Category: Pacific

The appeal over the territory – which both India and Pakistan claim as sovereign – follows months of escalating tensions linked to earlier suicide attacks and the Indian Government’s decision in August to revoke majority-Muslim Kashmir’s special status, which for decades had allowed it partial autonomy. At the time of the Indian Government decision, five UN-appointed independent rights experts warned… Read More

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has described the typhoon as one of the highest impact storms to hit Japan in many years, with hurricane-force winds, record-breaking rainfall, devastating storm surges, and coastal and inland flooding. Hagibis made landfall on Saturday, south of the capital Tokyo, before moving north. The typhoon has brought widespread devastation and disruption to densely populated cities,… Read More

The commitment came at a joint meeting of Pacific Ministers of Agriculture and Forestry, as part of the Pacific Week of Agriculture being held in Samoa, convened jointly by FAO and the Pacific Community (SPC).  Many Pacific island countries, and Small Island Developing States (SIDS) around the world, are disproportionately threatened by climate change and the impacts of severe weather… Read More

Congratulating his fellow Afghans for exercising their right to vote, even some who had had their fingers cut off by the Taliban in previous polls,” Mr. Mohib wholeheartedly thanked the “brave and professional Afghan National Defense and Security Forces for protecting that right.” Indeed some 70,000 soldiers protected the citizenry and “because of their professionalism, most of the attacks –… Read More

Kim Song, head of the country’s delegation, observed that more than a year has passed since DPRK leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump issued a joint statement following a historic summit in Singapore in June 2018. It included security guarantees from Washington while the DPRK, also referred to as North Korea, committed to complete denuclearization of the… Read More

that it is the duty of those representing their countries to preserve and protect the livelihood of the “generation of the future”, Mr. Pramudwinai said that the world is witnessing “a sea change”, with many challenges and opportunities. The irony, continued the Foreign Minister, is that in a world where connectivity and interconnection are the norm, reaching out is considered… Read More

The UN helped guide the south-east Asian country to independence in May 2002 after years of occupation by Indonesia following the departure of colonial ruler Portugal in 1975.  “We have a historical relationship with the UN. The UN has a permanent and very special place in our hearts,” Mr. Babo Soares stated.  “Timor-Leste continues to be an example of the best… Read More

All key actors in Afghanistan must “uphold their responsibility to support a peaceful, credible, transparent and inclusive electoral process”, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in a statement on Friday, the day before presidential elections are due to be held in the country, adding that “there is no place for violence, intimidation or fraud”. Read More

Some 900,000 mainly Rohingya refugees from Myanmar have sought shelter in the Cox’s Bazar region in south-eastern Bangladesh following military operations two years ago. Kyaw Tint Swe, Myanmar’s Union Minister for the Office of the State Counsellor, said repatriations would be carried out in line with a November 2017 agreement with Bangladesh. “Our priority now is to expedite repatriation and… Read More

“Bangladesh recorded the highest economic growth among a list of 26 countries in the last 10 years”, said Sheikh Hasina, noting a 188 per cent expansion in its gross domestic product (GDP), which “has grown from $102 billion in 2009 to $302 billion this year”. Citing poverty and inequality as two major obstacles to development, she pointed out that “poverty… Read More