UN

January 11, 2025 5:32 PM

India joins UN Committee of Experts on Big Data and Data Science for Official Statistics

In a significant milestone, India has joined the prestigious UN Committee of Experts on Big Data and Data Science for Official Statistics (UN-CEBD), created to further investigate the benefits and challenges of Big Data, including the potential for monitoring and reporting on sustainable development goals. "The inclusion in this expert committee comes at a pivotal time, as India recently assumed membership of the United Nations Statistical Council after a significant gap," according to a statem...

January 10, 2025 12:24 PM

India retains title of world’s fastest-growing large economy with growth projected at 6.6%: UN

India would again be the fastest growing large economy in the world with a projected annual growth rate of 6.6 per cent, according to Hamid Rashid, the UN head of Global Economic Monitoring. He was speaking at the release of the UN's flagship report- ‘World Economic Situation and Prospects 2025, (WESP)’ on Thursday, which projected the gross domestic product (GDP) to grow slightly faster at 6.8 per cent next year. WESP said that India's economy would be bolstered by "strong export growth in...

December 31, 2024 9:43 AM

Israel, at UN, warns Houthis risk sharing same fate as Hamas, Hezbollah

Israel's ambassador to the United Nations issued on Monday what he called a final warning to Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi militants to halt their missile attacks on Israel, saying they risked the same "miserable fate" as Hamas, Hezbollah and Syria's Bashar al-Assad if they persisted. The ambassador, Danny Danon, also warned Tehran that Israel has the ability to strike any target in the Middle East, including in Iran. He added that Israel would not tolerate attacks by Iranian proxies. But hours l...

December 4, 2024 10:56 AM

UN seeks $47 billion in aid as donor appetite shrinks while crises multiply

The United Nations on Wednesday sought $47 billion in aid for 2025 to help around 190 million people fleeing conflict and battling starvation, at a time when this year's appeal is not even half-funded and officials fear cuts from Western states including the top donor, the U.S. Facing what the new U.N. aid chief Tom Fletcher describes as "an unprecedented level of suffering", the U.N. hopes to reach people in 32 countries next year, including those in war-torn Sudan, Syria, Gaza and Ukraine. "...

October 29, 2024 10:52 AM

US warns Iran at UN of ‘severe consequences’ in case of new attacks

The United States warned Iran at the United Nations Security Council on Monday of "severe consequences" if it undertakes any further aggressive acts against Israel or U.S. personnel in the Middle East. "We will not hesitate to act in self defense. Let there be no confusion. The United States does not want to see further escalation. We believe this should be the end of the direct exchange of fire between Israel and Iran," U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield told the 15-member cou...

October 18, 2024 5:22 PM

UN denounces Israel’s use of ‘war-like’ tactics in West Bank

The United Nations humanitarian office on Friday denounced Israel's use of what it described as "war-like" tactics against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, saying nine Palestinians had been killed there in a week. OCHA also voiced concern about Israeli settler attacks against Palestinians and olive trees during the annual October-November harvest, saying it was affecting the economic lifeline of tens of thousands of Palestinian families. "Israeli forces have been using lethal, war-like ...

October 17, 2024 12:06 PM

WHO says Western Pacific to miss UN goal to cut early deaths from lifestyle diseases

Western Pacific nations are unlikely to meet the United Nations target of reducing premature deaths from lifestyle-related diseases including cancer and diabetes, due to the slow decline in alcohol and tobacco consumption, the World Health Organisation said on Thursday. Chronic lifestyle diseases, such as heart attacks, stroke, asthma and lung diseases, have been blamed for more than 80% of deaths among the 1.9 billion people in the Western Pacific. The U.N. goal is to reduce early deaths by a...

October 10, 2024 8:24 PM

UN inquiry accuses Israel of crime of ‘extermination’ in destruction of Gaza health system

A United Nations inquiry said on Thursday it found that Israel carried out a concerted policy of destroying Gaza's healthcare system in the Gaza war, actions amounting to both war crimes and the crime against humanity of extermination. A statement by ex-U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay released ahead of a full report accused Israel of "relentless and deliberate attacks on medical personnel and facilities" in the war, triggered by Hamas militants' deadly cross-border attack on...

September 30, 2024 10:50 PM

UN authorizes Haiti security force for another year

The U.N. Security Council unanimously agreed on Monday (September 30) to authorize for another year an international security force helping fight armed gangs in Haiti, but a U.S. push for a plan to transform it into a U.N. peacekeeping mission was dropped from the resolution because of opposition by Russia and China. The United States is now focused on supporting a call in the General Assembly last week by the head of Haiti's transition council, Edgard Leblanc, for a U.N. peacekeeping mission, ...

September 30, 2024 10:30 PM

US envoy to UN: We want de-escalation in Middle East

The United States does not want to see violence spread in the Middle East and wants to see a de-escalation, the U.S. envoy to the United Nations said on Monday. "We want to find a path to peace, so that Palestinians and Israelis have safety and Lebanese and Israelis living on the northern border find security and safety as well," U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield told reporters. When asked if Israel had told the U.S. that it was going to carry out an incursion into Lebanon, T...