Paris, France | AFP | Governments should focus on “greener” policies to improve the supply and quality of water as climate change and a growing global population threaten the water security of billions, the United Nations said on Monday. In its 2018 World Water Development Report, the UN calculated that an …
Read More »UN mission in DR Congo urged to play stronger role in polls
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | A body linked to the powerful Catholic Church in Democratic Republic of Congo on Sunday called on the United Nations to strengthen its role during December elections. The Lay Coordination Committee (CLC), which has held marches against President Joseph Kabila, said it was asking …
Read More »UN backs Zimbabwe polls for July
Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | The United Nations on Saturday threw its support behind new elections in Zimbabwe set for July and urged the government to kickstart the African nation’s economy as an “urgent priority”. Achim Steiner, administrator for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), was in Harare as part …
Read More »Canada to send peacekeepers to Mali: official
Ottawa, Canada | AFP | Canada will send peacekeepers backed by helicopters to the troubled west African nation of Mali before autumn, a government source said on Friday. Defense Minister Harjit Sajjan is to provide details of the number of troops on Monday, said the source, speaking on condition of …
Read More »UN set to threaten arms embargo on South Sudan
United Nations, United States | AFP | The UN Security Council is expected to adopt on Thursday a US-drafted resolution that threatens to impose an arms embargo on South Sudan and sanctions against those blocking efforts to end one of Africa’s worst wars. The strongly-worded text is aimed at piling …
Read More »UN drugs body approves controls on deadly opioid
Vienna, AUSTRIA | AFP | A UN’s anti-drug body added carfentanil, a synthetic substance estimated to be thousands of times more potent than morphine, to its list of controlled substances on Wednesday. The US had been pushing for the move, and welcomed the decision the UN’s Commission on Narcotic Drugs’ (CND) …
Read More »BBC presses UN over Iran death threats, harassment
Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | The BBC said Monday that London-based members of its Persian service had faced death threats over their reporting, as it pressed the United Nations to act against Iran in defence of press freedom. Britain’s public broadcaster is lobbying the Human Rights Council this week to help …
Read More »Children increasingly exposed in Syria conflict: UN
Beirut, Lebanon | AFP | Children are at more risk than ever in Syria’s devastating conflict, the United Nations said Monday as the war approached its eighth year. Twice as many children were killed in the war in 2017 than in the previous year, the UN children’s agency UNICEF said in …
Read More »Gabon to quit UN peacekeeping force in C. Africa
Libreville, Gabon | AFP | Gabon is to withdraw its forces from the UN peacekeeping mission in the Central African Republic, a force known by its initials of MINUSCA. The cabinet on Thursday endorsed a request by the defence ministry to pull out the country’s troops in MINUSCA, “given the …
Read More »THIS WEEK: Do not repeat mistakes in Somalia – Museveni urges UN Security Council
THIS WEEK: Do not repeat mistakes in Somalia – Museveni urges UN Security Council Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | President Yoweri Museveni has called upon the United Nations Security Council not to repeat previous mistakes made in Somalia. Museveni made the remarks at the Summit of Heads of State …
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