Tag: U.N.

North Korean Leader’s Sister Vows 2nd Attempt to Launch Spy Satellite, Slams UN Meeting

The influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed again Sunday to push for a second attempt to launch a spy satellite as she lambasted a U.N. Security Council meeting over the North’s first, failed launch. The North’s attempt to put its first military spy satellite into orbit last Wednesday failed as its…


World Food Supplies at Risk as Russia Withdraws From Black Sea Deal

SINGAPORE—Russia’s weekend backtrack from a U.N.-brokered deal to export Black Sea grains is likely to hit shipments to import-dependent countries, deepening a global food crisis and sparking gains in prices. Hundreds of thousands of tonnes of wheat booked for delivery to Africa and the Middle East are at risk following Russia’s withdrawal, while Ukrainian corn…


Russia Suspends Ukraine Grain Deal Over Ship Attack Claim

KYIV, Ukraine—Russia announced Saturday that it will immediately suspend its implementation of a U.N.-brokered grain deal. The Russian Defense Ministry cited an alleged Ukrainian drone attack Saturday against Russia’s Black Sea Fleet ships moored off the coast of occupied Crimea as the reason for the move. Ukraine has denied the attack, saying that the Russians…


Activists Urge UN Rights Chief to Release Delayed Report on Xinjiang

GENEVA—Now that the Beijing Winter Olympics is over, U.N. rights chief Michelle Bachelet must release her long-delayed report on alleged violations in China’s Xinjiang region against Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities, Human Rights Watch said on Tuesday. Ken Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch, urged Bachelet to issue her office’s findings before her March…


UN Says to Publish Findings Soon on Abuses in Xinjiang

GENEVA—The United Nations’ human rights office is finalizing its assessment of the situation in China’s Xinjiang region, where Uyghurs are alleged to have been unlawfully detained, mistreated, and forced to work, a spokesperson said on Friday. Rupert Colville said that the office of U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet hoped to publish its…


Taliban Response to Afghan Protests Increasingly Violent, UN Says

GENEVA—The U.N. rights office on Friday said that the Taliban response to peaceful marches in Afghanistan has been increasingly violent, with authorities using live ammunition, batons, and whips and causing the deaths of at least four protesters. Protests and demonstrations pose a challenge to the Taliban as it seeks to consolidate control after seizing the…


Haiti Awaits New Chief as Official Mourning Starts for Moise

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti—While they await a new leader, Haitians are beginning a series of official ceremonies Tuesday to honor President Jovenel Moïse nearly two weeks after he was assassinated at home. The body of Moïse was to lie in state starting before dawn at the National Pantheon Museum in the capital of Port-au-Prince, officials said. He…


US Ambassador Said to Counter China’s Influence on United Nations

The U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations told Congress on June 16, that Beijing’s penetration of the United Nations has caused a “malign influence” with an authoritarian approach, and emphasized the need to enhance U.S. leadership. “… the Chinese have pushed that agenda more aggressively in the past few years than they’ve ever done before,”…


UN Ambassador Says US Needs to Counter China’s ‘Malign Influence’

The U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations told Congress on June 16 that Beijing’s penetration of the United Nations has caused a “malign influence” with an authoritarian approach, and emphasized the need to enhance U.S. leadership. “The Chinese have pushed that agenda more aggressively in the past few years than they’ve ever done before,” said…


Israel tells UN Security Council Hamas Attacks Part of Ploy to Gain Political Power in West Bank

The Israeli ambassador to the United Nations claimed during an emergency Security Council meeting on Sunday that the recent attacks by Hamas had been premeditated in order to improve its political standing, as he called on the U.N. body to “unequivocally” condemn the terrorist group for firing rockets at Israeli civilians. The latest wave of…