasting end to years of chaos and bloodshed will require wider agreement among myriad armed groups and the…

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EU calls for more transparency from WHO

The European Union wants the World Health Organization to become more transparent about how states report emerging health crises, a draft proposal on reforming the U.N. agency says, following criticism of…

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UN warns less than half of women globally have jobs

The 'World's Women 2020 report' has found a severe lack of progress in women's rights and job market participation. The dire situation has only been made worse by the pandemic…

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World trade rebounding slowly, outlook uncertain – UN report

The value of global trade is set to fall by 7% to 9% in 2020 from the previous year, despite signs of a fragile rebound led by China in the…

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Global powers push to end Nagorno-Karabakh fighting

Armenia's president headed to Brussels for talks with the European Union and NATO military alliance on Wednesday in a renewed drive to end the heaviest fighting since the 1990s over…

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Access to food grossly unequal as coronavirus adds to challenges

A new report by the World Food Programme, known as the Cost of a Plate of Food 2020, has once again exposed the inequality around the world of accessing the…

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Divided world is failing COVID-19 challenge, says frustrated U.N. chief

A divided world has failed to rise to the challenge of fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said and warned concerted action was needed to prevent millions of…

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Turkey defies EU, US and NATO – Greek media

As the European Union sent out another strongly worded statement on Friday regarding Turkey’s infringements in the Eastern Mediterranean, Turkey continued on its path of defiance to the West with the reported missile…

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WHO warns Europe case surge ‘of great concern’

At a press conference in Copenhagen, the WHO’s regional director for Europe Hans Kluge told reporters it was time to “step up the measures” as rising case numbers on the…

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Thousands more underfed children may die due to COVID

An extra 10,000 children per month may die this year from malnutrition due to the COVID-19 crisis, the head of the World Health Organisation warned. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a…

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WHO warns young people may not get vaccine until 2022

World Health Organization’s chief scientist, Soumya Swaminathan, has indicated that young, healthy people may have to wait until 2022 to get a vaccine and, that a despite the many vaccine…

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UN report offers rare glimpse into finances of Somali Islamists

Somalia’s Islamist insurgents are moving millions of dollars through the formal bank system and appear to be investing in businesses and real estate, according to a United Nations report offering…

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WHO fears spike in deaths after global COVID-19 surge

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday warned against any complacency in the coronavirus death rate, saying with the increasing number of cases, mortality would also rise. New cases are…

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IEA says oil producers may struggle to gauge demand amid second wave

Global oil stocks which rose during the height of the pandemic are being steadily reduced, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Wednesday, but a second wave is slowing demand…

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World Bank board approves $12 billion for COVID-19 vaccines, treatments in developing countries

he World Bank said its executive board approved $12 billion in new funding for developing countries to finance the purchase and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, tests and treatments for their…

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China and Russia elected to U.N. rights council

China and Russia were elected to the United Nations Human Rights Council on Tuesday, but support for Beijing dropped by more than 20 percent compared with a 2016 vote and…

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Herd immunity is scientifically and ethically problematic – WHO

The World Health Organization (WHO) has strongly denied that achieving a herd imunity would a viable option to control the spread of the coronavirus pandemic , describing this option as…

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Nearly three million migrants stranded by COVID-19 – UN report

Coronavirus border closures and restrictions have stranded nearly 3 million migrants around the world who want to return home but cannot, the U.N. migration agency said on Friday, adding some…

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WHO reports record one-day rise in global coronavirus cases as Europe records the highest total so far

The World Health Organization reported a record one-day increase in global coronavirus cases on Thursday, with the total rising by 338,779 in 24 hours led by a surge of infections…

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Sub-Saharan Africa to contract 3.3% this year, World Bank says

The coronavirus crisis is expected to drive a 3.3% contraction in sub-Saharan African economies in 2020 and could push 40 million people into extreme poverty, the World Bank said on…

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South Asia faces worst ever recession, tipping millions into poverty – World Bank

Millions of people in South Asia are being pushed into extreme poverty as the region where a quarter of humanity lives suffers its worst-ever recession due to the devastating impact…

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Top global traders push to cut shipping emissions

Some of the world's biggest commodities and energy players on Wednesday launched an initiative to cut and track emissions from the ships they charter as efforts intensify to reduce the…

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World food price index rise 5% year-on-year in September -FAO

World food prices rose for a fourth month running in September, led by strong increases for cereals and vegetable oils, the United Nations food agency said on Thursday. The Food…

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WHO says Europe must go beyond science to survive Covid crisis

The World Health Organization has said European countries will need to “move beyond biomedical science” to overcome Covid-19 as “pandemic fatigue” and new infections rapidly rise across the continent. Hans…

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WHO warns Europe experiencing ‘coronavirus fatigue’

Covid is taking an emotional toll across Europe with rising levels of apathy among some populations, the World Health Organization is warning. Survey data reveals the scale of this "pandemic…

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NATO chief calls for ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg called on Monday for a ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh as the death toll rose during fighting in the breakaway enclave in the South Caucasus. "It is extremely…

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Scientists who helped identify Hepatitis C virus win 2020 Nobel Medicine Prize

Two American and one British-born scientist won the 2020 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for work in identifying the Hepatitis C virus, which causes cirrhosis and liver cancer, the…

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Photo Story: The Silver Arrow exercise in Latvia

Over 3,000 troops and 200 vehicles from 12 NATO Allies took part in exercise Silver Arrow in Latvia this week. The multinational exercise, which wrapped up on 3 October, provided…

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Angela Merkel tells the U.N. – ‘Long way to go’ for women’s rights

German Chancellor Angela Merkel told a virtual UN General Assembly on Thursday that there is still "a long way to go" on women's rights. Merkel and several world leaders took…

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UN registers Turkey-Libya maritime deal

Turkey's Defence Ministry said on Friday that a maritime demarcation agreement between Ankara and Libya's internationally recognised government was registered by the United Nations. Turkey and the Tripoli-based Government of…

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25 years after UN women’s meeting, equality remains distant

Twenty-five years ago, the world’s nations came together to make sure that half of Earth’s population gained the rights, power and status of the other half. It hasn’t happened yet.…

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Orthodox church petitions UN over Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia

The Greek Orthodox Church of the United States said it is petitioning United Nations experts to coerce Turkey into protecting Orthodox Christianity’s cultural heritage following the Turkish government’s conversion of…

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World Bank seeks board approval for $12 bln coronavirus vaccine financing plan

World Bank President David Malpass said he is seeking board approval for a $12 billion coronavirus vaccine financing plan to help poor and developing countries secure a sufficient share of…

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David Attenborough leads call for world to invest $500 bln a year to protect nature

British broadcaster David Attenborough led a call from conservation groups on Wednesday for the world to invest $500 billion a year to halt the destruction of nature, warning that the…

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North Korea tells U.N. that now it has ‘effective war deterrent’

North Korea has a “reliable and effective war deterrent for self-defense” and will now focus on developing its economy, North Korea’s U.N. Ambassador Kim Song said on Tuesday, though he…

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Global partnership to make available 120 million affordable, quality COVID-19 rapid tests for low- and middle-income countries

A set of agreements to make available, for low and middle-income countries, affordable, high-quality COVID-19 antigen rapid tests were today announced by the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator. Organizations…

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