Category: World News

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Politics World News

UNGA Hall hosts Human Rights Council elections

These are the first elections of the 75th session (of the UNGA), and the first to be held in this manner by the General Assembly.said Brenden Varma, spokesman for the UNGA President…Reports Asian Lite News

The elections for the UN Human Rights Council will be held in the UN General Assembly (UNGA) Hall on Tuesday, according to a spokesman.

“These are the first elections of the 75th session (of the UNGA), and the first to be held in this manner by the General Assembly,” Xinhua news agency quoted Brenden Varma, spokesman for the UNGA President, as saying said on Monday at a briefing.

“The elections are done by regional group, and currently, for most of them, the number of candidates equal the number of open slots.

“In other words, there are clean slates. The only exception is the Asia Pacific Group where five member states are running for four seats.

“The five countries running are: China, Nepal, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan,” the spokesman added.

The Human Rights Council is an inter-governmental body within the UN system made up of 47 states responsible for the promotion and protection of all human rights.

It has the ability to discuss all thematic human rights issues and situations that require its attention throughout the year.

It meets at the UN Office at Geneva.

The term of each seat is three years, and no member may occupy a seat for more than two consecutive terms.

The seats are distributed among the UN’s regional groups as follows: 13 for Africa, 13 for Asia, six for Eastern Europe, eight for Latin America and the Caribbean, and seven for the Western European and Others Group.

Also read:Trump boycotts 75th UNGA session

Also read:How long will India be kept out: Modi at UNGA

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Asia News World News

Russian, Turkish FMs discuss Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

(161201) -- ALANYA, Dec. 1, 2016 (Xinhua) -- Visiting Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (L) shakes hands with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu during a joint news conference in Alanya, Turkey, on Dec. 1, 2016. Neither Syria nor Russia attacked Turkish soldiers in northern Syria on Nov. 24, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said here on Thursday. (Xinhua/Mert Macit) (zy)

Lavrov reaffirmed Moscow’s readiness to continue active mediation efforts aimed at achieving a settlement in the disputed region, taking into account the provisions of the Moscow statement…Reports Asian Lite News

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu held a telephone conversation during which they discussed the situation in the the conflict-ridden Nagorno-Karabakh region.

“During the conversation, the sides exchanged views on the situation in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone developing after the trilateral talks in Moscow on October 9-10,” Xinhua news agency quoted the Russian Foreign Ministry as saying in a statement on Sunday.

The need was noted for the strict implementation of all provisions of the joint statement of Russian, Azerbaijani, and Armenian foreign ministers on October 10, it said.

Lavrov reaffirmed Moscow’s readiness to continue active mediation efforts aimed at achieving a settlement in the disputed region, taking into account the provisions of the Moscow statement, the statement added.

The development came two days day after a ceasefire was enforced in the region following trilateral negotiations between Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia that lasted for over two hours in Moscow.

But on Sunday, Azerbaijan, which is openly backed by Turkey, accused Armenia of violating the ceasefire by attacking its second largest city of Ganja and inflicting civilian casualties.

However, the Armenian Defence Ministry denied the allegation, saying that it was false information.

Also read:Turkey Calls For Urgent Reconciliation With EU

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Politics World News

Election 2020: NZ PM reveals ‘vision 2030’

Wellington, Aug. 17, 2020 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern attends a press conference held in the parliament building Beehive in Wellington, New Zealand, on Aug. 17, 2020. Jacinda Ardern confirmed on Monday that the general election will be held on Oct. 17, four weeks after Sept. 19 when the poll was originally scheduled for. (Xinhua/Guo Lei/IANS)

Ardern’s announcment came while she was addressing a ruling Labour Party rally ahead of the October 17 general elections, which will determine the membership of the country’s 53rd Parliament…Reports Asian Lite News

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Sunday unveiled her 2030 vision ahead of the upcoming general elections. she wants the state housing waiting list to be empty and child poverty to have halved by that year.

Ardern’s announcment came while she was addressing a ruling Labour Party rally here ahead of the October 17 general elections, which will determine the membership of the country’s 53rd Parliament.

According to a report in The New Zealand Herald newspaper, the state house waiting list is currently about 20,000, up from about 6,000 when the Ardern government came to power in 2017.

It has so far built about 4,000 new state houses.

The report said that halving child poverty by 2030 is actually less ambitious than the government’s 10-year targets announced in January 2018.

  • WELLINGTON, Aug. 14, 2020 (Xinhua) — New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern speaks during a press conference in Wellington, New Zealand, Aug. 14, 2020. New Zealand’s largest city Auckland will remain in COVID-19 Alert Level 3 for 12 more days, with the rest of the country staying in Alert Level 2, as there are currently 36 active cases, 17 of which are linked to the recent community transmission in Auckland. (Xinhua/Guo Lei/IANS)

Ardern’s 2030 vision also included a New Zealand with no health inequalities based on race, wealth or geographical location.

In her address, the Prime Minister also highlighted the country’s record on the Covid-19 pandemic.

“What started as a summertime conversation this year has led to more than 30 million cases and 1 million deaths, and it’s not over yet.

“Here at home we have lost 25 loved ones and managed 1,864 cases.

“As we’ve travelled around the country campaigning this election with only limited restrictions, it hasn’t been lost on me how lucky that makes us,” The New Zealand Herald quoted Ardern as saying.

The upcoming election was initially scheduled for September 19 but was postponed due to a second Covid-19 outbreak.

The previous parliament was elected on September 23, 2017 and was officially dissolved on September 6 this year.

Also read:Australia to reinitiate ‘trans-Tasman’ travel bubble plans

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USA World News

US sanctions: Maduro writes to ‘peoples of the world’

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro speaks in a TV address in Caracas, Venezuela, March 16, 2020. (Venezuela's Presidency/Handout via Xinhua/IANS)

The President also said Venezuela is preparing to hold legislative elections on December 6, and that over 90 per cent of local political organizations have fielded over 14,000 candidates for 277 seats…Reports Asian Lite News

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has addressed a letter “to the peoples of the world” on his government’s response to Washington’s unilateral measures against his country.

In the letter dated October 2 and postd on Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza’s Twitter account on Friday, the President discussed measures approved y the National Constituent Assembly, such as the Anti-Blockade Law for National Development and the Guarantee of Rights of the Venezuelan People, reports Xinhua news agency.

Maduro said the law “will allow for the creation of mechanisms to improve the nation’s income”, adding that incentives could be generated “to stimulate internal economic activity” and to promote foreign investment.

The President also said Venezuela is preparing to hold legislative elections on December 6, and that over 90 per cent of local political organizations have fielded over 14,000 candidates for 277 seats.

According to Maduri, the elections “will undoubtedly grant greater strength to our nation and our people, who have resisted foreign aggression with dignity and firmness”.

The President added in the letter that Venezuela has had one law, seven executive decrees, and around 300 administrative measures imposed on it by the US.

Also read:China warns of retaliation over US sanctions on Huawei

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World News

Portugal, Spain agree on new cross-border strategy

Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa told the media after the meeting that the strategy is presented as a set of measures and investments to “make life easier for people living on both sides of the border”…Reports Asian Lite News

The Prime Ministers of Portugal and Spain have agreed on a common strategy for transboundary development.

The development took place during the premiers; meeting in the northern Portuguese city of Guarda on Saturday, reports Xinhua news agency.

Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa told the media after the meeting that the strategy is presented as a set of measures and investments to “make life easier for people living on both sides of the border”.

According to the TV channel RTP, the two sides would allow border residents to have free movement between the two countries.

They also ruled out the possibility of new border closure despite rising Covid-19 cases.

The two leaders agreed to enhance cooperation between the two countries’ health services, allowing the citizens of both countries to have equal medical care in each other’s health sector.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez told reporters that the strategy also included “a common governance system, with concrete measures” and “total alignment of economic recovery plans” with “objectives of ecological and digital transition, social cohesion and combating the pandemic”.

On the ongoing health crisis, Sanchez revealed that Spain “negotiates with the pharmaceutical companies to acquire the vaccine”, which it hopes to arrive as soon as possible.

Also read:Second nationwide lockdown likely in UK

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-Top News COVID-19 World News

Trudeau announces more funding for food banks

Canada prime minister Justin Trudeau.

Trudeau also announced an additional 100 million Canadian dollars (about $76 million) in federal funding for food banks across Canada to help them meet the surge in demand…Reports Asian Lite News

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday urged Canadians to stem the spread of the Covid-19 as “the country is at a tipping point of the pandemic”.

“We’re at a tipping point in this pandemic. Not only is the second wave underway, yesterday we hit the highest daily recorded cases, well above what we saw this spring,” he said at a press conference, Xinhua news agency reported.

“I know this is discouraging, especially going into Thanksgiving weekend. But remember this when things were at their bleakest during the first wave, Canadians pulled together and flattened the curve.”

Trudeau also announced an additional 100 million Canadian dollars (about $76 million) in federal funding for food banks across Canada to help them meet the surge in demand for their services caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Canada prime minister Justin Trudeau.

According to a new Covid-19 modeling report issued by the Canadian government on Friday. The total of Canadian Covid-19 is on track to hit between 188,150 and 197,830 cases, and between 9,690 and 9,800 deaths as of October 17.

As of Friday noon, there were a total of 177,613 Covid-19 cases and 9,583 deaths, according to CTV.

The report said that a stronger response is needed now to check the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic as rates of infection are already accelerating rapidly in four populous provinces of Quebec, Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia.

Ontario reported 939 new cases Friday morning, smashing the previous record of 797 cases set on Thursday, while Quebec confirmed 1,102 new infections.

Also read:Canada suspends arms exports to Turkey

Categories
Health World News

‘Humanity above the realm of politics’: Guterres hails WFP

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres

Guterres said he is delighted by the decision of the Nobel Committee to award this year’s Prize for Peace to the WFP…Reports Asian Lite News

UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ has hailed the World Food Programme’s Nobel Peace Prize Award, calling its Humanitarian-Driven Work ‘Above the Realm of Politics’ In a statement on the awarding of the 2020 Nobel Prize for Peace to the World Food Programme, he said he is delighted by the decision of the Nobel Committee to award this year’s Prize for Peace to the WFP.

“The World Food Programme is the world’s first responder on the front lines of food insecurity. In a world of plenty, it is unconscionable that hundreds of millions go to bed each night hungry. Millions more are now on the precipice of famine due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The women and men of the WFP brave danger and distance to deliver life-saving sustenance to those devastated by conflict, to people suffering because of disaster, and to children and families uncertain about their next meal.”

“I warmly congratulate David Beasley, WFP Executive Director, and the entire staff of the World Food Programme for advancing the values of the United Nations every day and serving the cause of “we the peoples” as the Organization marks its seventy-fifth anniversary year”.He added”

Also read:Afghan govt accused of misuse of Covid-19 funds

Also read:UAE, Malaysian FM’s discuss advancing co-operation

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-Top News World News

Asian Lite Daily Digital – The Wreckage Of Trump’s Presidency

The Wreckage Of Trump’s Presidency; WHO Estimates 10% of Global Population Infected With Virus; UK Outlines Plans For Post-Brexit Freeports; 39 Countries Rebuke China Over Human Rights Abuses; Pakistan Books PM of PoK For Sedition – all in Asian Lite daily Digital – please click here to read.

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Australia World News

Australia to reinitiate ‘trans-Tasman’ travel bubble plans

Australian deputy prime minister Michael McCormack.

McCormack said that decision on when Australians may be able to visit New Zealand would be up to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern…Reports Asian Lite News

Australian deputy prime minister Michael McCormack.

New Zealanders will be allowed to enter Australia in the first opening of international borders by the two countries since travel restrictions were imposed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack announced on Friday.

“The establishment of a travel zone between Australia and New Zealand has been finalised,” the BBC reported citing the Australian Deputy Prime Minister as saying to the media.

“This is the first stage in what we hope to see as a trans-Tasman bubble between the two countries, stopping not just at that state and that territory,” he added.

According to the Deputy Prime Minister, at first travel will be limited to New Zealanders.

McCormack further said that a decision on when Australians may be able to visit New Zealand would be up to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

  • Wellington, Aug. 17, 2020 (Xinhua) — New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern attends a press conference held in the parliament building Beehive in Wellington, New Zealand, on Aug. 17, 2020. Jacinda Ardern confirmed on Monday that the general election will be held on Oct. 17, four weeks after Sept. 19 when the poll was originally scheduled for. (Xinhua/Guo Lei/IANS)

Friday’s announcement came after Ardern had said on September 28 that an air bubble between her country and some Australian states was possible by the end of this year.

She had confirmed that work was underway for weeks on the prospect of forming a bubble, and the ability to move between parts of both countries that were not affected by the coronavirus pandemic, The New Zealand Herald newspaper reported.

Plans for a travel bubble between the two countries have been in discussion for months, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) said in a news report.

However, the talks were disrupted after a resurgence new cases in Melbourne and also a second wave of the virus in Auckland.

New Zealand has recorded 1,848 cases and 25 deaths, while Australia has registered 27,096 infections and 888 fatalities.

Also read:Australia Enters First Recession In 30 Years

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EU News World News

France opens new era in relationship with animals

Ban use of animals in circuses to prevent spread of disease: PETA.

“It is time that our ancestral fascination with these wild beings no longer means they end up in captivity.”said Pompili…Reports Asian Lite News

France has said it will gradually ban the use of wild animals in travelling circuses as part of sweeping new animal welfare measures,

On Tuesday, Ecology Minister Barbara Pompili said, “Our attitude to wild animals has changed.”

She also announced a ban on farming minks for fur and on keeping dolphins and orcas in captivity in marine parks, BBC reported.

The move was hailed as “an historic victory” by leading animal rights groups.

“It is time to open a new era in our relationship with these [wild] animals,” Pompili said during a press conference.

“It is time that our ancestral fascination with these wild beings no longer means they end up in captivity.”

The Minister did not outline a precise timetable for the changes but said they would be implemented “in the years to come”.

“Putting a date on it does not solve all the problems,” she told reporters.

Ban use of animals in circuses to prevent spread of disease: PETA.

Bears, tigers, lions, elephants and other wild animals would no longer be allowed in travelling circuses under the ban. But the government said the rules would not apply to zoos and other permanent attractions or shows.

In addition to the measures, and starting immediately, Pompili said France’s three marine aquariums would no longer be able to breed or bring in new dolphins or orcas. No new marine aquariums would be built, she said.

The Minister added that the government was considering creating a sanctuary for the animals currently in captivity.

Pompili said the government would offer an 8m euro (£7.3m; $9.3m) package to help circuses and marine parks adapt to the new measures.

“We are asking (circuses) to reinvent themselves,” she said. “That transition will be spread over several years because it will change the lives of many people.”

But the announcement was met with anger from the circus industry.

“She didn’t want to listen to us,” William Kerwich, the head of the circus animal trainers’ union, told AFP news agency. “Who is going to pay for the meat for the lions and tigers and the food for the elephants?”

“Circuses will have to abandon their animals and the minister will be responsible,” he added.

Animal rights groups, meanwhile, praised the government’s announcement.

Also read:Covid 19: Second wave could ‘overwhelm’ France