GENEVA – The United Nations said Tuesday it needed $5 billion in aid for Afghanistan in 2022 to avert a humanitarian catastrophe and offer the ravaged country a future after 40 years of suffering. In its biggest-ever single-country appeal, the UN said $4.4 billion (3.9 billion euros) was needed within Afghanistan, while a further $623 … Read more
GENEVA: Switzerland’s highest court has ordered Monsanto to pay back 10 years’ worth of waived taxes after it left the Vaud region early following its takeover by Bayer, according to a ruling published on Tuesday. The US agrochemical giant was ordered to hand over 34 million Swiss francs ($36.9 million, €32.7 million) to the western … Read more
GENEVA, Dec 3, 2021 (AFP) – The World Health Organization said Friday it had not seen any reports of deaths relating to the new Omicron variant of Covid-19. The WHO said it was collecting evidence about the variant of concern, as countries around the world scramble to stop it spreading. But despite a growing number of countries reporting … Read more
GENEVA, International migration rose last year despite the dramatic impact of the Covid pandemic on migration patterns, including restrictions blocking many from crossing borders, the United Nations said Wednesday. In a fresh report, the UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM) said the number of international migrants grew to 281 million in 2020, or 3.6 percent … Read more
GENEVA, The world could see the Covid pandemic begin fading next year into an endemic disease like others humanity lives with, unless glaring inequality in vaccine access drags it out and worse variants emerge. Even as countries scramble to address a new worrying virus variant and Europe battles a winter resurgence, health experts say that … Read more
GENEVA, The Swiss will vote on Sunday on the country’s Covid-19 laws, after a campaign characterized by unprecedented levels of hostility in the wealthy Alpine nation, including even death threats. Like in much of Europe, Switzerland has seen growing anger over restrictions and vaccine pressure aimed at reining in the pandemic. But in a country renowned … Read more
GENEVA: A US decision to slap steep import duties on Spanish olives over claims they benefited from subsidies constituted a violation of international trade rules, the World Trade Organization ruled on Friday. Former US president Donald Trump’s administration slapped extra tariffs on Spain’s iconic agricultural export in 2018, considering their olives were subsidized and being … Read more
GENEVA: Common goals with diversified approaches showcase exactly what diplomats are doing in various domains in Geneva, because civilizations are rich and diverse, and so is democracy, a senior Chinese diplomat said here on Thursday. Li Song, charge d’affaires of the Chinese Mission in Geneva, said at the opening of a webinar titled “Democracy and … Read more
Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi Monday cautioned the international community against a sluggish response over Afghanistan as it could cause grave humanitarian consequences. “The challenges are daunting. The situation is becoming dire for around 18 million people of Afghanistan – directly in need of humanitarian assistance,” the foreign minister said in a statement delivered … Read more
GENEVA: Trade in medical goods registered growth of 16.3 per cent in 2020 compared with 4.7 per cent growth in 2019 when the Covid-19 pandemic was just starting, according to the World Trade Statistical Review 2021 issued by the World Trade Organisation (WTO). Exports of medical products, including medicines, medical equipment and PPE, rose by … Read more
The United Nations (UN)’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has revealed that more than 52,000 Palestinians have been displaced and nearly 450 buildings destroyed or badly damaged in the coastal enclave due to the Israeli regime’s ongoing onslaught on the besieged Gaza Strip. According to the media reports, a spokesman for the … Read more
A Saudi princess known for her human rights advocacy work has likely been put under house arrest in Riyadh, reports said. According to sources, Princess Basma bint Saud bin Abdulaziz al-Saud “fell off the radar”, after she attempted to leave the kingdom late last year. The source said she was due to fly to Geneva … Read more
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has departed for Pakistan after successfully sensitizing the world regarding Kashmir in his three-day visit to Geneva. Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that we will keep rising our voices for Kashmir. According to details, Shah Mahmood has returned back to country after successfully sensitizing the world regarding the alarming human rights … Read more
Pakistan´s foreign minister demanded Tuesday that the UN launch an international investigation into the situation in Indian Occupied Kashmir, warning that a “genocide” could be looming in the Muslim-majority region. “The people of Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir are apprehending the worst,” Shah Mehmood Qureshi told the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, adding that … Read more
