Bangladesh at a crossroad, says senior UN official
“Young people and people from every range of life across Bangladesh, across the entire country, came out on the streets to celebrate,” UN Resident Coordinator Gwyn Lewis remarked. Some of the celebrations following Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s resignation took a…
Bangladesh: UN urges peaceful transition as PM resigns and flees the country
Secretary-General António Guterres “continues to closely follow developments in the country,” UN Deputy Spokesperson, Farhan Haq, said in a statement. “He urges calm and restraint by all sides and emphasizes the importance of a peaceful, orderly and democratic transition,” he…
Shocking violence in Bangladesh must stop: UN rights chief
More than 80 people, including at least 13 police personnel, are said to have been killed in clashes between security forces and protesters, according to media reports. Authorities have imposed a curfew and restricted internet access. A police station in…
UNICEF reports 32 children killed, many injured and detained in Bangladesh protests
Last month, students in Bangladesh staged massive protests against the Government, demanding an end to a “quota system” for government jobs amid rising unemployment. More than 200 people were killed in clashes with security forces, including bystanders, according to media…
UN ramps up assistance to survivors of Papua New Guinea massacre
More than 50 people in three villages in East Sepik province – Tamara, Tambari and Agrumara – were reportedly killed following an alleged land dispute on 17 July. Nearly 200 people have found refuge in the town of Angoram and…
Kazakhstan tightens laws to combat trafficking of newborns
To fight against trafficking newborns, the new legislation facilitates the criminal prosecution for such crimes as kidnapping, illegal deprivation of liberty, human trafficking, involvement in prostitution and more. Approved ahead of the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, marked annually on…
Torrential rains and floods in South Asia endanger millions of children, warns UNICEF
“We are only halfway through the monsoon season, yet the rainfall, damage and destruction have been devastating,” Sanjay Wijesekera, UNICEF Regional Director for South Asia, said in a news release. In Nepal, 109 people, including children, have died due…
UN officials alarmed by civilian targeting amid renewed fighting in Myanmar
Fierce fighting broke out in early July in eastern Myanmar, collapsing a ceasefire between the military and a coalition of three ethnic armed groups that had banded together in October last year against the junta. Reports indicate that the ethnic…
Oil tanker sinks, hundreds of thousands affected as ‘super typhoon’ batters Philippines
An oil tanker carrying 1.4 million litres of fuel also sank in rough seas off the capital, in the Manila Bay. Now downgraded to a typhoon, Gaemi (locally called Carina) combined with effects of southwest monsoons to bring intense rains…
UN rights chief calls for end to protest crackdowns in Bangladesh
Over the past few weeks, students in Bangladesh have been protesting against the Government to demand an end to the quota system for government jobs amid rising unemployment. As demonstrations continued, there were eruptions of violence which led to death…