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☆ Sudan military faction chiefs agree May 4-11 truce in princple -South Sudan
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Mohamed Noureldin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The credibility of the reported May 4-11 deal ceasefire deal between Sudanese army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and paramilitary Rapid Support forces (RSF) leader General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo was unclear, given the rampant violations that undermined previous agreements running from 24 to 72 hours. "The entire region could be affected," he said in an interview with a Japanese newspaper on Tuesday as an envoy from Sudan's army chief, who leads one of the warring sides, met Egyptian officials in Cairo. United Nations officials had said U.N. aid chief Martin Griffiths aimed to visit Sudan on Tuesday but the timing was still to be confirmed. "The risk is that this is not just going to be a Sudan crisis, it's going to be a regional crisis," said Michael Dunford, the WFP's East Africa director. That has raised the spectre of a prolonged conflict that could draw in outside powers.

☆ Airstrikes, artillery fire heard in Khartoum as Sudan fighting enters third week
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

KHARTOUM, April 29 (Reuters) - The sounds of air strikes, anti-aircraft weaponry and artillery could be heard in Khartoum early on Saturday and dark smoke rose over parts of the city, as fighting in Sudan entered a third week. Fighting between the army and a rival paramilitary force continued despite the announcement of a 72-hour ceasefire extension on Friday, when strikes by air, tanks and artillery rocked Khartoum and the adjacent cities of Bahri and Ombdurman. The fighting has also reawakened a two-decade-old conflict in the western Darfur region where scores have died this week. More than 75,000 people were internally displaced within Sudan just in the first week of the fighting, according to the United Nations. The U.S. said several hundred Americans had departed Sudan by land, sea or air.

☆ UN body deplores 'grave' rights abuses by Russia in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A flag is seen on a building during the Human Rights Council at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland February 27, 2023. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File PhotoGENEVA, April 28 (Reuters) - A United Nations committee said on Friday it was deeply concerned about human rights violations by Russian forces and private military companies in Ukraine, including enforced disappearances, torture, rape and extrajudicial executions. In its findings on Russia, the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination called on the Russian authorities to investigate allegations of human rights violations committed during the invasion of Ukraine. "The Committee was deeply concerned about the grave human rights violations committed during the ongoing armed conflict by the Russian Federation's military forces and private military companies ...," it said in a statement. There was no immediate comment from the Russian permanent mission to the United Nations in Geneva.

☆ Over 200 people evacuated from Sudan to Chad, UN agency says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

GENEVA, April 28 (Reuters) - Chad conducted its first evacuation flights from Sudan carrying more than 200 people, including dozens of children, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Friday. The U.N. agency, which is assisting Chadian authorities with the arrivals, said in a statement that 226 people were on board two charter flights, including 39 children. IOM spokesperson Safa Msehli told Reuters that two more flights were arriving on Friday. She said the flights that landed in Chad on Thursday had students, elderly people, individuals with medical conditions and "extremely vulnerable families" on board. Reporting by Emma Farge; Editing by Gabrielle Tétrault-FarberOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ WHO fears more deaths in Sudan due to outbreaks, collapse of services
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

GENEVA, April 26 (Reuters) - The World Health Organization (WHO) expects "many more" deaths in Sudan due to outbreaks of disease and a lack of essential services amid fighting, its director general said on Wednesday. A logo is pictured on the headquarters of the World Health Orgnaization (WHO) ahead of a meeting of the Emergency Committee on the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in Geneva, Switzerland, January 30, 2020. But paramedics, nurses and doctors are unable to access injured civilians, and civilians are unable to access services." However, the absence of clean water and vaccines, as well as other sanitation issues, represented the main risk to Sudanese, he added. Reporting by Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber in Geneva and Jennifer Rigby in London; editing by John StonestreetOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

GENEVA, April 25 (Reuters) - There is a "high risk of biological hazard" in Sudan's capital Khartoum after one of the warring parties seized a laboratory holding measles and cholera pathogens and other hazardous materials, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday. Speaking to reporters in Geneva via video link from Sudan, the WHO's representative in the country, Nima Saeed Abid, said technicians were unable to gain access to the National Public Health Laboratory to secure the materials. Fighting erupted between the Sudanese armed forces and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitaries on April 15 and has killed at least 459 people and injured 4,072, according to the WHO's latest figures. The WHO has reported 14 attacks on health facilities since the clashes began and is relocating its staff to safety. Smoke is seen rise from buildings during clashes between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the army in Khartoum North, Sudan.

☆ WHO says 'high risk of biological hazard' after Sudan laboratory seized
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

GENEVA, April 25 (Reuters) - The World Health Organization (WHO) representative in Sudan said on Tuesday there was a "high risk of biological hazard" after one of the sides in the Sudan fighting seized a laboratory. Speaking to reporters in Geneva via video link, Nima Saeed Abid said that at least 459 people had been killed in fighting in Sudan and 4,072 injured. Reporting by Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber; Editing by Emma FargeOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ T-Rex skeleton sells for more than $6 mln at Swiss auction
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Cecile Mantovani | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] View of the mouth of a 67-million-year-old T-Rex skeleton named "TRX-293 TRINITY Tyrannosaurus" is seen during a preview at Koller auction house in Zurich, Switzerland March 29, 2023. REUTERS/Denis BalibouseZURICH, April 18 (Reuters) - The skeleton of a giant Tyrannosaurus Rex, a creature that roamed the Earth 67 million years ago, sold for 5.5 million Swiss francs ($6.13 million), less than expected, in Zurich on Tuesday. An undisclosed buyer offered the winning bid of 4.8 million Swiss francs, less than the 5 million to 8 million Swiss francs estimate, but the total price was higher with the buyer's premium and fees at Koller Auctions. It was the first time in Europe and the third time worldwide that an entire T-Rex skeleton of exceptional quality was offered at auction, Koller, Switzerland's largest auction house, said in a statement. Two other T-Rex models discovered in North America, called Sue and Stan, were sold for $8.4 million and $31 million respectively in 1998 and 2020.

☆ WTO panel rules against India in IT tariffs dispute with EU, others
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

GENEVA, April 17 (Reuters) - A World Trade Organization panel said on Monday that India had violated global trading rules in a dispute with the European Union, Japan and Taiwan over import duties on IT products. "We recommend that India bring such measures into conformity with its obligations," the WTO panel's report said. The EU is India's third largest trading partner, accounting for 10.8% of total Indian trade in 2021, according to the European Commission. The WTO panel said that India had already brought some of the challenged tariffs into line with global trading rules since last year. While the panel broadly backed the complaints against India, it rejected one of Japan's claims that New Delhi's customs notification lacked "predictability".

☆ Ukrainian pianist seeks victory on cultural front at contest in Switzerland
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-15 | by ( Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/4] Roman Lopatunskyi, 29 years old pianist from Kyiv, poses after an interview with Reuters amid his participation in the Horowitz Competition in Geneva, Switzerland, April 14, 2023. REUTERS/Cecile MantovaniGENEVA, April 15 (Reuters) - Before arriving in Geneva for a renowned piano competition, Ukrainian pianist Roman Lopatynskyi rehearsed in the dark and played concerts by candlelight as air raid sirens resounded across his native Kyiv. As a male of military age, Lopatynskyi requires permission to leave the country for competitions and concerts abroad. said Lopatynskyi, who finished first in the intermediate category in the 2010 edition of the Horowitz competition. In the first months of the war, Lopatynskyi raised funds to support his country by holding recitals on YouTube.

☆ U.N. tally of confirmed civilian deaths in Ukraine approaches 8,500
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] A destroyed car from recent shelling during heavy fighting at the frontline of Bakhmut and Chasiv Yar, is pictured in Chasiv Yar, Ukraine, April 10, 2023. REUTERS/Kai PfaffenbachGENEVA, April 11 (Reuters) - Nearly 8,500 civilians are confirmed to have been killed in Russia's invasion of Ukraine, a U.N. body said on Tuesday, with many thousands more unverified deaths still feared. The body has long described its figures as "the tip of the iceberg" because of its limited access to battle zones. Russian forces have pressed their offensive in the eastern Donetsk region where several cities and towns have under heavy bombardment. A U.N.-mandated investigative body found last month that Russian forces had carried out "indiscriminate and disproportionate" attacks on Ukraine.

☆ China holds the key to understanding COVID-19 origins: WHO chief
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"Without full access to the information that China has, you cannot say this or that," said Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in response to a question about the origin of the virus. That's WHO's position and that's why we have been asking China to be cooperative on this." Data from the early days of the COVID pandemic was briefly uploaded by Chinese scientists to an international database last month. The WHO's Maria Van Kerkhove, technical lead for COVID-19, said the latest Chinese information offered some "clues" on origins but no answers. She added WHO still did not know whether some of the research required had been undertaken in China.

☆ WTO sees "subpar" 2023 trade growth with multiple risks
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Summary WTO raises 2023 global trade growth f/cast to 1.7% (prev 1.0%)2022 goods trade growth 2.7% vs Oct forecast of 3.5%WTO chief urges countries to limit export curbs on foodGENEVA, April 5 (Reuters) - The World Trade Organization raised its forecast for global trade growth this year, but still predicted a slowdown and warned of risks from the Ukraine war, geopolitical tensions, food insecurity, inflation and monetary policy tightening. The Geneva-based trade body said on Wednesday that merchandise trade volumes would increase by a "subpar" 1.7% in 2023. For 2022, it said a downturn in the final quarter resulted in trade growth of 2.7%, lower than its previous 3.5% forecast. The WTO said goods trade growth should rebound to 3.2% in 2024 as economic expansion picks up, but warned this forecast was particularly uncertain, with multiple downside risks. The WTO said trade growth had held up despite global tensions and the threat of fragmentation into competing trading blocs, which could reduce global economic output by 5%, had so far been avoided.

☆ Up to 1 mln people 'disappeared' in Iraq in last half century - UN
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

GENEVA, April 4 (Reuters) - Up to 1 million people have been "disappeared" in Iraq during a tumultuous last half century spanning the dictatorial rule of Saddam Hussein, U.S.-led military occupation and the rise of Islamic State militants, the United Nations said on Tuesday. The U.N. Committee on Enforced Disappearances urged Iraq, which has one of the highest numbers of missing people in the world, to seek victims and punish perpetrators. But that was hampered by the lack of definition of enforced disappearance as a crime in Iraqi law, its report said. "The UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances urged Iraq to immediately establish the basis to prevent, eradicate and repair this heinous crime," it said. Up to 290,000 people, including some 100,000 Kurds, were forcibly disappeared by Hussein's "genocidal campaign" in Kurdistan between 1968 and 2003, the U.N. report said.

☆ Up to 30% of jobs to be cut by enlarged UBS, Tages-Anzeiger reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/4] The logo of Swiss bank UBS is seen in Zurich, Switzerland, March 20, 2023. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File PhotoGENEVA, April 2 (Reuters) - The bank created by the UBS (UBSG.S) takeover of Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) is poised to reduce its workforce by 20-30%, Swiss daily Tages-Anzeiger reported on Sunday, citing an unnamed senior UBS manager. The report said the bank could cut about 11,000 jobs in Switzerland. Jobs in its U.S. investment banking arm will also be affected, the report said, with UBS set for talks to terminate a deal that would have given Wall Street dealmaker Michael Klein control of much of Credit Suisse's investment bank. Reporting by Gabrielle Tetrault-Farber Editing by David GoodmanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Swiss prosecutor probes Credit Suisse takeover
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SummarySummary Companies UBS agreed to acquire Credit Suisse last monthDeal orchestrated by Swiss authoritiesPoll shows Swiss economists disagree with dealGENEVA, April 2 (Reuters) - Switzerland's Federal Prosecutor has opened an investigation into the state-backed takeover of Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) by UBS Group (UBSG.S), the office of the attorney general said on Sunday. Credit Suisse and UBS did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Last month, UBS said it would acquire rival Credit Suisse for 3 billion Swiss francs ($3.3 billion) in a deal orchestrated by the Swiss government, the central bank and market regulator. A poll of Swiss economists found that nearly half think the takeover of Credit Suisse was not the best solution, and warned that the situation had dented Switzerland's reputation as a banking centre. Up to 30% of staff could lose their jobs due to the takeover, according to an unnamed senior UBS manager quoted in Swiss media.

☆ Equatorial Guinea confirms 13 Marburg cases after WHO comments
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

GENEVA, March 29 (Reuters) - Equatorial Guinea has confirmed 13 cases of Marburg disease since the beginning of the epidemic, its health officials said on Wednesday after the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) urged the Central African country's government to report new cases officially. Marburg virus disease is a viral haemorrhagic fever that can have a fatality rate of up to 88%, according to the WHO. Marburg is passed on to people from fruit bats and is from the same virus family responsible for the deadly Ebola disease. "WHO is aware of additional cases and we have asked the government to report these cases officially to WHO," its director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said earlier on Wednesday. There is also an outbreak of Marburg virus in Tanzania, where eight cases including five deaths have been reported in the northwest Kagera region, WHO has said.

☆ Elon Musk, WHO chief spar on Twitter over U.N. agency's role
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] SpaceX owner and Tesla CEO Elon Musk speaks during a conversation with game designer Todd Howard (not pictured) at the E3 gaming convention in Los Angeles, California, June 13, 2019. REUTERS/Mike BlakeGENEVA, March 23 (Reuters) - Twitter (TWTR.MX) CEO Elon Musk said on Thursday in a tweet that countries should not "cede authority" to the World Health Organization, and the U.N. health agency's chief quickly rejected his comments. "Countries should not cede authority to WHO," Musk, whose Twitter account has more than 132 million followers, wrote in response to a video of right-wing Australian senator Malcolm Roberts criticising the organisation. Since COVID-19 first emerged more than three years ago, the World Health Organization has complained of an "infodemic" of misinformation and disinformation around the pandemic. The WHO is made of 194 member states which take major decisions on its health policies and budgets through an annual assembly attended by governments.

☆ Russia has committed 'wide range' of war crimes in Ukraine, U.N inquiry finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] A flag is seen on a building during the Human Rights Council at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland February 27, 2023. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File PhotoGENEVA, March 16 (Reuters) - Russia has committed wide-ranging war crimes in Ukraine such as wilful killings, torture and the deportation of children, a U.N.-mandated investigative body said in a report published on Thursday. "Russian authorities have committed numerous violationsof international humanitarian law and violations of international human rights law, in addition to a wide range of war crimes...," the report said. Russia denies committing atrocities or targeting civilians in Ukraine. Reporting by Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber and Emma Farge; Editing by Anthony Deutsch and Raissa KasolowskyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Talks underway on Black Sea grain deal extension in Geneva
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

GENEVA, March 13 (Reuters) - Negotiations began on Monday between U.N. officials and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin on a possible extension to a deal allowing the safe export of grain from Ukraine's Black Sea ports, the Russian diplomatic mission in Geneva said. The deal, which was extended for 120 days in November, is up for renewal on March 18. Two sources involved with the talks said they were initially scheduled to last just one day but could be extended as needed. "Wheat and corn markets are weaker today as the talks start about extending the safe shipping agreement for Ukraine’s exports," said Matt Ammermann, StoneX commodity risk manager. "As such a large wheat and corn exporter, Ukraine’s supplies are vital to world markets."

☆ Russia suggests renewing Black Sea grain deal for shorter term
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The Black Sea grain initiative, brokered between Russia and Ukraine by the United Nations and Turkey last July, aimed to prevent a global food crisis by allowing Ukrainian grain blockaded by Russia's invasion to be safely exported from three Ukrainian ports. Russia, he said, "does not object to another extension of the 'Black Sea Initiative' after its second term expiration on March 18, but only for 60 days." 'CRITICAL MOMENT'The United Nations said it noted the Russian position and that it remained "fully committed to the Black Sea Grain Initiative, as well as to efforts to facilitate the export of Russian food and fertilizer." "The UN Secretary-General has confirmed that the UN will do everything possible to preserve the integrity of the Black Sea Grain Initiative and ensure its continuity," it said in a statement. "To extend it for 60 days, you have to amend the deal."

☆ Taliban's persecution of women could be 'crime against humanity' - UN report
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

GENEVA, March 6 (Reuters) - The Taliban's treatment of women and girls in Afghanistan could amount to a crime against humanity, according to a U.N. report presented on Monday at the Human Rights Council in Geneva. In a report covering July to December 2022, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, found that the Taliban's treatment of women and girls "may amount to gender persecution, a crime against humanity". "The Taliban's intentional and calculated policy is to repudiate the human rights of women and girls and to erase them from public life," Bennett told the United Nations Human Rights Council. "It may amount to the international crime of gender persecution for which the authorities can be held accountable." Bennett said the Human Rights Council should send a strong message to the Taliban that the "abysmal treatment of women and girls is intolerable and unjustifiable on any ground, including religion".

☆ Iran president blames foreign enemies for wave of schoolgirl poisonings
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

March 3 (Reuters) - Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on Friday blamed a wave of poisonings of hundreds of schoolgirls around the country on Tehran's enemies. Raisi, speaking to a crowd in southern Iran on Friday in a speech carried live on state television, blamed the poisoning on Iran's enemies. He did not say who those enemies were although Iranian leaders habitually accuse the United States and Israel, among others, of acting against it. He is the first government official to report an arrest in connection with the wave of poisonings. "Guards at a parking lot where the fuel tanker was parked also suffered from poisoning," Saleh said, referring to the Pardis site.

☆ WHO still working to identify the origins of COVID-19
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

GENEVA, March 3 (Reuters) - The World Health Organization (WHO) is still working to identify the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, its director general said on Friday, after a U.S. agency was reported to have assessed the pandemic had likely been caused by a Chinese laboratory leak. The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday that the U.S. Energy Department had concluded the pandemic likely arose from a Chinese laboratory leak, an assessment Beijing denies. "I wish to be very clear that WHO has not abandoned any plans to identify the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic," Tedros said. Four other U.S. agencies, along with a national intelligence panel, still think COVID-19 was likely the result of natural transmission, while two are undecided, the Journal reported. On Friday, she urged countries, institutions and research groups that might have any information on the origins of the pandemic to share it with the international community.

☆ Myanmar military has caused 'perpetual human rights crisis', UN report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

GENEVA, March 3 (Reuters) - A report published by the United Nations on Friday accused Myanmar's military of creating "a perpetual human rights crisis" in the southeast Asian country and called for an immediate end to violence there. "The military, emboldened by continuous and absolute impunity, has consistently shown disregard for international obligations and principles," the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, said in a statement. James Rodehaver, chief of the U.N. Human Rights Office's Myanmar team, said that armed clashes were occurring in about 77% of the country. In its recommendations, the report called on authorities in Myanmar to end the violence and stop persecuting opponents. "Military operations must stop to provide room for dialogue that could end this crisis," the report said.

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