GENEVA (AP) — Sri Lanka’s government faced increasing pressure Friday to answer for alleged human rights violations following a recent war crimes lawsuit and allegations from over 50 men who said they were raped, branded or tortured as recently as this year. The men’s anguished descriptions of their abuses come nearly a decade after Sri … Continue reading
GENEVA (AP) — The U.N.’s weather and climate agency says 2017 is set to become the hottest year on record aside from those impacted by the El Nino phenomenon. The World Meteorological Organization says this year is already on track to be one of the three hottest years of all time, after 2015 and 2016, … Continue reading
GENEVA (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson doubled down Thursday on Washington’s call for Syrian President Bashar Assad to leave power, looking past recent battlefield gains by his Russian-backed forces to insist that “the reign of the Assad family is coming to an end.” Tillerson made the comments after what he called a … Continue reading
GENEVA (AP) — The U.N. refugee agency on Monday took the rare step of urging European Union members to suspend returns of asylum-seekers to their partner, Hungary, faulting its new policy of systematically placing migrants in containers and expelling any migrants not holding the proper papers. UNHCR says that since a tough new law took … Continue reading
GENEVA (AP) â Playing down expectations, the U.N. envoy for Syria said Wednesday that he’s not expecting a breakthrough in the first U.N.-mediated peace talks between government representatives and the opposition in 10 months, rather hoping to build momentum toward peace after nearly six years of war. Staffan de Mistura spoke a day before convening … Continue reading
GENEVA (AP) — The U.N. on Wednesday released stark satellite images showing the most recent destruction of Syria’s embattled northern city of Aleppo, which has been pounded by Syrian and Russian airstrikes since the collapse of a U.S.-Russia brokered cease-fire two weeks ago. The release coincided with a stepped-up offensive by Syrian government forces and … Continue reading
GENEVA (AP) — The United Nations Human Rights Council has passed a resolution calling for greater U.N. monitoring of rights abuses in war-torn Yemen, while shrugging off calls from the U.N. human rights chief and others for an independent investigation of abuses. The 47-member Geneva council approved by consensus the resolution backed by Arab states, … Continue reading
GENEVA (AP) — Syria’s warring parties taking part in the Geneva talks exchanged documents on Tuesday outlining each side’s basic positions, the U.N. special envoy said. The documents can be used to find if there is common ground between the Syrian government’s side and that of the opposition before the current round of talks adjourn … Continue reading
GENEVA (AP) — The U.N. human rights office says it has turned up six more cases of alleged sexual abuse against children by European troops in Central African Republic, including a 7-year-old girl who said she had to perform sexual acts on soldiers in exchange for water and cookies. A U.N. team recently interviewed five … Continue reading
GENEVA (AP) — An exceptionally large blue diamond sold Wednesday for 48.6 million Swiss francs ($48.5 million) — a record price for any jewel at auction, Sotheby’s said, culminating two Geneva auctions in which a convicted Hong Kong tycoon bought rare colored diamonds for his daughter. The 12.03-carat ‘Blue Moon’ diamond, set in a ring, … Continue reading
GENEVA (AP) — Motivated by the mystery disappearance of a Malaysia Airlines jetliner last year, nations have set aside radio frequencies so that airplanes can be tracked by satellite — not just from the ground. The agreement to set aside the frequency 1087.7-1092.3 MHz band in essence paves the way for planes that already send … Continue reading
GENEVA (AP) — The Antarctic ozone hole has swelled this month to one of its biggest sizes on record, U.N. and U.S. scientists say, insisting that the Earth-shielding ozone layer remains on track to long-term recovery but residents of the southern hemisphere should be on watch for high UV levels in the weeks ahead. The … Continue reading
GENEVA (AP) — Vaccine experts advising the World Health Organization have recommended that further studies be done on a new malaria vaccine to figure out if officials can actually administer the four doses needed. The new vaccine, Mosquirix, received an approval recommendation from the European regulator in July even though it only protects about 30 … Continue reading
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