United Nations

China gives pledge on access for COVID origins probe – WHO

The World Health Organization (WHO) has had assurances from China that an international field trip to investigate the origins of the new coronavirus will be arranged as soon as possible,…

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Surge in greenhouse gases sustained despite COVID lockdowns – U.N.

Greenhouse gas concentrations climbed to a new record in 2019 and rose again this year despite an expected drop in emissions due to COVID-19 lockdowns, the World Meteorological Organization said…

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WHO warns of COVID-19 third wave, says Europe failed to learn from Asia

The World Health Organization's special COVID-19 envoy David Nabarro told the Solothurner Zeitung in Switzerland that Europe was likely to see a third wave of the deadly COVID-19 pandemic in…

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Europe’s reaction was incomplete – WHO

A World Health Organization (WHO) special COVID-19 envoy predicted a third wave of the pandemic in Europe in early 2021, if governments repeat what he said was a failure to…

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Russia stops U.N. blacklisting of Libya militia, leader

Russia on Friday stopped a U.N. Security Council committee from blacklisting a Libyan militia group and its leader for human rights abuses because it said it wanted to see more evidence…

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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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