United Nations: A new UN report is forecasting that the world's population will increase from 7.2 billion today to 8.1 billion in 2025 and 9.6 billion in 2050.
The report, released on Thursday, said most of the population growth will occur in developing regions which are projected to increase from 5.9 billion in 2013 to 8.2 billion in 2050. During that same period, it said, the population of developed countries is expected to remain largely unchanged at around 1.3 billion people.
The report said much of the overall increase between now and 2050 is expected to take place in Africa and developing countries with large populations such as India, Indonesia, Pakistan, the Philippines and the United States....
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12:30 AM, Jun 14, 2013
United Nations: Syrian troops and rebels are recruiting children to fight in the country's civil war and some have been tortured by government forces for having links to the opposition, UN chief Ban Ki-moon said in a report on Wednesday. The report issued after Ban's special envoy for children and armed conflict, Leila Zerrougui, visited Syria in December said thousands of children have been killed in the violence, "while thousands...
06:16 AM, Jun 13, 2013
Washington: Defying Republican critics, President Barack Obama named outspoken diplomat Susan Rice as his national security adviser on Wednesday, giving her a larger voice in US foreign policy despite accusations that she misled the nation in the aftermath of the deadly attack on Americans in Benghazi, Libya. The appointment, along with the nomination of human rights advocate Samantha Power to replace Rice as US ambassador to the United Nations, signals...
03:26 AM, Jun 06, 2013
Amman: France said on Tuesday it had performed tests that proved President Bashar al-Assad's forces had used nerve gas in Syria's civil war, a "red line" that the United States and other countries have repeatedly said would demand a response. Washington separately said it would deploy Patriot missiles and F-16 fighter jets to Syria's neighbour Jordan for a military exercise and perhaps longer. Russia, Assad's main international backer, criticized the...
12:30 PM, Jun 05, 2013
United Nations: Delegates from dozens of countries gathered in New York on Monday and signed the first treaty to regulate the $70 billion global conventional arms trade, but the United States was not among them. On April 2, the 193-nation UN General Assembly overwhelmingly approved the UN Arms Trade Treaty that aims to keep weapons out of the hands of human rights abusers and criminals. Argentina's foreign minister, Hector Timerman,...
06:38 AM, Jun 04, 2013
Geneva: The United Nations torture watchdog called on Britain on Friday to widen and speed up investigations into allegations that British forces tortured detainees in Iraq and Afghanistan and prosecute those responsible. British inquiries into alleged abuses by its forces in Iraq since the US-led invasion in 2003 have been slow and there have been no prosecutions for torture or complicity in abuse, although there have been courts martial, the...
07:41 AM, Jun 01, 2013
Geneva: The United Nations urged Syria on Wednesday to cease heavy weapons attacks on civilians in the rebel-held town of Qusair, in a heated debate that underlined deep divisions among powers even as they seek to convene peace talks in the coming weeks. The UN Human Rights Council adopted a resolution brought by Qatar, Turkey and the United States, but Damascus and allies Russia and Iran warned that the condemnation...
08:33 AM, May 31, 2013
Beirut: Syria has received the first shipment of a sophisticated air defence system from Russia, President Bashar al-Assad was quoted as saying, sending a signal of military strength days before an EU arms embargo on the country lapses. Russia had promised delivery of the S-300 missile system to the Syrian government despite Western objections, saying the move would help stabilise the regional balance at a time of insurgency in Syria...
02:15 AM, May 31, 2013
Geneva: The H7N9 bird flu outbreak in China has caused economic losses of more than $6.5 billion so far, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization's chief veterinary officer said on Tuesday. "The economic impacts of H7N9 have been astounding," Juan Lubroth said during a presentation at the World Health Assembly in Geneva. "Over $6.5 billion has been lost in the agriculture sector because of prices, consumer confidence and trade. So...
08:35 AM, May 22, 2013
London: Four more people in China have died from a new strain of bird flu, bringing the death toll from the H7N9 virus to 36 from 131 confirmed cases, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Friday. The United Nations health agency said the four deaths were from cases that had already been identified in laboratories. Since May 8, there have been no new cases of infection with H7N9, it...
11:30 AM, May 18, 2013
Geneva: The number of Syrian refugees, who are either registered or awaiting registration, has surpassed 1.5 million, while the actual number is much higher, according to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR). The increasingly widening gap between needs and available resources is a growing challenge, reported Xinhua citing UNHCR's spokesperson Dan McNorton on Friday . "Over the past four months, we have seen a rapid deterioration compared to the previous 20...
10:59 AM, May 18, 2013
New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is expected to travel to Washington in a few months at the invitation of US President Barack Obama. Obama's invitation to Singh was delivered by US Deputy Secretary of State William Burns during his recent visit here, sources said. Singh has accepted the invitation and will be travelling to Washington, the sources said. The Prime Minister's visit to Washington could be clubbed with his...
09:20 AM, May 18, 2013
Beirut: At least 94,000 people have been killed during Syria's two-year conflict, but the death toll is likely to be as high as 120,000, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Tuesday. The group said that at least 41,000 of those confirmed killed were Alawites, the sect of President Bashar al-Assad. Rami Abdulrahman, the head of the Observatory, said that the Alawite death figures were confirmed by eight different...
02:06 AM, May 15, 2013
Dhaka: A top UN official on Monday termed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's dialogue offer to the opposition as a good "starting point" to resolve the current political crisis in Bangladesh, but feared the failure of talks could invite an unwanted scenario. "It is good starting point," visiting UN assistant secretary general Oscar Fernandez-Taranco said, referring to the Prime Minister's dialogue offer to opposition parties to end the ongoing political impasse...
01:59 AM, May 14, 2013
Rome: The latest weapon in the UN's fight against hunger, global warming and pollution might be flying by you right now. Edible insects are being promoted as a low-fat, high-protein food for people, pets and livestock. According to the UN, they come with appetizing side benefits: Reducing greenhouse gas emissions and livestock pollution, creating jobs in developing countries and feeding the millions of hungry people in the world. Some edible...
10:24 PM, May 13, 2013
Reyhanli: Turkey accused a group with links to Syrian intelligence of carrying out car bombings that killed 46 people in a Turkish border town, and said on Sunday it was time for the world to act against the government of President Bashar al-Assad. The two car bombs, which ripped through crowded shopping streets in Reyhanli on Saturday, increased fears that Syria's civil war is dragging in neighbouring states, despite renewed...
06:40 AM, May 13, 2013
United Nations: Congratulating the people of Pakistan on the successful elections, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Sunday applauded the courage and determination of political parties to engage in the electoral process despite the challenging security situation ahead of the voting. "The Secretary-General congratulates the people and government of Pakistan on the successful conduct of national and provincial elections on 11 May 2013," said a UN statement. "This is the...
01:32 AM, May 13, 2013
London: The number of mobile phone subscriptions are set to outnumber the world's population by the end of 2014, a United Nations agency report has said. According to the International Telecoms Union's (ITU) prediction, mobile phone subscriptions will pass a whopping seven billion early in 2014. Currently, there are 6.8 billion mobile phone subscriptions while the world's population is 7.1 billion. More than a third of the global population are...
08:03 PM, May 12, 2013
Quinetra Crossing: A UN sergeant stationed on the Golan Heights said all Filipino UN peacekeepers abducted last week have been released and are in good condition. The peacekeeper, who gave his name as Sgt Ratton, told the reporters on Sunday that his comrades were freed at 08:30 local time. He said that all four are in good health. Four UN peacekeepers were seized along the UN-patrolled demarcation line separating the...
03:25 PM, May 12, 2013
United Nations: Four UN peacekeepers, all from the Philippines, were abducted on the Golan Heights on Tuesday by an armed group believed to be the same one to have abducted 21 Filipino peacekeepers two months ago, the United Nations said. The abduction took place "near Position 86", a UN spokeswoman told Xinhua. "Efforts to secure their release are underway." This is the second abduction of UN peacekeepers on the Golan...
04:56 AM, May 08, 2013
