After nearly two weeks, Indian authorities begin easing clampdown in Kashmir
Authorities in Indian-administered Kashmir began restoring landline phone services Saturday after a nearly two-week security crackdown and news blackout following a decision to downgrade the majority-Muslim region's autonomy. Administrator Shahid Choudhary said restrictions were being lifted in most areas and government offices would open sometime ...
With fast-growing populations, big cities in Africa face severe toilet crisis
The darkening clouds are ominous for many in this urban neighborhood, promising rushing rainwaters stinking of human waste from overflowing septic tanks. As Africa faces a population boom unmatched anywhere in the world, millions of people are moving to fast-growing cities while decades-old public facilities ...
U.N. official in Afghanistan calls for 'zero tolerance' of sexual harassment
A senior U.N. official in Afghanistan has called on government offices to adopt policies of "zero tolerance" toward sexual harassment, amid a swirling scandal that has seen women allege routine misconduct in the corridors of power. The controversy erupted in May when Gen. Habibullah Ahmadzai, ...
Three Chinese banks face U.S. restrictions in North Korea sanctions probe: report
Three large Chinese banks could lose their access to the U.S. financial system, after a judge found them in contempt for refusing to comply with subpoenas in a probe into the violation of North Korean sanctions, The Washington Post reported Monday. The three banks were ...
WHO recommends one-hour maximum screen time per day for under-5s
Children aged two to four should not be allowed more than one hour of "sedentary screen time" per day and infants less than one year old should not be exposed to electronic screens at all, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday. The United ...
India dominated a list of the world's most polluted cities in 2018, taking 22 of the top 30 spots, according to a Greenpeace report. Air pollution is estimated to contribute to 7 million premature deaths every year and is considered by the United Nations to ...
Yemen's Houthis to quit two ports Monday under peace deal: sources
Iranian-aligned Houthi forces have agreed to draw back from two Yemeni ports on Monday while withdrawal from the main Hodeidah port will occur later alongside a retreat by coalition-backed forces massed outside the city, U.N. and Yemeni sources said. Houthi forces will withdraw 5 km ...
U.N. rights panel calls on Japan to address high levels of violence against children
A U.N. panel expressed concern Thursday about "the high level of violence, sexual abuse and exploitation of children" in Japan, in the wake of the death of a 10-year-old girl in Chiba Prefecture due to alleged mistreatment. The Committee on the Rights of the Child ...
Nagoya community effort to recycle food waste wins U.N.-related award
A decade-old community effort in Nagoya to recycle food waste from supermarkets and school lunches to make compost for vegetable farming has been awarded the Biodiversity Action Award by the Japan Committee for United Nations Decade on Biodiversity (UNDB). One morning earlier this month, a ...
Japan to sink to third-largest contributor to U.N. as China rises
Japan will fall from being the second-largest contributor to the United Nations’ general budget to third place starting next year as China gets set to surpass it.
The U.N. Security Council is considering action to push Myanmar to work with the United Nations to address the Rohingya refugee crisis, although China and Russia have so far boycotted talks on a British-drafted resolution, diplomats said Monday. The draft resolution aims to put a ...
125 women and girls said to have been raped, whipped and clubbed in South Sudan
One hundred and twenty-five women and girls have been raped, whipped and clubbed in attacks so shocking that some aid workers in South Sudan say they are left speechless. Doctors Without Borders on Saturday said the "dramatic increase" in sexual violence occurred over 10 days, ...
