Fourteen United Nations peacekeepers have been killed in clashes in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a UN official said on Friday -- the worst attack in the organisation`s recent history.&nbsp;

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who put the death toll at &quot;at least 12&quot; Tanzanian peacekeepers, said another 40 were wounded in the violence.&nbsp;

A UN official, who spoke anonymously, told AFP that 14 peacekeepers were killed.

The UN peacekeeping mission in the country, MONUSCO, is believed to have been targeted by Ugandan Muslim rebel group ADF, one of several armed groups active in the North Kivu region, according to Congolese military sources.&nbsp;

In a statement, Guterres said it was the worst attack on UN peacekeepers in the organisation`s recent history.

&quot;I condemn this attack unequivocally. These deliberate attacks against UN peacekeepers are unacceptable and constitute a war crime,&quot; Guterres said in a statement.&nbsp;

&quot;I call on the DRC authorities to investigate this incident and swiftly bring the perpetrators to justice. There must be no impunity for such assaults, here or anywhere else.&quot;

Guterres said at least five Congolese soldiers were also killed in Thursday`s attack.

The medical evacuation of causalities is ongoing, while military reinforcements have arrived on the scene.&nbsp;

Fourteen United Nations peacekeepers have been killed in clashes in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a UN official said on Friday -- the worst attack in the organisation`s recent history. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who put the death toll at "at least 12" Tanzanian peacekeepers, said another 40 were wounded in the violence. A UN official, who spoke anonymously, told AFP that 14 peacekeepers were killed. The UN peacekeeping mission in the country, MONUSCO, is believed to have been targeted by Ugandan Muslim rebel group ADF, one of several armed groups active in the North Kivu region, according to Congolese military sources. In a statement, Guterres said it was the worst attack on UN peacekeepers in the organisation`s recent history. "I condemn this attack unequivocally. These deliberate attacks against UN peacekeepers are unacceptable and constitute a war crime," Guterres said in a statement. "I call on the DRC authorities to investigate this incident and swiftly bring the perpetrators to justice. There must be no impunity for such assaults, here or anywhere else." Guterres said at least five Congolese soldiers were also killed in Thursday`s attack. The medical evacuation of causalities is ongoing, while military reinforcements have arrived on the scene.

WION Morning News Brief, 9 December, 2017

The medical evacuation of causalities is ongoing, while military reinforcements have arrived on the scene

14 UN peacekeepers killed, 40 injured in Congo

Arabs and Muslims across the Middle East on Wednesday condemned the US&nbsp;recognition of Jerusalem as Israel&#39;s capital as an incendiary move in a volatile region and Palestinians said Washington was abandoning its leading role as a peace mediator.

The European Union and United Nations also voiced alarm at US&nbsp;President Donald Trump&#39;s decision to move the US&nbsp;Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem and its repercussions for any chances of reviving Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking.

Major US&nbsp;allies came out against Trump&#39;s reversal of decades of US&nbsp;and broad international policy on Jerusalem.

France rejected the &quot;unilateral&quot; decision while appealing for calm in the region. Britain said the move would not help peace efforts and Jerusalem should ultimately be shared by Israel and a future Palestinian state. Germany said Jerusalem&#39;s status could only be resolved on the basis of a two-state solution.

Israel, by contrast, applauded Trump&#39;s move. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a pre-recorded video message that it was &quot;an important step towards peace&quot; and it was &quot;our goal from Israel&#39;s first day&quot;.

He added that any peace accord with the Palestinians would have to include Jerusalem as Israel&#39;s capital and he urged other countries to follow Trump&#39;s example.

Trump upended decades of US&nbsp;policy in defiance of warnings from around the world that the gesture risks aggravating conflict in the tinderbox Middle East.

The status of Jerusalem is home to sites holy to the Muslim, Jewish and Christian faiths. Its eastern sector was captured by Israel in a 1967 war and annexed in a move not recognized internationally. Palestinians claim East Jerusalem for the capital of an independent state they seek.

Israel deems Jerusalem its eternal and indivisible capital dating to antiquity, and its status is one of the thorniest barriers to a lasting Israeli-Palestinian peace.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, in a pre-recorded speech, said Jerusalem was the &quot;eternal capital of the State of Palestine&quot; and that Trump&#39;s move was &quot;tantamount to the United States abdicating its role as a peace mediator.&quot;

The last round of US-brokered talks foundered in 2014 over issues including Israeli settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank and Israeli accusations of Palestinian incitement to violence and refusal to recognise it as a Jewish state.

The Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, which has dominated Gaza since soon after Israel ended a 38-year occupation in 2005, said Trump had committed a &quot;flagrant aggression against the Palestinian people&quot;. Hamas urged Arabs and Muslims to &quot;undermine US&nbsp;interests in the region&quot; and to &quot;shun Israel&quot;.

Protests broke out in parts of Jordan&#39;s capital Amman inhabited by Palestinian refugees, with youths chanting anti-American slogans. In the Baqaa refugee camp on Amman&#39;s outskirts, hundreds roamed the streets denouncing Trump and urging Jordan to scrap its 1994 peace treaty with Israel. &quot;Down with America...America is the mother of terror,&quot; they chanted.

Angry Palestinians switched off Christmas lights at Jesus&#39; traditional birthplace in the West Bank town of Bethlehem and in Ramallah. A tree adorned with lights outside Bethlehem&#39;s Church of the Nativity, where Christians believe Jesus was born, and another in Ramallah, next to the grave of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, were plunged into darkness.

All Palestinian factions called for a general strike and protest rallies at midday on Thursday.

&nbsp;

&quot;Legally Null&quot; Decision

The Saudi Royal Court issued a statement saying that the kingdom followed &quot;with deep sorrow&quot; Trump&#39;s decision and warned of &quot;dangerous consequences of moving the US&nbsp;Embassy to Jerusalem&quot;.

The statement described the move as &quot;a big step back in efforts to advance the peace process&quot;, and urged the US&nbsp;administration to reverse its decision and adhere to international will.

Egypt, which forged the first Arab peace deal with Israel in 1979, brushed off Trump&#39;s decision and said it did not change Jerusalem&#39;s disputed legal status.

Jordan said Trump&#39;s action was &quot;legally null&quot; because it consolidated Israel&#39;s occupation of East Jerusalem.

Lebanese President Michel Aoun said Trump&#39;s Jerusalem decision was dangerous and threatened the credibility of the United States as a broker of Middle East peace. He said the move would put back the peace process by decades and threatened regional stability and perhaps global stability.

Qatar&#39;s foreign minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, said Trump&#39;s undertaking was a &quot;death sentence for all who seek peace&quot; and called it &quot;a dangerous escalation&quot;.

Turkey said Trump&#39;s move was &quot;irresponsible&quot;.

&quot;We call upon the US&nbsp;Administration to reconsider this faulty decision which may result in highly negative outcomes and to avoid uncalculated steps that will harm the multicultural identity and historical status of Jerusalem,&quot; the Turkish foreign ministry said in a statement.

A few hundred protesters gathered outside the US&nbsp;consulate in Istanbul, a Reuters cameraman at the scene said. The protest was largely peaceful, though some of the demonstrators threw coins and other objects at the consulate.

Iran &quot;seriously condemns&quot; Trump&#39;s move as it violates UN&nbsp;resolutions on the Israel-Palestinian conflict, state media reported. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said earlier in the day that the United States was trying to destabilize the region and start a war to protect Israel&#39;s security.

In Southeast Asia, the leaders of Muslim-majority Indonesia and Malaysia denounced Trump&#39;s action.

&quot;This can rock global security and stability,&quot; Indonesian President Joko Widodo, leader of the world&#39;s largest Muslim-majority nation, told a news conference in which he called for the United States to reconsider its decision.

British Prime Minister Theresa May disagreed with Trump&#39;s embrace of Jerusalem as Israel&#39;s capital before a final-status agreement as this was unlikely to help nurture peace in the region, her spokesman said.

However, May&#39;s spokesman welcomed Trump&#39;s stated wish to end the conflict and his acknowledgement that the final status of Jerusalem, including boundaries within the city, must be subject to negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians.

French President Emmanuel Macron said he did not support Trump&#39;s &quot;unilateral&quot; move.

&quot;The status of Jerusalem is a question of international security that concerns the entire international community. The status of Jerusalem must be determined by Israelis and Palestinians in the framework of negotiations under the auspices of the United Nations,&quot; Macron told reporters in Algiers.

&quot;France and Europe are attached to a two-state solution - Israel and Palestine - living side by side in peace and security within recognised international borders with Jerusalem the capital of both states,&quot; he said.

&quot;For now, I urge for calm and for everyone to be responsible. We must avoid at all costs avoid violence and foster dialogue,&quot; he said.

UN&nbsp;Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said there was no alternative to a two-state solution and Jerusalem was a final-status matter only to be settled through direct talks.

&quot;I have consistently spoken out against any unilateral measures that would jeopardize the prospect of peace for Israelis and Palestinians,&quot; Guterres said. &quot;I will do everything in my power to support the Israeli and Palestinian leaders to return to meaningful negotiations.&quot;

Arabs and Muslims across the Middle East on Wednesday condemned the US?recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital as an incendiary move in a volatile region and Palestinians said Washington was abandoning its leading role as a peace mediator

Arabs and Muslims across the Middle East on Wednesday condemned the US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital as an incendiary move in a volatile region and Palestinians said Washington was abandoning its leading role as a peace mediator. The European Union and United Nations also voiced alarm at US President Donald Trump's decision to move the US Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem and its repercussions for any chances of reviving Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking. Major US allies came out against Trump's reversal of decades of US and broad international policy on Jerusalem. France rejected the "unilateral" decision while appealing for calm in the region. Britain said the move would not help peace efforts and Jerusalem should ultimately be shared by Israel and a future Palestinian state. Germany said Jerusalem's status could only be resolved on the basis of a two-state solution. Israel, by contrast, applauded Trump's move. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a pre-recorded video message that it was "an important step towards peace" and it was "our goal from Israel's first day". He added that any peace accord with the Palestinians would have to include Jerusalem as Israel's capital and he urged other countries to follow Trump's example. Trump upended decades of US policy in defiance of warnings from around the world that the gesture risks aggravating conflict in the tinderbox Middle East. The status of Jerusalem is home to sites holy to the Muslim, Jewish and Christian faiths. Its eastern sector was captured by Israel in a 1967 war and annexed in a move not recognized internationally. Palestinians claim East Jerusalem for the capital of an independent state they seek. Israel deems Jerusalem its eternal and indivisible capital dating to antiquity, and its status is one of the thorniest barriers to a lasting Israeli-Palestinian peace. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, in a pre-recorded speech, said Jerusalem was the "eternal capital of the State of Palestine" and that Trump's move was "tantamount to the United States abdicating its role as a peace mediator." The last round of US-brokered talks foundered in 2014 over issues including Israeli settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank and Israeli accusations of Palestinian incitement to violence and refusal to recognise it as a Jewish state. The Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, which has dominated Gaza since soon after Israel ended a 38-year occupation in 2005, said Trump had committed a "flagrant aggression against the Palestinian people". Hamas urged Arabs and Muslims to "undermine US interests in the region" and to "shun Israel". Protests broke out in parts of Jordan's capital Amman inhabited by Palestinian refugees, with youths chanting anti-American slogans. In the Baqaa refugee camp on Amman's outskirts, hundreds roamed the streets denouncing Trump and urging Jordan to scrap its 1994 peace treaty with Israel. "Down with America...America is the mother of terror," they chanted. Angry Palestinians switched off Christmas lights at Jesus' traditional birthplace in the West Bank town of Bethlehem and in Ramallah. A tree adorned with lights outside Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity, where Christians believe Jesus was born, and another in Ramallah, next to the grave of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, were plunged into darkness. All Palestinian factions called for a general strike and protest rallies at midday on Thursday. "Legally Null" Decision The Saudi Royal Court issued a statement saying that the kingdom followed "with deep sorrow" Trump's decision and warned of "dangerous consequences of moving the US Embassy to Jerusalem". The statement described the move as "a big step back in efforts to advance the peace process", and urged the US administration to reverse its decision and adhere to international will. Egypt, which forged the first Arab peace deal with Israel in 1979, brushed off Trump's decision and said it did not change Jerusalem's disputed legal status. Jordan said Trump's action was "legally null" because it consolidated Israel's occupation of East Jerusalem. Lebanese President Michel Aoun said Trump's Jerusalem decision was dangerous and threatened the credibility of the United States as a broker of Middle East peace. He said the move would put back the peace process by decades and threatened regional stability and perhaps global stability. Qatar's foreign minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, said Trump's undertaking was a "death sentence for all who seek peace" and called it "a dangerous escalation". Turkey said Trump's move was "irresponsible". "We call upon the US Administration to reconsider this faulty decision which may result in highly negative outcomes and to avoid uncalculated steps that will harm the multicultural identity and historical status of Jerusalem," the Turkish foreign ministry said in a statement. A few hundred protesters gathered outside the US consulate in Istanbul, a Reuters cameraman at the scene said. The protest was largely peaceful, though some of the demonstrators threw coins and other objects at the consulate. Iran "seriously condemns" Trump's move as it violates UN resolutions on the Israel-Palestinian conflict, state media reported. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said earlier in the day that the United States was trying to destabilize the region and start a war to protect Israel's security. In Southeast Asia, the leaders of Muslim-majority Indonesia and Malaysia denounced Trump's action. "This can rock global security and stability," Indonesian President Joko Widodo, leader of the world's largest Muslim-majority nation, told a news conference in which he called for the United States to reconsider its decision. British Prime Minister Theresa May disagreed with Trump's embrace of Jerusalem as Israel's capital before a final-status agreement as this was unlikely to help nurture peace in the region, her spokesman said. However, May's spokesman welcomed Trump's stated wish to end the conflict and his acknowledgement that the final status of Jerusalem, including boundaries within the city, must be subject to negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians. French President Emmanuel Macron said he did not support Trump's "unilateral" move. "The status of Jerusalem is a question of international security that concerns the entire international community. The status of Jerusalem must be determined by Israelis and Palestinians in the framework of negotiations under the auspices of the United Nations," Macron told reporters in Algiers. "France and Europe are attached to a two-state solution - Israel and Palestine - living side by side in peace and security within recognised international borders with Jerusalem the capital of both states," he said. "For now, I urge for calm and for everyone to be responsible. We must avoid at all costs avoid violence and foster dialogue," he said. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said there was no alternative to a two-state solution and Jerusalem was a final-status matter only to be settled through direct talks. "I have consistently spoken out against any unilateral measures that would jeopardize the prospect of peace for Israelis and Palestinians," Guterres said. "I will do everything in my power to support the Israeli and Palestinian leaders to return to meaningful negotiations."

Arabs, Europe, UN reject Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israeli capital

Global patent filings hit record highs last year, with China leading the charge, receiving more patent applications than the United States, Japan, South Korea and the EU combined, the UN said on Wednesday.

Some 3.1 million patent applications were filed worldwide last year, rising for the seventh straight year and marking an 8.3-percent hike from 2015, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) said. &quot;These numbers are really quite extraordinary&quot;, WIPO chief Francis Gurry told reporters in Geneva.

China received about 236,600 of the nearly 240,600 additional patent filings, accounting for a full 98 percent of the growth, the UN agency said.&nbsp;&quot;The latest figures charting a rise in demand for intellectual property rights confirms a decade-long trend, where developments in China increasingly leave their mark on the worldwide totals,&quot; Gurry said.

She further added, &quot;China is increasingly amongst the leaders in global innovation and branding&quot;.&nbsp;Overall, China&#39;s State Intellectual Property Office received a record total of 1.3 million patent applications last year. In the second place, the US Patent and Trademark Office trailed far behind at 605,571, followed by Japan with 318,381.&nbsp;

When it comes to patent filings abroad meanwhile, US residents clearly topped the list, filing 215,918 applications in other countries, followed by Japan, Germany, and South Korea.&nbsp;US foreign filings were more than four times as many as the 51,522 filed by Chinese citizens abroad, WIPO said.

&quot;This is just a reflection I think of the stage of growth of the Chinese economy and its orientation,&quot; Gurry said, telling AFP he expected the numbers of Chinese foreign filings to explode going forward and continue to push up global patent applications.

China was also behind ballooning numbers of global trademark and industrial design applications last year, WIPO found.&nbsp;Trademark filings swelled 16.4 percent from the year before to around seven million, and have increased three-fold since 2001, &quot;reflecting the importance of protecting branding assets in today&rsquo;s business environment,&quot; Gurry said.

With 3.7 million registrations, China accounted for more than half of last year&#39;s trademark filings.

Industrial design applications meanwhile grew by 10.4 per cent last year to nearly one million applications, containing 1.2 million designs- more than half of which were listed in China.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

According to UN, China hits record high last year in global patent filings with receiving more patent application than the US, Japan, South Korea, and the EU combined

Global patent filings hit record highs last year, with China leading the charge, receiving more patent applications than the United States, Japan, South Korea and the EU combined, the UN said on Wednesday. Some 3.1 million patent applications were filed worldwide last year, rising for the seventh straight year and marking an 8.3-percent hike from 2015, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) said. "These numbers are really quite extraordinary", WIPO chief Francis Gurry told reporters in Geneva. China received about 236,600 of the nearly 240,600 additional patent filings, accounting for a full 98 percent of the growth, the UN agency said. "The latest figures charting a rise in demand for intellectual property rights confirms a decade-long trend, where developments in China increasingly leave their mark on the worldwide totals," Gurry said. She further added, "China is increasingly amongst the leaders in global innovation and branding". Overall, China's State Intellectual Property Office received a record total of 1.3 million patent applications last year. In the second place, the US Patent and Trademark Office trailed far behind at 605,571, followed by Japan with 318,381. When it comes to patent filings abroad meanwhile, US residents clearly topped the list, filing 215,918 applications in other countries, followed by Japan, Germany, and South Korea. US foreign filings were more than four times as many as the 51,522 filed by Chinese citizens abroad, WIPO said. "This is just a reflection I think of the stage of growth of the Chinese economy and its orientation," Gurry said, telling AFP he expected the numbers of Chinese foreign filings to explode going forward and continue to push up global patent applications. China was also behind ballooning numbers of global trademark and industrial design applications last year, WIPO found. Trademark filings swelled 16.4 percent from the year before to around seven million, and have increased three-fold since 2001, "reflecting the importance of protecting branding assets in today’s business environment," Gurry said. With 3.7 million registrations, China accounted for more than half of last year's trademark filings. Industrial design applications meanwhile grew by 10.4 per cent last year to nearly one million applications, containing 1.2 million designs- more than half of which were listed in China.

China pushed global patent filings to record high in 2016: UN

&quot;At the stroke of the midnight hour when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom&hellip;. when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance&rdquo;.

The famous Tryst and Destiny speech was addressed by Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru on the eve of Indian Independence when the country was stepping from the old to new.

The two hundred years of colonial power had left India poverty-stricken and disintegrated, and the partition inflicted severe pains of communal violence.

It was not easy to lay the foundation of a country, which had suffered two hundred years of exploitation. The struggle for Independence had already played a major role in unifying the country, but half of the battle was still to be won in laying the foundation for &ldquo;India&rdquo;.

The collective efforts of the first Prime Minister Nehru and Home Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel succeeded in integrating the 567 princely states into the dominion of India. The Congress managed to add Junagarh, Kerala, Hyderabad, Kashmir and many other princely states to India.

It implemented many other policies to reform the social, economic and educational sector of the country. However, amidst the many progressive steps that were undertaken for the improvement of the country, the Congress led by Nehru was also held responsible for the existing ire on Kashmir as well as the enmity between India and Pakistan.

Jammu and Kashmir had voluntarily joined India after Indian army protected the state from the atrocities, loot, murder and rapes committed by Pakistani Kabalis. The then ruling Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir, Hari Singh had sought help from India after the tribal invasion by Pakistan.

In return, he signed the Instrument of Accession and acceded to be a part of the dominion of India.

&nbsp;However, the issue of Kashmir still remains a bone of contention between India and Pakistan. Pakistan keeps on asking for UN involvement in resolving the matter between the two countries.

National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah was also involved in a similar rhetoric recently. While asking for more autonomy for Jammu and Kashmir, the former chief minister of the state emphasised on PoK being part of Pakistan. While readily accepting PoK as part of Pakistan, he said that India cannot claim its authority over it. He reminded that India should stick to the Instrument of Accession signed with Maharaja Hari Singh.

Evidently, off late, Farooq Abdullah has been speaking in the language of Pakistan.

He said Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) belongs to Pakistan and &quot;this won&#39;t change&quot; no matter how many wars India and Pakistan fight against each other.

&quot;You do not remember the Instrument of Accession and claim the other side of Kashmir is administered by Pakistan. If that side is ours, then you should talk about the accession as well. Why do you forget the conditions on which we have acceded?&quot; he said.

Separatists and leaders like him who willfully accept the occupation of Pakistan over PoK choose to avoid the constant revolt by the people against the human right violations.

PoK recently held anti-Pakistan protests across the region to mark 70 years of Pakistan occupation of the region. To mark the unfortunate seventy years of the &ldquo;Black Day&rdquo; invasion, Gilgit and Baltistan held protest across the region on October 22, 2017.

The protestors chanted anti-Pakistan slogans and demanded the immediate withdrawal of the Pakistan Army from the occupied territory.

Another PoK leader Tauqeer Gilani hit out at the Pakistan occupation on Kashmir. While addressing a conference in Muzaffarabad, he questioned Pakistan&#39;s claim over Kashmir. Calling it propaganda by Muslim Conference and their paid stooges, he asked where is it written that Kashmir is Pakistan&#39;s?&nbsp;

He said, &quot;Where is it written that Kashmir is Pakistan&#39;s? No agreement says so. This is nonsense and is propaganda by Muslim Conference and their paid stooges. Even on our bathroom doors, they have written &#39;Kashmir banega Pakistan.&quot;

Recently, the people of Gilgit-Baltistan have strengthened their voice against Pakistan&#39;s immoral imposition of taxes on them. The lawyers claim that the imposition of any tax in the region is illegal as people of the region do not have any representation in national assembly and senate.

Legal experts say that the people of Gilgit-Baltistan should not be taxed until they are granted constitutional rights. They also underlined that there are no taxes in Jammu and Kashmir despite it being part of the Constitution, also that the state provides them subsidies.

Pakistan and its organisations and leaders who constantly attack India over the issue of Jammu and Kashmir should not forget that the peaceful state was first attacked by Pakistan Kabalis. It was Pakistan which had created havoc in one of the most peaceful areas of South Asia.

The ones who talk about India conducting plebiscite in Jammu and Kashmir must not forget that according to the UN resolution, Pakistan is first supposed to vacate the place.

&nbsp;Responding to P. Chidambaram&rsquo;s advice for granting greater autonomy for Jammu and Kashmir, Union Minister Arun Jaitley had said its position regard to aazadi or greater autonomy for Kashmir was against the national interest.

P Chidambaram recently said when people of Jammu and Kashmir ask for aazadi, most of them mean they want greater autonomy.

On this Jaitley blamed Congress&rsquo;s flawed policy since 1947 for the Kashmir problem.

He asked what kind of &ldquo;aazadi or autonomy&rdquo; is Chidambaram asking which the state government or India&rsquo;s Constitution does not already provide.

Union Finance minister Arun Jaitley also said that the state assembly and the state government have all the necessary powers under the Constitution, and the only issues not covered by the state are defence, communication, foreign affairs and currency.

Recently, a Delhi-based NGO&nbsp; filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging Article 35A. Article 35(A) and Article 370 gives special rights to the permanent residents of Jammu &amp; Kashmir. It restricts people from the rest of the country to buy or own immovable property in Jammu and Kashmir, settle permanently, or avail themselves of state-sponsored scholarship schemes. The petition said that the article discriminates against the fellow citizens from the rest of the country.

&nbsp;

(Disclaimer: The author writes here in a personal capacity).

&nbsp;

PoK recently held anti-Pakistan protests across the region to mark 70 years of Pakistan occupation of the region.

"At the stroke of the midnight hour when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom…. when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance”. The famous Tryst and Destiny speech was addressed by Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru on the eve of Indian Independence when the country was stepping from the old to new. The two hundred years of colonial power had left India poverty-stricken and disintegrated, and the partition inflicted severe pains of communal violence. It was not easy to lay the foundation of a country, which had suffered two hundred years of exploitation. The struggle for Independence had already played a major role in unifying the country, but half of the battle was still to be won in laying the foundation for “India”. The collective efforts of the first Prime Minister Nehru and Home Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel succeeded in integrating the 567 princely states into the dominion of India. The Congress managed to add Junagarh, Kerala, Hyderabad, Kashmir and many other princely states to India. It implemented many other policies to reform the social, economic and educational sector of the country. However, amidst the many progressive steps that were undertaken for the improvement of the country, the Congress led by Nehru was also held responsible for the existing ire on Kashmir as well as the enmity between India and Pakistan. Jammu and Kashmir had voluntarily joined India after Indian army protected the state from the atrocities, loot, murder and rapes committed by Pakistani Kabalis. The then ruling Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir, Hari Singh had sought help from India after the tribal invasion by Pakistan. In return, he signed the Instrument of Accession and acceded to be a part of the dominion of India. However, the issue of Kashmir still remains a bone of contention between India and Pakistan. Pakistan keeps on asking for UN involvement in resolving the matter between the two countries. National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah was also involved in a similar rhetoric recently. While asking for more autonomy for Jammu and Kashmir, the former chief minister of the state emphasised on PoK being part of Pakistan. While readily accepting PoK as part of Pakistan, he said that India cannot claim its authority over it. He reminded that India should stick to the Instrument of Accession signed with Maharaja Hari Singh. Evidently, off late, Farooq Abdullah has been speaking in the language of Pakistan. He said Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) belongs to Pakistan and "this won't change" no matter how many wars India and Pakistan fight against each other. "You do not remember the Instrument of Accession and claim the other side of Kashmir is administered by Pakistan. If that side is ours, then you should talk about the accession as well. Why do you forget the conditions on which we have acceded?" he said. Separatists and leaders like him who willfully accept the occupation of Pakistan over PoK choose to avoid the constant revolt by the people against the human right violations. PoK recently held anti-Pakistan protests across the region to mark 70 years of Pakistan occupation of the region. To mark the unfortunate seventy years of the “Black Day” invasion, Gilgit and Baltistan held protest across the region on October 22, 2017. The protestors chanted anti-Pakistan slogans and demanded the immediate withdrawal of the Pakistan Army from the occupied territory. Another PoK leader Tauqeer Gilani hit out at the Pakistan occupation on Kashmir. While addressing a conference in Muzaffarabad, he questioned Pakistan's claim over Kashmir. Calling it propaganda by Muslim Conference and their paid stooges, he asked where is it written that Kashmir is Pakistan's? He said, "Where is it written that Kashmir is Pakistan's? No agreement says so. This is nonsense and is propaganda by Muslim Conference and their paid stooges. Even on our bathroom doors, they have written 'Kashmir banega Pakistan." Recently, the people of Gilgit-Baltistan have strengthened their voice against Pakistan's immoral imposition of taxes on them. The lawyers claim that the imposition of any tax in the region is illegal as people of the region do not have any representation in national assembly and senate. Legal experts say that the people of Gilgit-Baltistan should not be taxed until they are granted constitutional rights. They also underlined that there are no taxes in Jammu and Kashmir despite it being part of the Constitution, also that the state provides them subsidies. Pakistan and its organisations and leaders who constantly attack India over the issue of Jammu and Kashmir should not forget that the peaceful state was first attacked by Pakistan Kabalis. It was Pakistan which had created havoc in one of the most peaceful areas of South Asia. The ones who talk about India conducting plebiscite in Jammu and Kashmir must not forget that according to the UN resolution, Pakistan is first supposed to vacate the place. Responding to P. Chidambaram’s advice for granting greater autonomy for Jammu and Kashmir, Union Minister Arun Jaitley had said its position regard to aazadi or greater autonomy for Kashmir was against the national interest. P Chidambaram recently said when people of Jammu and Kashmir ask for aazadi, most of them mean they want greater autonomy. On this Jaitley blamed Congress’s flawed policy since 1947 for the Kashmir problem. He asked what kind of “aazadi or autonomy” is Chidambaram asking which the state government or India’s Constitution does not already provide. Union Finance minister Arun Jaitley also said that the state assembly and the state government have all the necessary powers under the Constitution, and the only issues not covered by the state are defence, communication, foreign affairs and currency. Recently, a Delhi-based NGO filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging Article 35A. Article 35(A) and Article 370 gives special rights to the permanent residents of Jammu & Kashmir. It restricts people from the rest of the country to buy or own immovable property in Jammu and Kashmir, settle permanently, or avail themselves of state-sponsored scholarship schemes. The petition said that the article discriminates against the fellow citizens from the rest of the country. (Disclaimer: The author writes here in a personal capacity).

Opinion: Why Pakistan supports Kashmir's aazadi and not that of PoK

The UN on Tuesday called for a &quot;humanitarian&quot; truce in air strikes and fighting in Yemen as it seeks to deliver aid to civilians trapped in the capital Sanaa.

&quot;I ... sent a message asking for a truce, a peace pause, a humanitarian pause, for the parties to stop shooting, stop fighting, stop air strikes, so the people can go to hospitals, can go to seek safety ... and go to also find a place for water and food,&quot; UN humanitarian coordinator Jamie McGoldrick told reporters in Geneva by phone from Sanaa.

&quot;Our ability to get to people over the last five days has been impeded because of the air strikes, because of the fighting, and our life-saving support activities were blocked,&quot; he said.

McGoldrick&#39;s statement came a day after Yemen&#39;s Huthi rebels killed former president Ali Abdullah Saleh as he fled the capital following the collapse of their uneasy alliance.

For the five previous nights, heavy fighting had rocked Sanaa, leaving at least 234 people dead and 400 wounded, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross.

After the assassination, Saudi-led warplanes pounded the capital before dawn Tuesday as the rebels moved to consolidate their control over the city.

&quot;What happened... because of our inability to move in the city during the five days -- the UN agencies, Red Cross and NGOs -- we were unable to do our life-saving treatments,&quot; McGoldrick said.

&quot;Now the uncertainty continues and despite what happened yesterday, we don&#39;t know if we can start doing our operations or whether we have to wait for some time,&quot; he added.

Yemen&#39;s war has left thousands dead since 2015, sparking what the United Nations now labels the world&#39;s worst humanitarian crisis, and has deepened tensions between Middle East rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran.

McGoldrick said a UN team would travel to Riyadh &quot;quite soon&quot;.&nbsp;

Saudi Arabia imposed a blockade on Yemen&#39;s ports after a Huthi missile was intercepted near Riyadh airport on November 4.

The blockade has been eased only partially despite repeated calls from the UN.

'I sent a message asking for a truce, a peace pause, a humanitarian pause, for the parties to stop shooting, stop fighting, stop air strikes, so the people can go to hospitals, can go to seek safety and go to also find a place for water and food,' UN humanitarian coordinator Jamie McGoldrick said

The UN on Tuesday called for a "humanitarian" truce in air strikes and fighting in Yemen as it seeks to deliver aid to civilians trapped in the capital Sanaa. "I ... sent a message asking for a truce, a peace pause, a humanitarian pause, for the parties to stop shooting, stop fighting, stop air strikes, so the people can go to hospitals, can go to seek safety ... and go to also find a place for water and food," UN humanitarian coordinator Jamie McGoldrick told reporters in Geneva by phone from Sanaa. "Our ability to get to people over the last five days has been impeded because of the air strikes, because of the fighting, and our life-saving support activities were blocked," he said. McGoldrick's statement came a day after Yemen's Huthi rebels killed former president Ali Abdullah Saleh as he fled the capital following the collapse of their uneasy alliance. For the five previous nights, heavy fighting had rocked Sanaa, leaving at least 234 people dead and 400 wounded, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross. After the assassination, Saudi-led warplanes pounded the capital before dawn Tuesday as the rebels moved to consolidate their control over the city. "What happened... because of our inability to move in the city during the five days -- the UN agencies, Red Cross and NGOs -- we were unable to do our life-saving treatments," McGoldrick said. "Now the uncertainty continues and despite what happened yesterday, we don't know if we can start doing our operations or whether we have to wait for some time," he added. Yemen's war has left thousands dead since 2015, sparking what the United Nations now labels the world's worst humanitarian crisis, and has deepened tensions between Middle East rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran. McGoldrick said a UN team would travel to Riyadh "quite soon". Saudi Arabia imposed a blockade on Yemen's ports after a Huthi missile was intercepted near Riyadh airport on November 4. The blockade has been eased only partially despite repeated calls from the UN.

UN urges for a  'humanitarian pause' for Yemen

Award-winning British artist Ellie Goulding was appointed UN Environment Global Goodwill Ambassador Sunday.&nbsp;

The singer shared the happy news on her Instagram profile with a picture of her feeding a giraffe at the Giraffe Manor in the&nbsp;suburbs of the capital Nairobi, where UN Environment has its headquarters.

Her post reads: &quot;I&rsquo;m delighted to announce that I have become a UN Environment Global Goodwill Ambassador. Thank you to @unenvironment head @environmenterik for making it official @thesafaricollection #giraffemanor. All witnessed by Ed the giraffe (he&rsquo;s pretty special. Only 800 of his species left). &shy;&shy;&shy;&shy;&shy;&shy;Feel very honoured ??.&quot;

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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BcO1P0cHDlN/" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank">I&rsquo;m delighted to announce that I have become a UN Environment Global Goodwill Ambassador. Thank you to @unenvironment head @environmenterik for making it official @thesafaricollection #giraffemanor. All witnessed by Ed the giraffe (he&rsquo;s pretty special. Only 800 of his species left). &shy;&shy;&shy;&shy;&shy;&shy;Feel very honoured ??</a>

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Her focus of work as a UN Ambassador would include taking up projects&nbsp;to clean the environment, tackle climate change and protect endangered species. She will focus &quot;on amplifying the activism of young people committed to creating a bright future. I want as many people as possible to become advocates for the planet.&rdquo; &nbsp;

In a statement, she said,&nbsp;&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a huge honour to become a UN Environment Global Goodwill Ambassador.&nbsp;Yes, we face huge global challenges, but we are also taking game-changing steps forward and that should inspire us.&quot; &nbsp;

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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BcPzdD8HV6h/" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank">Thank you to the #maasaimara community and @maraelephantproject. I am totally inspired by my return to Kenya. The wildlife I&rsquo;ve seen so far and the people I&rsquo;ve met have been unforgettable, life changing and very motivating to make change in the world #wildforlife @unenvironment</a>

<p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A post shared by elliegoulding (@elliegoulding) on <time datetime="2017-12-03T16:33:30+00:00" style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;">Dec 3, 2017 at 8:33am PST</time>
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BcR0u7_HuCv/" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank">Wherever you are in the world pollution impacts you. But you have the power to change it. Please sign up to beat pollution today and click on the link in my bio @unenvironment #BeatPollution</a>

<p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A post shared by elliegoulding (@elliegoulding) on <time datetime="2017-12-04T11:26:53+00:00" style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;">Dec 4, 2017 at 3:26am PST</time>
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BcUjzmYnflC/" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank">Busy day in Nairobi at the UN Environment assembly but had a chance to walk around the Clean Seas Dome ?????? #thatStatisticTho</a>

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&quot;Love Me Like You Do&quot; singer was earlier spotted collecting a&nbsp;Global Leadership Award from the UN.&nbsp;

In 2010, Ellie took home&nbsp;BBC&#39;s annual Sound of... poll and the Critics&#39; Choice Award at the Brit Awards. She also won the Brit Award for the best female solo artist. Her debut album &quot;Lights&quot; ranked No. 1 in the U.K. with her next &quot;Halcyon&quot; released in 2012 ranking the same.&nbsp;

In October, the United Nations Foundation recognised Goulding with the New Voices Award in recognition of her environmental and social justice activism.

&nbsp;

On receiving the honour, she says ' I want as many people as possible to become advocates for the planet'

Award-winning British artist Ellie Goulding was appointed UN Environment Global Goodwill Ambassador Sunday. The singer shared the happy news on her Instagram profile with a picture of her feeding a giraffe at the Giraffe Manor in the suburbs of the capital Nairobi, where UN Environment has its headquarters. Her post reads: "I’m delighted to announce that I have become a UN Environment Global Goodwill Ambassador. Thank you to @unenvironment head @environmenterik for making it official @thesafaricollection #giraffemanor. All witnessed by Ed the giraffe (he’s pretty special. Only 800 of his species left). Feel very honoured ??." I’m delighted to announce that I have become a UN Environment Global Goodwill Ambassador. Thank you to @unenvironment head @environmenterik for making it official @thesafaricollection #giraffemanor. All witnessed by Ed the giraffe (he’s pretty special. Only 800 of his species left). Feel very honoured ?? A post shared by elliegoulding (@elliegoulding) on Dec 2, 2017 at 11:29pm PST × Her focus of work as a UN Ambassador would include taking up projects to clean the environment, tackle climate change and protect endangered species. She will focus "on amplifying the activism of young people committed to creating a bright future. I want as many people as possible to become advocates for the planet.” In a statement, she said, “It’s a huge honour to become a UN Environment Global Goodwill Ambassador. Yes, we face huge global challenges, but we are also taking game-changing steps forward and that should inspire us." Thank you to the #maasaimara community and @maraelephantproject. I am totally inspired by my return to Kenya. The wildlife I’ve seen so far and the people I’ve met have been unforgettable, life changing and very motivating to make change in the world #wildforlife @unenvironment A post shared by elliegoulding (@elliegoulding) on Dec 3, 2017 at 8:33am PST × Wherever you are in the world pollution impacts you. But you have the power to change it. Please sign up to beat pollution today and click on the link in my bio @unenvironment #BeatPollution A post shared by elliegoulding (@elliegoulding) on Dec 4, 2017 at 3:26am PST × Busy day in Nairobi at the UN Environment assembly but had a chance to walk around the Clean Seas Dome ?????? #thatStatisticTho A post shared by elliegoulding (@elliegoulding) on Dec 5, 2017 at 4:54am PST × "Love Me Like You Do" singer was earlier spotted collecting a Global Leadership Award from the UN. In 2010, Ellie took home BBC's annual Sound of... poll and the Critics' Choice Award at the Brit Awards. She also won the Brit Award for the best female solo artist. Her debut album "Lights" ranked No. 1 in the U.K. with her next "Halcyon" released in 2012 ranking the same. In October, the United Nations Foundation recognised Goulding with the New Voices Award in recognition of her environmental and social justice activism.

Singer Ellie Goulding appointed UN Environment Global Goodwill Ambassador

The United States has announced that it will not participate in the United Nations&#39;&nbsp;Global Compact on Migration as it does not meet the policies and principles of the Trump administration.

The US participation in the Compact process began in 2016, following the Obama Administration&#39;s decision to join the UN&#39;s New York Declaration on migration.

The New York Declaration contains numerous provisions that are inconsistent with U.S. immigration and refugee policies and the Trump administration&#39;s immigration principles.

As a result, President Donald Trump determined that the United States would end its participation in the Compact process that aims to reach international consensus at the UN in 2018.

&quot;America is proud of our immigrant heritage and our long-standing moral leadership in providing support to migrant and refugee populations across the globe. No country has done more than the United States, and our generosity will continue. But our decisions on immigration policies must always be made by Americans and Americans alone,&quot; said Ambassador Nikki Haley, U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations.

&quot;We will decide how best to control our borders and who will be allowed to enter our country. The global approach in the New York Declaration is simply not compatible with U.S. sovereignty,&quot; she added.

On September 19, 2016, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a set of commitments to enhance the protection of refugees and migrants. These commitments are known as the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants.

The New York Declaration reaffirms the importance of the international refugee regime and represents a commitment by member states to strengthen and enhance mechanisms to protect people on the move. It paves the way for the adoption of two new global compacts in 2018: a global compact on refugees and a global compact for safe, orderly and regular migration.

The US had earlier this year also announced to withdraw from the Paris agreement which aims at responding to the global climate change threat by keeping a global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

The US said the compact contains numerous provisions that are inconsistent with US immigration and refugee policies and the Trump administration's immigration principles

The United States has announced that it will not participate in the United Nations' Global Compact on Migration as it does not meet the policies and principles of the Trump administration. The US participation in the Compact process began in 2016, following the Obama Administration's decision to join the UN's New York Declaration on migration. The New York Declaration contains numerous provisions that are inconsistent with U.S. immigration and refugee policies and the Trump administration's immigration principles. As a result, President Donald Trump determined that the United States would end its participation in the Compact process that aims to reach international consensus at the UN in 2018. "America is proud of our immigrant heritage and our long-standing moral leadership in providing support to migrant and refugee populations across the globe. No country has done more than the United States, and our generosity will continue. But our decisions on immigration policies must always be made by Americans and Americans alone," said Ambassador Nikki Haley, U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations. "We will decide how best to control our borders and who will be allowed to enter our country. The global approach in the New York Declaration is simply not compatible with U.S. sovereignty," she added. On September 19, 2016, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a set of commitments to enhance the protection of refugees and migrants. These commitments are known as the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants. The New York Declaration reaffirms the importance of the international refugee regime and represents a commitment by member states to strengthen and enhance mechanisms to protect people on the move. It paves the way for the adoption of two new global compacts in 2018: a global compact on refugees and a global compact for safe, orderly and regular migration. The US had earlier this year also announced to withdraw from the Paris agreement which aims at responding to the global climate change threat by keeping a global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

US ends participation in UN's Global Compact on Migration

Environment ministers from about 100 countries gather in Nairobi next week to issue a clarion call against air, land and water pollution blamed for some nine million deaths in 2015.

Ministers under the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA) will finalise a global declaration vowing to combat &quot;rampant pollution&quot; as a growing threat to human life, economies and ecosystems.

Seven million of those deaths are caused by car exhaust, factory fumes and indoor cooking, according to the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), which hosts the assembly.

Water pollution is the second deadliest type, followed by exposure to toxins and carcinogens in the workplace.

Last month, UNEP said approximately one in six deaths in 2015 were due to pollution, mainly in poor and developing countries.

Almost half of the nine-million death toll came from just two countries - rapidly-industrialising India and China.

The December 4-6 meeting will be the third UNEA, created by world leaders in 2012 to strengthen world efforts to save the environment.

The assembly is the highest-level decision-making forum on environmental issues. All 193 UN states are members.

Nearly 2,500 participants have registered for this year&#39;s gathering, including a host of company CEOs, the heads of other UN agencies, scientists and activists.

The ministers will negotiate the wording for a number of resolutions on specific anti-pollution steps, such as limiting the amount of fish-choking plastic that finds its way into the ocean, and banning the use of toxic lead in paint.

&quot;Our oceans are filling with trash so fast that by 2050 there will be more plastic in the seas than fish,&quot; according to a UNEP statement.

&quot;A global ban on lead in paint is one of several resolutions under discussion at UNEA and, if agreed by ministers, will be a key step in removing an environmental hazard that harms the mental development of 600,000 children every year,&quot; it added.

Other resolutions, still in the draft phase, will aim for stricter air quality control in cities, and to reduce environmental degradation caused by armed conflict.

Pollution, according to the UNEP, is &quot;the biggest human killer bar none.&quot;

&quot;We need to beat pollution before it beats us,&quot; said UNEP head Erik Solheim.

&quot;That means being able to breathe in our cities, keeping dangerous chemicals out of the food chain, and stopping our oceans from being transformed into a plastic soup.&quot;

The assembly must yield a political declaration by Wednesday, entitled &quot;Towards a Pollution-Free Planet&quot;.

It will commit UN member countries to limiting humankind&#39;s soiling of the planet with chemicals, non-biodegradable litter and toxic smoke.

&quot;Nine million people die prematurely every year because of environmental intoxication - this is clearly a moral scandal,&quot; said Joachim Schellnhuber, director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research.

Aside from outright poisoning, pollution causes an array of deadly ailments such as heart disease, stroke, lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

The December 4-6 meeting will be the third UNEA, created by world leaders in 2012 to strengthen world efforts to save the environment

Environment ministers from about 100 countries gather in Nairobi next week to issue a clarion call against air, land and water pollution blamed for some nine million deaths in 2015. Ministers under the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA) will finalise a global declaration vowing to combat "rampant pollution" as a growing threat to human life, economies and ecosystems. Seven million of those deaths are caused by car exhaust, factory fumes and indoor cooking, according to the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), which hosts the assembly. Water pollution is the second deadliest type, followed by exposure to toxins and carcinogens in the workplace. Last month, UNEP said approximately one in six deaths in 2015 were due to pollution, mainly in poor and developing countries. Almost half of the nine-million death toll came from just two countries - rapidly-industrialising India and China. The December 4-6 meeting will be the third UNEA, created by world leaders in 2012 to strengthen world efforts to save the environment. The assembly is the highest-level decision-making forum on environmental issues. All 193 UN states are members. Nearly 2,500 participants have registered for this year's gathering, including a host of company CEOs, the heads of other UN agencies, scientists and activists. The ministers will negotiate the wording for a number of resolutions on specific anti-pollution steps, such as limiting the amount of fish-choking plastic that finds its way into the ocean, and banning the use of toxic lead in paint. "Our oceans are filling with trash so fast that by 2050 there will be more plastic in the seas than fish," according to a UNEP statement. "A global ban on lead in paint is one of several resolutions under discussion at UNEA and, if agreed by ministers, will be a key step in removing an environmental hazard that harms the mental development of 600,000 children every year," it added. Other resolutions, still in the draft phase, will aim for stricter air quality control in cities, and to reduce environmental degradation caused by armed conflict. Pollution, according to the UNEP, is "the biggest human killer bar none." "We need to beat pollution before it beats us," said UNEP head Erik Solheim. "That means being able to breathe in our cities, keeping dangerous chemicals out of the food chain, and stopping our oceans from being transformed into a plastic soup." The assembly must yield a political declaration by Wednesday, entitled "Towards a Pollution-Free Planet". It will commit UN member countries to limiting humankind's soiling of the planet with chemicals, non-biodegradable litter and toxic smoke. "Nine million people die prematurely every year because of environmental intoxication - this is clearly a moral scandal," said Joachim Schellnhuber, director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. Aside from outright poisoning, pollution causes an array of deadly ailments such as heart disease, stroke, lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

UN makes global bid to end 'rampant' pollution

Japan&#39;s prime minister said&nbsp;Wednesday&nbsp;that the latest North Korean missile launch was a &quot;violent act&quot; that &quot;can never be tolerated&quot; after the ICBM splashed down in its exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

&quot;We will never yield to any provocative act. We will maximise our pressure&quot; on Pyongyang, Shinzo Abe told reporters.

The defence minister said earlier the missile was thought to have landed within Japan&#39;s EEZ. The Pentagon said it flew about 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) before splashing down in the Sea of Japan.

Japan had &quot;completely tracked&quot; the missile, Abe told reporters.

&quot;We have made a strong complaint,&quot; he added.

By launching the missile, North Korea has ignored the international community&#39;s &quot;united, strong will toward a peaceful solution,&quot; the prime minister said.

&quot;The international community needs to perfectly implement sanctions, in unison.&quot;

Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera later told reporters that the missile had flown for 53 minutes &quot;at an altitude far above 4,000 kilometres.&quot;

&quot;We have not received any reports of damage to airplanes or vessels operating near the area,&quot; said the minister, adding that the missile was fired &quot;at a lofted trajectory.&quot;

Speaking later in parliament, Abe said he had reaffirmed the importance of China in the crisis during a call with US President Donald Trump and praised Beijing for upholding sanctions on North Korea.

&quot;The government welcomes the fact that China is taking concrete steps such as an embargo on imports of North Korea&#39;s coal, marine products, textile products, among others,&quot; Abe told a parliamentary committee.

&quot;Frankly speaking, I feel that China is playing its role&quot; over the UN-agreed sanctions, he said.&nbsp;

UN chief strongly condemns North Korea missile launch

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres&nbsp;on Tuesday&nbsp;strongly condemned North Korea&#39;s latest missile test and urged Pyongyang to &quot;desist taking any further destabilizing steps.&quot;

&quot;This is a clear violation of Security Council resolutions and shows complete disregard for the united view of the international community,&quot; Guterres said in a statement.

North Korea earlier fired an intercontinental ballistic missile that the Japanese defense ministry said landed in Japan&#39;s exclusive economic zone.

The UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting&nbsp;on Wednesday&nbsp;to discuss the latest launch and calls from the United States for more sanctions to be imposed on North Korea over its rogue behavior.

Guterres said he was ready to work with all parties to reduce tensions.

'This is a clear violation of Security Council resolutions and shows complete disregard for the united view of the international community,' the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said

Japan's prime minister said Wednesday that the latest North Korean missile launch was a "violent act" that "can never be tolerated" after the ICBM splashed down in its exclusive economic zone (EEZ). "We will never yield to any provocative act. We will maximise our pressure" on Pyongyang, Shinzo Abe told reporters. The defence minister said earlier the missile was thought to have landed within Japan's EEZ. The Pentagon said it flew about 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) before splashing down in the Sea of Japan. Japan had "completely tracked" the missile, Abe told reporters. "We have made a strong complaint," he added. By launching the missile, North Korea has ignored the international community's "united, strong will toward a peaceful solution," the prime minister said. "The international community needs to perfectly implement sanctions, in unison." Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera later told reporters that the missile had flown for 53 minutes "at an altitude far above 4,000 kilometres." "We have not received any reports of damage to airplanes or vessels operating near the area," said the minister, adding that the missile was fired "at a lofted trajectory." Speaking later in parliament, Abe said he had reaffirmed the importance of China in the crisis during a call with US President Donald Trump and praised Beijing for upholding sanctions on North Korea. "The government welcomes the fact that China is taking concrete steps such as an embargo on imports of North Korea's coal, marine products, textile products, among others," Abe told a parliamentary committee. "Frankly speaking, I feel that China is playing its role" over the UN-agreed sanctions, he said. UN chief strongly condemns North Korea missile launch UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday strongly condemned North Korea's latest missile test and urged Pyongyang to "desist taking any further destabilizing steps." "This is a clear violation of Security Council resolutions and shows complete disregard for the united view of the international community," Guterres said in a statement. North Korea earlier fired an intercontinental ballistic missile that the Japanese defense ministry said landed in Japan's exclusive economic zone. The UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting on Wednesday to discuss the latest launch and calls from the United States for more sanctions to be imposed on North Korea over its rogue behavior. Guterres said he was ready to work with all parties to reduce tensions.

North Korea launch 'violent act' that can't be tolerated: Japan

The U.N. Human Rights Council is expected to hold a special session on killings, rapes and other crimes committed against Rohingya in Myanmar that have driven more than 600,000 into Bangladesh since August, U.N. sources said on Monday.

&quot;There will be a special session on December 5,&quot; a senior United Nations source told Reuters.

Also read: <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/pope-arrives-in-myanmar-on-high-stakes-visit-25246">Rohingya crisis: Pope arrives in Myanmar</a>

U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra&#39;ad al-Hussein has described the Myanmar army&#39;s crackdown in Rakhine state as a textbook example of ethnic cleansing.

The military has denied the accusations of murder, rape, torture and forced displacement.

'There will be a special session on December 5,' a senior United Nations source told Reuters

The U.N. Human Rights Council is expected to hold a special session on killings, rapes and other crimes committed against Rohingya in Myanmar that have driven more than 600,000 into Bangladesh since August, U.N. sources said on Monday. "There will be a special session on December 5," a senior United Nations source told Reuters. Also read: Rohingya crisis: Pope arrives in Myanmar U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein has described the Myanmar army's crackdown in Rakhine state as a textbook example of ethnic cleansing. The military has denied the accusations of murder, rape, torture and forced displacement.

UN rights forum to hold special session on Rohingya: UN sources

A UN plane carrying desperately needed vaccines landed in the rebel-held Yemeni capital Sanaa on Saturday after a three-week Saudi-led aid blockade that had sparked warnings thousands could die.

Three other aircraft - two carrying UN aid workers and one carrying International Committee of the Red Cross staff - also landed at the airport, which was repaired earlier this week after a Saudi-led air strike knocked out its controls, an AFP correspondent reported.

The UN humanitarian affairs office had said Friday that it had been given clearance by the Saudi-led coalition that has been fighting the rebels since 2015 to resume flights into Sanaa.

But it added that desperately needed shipments of food and medicines to the rebel-held Red Sea port of Hodeida remained blocked.

The UN children`s fund UNICEF said Saturday`s flight was carrying more than 15 tonnes, or 1.9 million doses, of vaccine for diphtheria, tetanus and other preventable diseases.

The World Health Organization confirmed earlier this week that diphtheria was spreading as children went unvaccinated and doctors in Hodeida reported three deaths.

More than 2,000 people have died of cholera in Yemen this year, adding to the 8,600 who have died in the conflict between the Saudi-backed government and the rebels since 2015.&nbsp;

The aid blockade, put in place after the rebels fired a missile which was intercepted over Riyadh airport, has tightened the stranglehold on Hodeida, the conduit for UN supervised deliveries of food and medicine to rebel-held territory.&nbsp;

The UN humanitarian office said that a ship loaded with wheat and another with equipment to treat Yemen`s cholera epidemic are ready to head to Hodeida as soon as the Saudi-led coalition gives the go-ahead.

The coalition had said it would lift its blockade of the port from Thursday but it remains in place.

The United Nations has warned that unless the blockade is lifted, Yemen will face &quot;the largest famine the world has seen for decades&quot;.

Seven million Yemenis are completely dependent on relief supplies for their survival, according to the UN.&nbsp;

The UN humanitarian affairs office had said Friday that it had been given clearance by the Saudi-led coalition that has been fighting the rebels since 2015 to resume flights into Sanaa

A UN plane carrying desperately needed vaccines landed in the rebel-held Yemeni capital Sanaa on Saturday after a three-week Saudi-led aid blockade that had sparked warnings thousands could die. Three other aircraft - two carrying UN aid workers and one carrying International Committee of the Red Cross staff - also landed at the airport, which was repaired earlier this week after a Saudi-led air strike knocked out its controls, an AFP correspondent reported. The UN humanitarian affairs office had said Friday that it had been given clearance by the Saudi-led coalition that has been fighting the rebels since 2015 to resume flights into Sanaa. But it added that desperately needed shipments of food and medicines to the rebel-held Red Sea port of Hodeida remained blocked. The UN children`s fund UNICEF said Saturday`s flight was carrying more than 15 tonnes, or 1.9 million doses, of vaccine for diphtheria, tetanus and other preventable diseases. The World Health Organization confirmed earlier this week that diphtheria was spreading as children went unvaccinated and doctors in Hodeida reported three deaths. More than 2,000 people have died of cholera in Yemen this year, adding to the 8,600 who have died in the conflict between the Saudi-backed government and the rebels since 2015. The aid blockade, put in place after the rebels fired a missile which was intercepted over Riyadh airport, has tightened the stranglehold on Hodeida, the conduit for UN supervised deliveries of food and medicine to rebel-held territory. The UN humanitarian office said that a ship loaded with wheat and another with equipment to treat Yemen`s cholera epidemic are ready to head to Hodeida as soon as the Saudi-led coalition gives the go-ahead. The coalition had said it would lift its blockade of the port from Thursday but it remains in place. The United Nations has warned that unless the blockade is lifted, Yemen will face "the largest famine the world has seen for decades". Seven million Yemenis are completely dependent on relief supplies for their survival, according to the UN.

First aid flight lands in rebel-held Yemen capital after weeks

The UN Command released dramatic<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/north-korean-defector-was-shot-six-times-by-border-troops-unc-24148"> CCTV footage of the North Korean soldier </a>who had crossed over to South Korea a fortnight ago.

UN Command spokesman Colonel Chad Carroll said one of the border guards ran across the military demarcation line for a &quot;few seconds before returning back to the north side.&quot;

The defector was shot at least six times as tried to escape to Panmunjom truce village on November 13.

The man who is reportedly a low ranking soldier was shot in the shoulder and elbow and was picked up bleeding on the south side of the border known as the Joint Security Area (JSA). The UN had called it a serious &quot;breach of the 1953 ceasefire&quot;.

No tourists were in the Joint Security Area at the time and there was no exchange of gunfire between the two sides.

Meanwhile, the defector who is being treated at a hospital in Seoul has regained consciousness, reports said.

He was still &quot;depressed&quot; and would spend several more days in intensive care, AFP reported.

&quot;As the patient is showing signs of depression due to intense psychological stress following two rounds of major surgeries, he will undergo tests for post-traumatic stress disorder,&quot; doctor Lee Cook-Jong told reporters.

&quot;It&#39;s not like the patient will open his eyes and walk out of the hospital after surgery as you see in movies,&quot; he said.

UN Command spokesman&nbsp;said UNC has requested a meeting with North Korean officials to discuss measures to prevent future such violations along the demilitarized zone.

UN Command spokesman Colonel Chad Carroll said one of the border guards ran across the military demarcation line for a "few seconds before returning back to the north side."

The UN Command released dramatic CCTV footage of the North Korean soldier who had crossed over to South Korea a fortnight ago. UN Command spokesman Colonel Chad Carroll said one of the border guards ran across the military demarcation line for a "few seconds before returning back to the north side." The defector was shot at least six times as tried to escape to Panmunjom truce village on November 13. The man who is reportedly a low ranking soldier was shot in the shoulder and elbow and was picked up bleeding on the south side of the border known as the Joint Security Area (JSA). The UN had called it a serious "breach of the 1953 ceasefire". No tourists were in the Joint Security Area at the time and there was no exchange of gunfire between the two sides. Meanwhile, the defector who is being treated at a hospital in Seoul has regained consciousness, reports said. He was still "depressed" and would spend several more days in intensive care, AFP reported. "As the patient is showing signs of depression due to intense psychological stress following two rounds of major surgeries, he will undergo tests for post-traumatic stress disorder," doctor Lee Cook-Jong told reporters. "It's not like the patient will open his eyes and walk out of the hospital after surgery as you see in movies," he said. UN Command spokesman said UNC has requested a meeting with North Korean officials to discuss measures to prevent future such violations along the demilitarized zone.

Watch: CCTV footage of North Korean soldier crossing to South Korea

US&nbsp;President Donald Trump spoke on Tuesday with Russian President Vladimir Putin and the two leaders stressed the importance of the UN-led peace process in resolving the Syrian civil war, the White House said in a statement.

In the more than hour-long phone call, Trump and Putin also agreed to explore ways to cooperate in the fight against militant groups such as Islamic State, the statement said.

In addition, the two leaders discussed how to achieve peace in Ukraine and the need to keep the pressure on North Korea to end its nuclear programme, it said.

In the more than hour-long phone call, Trump and Putin agreed to explore ways to cooperate in the fight against militant groups such as Islamic State

US President Donald Trump spoke on Tuesday with Russian President Vladimir Putin and the two leaders stressed the importance of the UN-led peace process in resolving the Syrian civil war, the White House said in a statement. In the more than hour-long phone call, Trump and Putin also agreed to explore ways to cooperate in the fight against militant groups such as Islamic State, the statement said. In addition, the two leaders discussed how to achieve peace in Ukraine and the need to keep the pressure on North Korea to end its nuclear programme, it said.

Trump, Putin discuss support for UN peace process in Syria: White House

Chandra Shekhar Kundu from north Indian state West Bengal couldn&rsquo;t sleep one night when he saw two kids scavenging for food in a trash can. They looked malnourished and seemed desperate to find anything to eat. Shekhar was out that night, throwing trash after celebrating his son&rsquo;s birthday. He went back home looking for anything to give them but had no luck. He then tried to chance upon any eatery that might be open but came back disheartened.

That night, Chandra Shekhar Kundu, a computer science teacher at&nbsp;an engineering college did not sleep at all as he &ldquo;couldn&rsquo;t get their image out of (his) head. It stuck&rdquo;.

According to a recent report published by the UN&rsquo;s Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), one-third of the food produced in the world for human consumption every year, approximately 1.3 billion tonnes, gets lost or wasted. This, when The Hunger Project reports, roughly one in nine people in the world do not have enough to eat.

Less Food or Wastage

The world statistics indicate that hunger as a global problem does not majorly arise due to a shortage of food&nbsp;if at all it does, but because of mismanagement and imbalances in storage facilities, lack&nbsp;of access and a problem with our collective conscience.

&ldquo;My conscience, it&nbsp;is what didn&rsquo;t let me sleep that night&rdquo;, says Chandra Shekhar Kundu.

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<h5>My conscience, it&nbsp;is what didn&rsquo;t let me sleep that night.</h5>
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After that fateful night, Shekhar went back to college and with the help of some of his students made a documentary on food wastage. The film helped raise awareness in college and thus led to a reduced food wastage in the college canteen. It was his first victory.

Shekhar then started an organisation called Food Education and Economic Development (FEED) in 2016 to procure and provide food to the underprivileged and hungry kids in his area under Save Food, Save Life initiative. Shekhar along with a group of 135 students, teachers and social activists have tied up with hostels and mess facilities of Police and CISF barracks. He says, &ldquo;We get our stock of food from these barracks, their hostel and canteens. We are able to feed 100 children daily with this food that would have otherwise been wasted. Also, if anyone has leftover food then they call us on the helpline number and we go collect it. This food, I mention, is always fresh and not stale ever.&rdquo;

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Children in West Bengal happy after getting a free meal from FEED (WION)
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One-third food produced every year is wasted. A kid here in the picture enjoying his food given by volunteers of FEED. (WION)
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His initiative is now also recognised by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations where he discusses ways to improve upon his work. He, however, feels that the government is not very proactive in its approach to reducing&nbsp;food wastage. He adds, &ldquo;I wrote to the President of India about how this wastage should stop but there was no campaign, no reply till three months. But the State government was much more supportive.&rdquo;

A Mere Topic of Discussion?

Discussed regularly at world forums now, food wastage as an issue has taken the shape of an intellectual and&nbsp;politicised discourse.

Recognised institutes undertaking the job of studying the problems of food wastage report that the wastage happens at every level and in different ways globally. In developed countries of the Western world, consumers contribute to food wastage in high amounts while in lesser developed and developing countries like India, it happens at the retailer stage where prepared food is being sold.

Shekhar adds, &ldquo;When I started, I went around asking for leftover food of the day from various hotels and restaurants but I didn&rsquo;t get a positive response. They just wouldn&#39;t agree to give; their major concern would be &lsquo;what if someone falls sick after he or she eats, then who will take the responsibility?&rsquo; It was very tough to convince them that we would deliver the food within one hour&rsquo;s time.&quot;

&nbsp;

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So, in practice, these major retail eatery joints are happy throwing away the leftover food but not give it to those who need. That is where we, as a society, have failed.

While Chandra Shekhar Kundu continues to serve the underprivileged children in his vicinity with food and has recently opened a kindergarten school to educate those who can&rsquo;t afford, there is Islamic Relief Foundation which started a campaign called #GiftAMeal to feed the poor and underprivileged on the occasion of Ramadan, irrespective of their caste, creed or religion.

The campaign in India sourced its food from large restaurant chains like Nazeer Foods, Saleem&rsquo;s, Al Bake, Karim&rsquo;s and Hotel River View once a week for for a month. Thus, during the holy month of fasting, the organisation was able to feed poor people belonging to slum clusters, raiin baseras and homeless who sleep on the streets of Delhi and around the National Capital Region.

&nbsp;

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Islamic Relief Foundation volunteers distribute food packets to a slum kid (WION)
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People of a slum in Delhi get together to receive their free meal from Islamic Relief Foundation volunteers (WION)
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With an aim of feeding 5000 people in one month, Akmal Shareef, Islamic Relief India&rsquo;s Head of Mission for India and Nepal says, &ldquo;The smiles on people&#39;s face when they get this Ramadan special food is the satisfaction that keeps us going. It is encouraging to see so many restaurants coming together with Islamic Relief India to feed the poor and homeless of Delhi during the month of giving of Ramadan.&rdquo;

While most hotel chains and restaurants often shy off from contributing their surplus food to the needy, more&nbsp;number of hospitality chains are adopting this in an organised manner. A prominent hotel chain Manager* says, &ldquo;The hospitality sector is evolving and is now progressively incorporating elimination of food wastage as part of its CSR practices. It not only improves brand awareness and loyalty of customers but also makes the company feel good about itself.&rdquo;

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It has been seen that brand support for cause-related social issues helps create novelty for reputable hotels and restaurants. Donating of food for big chains is a matter of doing good business which involuntarily becomes a means of tackling with food waste.

The Other Side

But this isn&rsquo;t enough.

A study conducted by Indian Institute of Management, Kolkata in 2016 revealed that only 10 per cent of food&nbsp;gets cold storage facility in India. This, when accompanied by inappropriate supply chain management, results in India wasting food both at pre and post-harvest. &nbsp;

India ranks 63 among 88 countries in Global Hunger Index with 20 crore Indians sleeping hungry on any given night, but in spite of this, nearly 21 million tonnes of wheat are wasted in India each year instead of reaching the needy.

India is not unique to food wastage but it needs to learn a lot from the world countries in tackling with hunger. In February 2016, the French national assembly voted to ban supermarkets from throwing unsold food that had not spoiled. Some restaurants in Germany ask people to pay extra if they do not finish the food on their plate. Scotland was able to reduce food wastage in restaurants by providing them with doggy bags so they could get leftover food packed and some even give an option of changing portion sizes. Wonder what we are waiting for?

* Name of person and hotel chain withheld upon request for anonymity

(WION)

While Indians go hungry, nearly 21 million tonnes of wheat are wasted in India each year instead of reaching the needy

Chandra Shekhar Kundu from north Indian state West Bengal couldn’t sleep one night when he saw two kids scavenging for food in a trash can. They looked malnourished and seemed desperate to find anything to eat. Shekhar was out that night, throwing trash after celebrating his son’s birthday. He went back home looking for anything to give them but had no luck. He then tried to chance upon any eatery that might be open but came back disheartened. That night, Chandra Shekhar Kundu, a computer science teacher at an engineering college did not sleep at all as he “couldn’t get their image out of (his) head. It stuck”. According to a recent report published by the UN’s Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), one-third of the food produced in the world for human consumption every year, approximately 1.3 billion tonnes, gets lost or wasted. This, when The Hunger Project reports, roughly one in nine people in the world do not have enough to eat. Less Food or Wastage The world statistics indicate that hunger as a global problem does not majorly arise due to a shortage of food if at all it does, but because of mismanagement and imbalances in storage facilities, lack of access and a problem with our collective conscience. “My conscience, it is what didn’t let me sleep that night”, says Chandra Shekhar Kundu. My conscience, it is what didn’t let me sleep that night. × After that fateful night, Shekhar went back to college and with the help of some of his students made a documentary on food wastage. The film helped raise awareness in college and thus led to a reduced food wastage in the college canteen. It was his first victory. Shekhar then started an organisation called Food Education and Economic Development (FEED) in 2016 to procure and provide food to the underprivileged and hungry kids in his area under Save Food, Save Life initiative. Shekhar along with a group of 135 students, teachers and social activists have tied up with hostels and mess facilities of Police and CISF barracks. He says, “We get our stock of food from these barracks, their hostel and canteens. We are able to feed 100 children daily with this food that would have otherwise been wasted. Also, if anyone has leftover food then they call us on the helpline number and we go collect it. This food, I mention, is always fresh and not stale ever.” Children in West Bengal happy after getting a free meal from FEED (WION) × One-third food produced every year is wasted. A kid here in the picture enjoying his food given by volunteers of FEED. (WION) × His initiative is now also recognised by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations where he discusses ways to improve upon his work. He, however, feels that the government is not very proactive in its approach to reducing food wastage. He adds, “I wrote to the President of India about how this wastage should stop but there was no campaign, no reply till three months. But the State government was much more supportive.” A Mere Topic of Discussion? Discussed regularly at world forums now, food wastage as an issue has taken the shape of an intellectual and politicised discourse. Recognised institutes undertaking the job of studying the problems of food wastage report that the wastage happens at every level and in different ways globally. In developed countries of the Western world, consumers contribute to food wastage in high amounts while in lesser developed and developing countries like India, it happens at the retailer stage where prepared food is being sold. Shekhar adds, “When I started, I went around asking for leftover food of the day from various hotels and restaurants but I didn’t get a positive response. They just wouldn't agree to give; their major concern would be ‘what if someone falls sick after he or she eats, then who will take the responsibility?’ It was very tough to convince them that we would deliver the food within one hour’s time." Hotels wouldn't give leftover food--their major concern would be ‘what if someone falls sick after eating, then who will take the responsibility?’ × So, in practice, these major retail eatery joints are happy throwing away the leftover food but not give it to those who need. That is where we, as a society, have failed. While Chandra Shekhar Kundu continues to serve the underprivileged children in his vicinity with food and has recently opened a kindergarten school to educate those who can’t afford, there is Islamic Relief Foundation which started a campaign called #GiftAMeal to feed the poor and underprivileged on the occasion of Ramadan, irrespective of their caste, creed or religion. The campaign in India sourced its food from large restaurant chains like Nazeer Foods, Saleem’s, Al Bake, Karim’s and Hotel River View once a week for for a month. Thus, during the holy month of fasting, the organisation was able to feed poor people belonging to slum clusters, raiin baseras and homeless who sleep on the streets of Delhi and around the National Capital Region. Islamic Relief Foundation volunteers distribute food packets to a slum kid (WION) × People of a slum in Delhi get together to receive their free meal from Islamic Relief Foundation volunteers (WION) × With an aim of feeding 5000 people in one month, Akmal Shareef, Islamic Relief India’s Head of Mission for India and Nepal says, “The smiles on people's face when they get this Ramadan special food is the satisfaction that keeps us going. It is encouraging to see so many restaurants coming together with Islamic Relief India to feed the poor and homeless of Delhi during the month of giving of Ramadan.” While most hotel chains and restaurants often shy off from contributing their surplus food to the needy, more number of hospitality chains are adopting this in an organised manner. A prominent hotel chain Manager* says, “The hospitality sector is evolving and is now progressively incorporating elimination of food wastage as part of its CSR practices. It not only improves brand awareness and loyalty of customers but also makes the company feel good about itself.” Hotels now adopt elimination of food wastage as part of their CSR practices, as it improves their brand awareness and loyalty of customers. × It has been seen that brand support for cause-related social issues helps create novelty for reputable hotels and restaurants. Donating of food for big chains is a matter of doing good business which involuntarily becomes a means of tackling with food waste. The Other Side But this isn’t enough. A study conducted by Indian Institute of Management, Kolkata in 2016 revealed that only 10 per cent of food gets cold storage facility in India. This, when accompanied by inappropriate supply chain management, results in India wasting food both at pre and post-harvest. India ranks 63 among 88 countries in Global Hunger Index with 20 crore Indians sleeping hungry on any given night, but in spite of this, nearly 21 million tonnes of wheat are wasted in India each year instead of reaching the needy. India is not unique to food wastage but it needs to learn a lot from the world countries in tackling with hunger. In February 2016, the French national assembly voted to ban supermarkets from throwing unsold food that had not spoiled. Some restaurants in Germany ask people to pay extra if they do not finish the food on their plate. Scotland was able to reduce food wastage in restaurants by providing them with doggy bags so they could get leftover food packed and some even give an option of changing portion sizes. Wonder what we are waiting for? * Name of person and hotel chain withheld upon request for anonymity (WION)

Children's Day: No child should go to bed hungry

UK and India are locked in a bitter battle over the appointment of a judge in&nbsp;the International Court of Justice(ICJ) with India accusing Theresa May&#39;s government of&nbsp; &quot;misusing&quot;&nbsp;UN Security Council membership by pushing for a joint conference mechanism.

India&#39;s Dalveer Bhandari is the&nbsp;front-runner, with nearly two-thirds of members of the UN General Assembly supporting him but the UK is threatening to use its power as the permanent member of the UN Security Council (UNSC) to end the process of voting.&nbsp;

The UK government instead plans&nbsp;to implement a mechanism of Joint Conference, comprising three members each from the United Nations General Assembly(GA) and Security&nbsp;Council&nbsp;as a substitute to voting which has never been used earlier over the appointment of judges to the world court.

While speaking to WION Shashi Tharoor explained this complicated&nbsp;ICJ standoff.&nbsp;

&quot;The matter further complicates by the fact Greenwood is an English British and Britain being the permanent member&nbsp;there and obviously have an opportunity to lobby effectively for him with the other members of the security council.&quot;&nbsp;

Watch the entire video here

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Tharoor added that &quot;we need to do an effective job in either persuading the brits to step down or persuading any one or two members of the security council to stop&nbsp;their stubborn support to the British&quot;&nbsp;

One-third of the court&#39;s 15-member bench is elected every three years for a nine-year term, elections for which are held separately but simultaneously in the United Nations General Assembly and Security Council in New York.

In all previous incidents, the candidate getting the majority in the General Assembly has eventually been elected a judge of&nbsp;International Court of Justice. Greenwood, who has already served one nine-year term in ICJ, is trailing behind more than 50 votes in the General Assembly. However, he received nine against five for Mr Bhandari in the Security Council.

To win ICJ election, a candidate needs to get the majority in both the General Assembly and the Security Council, which has not been the case in the 11 rounds of voting so far.

&nbsp;

Nearly two-thirds of members of the UN General Assembly are supporting India's Dalveer Bhandari

UK and India are locked in a bitter battle over the appointment of a judge in the International Court of Justice(ICJ) with India accusing Theresa May's government of "misusing" UN Security Council membership by pushing for a joint conference mechanism. India's Dalveer Bhandari is the front-runner, with nearly two-thirds of members of the UN General Assembly supporting him but the UK is threatening to use its power as the permanent member of the UN Security Council (UNSC) to end the process of voting. The UK government instead plans to implement a mechanism of Joint Conference, comprising three members each from the United Nations General Assembly(GA) and Security Council as a substitute to voting which has never been used earlier over the appointment of judges to the world court. While speaking to WION Shashi Tharoor explained this complicated ICJ standoff. "The matter further complicates by the fact Greenwood is an English British and Britain being the permanent member there and obviously have an opportunity to lobby effectively for him with the other members of the security council." Watch the entire video here × Tharoor added that "we need to do an effective job in either persuading the brits to step down or persuading any one or two members of the security council to stop their stubborn support to the British" One-third of the court's 15-member bench is elected every three years for a nine-year term, elections for which are held separately but simultaneously in the United Nations General Assembly and Security Council in New York. In all previous incidents, the candidate getting the majority in the General Assembly has eventually been elected a judge of International Court of Justice. Greenwood, who has already served one nine-year term in ICJ, is trailing behind more than 50 votes in the General Assembly. However, he received nine against five for Mr Bhandari in the Security Council. To win ICJ election, a candidate needs to get the majority in both the General Assembly and the Security Council, which has not been the case in the 11 rounds of voting so far.

Britain obviously has an opportunity to lobby for Greenwood with other UN members: Shashi Tharoor to WION

&quot;Sexual violence is everywhere - in the industry where I work, in business, in universities, in politics, in the military, and across the world,&quot; said the Oscar-winning actress Angelina Jolie.

Delivering the keynote address at the UN Peacekeeping Defense Ministerial Conference in Vancouver, the actor, who is one of many women who came forward with accusations against Harvey Weinstein, addressed the recent stream of sexual abuse allegations in Hollywood. 
 
&quot;All too often, these kinds of crimes against women are laughed off, depicted as a minor offence by someone who cannot control themselves, as an illness, or as some kind of exaggerated sexual need,&quot; Jolie stated in her keynote speech, as reported by The Independent.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;But a man who mistreats women is not oversexed. He is abusive.&quot;The 42-year-old, who is a Special Envoy for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, called for sexual violence to be recognised around the world as a weapon and &quot;a critical obstacle to achieving women`s equality and our full human rights.&quot; 
 
&quot;It is cheaper than a bullet, and it has lasting consequences that unfold with sickening predictability that make it so cruelly effective,&quot; the By The Sea&nbsp;star continued.&nbsp;&quot;This is rape and assault designed to torture, to terrorize, to force people to flee, and to humiliate them.&quot; 
 
&quot;Even if we accept that sexual violence has nothing to do with sex, that it is a crime, and that it is used as a weapon, many people still believe that it is simply not possible to do anything about it,&quot; she said.&nbsp;&quot;It is hard, but it is not impossible. We have the laws, the institutions, and the expertise in gathering evidence. We are able to identify perpetrators. What is missing is the political will.&quot; 
&nbsp;

"Sexual violence is everywhere - in the industry where I work, in business, in universities, in politics, in the military, and across the world," said the Oscar-winning actress Angelina Jolie.

"Sexual violence is everywhere - in the industry where I work, in business, in universities, in politics, in the military, and across the world," said the Oscar-winning actress Angelina Jolie. Delivering the keynote address at the UN Peacekeeping Defense Ministerial Conference in Vancouver, the actor, who is one of many women who came forward with accusations against Harvey Weinstein, addressed the recent stream of sexual abuse allegations in Hollywood. "All too often, these kinds of crimes against women are laughed off, depicted as a minor offence by someone who cannot control themselves, as an illness, or as some kind of exaggerated sexual need," Jolie stated in her keynote speech, as reported by The Independent. "But a man who mistreats women is not oversexed. He is abusive."The 42-year-old, who is a Special Envoy for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, called for sexual violence to be recognised around the world as a weapon and "a critical obstacle to achieving women`s equality and our full human rights." "It is cheaper than a bullet, and it has lasting consequences that unfold with sickening predictability that make it so cruelly effective," the By The Sea star continued. "This is rape and assault designed to torture, to terrorize, to force people to flee, and to humiliate them." "Even if we accept that sexual violence has nothing to do with sex, that it is a crime, and that it is used as a weapon, many people still believe that it is simply not possible to do anything about it," she said. "It is hard, but it is not impossible. We have the laws, the institutions, and the expertise in gathering evidence. We are able to identify perpetrators. What is missing is the political will."

Angelina Jolie gives powerful speech at UN about sexual violence

UN chief Antonio Guterres today met Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi and urged her to take steps to ensure &quot;dignified&quot; return of hundreds of thousands of Muslim refugees who have fled the country to Bangladesh following violence against them.

Separately on the margins of the ASEAN summit here, the US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson also met Suu Kyi and discussed the humanitarian crisis in the Rakhine state.

In his meeting with Myanmar&#39;s State Counsellor, the UN Secretary-General highlighted the need for allowing the return of displaced Muslims who have fled to neighbouring Bangladesh.

The Rohingya issue also figured during a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump last night.

&quot;The Secretary-General and the State Counsellor discussed the situation in Rakhine State. The Secretary-General highlighted that strengthened efforts to ensure humanitarian access, safe, dignified, voluntary and sustained returns, as well as true reconciliation between communities, would be essential,&quot; the UN said in a statement.

Over 6,00,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled to Bangladesh from predominantly Buddhist Myanmar&#39;s Rakhine state since late August after large-scale violence.

The crisis erupted after Rohingya rebels attacked police posts in Rakhine, triggering a military crackdown that saw hundreds of villages reduced to ashes and sparked a massive exodus.

Top leaders of nearly 19 countries and officials of the UN and the European Union are here to attend the summits of powerful ASEAN and East Asia groupings.

Rights groups have also slammed Nobel laureate Suu Kyi, a former democracy activist, for failing to speak up for the Rohingya or condemn festering anti-Muslim sentiment in the country following the humanitarian crisis.

Guterres also mentioned about the issue at an ASEAN-UN meeting. &quot;It is a worrying escalation in a protracted tragedy and a potential source of instability in the region,&quot; he said.

According to Philippine Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque, the Rohingya issue figured during ASEAN Plenary.

&quot;Myanmar specifically said one, they are in process of attending to Kofi Annan report. Two, they welcome humanitarian assistance. And that the process of repatriation of (Rohingya) would conclude after signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with Bangladesh,&quot; Roque told a press conference.

The report by former UN chief Kofi Annan recommended a series of measures including citizenship verification and ensuring rights and equality of the refugees to defuse the crisis

Antonio Guterres urged Suu Kyi to take steps to ensure the 'dignified' return of the Rohingya

UN chief Antonio Guterres today met Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi and urged her to take steps to ensure "dignified" return of hundreds of thousands of Muslim refugees who have fled the country to Bangladesh following violence against them. Separately on the margins of the ASEAN summit here, the US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson also met Suu Kyi and discussed the humanitarian crisis in the Rakhine state. In his meeting with Myanmar's State Counsellor, the UN Secretary-General highlighted the need for allowing the return of displaced Muslims who have fled to neighbouring Bangladesh. The Rohingya issue also figured during a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump last night. "The Secretary-General and the State Counsellor discussed the situation in Rakhine State. The Secretary-General highlighted that strengthened efforts to ensure humanitarian access, safe, dignified, voluntary and sustained returns, as well as true reconciliation between communities, would be essential," the UN said in a statement. Over 6,00,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled to Bangladesh from predominantly Buddhist Myanmar's Rakhine state since late August after large-scale violence. The crisis erupted after Rohingya rebels attacked police posts in Rakhine, triggering a military crackdown that saw hundreds of villages reduced to ashes and sparked a massive exodus. Top leaders of nearly 19 countries and officials of the UN and the European Union are here to attend the summits of powerful ASEAN and East Asia groupings. Rights groups have also slammed Nobel laureate Suu Kyi, a former democracy activist, for failing to speak up for the Rohingya or condemn festering anti-Muslim sentiment in the country following the humanitarian crisis. Guterres also mentioned about the issue at an ASEAN-UN meeting. "It is a worrying escalation in a protracted tragedy and a potential source of instability in the region," he said. According to Philippine Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque, the Rohingya issue figured during ASEAN Plenary. "Myanmar specifically said one, they are in process of attending to Kofi Annan report. Two, they welcome humanitarian assistance. And that the process of repatriation of (Rohingya) would conclude after signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with Bangladesh," Roque told a press conference. The report by former UN chief Kofi Annan recommended a series of measures including citizenship verification and ensuring rights and equality of the refugees to defuse the crisis

UN chief asks Suu Kyi to allow return of Rohingya refugees

The battle for a seat in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) between India and Britain has run into a stalemate, even as Congress leader Shashi Tharoor accused the &quot;UK of trying to stall the will of the majority of the UN General Assembly&quot;.

Dalveer Bhandari from India and Christopher Greenwood from the UK are seeking re-election at the Hague-based International Court of Justice.

One-third of its 15-member bench are elected every three years for a nine-year term, elections for which are held separately but simultaneously in the United Nations General Assembly and Security Council in New York.

Last Thursday, four of the six candidates in the fray were elected as per the UN laws, got absolute majority in both the General Assembly and the Security Council.

Ronny Abraham of France, Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf of Somalia, Antonio Augusto Cancado Trindade of Brazil and Nawaf Salam of Lebanon were elected after four rounds of elections&nbsp;on Thursday.

Yesterday, the UN General Assembly and the Security Council met separately to elect the remaining one candidate for the ICJ.

In each of the five rounds of elections, Greenwood of Britain received nine votes and Bhandari got five in the UN Security Council.

Given that Britain is a Permanent member of the Security Council, Greenwood has an advantage over Bhandari.

Bhandari received an absolute majority in the General Assembly elections in all the five rounds. In fact, he increased his vote tally from&nbsp;Thursday&#39;s&nbsp;115 to 121 votes in <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/attorney-general-jeff-sessions-to-face-house-judiciary-panel-on-november-14-24132">the General Assembly elections</a> yesterday against the absolute majority number of 97.

The vote tally of Greenwood dropped from 76 to 68&nbsp;on Monday.

With the two countries in a deadlock over the one remaining ICJ seat, both the General Assembly and Security Council announced to adjourn the meeting for the election to be convened at a later date.

Ahead of the yesterday&#39;s voting, Congress leader and former top UN official Tharoor said that the &quot;voice of the General Assembly&quot; has been ignored for too long.

&quot;As the UN Security Council (SC) &amp; General Assembly (GA) vote to choose a judge for the International Court Of Justice (#ICJ) between Indian &amp; UK candidates, the legitimacy &amp; effectiveness of the UN are at stake. The voice of the GA has been ignored too long,&quot; he said in a tweet.

&quot;This time a nominee of a Permanent member of the SC has failed to get an absolute majority of the GA, for the first time in a direct contest to a major @UN organ. GA vote has turned into a protest against an unwarranted extension of privilege for 70+ years. P5 lost by 40votes!&quot; he said.

Tharoor said the election is no longer about the judge or the country he hails from, but about the General Assembly standing up against a member of a privileged club who has lost comprehensively among the Members at large but still leads 9-6 in the Security Council &quot;UK trying to stall the will of the majority of the GA,&quot; he charged.

&quot;Deeply entrenched interests of a tiny select group cannot be allowed to prevail in areas where such privileges are not based in law. Judges to the World Court must represent the majority of the UN membership. The cozy Permanent Members club at the SC cannot keep getting its way,&quot; he charged.

Decisions at the UN, he said, must reflect the voice of? the majority of Members and cannot continue to be decided by a few states with long-held privileges.

&quot;Only that kind of multilateralism will inspire confidence among the international community, especially the younger generation,&quot; he said.

Noting that this is not about India or any single country, he said this is about the idea of justice, of equality and fairness.

&quot;It is about the future we envisage for the United Nations and the conduct of multilateralism. The time for reform is now. I call on SC members to vote for India&#39;s candidate,? he said.

&quot;Aside from these points of principle, India has always shouldered collective responsibilities with our partners in our quest for a more just global order, Our ethos also leads us towards genuine and constructive rule-based multilateralism and peaceful settlement of disputes. Vote4 India!? Tharoor said.

Dalveer Bhandari from India and Christopher Greenwood from the UK are seeking re-election at the Hague-based International Court of Justice

The battle for a seat in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) between India and Britain has run into a stalemate, even as Congress leader Shashi Tharoor accused the "UK of trying to stall the will of the majority of the UN General Assembly". Dalveer Bhandari from India and Christopher Greenwood from the UK are seeking re-election at the Hague-based International Court of Justice. One-third of its 15-member bench are elected every three years for a nine-year term, elections for which are held separately but simultaneously in the United Nations General Assembly and Security Council in New York. Last Thursday, four of the six candidates in the fray were elected as per the UN laws, got absolute majority in both the General Assembly and the Security Council. Ronny Abraham of France, Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf of Somalia, Antonio Augusto Cancado Trindade of Brazil and Nawaf Salam of Lebanon were elected after four rounds of elections on Thursday. Yesterday, the UN General Assembly and the Security Council met separately to elect the remaining one candidate for the ICJ. In each of the five rounds of elections, Greenwood of Britain received nine votes and Bhandari got five in the UN Security Council. Given that Britain is a Permanent member of the Security Council, Greenwood has an advantage over Bhandari. Bhandari received an absolute majority in the General Assembly elections in all the five rounds. In fact, he increased his vote tally from Thursday's 115 to 121 votes in the General Assembly elections yesterday against the absolute majority number of 97. The vote tally of Greenwood dropped from 76 to 68 on Monday. With the two countries in a deadlock over the one remaining ICJ seat, both the General Assembly and Security Council announced to adjourn the meeting for the election to be convened at a later date. Ahead of the yesterday's voting, Congress leader and former top UN official Tharoor said that the "voice of the General Assembly" has been ignored for too long. "As the UN Security Council (SC) & General Assembly (GA) vote to choose a judge for the International Court Of Justice (#ICJ) between Indian & UK candidates, the legitimacy & effectiveness of the UN are at stake. The voice of the GA has been ignored too long," he said in a tweet. "This time a nominee of a Permanent member of the SC has failed to get an absolute majority of the GA, for the first time in a direct contest to a major @UN organ. GA vote has turned into a protest against an unwarranted extension of privilege for 70+ years. P5 lost by 40votes!" he said. Tharoor said the election is no longer about the judge or the country he hails from, but about the General Assembly standing up against a member of a privileged club who has lost comprehensively among the Members at large but still leads 9-6 in the Security Council "UK trying to stall the will of the majority of the GA," he charged. "Deeply entrenched interests of a tiny select group cannot be allowed to prevail in areas where such privileges are not based in law. Judges to the World Court must represent the majority of the UN membership. The cozy Permanent Members club at the SC cannot keep getting its way," he charged. Decisions at the UN, he said, must reflect the voice of? the majority of Members and cannot continue to be decided by a few states with long-held privileges. "Only that kind of multilateralism will inspire confidence among the international community, especially the younger generation," he said. Noting that this is not about India or any single country, he said this is about the idea of justice, of equality and fairness. "It is about the future we envisage for the United Nations and the conduct of multilateralism. The time for reform is now. I call on SC members to vote for India's candidate,? he said. "Aside from these points of principle, India has always shouldered collective responsibilities with our partners in our quest for a more just global order, Our ethos also leads us towards genuine and constructive rule-based multilateralism and peaceful settlement of disputes. Vote4 India!? Tharoor said.

UN-ICJ-ELECTION- India, UK battle for ICJ seat run into stalemate

The Indian government in the<a href="http://www.wionews.com/south-asia/india-at-unhrc-pakistan-must-stop-acting-as-epicentre-of-terrorism-6547"> United Nations appealed to Pakistan to &quot;dismantle special terrorist zones</a> and safe havens in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir&quot;&nbsp;(PoK) at the third Universal Periodic Review (UPR).

In a statement, India<a href="http://www.wionews.com/south-asia/india-unlikely-to-accept-pakistans-kashmir-dialogue-proposal-4847"> said: &quot;Provide freedom to people of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK)</a> by ending its illegal and forceful occupation and to stop torture, enforced disappearances and unlawful killing.&quot;

India also called Pakistan to &quot;to end forced conversions and marriages of minorities, including Hindu, Sikh and Christian women, and prosecute all cases.&quot;

India requested Islamabad to fulfil international obligations under International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and Vienna Convention on Consular Relation (VCCR) and &quot;stop attacks on Muslim minorities&quot;.

Sumit Seth, first secretary at the Permanent Mission of India to UN urged Pakistan to stop the targeting of political dissidents and illegitimate criticism in Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, stop torture, enforced disappearance and unlawful killings, including that of journalists and activists by its security agencies.

India also said Pakistan &quot;should stop persecution&nbsp;of Muslim minorities such as Shias, Ahmadiyas, Ismailia and Hazaras.&quot;

In September, making a statement during the 33rd Session of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva, India had said that cross-border terrorism promoted by Pakistan was the fundamental reason for disturbances in Kashmir.

India had said that it firmly believes that a policy of &quot;zero tolerance&quot; against terrorism is as much an international obligation as it is a commitment to its own people.

India added that the fact that known terrorists like Hafiz Saeed and Syed Salahuddin have been able to hold huge rallies in Pakistan&#39;s main cities is a reflection of the state of affairs and can mean only one thing, an active support for such personalities and the designated organisations they lead in blatant disregard of rule of law is the new normal in Pakistan.

India also asked Islamabad to fulfil international obligations under International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and Vienna Convention.

The Indian government in the United Nations appealed to Pakistan to "dismantle special terrorist zones and safe havens in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir" (PoK) at the third Universal Periodic Review (UPR). In a statement, India said: "Provide freedom to people of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) by ending its illegal and forceful occupation and to stop torture, enforced disappearances and unlawful killing." India also called Pakistan to "to end forced conversions and marriages of minorities, including Hindu, Sikh and Christian women, and prosecute all cases." India requested Islamabad to fulfil international obligations under International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and Vienna Convention on Consular Relation (VCCR) and "stop attacks on Muslim minorities". Sumit Seth, first secretary at the Permanent Mission of India to UN urged Pakistan to stop the targeting of political dissidents and illegitimate criticism in Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, stop torture, enforced disappearance and unlawful killings, including that of journalists and activists by its security agencies. India also said Pakistan "should stop persecution of Muslim minorities such as Shias, Ahmadiyas, Ismailia and Hazaras." In September, making a statement during the 33rd Session of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva, India had said that cross-border terrorism promoted by Pakistan was the fundamental reason for disturbances in Kashmir. India had said that it firmly believes that a policy of "zero tolerance" against terrorism is as much an international obligation as it is a commitment to its own people. India added that the fact that known terrorists like Hafiz Saeed and Syed Salahuddin have been able to hold huge rallies in Pakistan's main cities is a reflection of the state of affairs and can mean only one thing, an active support for such personalities and the designated organisations they lead in blatant disregard of rule of law is the new normal in Pakistan.

Provide freedom to people in PoK: India to Pakistan at UN

The United Nations mission in Afghanistan said at least 10 civilians may have been killed by an air strike in the northern city of Kunduz last week, despite a US&nbsp;military investigation that found no civilian deaths.

In a series of messages on Twitter, the UN&nbsp;Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said interviews with multiple survivors, medics, elders, and others gave it a strong reason to believe that civilians were among the victims of Saturday&rsquo;s attack.

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
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Credible reports that at least 10 civilians killed in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Kunduz?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Kunduz</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Afghanistan?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Afghanistan</a> airstrike 4 Nov, UNAMA initial findings show (1/4)
&mdash; UNAMA News (@UNAMAnews) <a href="https://twitter.com/UNAMAnews/status/928087187282976768?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 8, 2017</a></blockquote>
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The statement contradicts comments from some local and Afghan military officials as well as a US&nbsp;statement on Tuesday which said that an investigation had found no evidence of civilian deaths.

The episode underlines the lack of clarity over reports of civilian casualties, an issue which is likely to become increasingly prominent as the United States steps up air strikes against the Taliban and other insurgent groups.

Captain Tom Gresback, a spokesman for the U.S. military, said the Pentagon still stood by its previous statement that found no civilian deaths.

But he added: &ldquo;U.S. Forces Afghanistan will examine and consider any credible evidence when allegations of civilian casualties are presented. We take all allegations of civilian casualties very seriously and take necessary steps to ensure that we mitigate the loss of civilian life.&rdquo;

On a visit to Kabul in September, U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said that commanders would be given greater freedom to use American firepower against the Taliban but that &ldquo;everything humanly possible&rdquo; would be done to avoid civilian casualties.

Former President Hamid Karzai, who clashed bitterly with the United States over the issue in past years, condemned the air strikes but the government of President Ashraf Ghani has so far made no public comment.

Accounts from some local officials and residents indicated that as many as 13 people were killed in air strikes in Chahardara district outside Kunduz city. Some Afghan media have reported much higher figures, without independent confirmation.

Afghan special forces and the local provincial governor say 48 militants were killed but deny any civilians were killed.

In its most recent report, the United Nations said there had been a 52 percent increase in civilian casualties from air strikes in the first nine months of the year to 205 killed and 261 wounded.

The issue has particular resonance in Kunduz because it was there that 42 civilians were killed in a U.S. air strike on a hospital run by medical aid group Medecins sans Frontieres during fighting to regain the city from the Taliban in 2015.

Afghan special forces and the local provincial governor say 48 militants were killed but deny any civilians were killed.

The United Nations mission in Afghanistan said at least 10 civilians may have been killed by an air strike in the northern city of Kunduz last week, despite a US military investigation that found no civilian deaths. In a series of messages on Twitter, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said interviews with multiple survivors, medics, elders, and others gave it a strong reason to believe that civilians were among the victims of Saturday’s attack. Credible reports that at least 10 civilians killed in #Kunduz #Afghanistan airstrike 4 Nov, UNAMA initial findings show (1/4) — UNAMA News (@UNAMAnews) November 8, 2017 × The statement contradicts comments from some local and Afghan military officials as well as a US statement on Tuesday which said that an investigation had found no evidence of civilian deaths. The episode underlines the lack of clarity over reports of civilian casualties, an issue which is likely to become increasingly prominent as the United States steps up air strikes against the Taliban and other insurgent groups. Captain Tom Gresback, a spokesman for the U.S. military, said the Pentagon still stood by its previous statement that found no civilian deaths. But he added: “U.S. Forces Afghanistan will examine and consider any credible evidence when allegations of civilian casualties are presented. We take all allegations of civilian casualties very seriously and take necessary steps to ensure that we mitigate the loss of civilian life.” On a visit to Kabul in September, U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said that commanders would be given greater freedom to use American firepower against the Taliban but that “everything humanly possible” would be done to avoid civilian casualties. Former President Hamid Karzai, who clashed bitterly with the United States over the issue in past years, condemned the air strikes but the government of President Ashraf Ghani has so far made no public comment. Accounts from some local officials and residents indicated that as many as 13 people were killed in air strikes in Chahardara district outside Kunduz city. Some Afghan media have reported much higher figures, without independent confirmation. Afghan special forces and the local provincial governor say 48 militants were killed but deny any civilians were killed. In its most recent report, the United Nations said there had been a 52 percent increase in civilian casualties from air strikes in the first nine months of the year to 205 killed and 261 wounded. The issue has particular resonance in Kunduz because it was there that 42 civilians were killed in a U.S. air strike on a hospital run by medical aid group Medecins sans Frontieres during fighting to regain the city from the Taliban in 2015.

10 civilians killed in US air strike on Kunduz: UN

The United Nations is set to open its first official talks on the use of autonomous weapons, but a treaty governing so-called killer robots remains far off, the ambassador leading the discussions said Friday.&nbsp;

Activists and tech leaders including Tesla&#39;s Elon Musk have called on the UN to ban fully-automated weapons systems that could revolutionize warfare while putting civilians at heightened risk.&nbsp;

The Conference on Disarmament will on Monday open five days of talks on the weaponry, but those calling for a ban will not be satisfied, said Indian ambassador Amandeep Gill, who is chairing the meeting.&nbsp;

&quot;It would be very easy to just legislate a ban but I think... rushing ahead in a very complex subject is not wise,&quot; he told reporters.&nbsp;

&quot;We are just at the starting line.&quot;

He said the discussion, which will also include civil society and technology companies, will be partly focused on understanding the types of weapons in the pipeline.&nbsp;

Proponents of a ban, including the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots pressure group, insist that human beings must ultimately be responsible for the final decision to kill or destroy.&nbsp;

They argue that any weapons system that delegates the decision on an individual strike to an algorithm is by definition illegal because computers cannot be held accountable under the international humanitarian law.

Gill said there was agreement among nations that &quot;human beings have to remain responsible for decisions that involve life and death&quot;.&nbsp;

But, he said, there are varying opinions on the mechanics through which &quot;human control&quot; must govern deadly weapons.&nbsp;

The International Committee of the Red Cross, which is mandated to safeguard the laws of conflict, has also not called for a ban but has underscored the need to place limits on autonomous weapons.&nbsp;&nbsp;

&quot;Our bottom line is that machines can&#39;t apply the law and you can&#39;t transfer responsibility for legal decisions to machines&quot;, Neil Davison of the ICRC&#39;s arms unit told AFP.&nbsp;

He highlighted the problematic nature of weapons systems, where there are major variables in terms of the timing or location of an attack -- for example something that is deployed for multiple hours and programmed to strike whenever it detects an enemy target.&nbsp;

&quot;Where you have a degree of unpredictability or uncertainty in what&#39;s going to happen when you activate this weapons system then you are going to start to have problems for legal compliance&quot;, he said.&nbsp;

Computers cannot be held accountable under the international humanitarian law

The United Nations is set to open its first official talks on the use of autonomous weapons, but a treaty governing so-called killer robots remains far off, the ambassador leading the discussions said Friday. Activists and tech leaders including Tesla's Elon Musk have called on the UN to ban fully-automated weapons systems that could revolutionize warfare while putting civilians at heightened risk. The Conference on Disarmament will on Monday open five days of talks on the weaponry, but those calling for a ban will not be satisfied, said Indian ambassador Amandeep Gill, who is chairing the meeting. "It would be very easy to just legislate a ban but I think... rushing ahead in a very complex subject is not wise," he told reporters. "We are just at the starting line." He said the discussion, which will also include civil society and technology companies, will be partly focused on understanding the types of weapons in the pipeline. Proponents of a ban, including the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots pressure group, insist that human beings must ultimately be responsible for the final decision to kill or destroy. They argue that any weapons system that delegates the decision on an individual strike to an algorithm is by definition illegal because computers cannot be held accountable under the international humanitarian law. Gill said there was agreement among nations that "human beings have to remain responsible for decisions that involve life and death". But, he said, there are varying opinions on the mechanics through which "human control" must govern deadly weapons. The International Committee of the Red Cross, which is mandated to safeguard the laws of conflict, has also not called for a ban but has underscored the need to place limits on autonomous weapons. "Our bottom line is that machines can't apply the law and you can't transfer responsibility for legal decisions to machines", Neil Davison of the ICRC's arms unit told AFP. He highlighted the problematic nature of weapons systems, where there are major variables in terms of the timing or location of an attack -- for example something that is deployed for multiple hours and programmed to strike whenever it detects an enemy target. "Where you have a degree of unpredictability or uncertainty in what's going to happen when you activate this weapons system then you are going to start to have problems for legal compliance", he said.

United Nation is all set to hold it's official talk on the use of Killer Robot

United Nations aid chief in Yemen warned on Wednesday, 8th of November, that if a Saudi-led military coalition did not allow humanitarian aid access to Yemen, it would have &quot;grave implications&quot; on seven million people whose lives depend on aid relief.

The Saudi-led military coalition fighting the Houthi movement in neighbouring Yemen said on Monday, on the 6th of November that it had closed all air, land and sea ports to the Arabian Peninsula country to stem the flow of arms to the Houthis from Iran.

The move, which follows the interception of a missile fired towards the Saudi capital Riyadh on Saturday on the 4thy of November, is likely to worsen a humanitarian crisis in Yemen that according to the United Nations has pushed some seven million people to the brink of famine and left nearly 900,000 infected with cholera.

George Khoury, the head of U.N. Office for the coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Yemen urged the Saudi-led coalition to re-open an aid lifeline to bring imported food and medicine into Yemen. He said the aid workers and humanitarian aid could not reach the country due to the current blockade.

The Saudi-led military coalition fighting the Houthi movement in neighbouring Yemen said on Monday, on the 6th of November that it had closed all air, land and sea ports to the Arabian Peninsula country to stem the flow of arms to the Houthis from Iran.

United Nations aid chief in Yemen warned on Wednesday, 8th of November, that if a Saudi-led military coalition did not allow humanitarian aid access to Yemen, it would have "grave implications" on seven million people whose lives depend on aid relief. The Saudi-led military coalition fighting the Houthi movement in neighbouring Yemen said on Monday, on the 6th of November that it had closed all air, land and sea ports to the Arabian Peninsula country to stem the flow of arms to the Houthis from Iran. The move, which follows the interception of a missile fired towards the Saudi capital Riyadh on Saturday on the 4thy of November, is likely to worsen a humanitarian crisis in Yemen that according to the United Nations has pushed some seven million people to the brink of famine and left nearly 900,000 infected with cholera. George Khoury, the head of U.N. Office for the coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Yemen urged the Saudi-led coalition to re-open an aid lifeline to bring imported food and medicine into Yemen. He said the aid workers and humanitarian aid could not reach the country due to the current blockade.

Blockade by Saudi-led coalition affects lives of seven million Yemenis: UN

Russia dismissed today a report by a UN-led panel that blamed the Syrian regime for a sarin attack on the town of Khan Sheikhun and said the use of the substance was part of a &quot;theatrical performance&quot; by rebels. 
 
A panel including diplomats and military officers presented Moscow&#39;s version of events complete with diagrams and satellite imagery, saying the Syrian regime did not carry the blame for the April attack which killed over 80 people. 
 
&quot;We believe that the report turned out to be superficial, unprofessional and amateurish,&quot; said Mikhail Ulyanov, head of the foreign ministry&#39;s security and disarmament department. 
 
&quot;The mission did their research from a distance, that in itself is a scandal.&quot;&nbsp; 
 
He said &quot;the use of sarin has been confirmed&quot; but insisted it was not delivered by an aerial bomb but rather used &quot;as a theatrical performance, a provocation&quot; by the rebels. 
 
At least 87 people died on April 4 this year when sarin nerve agent projectiles were fired into Khan Sheikhun, a town in the Idlib province of northwestern Syria. 
 
Images of dead and dying victims, including young children, in the aftermath of the attack provoked global outrage and a US cruise missile strike on a regime air base. 
 
A joint panel by the United Nations and the world&#39;s chemical watchdog Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) concluded that the Syrian regime was responsible, and that the air force had dropped a bomb on the town, releasing the deadly nerve agent. 
 
Russia and Syria have, however, presented an alternative theory that an explosive device was set off on the ground. 
 
Ulyanov today suggested the sarin gas was poured inside the crater left by the bomb. 
 
Ulyanov spoke as part of a panel of foreign ministry, air force and other Russian officials presenting slides that showed elaborate diagrams of regime war planes&#39; trajectories and satellite images in an effort to cast doubt on the UN report. 
 
The Russian officials also showed video footage of rescue personnel working in the crater wearing &quot;only respirators and cotton gloves.&quot;&nbsp; 
 
Ulyanov claimed the video had been filmed after rebels detonated the bomb on the asphalt and before the sarin gas was poured into the crater. 
 
&quot;If it were an aerial bomb, the bomb&#39;s tail would be in the crater, but there are no traces of an aerial bomb,&quot; he said. 
 
Ulyanov also said witnesses cited in the UN report were not confirmed to have been in the town on April 4 and &quot;could have been sunning themselves on a beach in the United Arab Emirates.&quot;&nbsp; 
 
&quot;The verdict against Damascus that has been issued so confidently turned out to be baseless,&quot; he said. &quot;You cannot issue a verdict against Damascus based on newspaper publications.&quot;&nbsp; 
 
Ulyanov&#39;s intervention came after US President Donald Trump&#39;s White House issued a string statement denouncing Moscow&#39;s previous attempts to undermine the work of the UN- OPCW&#39;s Joint Investigative Mechanism. 
 
&quot;This unconscionable attack marks the fourth time that the JIM has confirmed that the Assad regime used chemical weapons, underscoring the brutal and horrifying barbarism of Bashar al-Assad and making the protection provided by Russia even more egregious,&quot; Trump&#39;s spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee- Sanders said. 
 
&quot;Russia&#39;s attempts to undermine and eliminate the JIM show a callous disregard for the suffering and loss of life caused by the use of chemical weapons and an utter lack of respect for international norms,&quot; she added. 
 
Despite criticising the work of the UN-OPCW on the report, Ulyanov said Russia would present a draft resolution extending its mission in Syria, following a veto on a similar US proposal in the Security Council last week. 
 
Russia previously opposed renewing the mandate of the panel, known as the Joint Investigative Mechanism, prior to the release of the Khan Sheikhun report.

Russia dismissed today a report by a UN-led panel that blamed the Syrian regime for a sarin attack on the town of Khan Sheikhun and said the use of the substance was part of a "theatrical performance" by rebels.

Russia dismissed today a report by a UN-led panel that blamed the Syrian regime for a sarin attack on the town of Khan Sheikhun and said the use of the substance was part of a "theatrical performance" by rebels. A panel including diplomats and military officers presented Moscow's version of events complete with diagrams and satellite imagery, saying the Syrian regime did not carry the blame for the April attack which killed over 80 people. "We believe that the report turned out to be superficial, unprofessional and amateurish," said Mikhail Ulyanov, head of the foreign ministry's security and disarmament department. "The mission did their research from a distance, that in itself is a scandal." He said "the use of sarin has been confirmed" but insisted it was not delivered by an aerial bomb but rather used "as a theatrical performance, a provocation" by the rebels. At least 87 people died on April 4 this year when sarin nerve agent projectiles were fired into Khan Sheikhun, a town in the Idlib province of northwestern Syria. Images of dead and dying victims, including young children, in the aftermath of the attack provoked global outrage and a US cruise missile strike on a regime air base. A joint panel by the United Nations and the world's chemical watchdog Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) concluded that the Syrian regime was responsible, and that the air force had dropped a bomb on the town, releasing the deadly nerve agent. Russia and Syria have, however, presented an alternative theory that an explosive device was set off on the ground. Ulyanov today suggested the sarin gas was poured inside the crater left by the bomb. Ulyanov spoke as part of a panel of foreign ministry, air force and other Russian officials presenting slides that showed elaborate diagrams of regime war planes' trajectories and satellite images in an effort to cast doubt on the UN report. The Russian officials also showed video footage of rescue personnel working in the crater wearing "only respirators and cotton gloves." Ulyanov claimed the video had been filmed after rebels detonated the bomb on the asphalt and before the sarin gas was poured into the crater. "If it were an aerial bomb, the bomb's tail would be in the crater, but there are no traces of an aerial bomb," he said. Ulyanov also said witnesses cited in the UN report were not confirmed to have been in the town on April 4 and "could have been sunning themselves on a beach in the United Arab Emirates." "The verdict against Damascus that has been issued so confidently turned out to be baseless," he said. "You cannot issue a verdict against Damascus based on newspaper publications." Ulyanov's intervention came after US President Donald Trump's White House issued a string statement denouncing Moscow's previous attempts to undermine the work of the UN- OPCW's Joint Investigative Mechanism. "This unconscionable attack marks the fourth time that the JIM has confirmed that the Assad regime used chemical weapons, underscoring the brutal and horrifying barbarism of Bashar al-Assad and making the protection provided by Russia even more egregious," Trump's spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee- Sanders said. "Russia's attempts to undermine and eliminate the JIM show a callous disregard for the suffering and loss of life caused by the use of chemical weapons and an utter lack of respect for international norms," she added. Despite criticising the work of the UN-OPCW on the report, Ulyanov said Russia would present a draft resolution extending its mission in Syria, following a veto on a similar US proposal in the Security Council last week. Russia previously opposed renewing the mandate of the panel, known as the Joint Investigative Mechanism, prior to the release of the Khan Sheikhun report.

Russia dismisses UN report on Syria sarin attack

Bangladesh opened talks with neighbouring Myanmar on Monday with the aim of securing the return of more than half a million Rohingya Muslim refugees from Myanmar, most of whom have arrived since late August.

The United Nations has called the exodus of 507,000 Rohingya since Aug. 25 the world&#39;s fastest-developing refugee emergency and says Buddhist-majority Myanmar is engaging in ethnic cleansing against its Rohingya Muslim minority.

Myanmar rejects that, Its forces launched an offensive in the north of Rakhine state in response to coordinated attacks by Rohingya insurgents on Aug 25.

Myanmar blames the insurgents for attacks on civilians and for setting most of the fires that have reduced more than half of more than 400 Rohingya villages in the north of Rakhine to ashes. The insurgents deny that.

Myanmar says more than 500 people have been killed in the latest violence, most of the insurgents.

Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has called for an end to the violence and for safe zones to be set up in Myanmar to enable refugees to return.

She has also called for a U.N. fact-finding mission to go to Myanmar and for Myanmar to implement recommendations on solving problems in Rakhine drawn up by a team led by former U.N. secretary-general Kofi Annan.

Bangladesh would focus on those five proposals in talks in Dhaka on Monday between Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali and Myanmar government official Kyaw Tint Swe, in particular, the return of the refugees, a Bangladeshi foreign ministry official said.

&quot;We don&#39;t think this crisis is going to be resolved in just one meeting,&quot; said the official who declined to be identified as he is not authorised to speak to media.

The crisis over Myanmar&#39;s treatment of the Rohingya is the biggest problem national leader Aung San Suu Kyi has had to face since forming a government last year after winning a landmark election in late 2015.

The Nobel peace laureate, in an address to the nation last month, said Myanmar was ready to start a verification process under a 1993 agreement with Bangladesh and &quot;refugees from this country will be accepted without any problem&quot;.

There were already about 300,000 Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh before the latest exodus.

In Myanmar, the government took diplomats to Rakhine to let them see the situation.

&quot;Maungdaw feels like a ghost town,&quot; Swiss ambassador Paul Seger said on Twitter, as he arrived in the main town in the north of Rakhine.

Myanmar has blocked most aid workers and the media from the area despite calls from Western countries for access to deal with what aid groups fear is an unfolding humanitarian crisis on both sides of the border.

PROTEST

Suu Kyi has been accused by Western critics of not speaking out strongly enough on behalf of the long-persecuted minority and of defending the army action.

The Rohingya are denied citizenship and classified as illegal immigrants, despite claiming roots in Myanmar that go back centuries, with communities marginalised and occasionally subjected to communal violence.

Suu Kyi has no power over security policy under a military-drafted constitution and the public in Myanmar, where Buddhist nationalism has surged over recent years, largely supports the offensive against the insurgents.

The United States, in its strongest criticism of Myanmar over the crisis, called last week on countries to suspend providing weapons to Myanmar&#39;s military. But it stopped short of threatening to reimpose sanctions, which were suspended under the Obama administration.

A protest against Western pressure and foreign media coverage of the crisis is planned in the biggest city of Yangon on Monday.

Myanmar has refused to grant access to a U.N. fact-finding mission but Suu Kyi appointed Annan last year to lead an advisory commission and propose solutions.

The commission presented its recommendations on Aug. 24, a day before the insurgent attacks sparked the latest crisis, among them a review of a law that links citizenship and ethnicity and leaves most Rohingya stateless.

The panel also recommended that the government hold perpetrators of rights violations accountable, ensure the right to freedom of movement for everyone in Rakhine and invest in infrastructure to lift the state out of poverty.

Suu Kyi, in her address to the nation last month, said she was committed to the recommendations.

The United Nations has called the exodus of 507,000 Rohingya since Aug. 25 the world's fastest-developing refugee emergency and says Buddhist-majority Myanmar is engaging in ethnic cleansing against its Rohingya Muslim minority

Bangladesh opened talks with neighbouring Myanmar on Monday with the aim of securing the return of more than half a million Rohingya Muslim refugees from Myanmar, most of whom have arrived since late August. The United Nations has called the exodus of 507,000 Rohingya since Aug. 25 the world's fastest-developing refugee emergency and says Buddhist-majority Myanmar is engaging in ethnic cleansing against its Rohingya Muslim minority. Myanmar rejects that, Its forces launched an offensive in the north of Rakhine state in response to coordinated attacks by Rohingya insurgents on Aug 25. Myanmar blames the insurgents for attacks on civilians and for setting most of the fires that have reduced more than half of more than 400 Rohingya villages in the north of Rakhine to ashes. The insurgents deny that. Myanmar says more than 500 people have been killed in the latest violence, most of the insurgents. Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has called for an end to the violence and for safe zones to be set up in Myanmar to enable refugees to return. She has also called for a U.N. fact-finding mission to go to Myanmar and for Myanmar to implement recommendations on solving problems in Rakhine drawn up by a team led by former U.N. secretary-general Kofi Annan. Bangladesh would focus on those five proposals in talks in Dhaka on Monday between Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali and Myanmar government official Kyaw Tint Swe, in particular, the return of the refugees, a Bangladeshi foreign ministry official said. "We don't think this crisis is going to be resolved in just one meeting," said the official who declined to be identified as he is not authorised to speak to media. The crisis over Myanmar's treatment of the Rohingya is the biggest problem national leader Aung San Suu Kyi has had to face since forming a government last year after winning a landmark election in late 2015. The Nobel peace laureate, in an address to the nation last month, said Myanmar was ready to start a verification process under a 1993 agreement with Bangladesh and "refugees from this country will be accepted without any problem". There were already about 300,000 Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh before the latest exodus. In Myanmar, the government took diplomats to Rakhine to let them see the situation. "Maungdaw feels like a ghost town," Swiss ambassador Paul Seger said on Twitter, as he arrived in the main town in the north of Rakhine. Myanmar has blocked most aid workers and the media from the area despite calls from Western countries for access to deal with what aid groups fear is an unfolding humanitarian crisis on both sides of the border. PROTEST Suu Kyi has been accused by Western critics of not speaking out strongly enough on behalf of the long-persecuted minority and of defending the army action. The Rohingya are denied citizenship and classified as illegal immigrants, despite claiming roots in Myanmar that go back centuries, with communities marginalised and occasionally subjected to communal violence. Suu Kyi has no power over security policy under a military-drafted constitution and the public in Myanmar, where Buddhist nationalism has surged over recent years, largely supports the offensive against the insurgents. The United States, in its strongest criticism of Myanmar over the crisis, called last week on countries to suspend providing weapons to Myanmar's military. But it stopped short of threatening to reimpose sanctions, which were suspended under the Obama administration. A protest against Western pressure and foreign media coverage of the crisis is planned in the biggest city of Yangon on Monday. Myanmar has refused to grant access to a U.N. fact-finding mission but Suu Kyi appointed Annan last year to lead an advisory commission and propose solutions. The commission presented its recommendations on Aug. 24, a day before the insurgent attacks sparked the latest crisis, among them a review of a law that links citizenship and ethnicity and leaves most Rohingya stateless. The panel also recommended that the government hold perpetrators of rights violations accountable, ensure the right to freedom of movement for everyone in Rakhine and invest in infrastructure to lift the state out of poverty. Suu Kyi, in her address to the nation last month, said she was committed to the recommendations.

Bangladesh to press for Muslim refugees' return to Myanmar

UN chief Antonio Guterres exhorted Myanmar&#39;s leaders to end the &quot;nightmare&quot; faced by Rohingya refugees fleeing an army campaign, after at least 19 people drowned with scores more feared dead when a boat carrying Rohingya families capsized off Bangladesh.&nbsp;

More than half a million Rohingya Muslims have poured into Bangladesh in the last month, fleeing a vicious Myanmar military crackdown on Rohingya rebels that has gutted villages across northern Rakhine state.

Scores have drowned while trying to cross waters separating the two countries, while those who survive face new dangers as they cram into squalid refugee settlements where food and clean water are in short supply.

The billowing humanitarian crisis prompted the UN Security Council to hold its first meeting on Myanmar in eight years, though the member countries failed to arrive at a joint resolution.&nbsp;

The US slammed the army for trying &quot;to cleanse the country of an ethnic minority&quot;, while Beijing and Moscow offered support to Myanmar authorities who have vehemently rebuffed allegations that ethnic cleansing is underway.

Speaking to the 15-member council, Guterres urged Myanmar to halt military operations and open humanitarian access to the conflict-wracked western region.

&quot;The situation has spiralled into the world&#39;s fastest developing refugee emergency, a humanitarian and human rights nightmare,&quot; he said while calling for those displaced by the conflict to be allowed to return home.

The UN chief noted that the &quot;systemic violence&quot; could cause unrest to spill south to the central part of Myanmar&#39;s Rakhine state, threatening 250,000 Muslims with displacement.&nbsp;

Some of the strongest criticism came from US envoy Nikki Haley, who accused Myanmar authorities of waging a &quot;brutal, sustained campaign to cleanse the country of an ethnic minority&quot;.

&quot;It should shame senior Burmese leaders who have sacrificed so much for an open, democratic Myanmar,&quot; she added, in what appeared to be a rebuke to the country&#39;s civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, whose reputation as a human rights champion has been battered by the crisis.

But Myanmar received strong backing from Russia and China, a close ally and key trade partner.&nbsp;

&quot;The international community must be aware of the difficulties faced by the Burmese government, be patient and provide its assistance,&quot; Chinese envoy Wu Haitao said.&nbsp;

&quot;We must be very careful when we talk about ethnic cleansing and genocide,&quot; added Russian ambassador Vassily Nebenzia, taking the Myanmar government line as he blamed Rohingya militants for &quot;burning villages&quot;.

Fires have razed hundreds of communities in northern Rakhine over the past month, in what rights groups say is an army-led effort to drive out the stateless minority that has faced decades of persecution.&nbsp;

Myanmar, a mainly Buddhist country, has denied the allegation and defended its operations as a proportionate crackdown on the Rohingya militants whose deadly raids on police posts on August 25 sparked the military backlash.&nbsp;

Authorities have restricted access to the epicentre of the violence but agreed this week to allow a UN visit to the conflict zone.&nbsp;

The trip has been postponed to October 2 due to bad weather, state media reported Friday.&nbsp;

Boat tragedy&nbsp;

The drowning tragedy is the latest in a series of deadly accidents as desperate refugees surge into Bangladesh, where they are penned into ramshackle tent cities amid dire shortages of nearly all forms of aid.

Witnesses and survivors said the vessel that overturned Thursday was just metres from the coast in rough waters after it was lashed by torrential rain and high winds.

There are fears the death toll could rise sharply with the International Organization for Migration saying about 100 people, mainly children, were believed aboard the downed vessel.

The bodies of 16 people, mostly children, were found Thursday and brought to a local school, said coastguard commander Nasir Uddin.

Two more bodies of young boys were retrieved Friday morning, he added, while another woman was washed ashore in a separate location.

&quot;They drowned before our eyes. Minutes later, the waves washed the bodies to the beach,&quot; said Mohammad Sohel, a local shopkeeper.

One distraught survivor said&nbsp;that his wife and one of their children had been killed when the ship sank.

&quot;The boat hit something underground as it came close to the beach. Then it overturned,&quot; said Nurus Salam, who had set off for Bangladesh from a coastal village in Myanmar late Wednesday with his family.

More than half a million Rohingya Muslims have poured into Bangladesh in the last month, fleeing a vicious Myanmar military crackdown on Rohingya rebels that has gutted villages across northern Rakhine state

UN chief Antonio Guterres exhorted Myanmar's leaders to end the "nightmare" faced by Rohingya refugees fleeing an army campaign, after at least 19 people drowned with scores more feared dead when a boat carrying Rohingya families capsized off Bangladesh. More than half a million Rohingya Muslims have poured into Bangladesh in the last month, fleeing a vicious Myanmar military crackdown on Rohingya rebels that has gutted villages across northern Rakhine state. Scores have drowned while trying to cross waters separating the two countries, while those who survive face new dangers as they cram into squalid refugee settlements where food and clean water are in short supply. The billowing humanitarian crisis prompted the UN Security Council to hold its first meeting on Myanmar in eight years, though the member countries failed to arrive at a joint resolution. The US slammed the army for trying "to cleanse the country of an ethnic minority", while Beijing and Moscow offered support to Myanmar authorities who have vehemently rebuffed allegations that ethnic cleansing is underway. Speaking to the 15-member council, Guterres urged Myanmar to halt military operations and open humanitarian access to the conflict-wracked western region. "The situation has spiralled into the world's fastest developing refugee emergency, a humanitarian and human rights nightmare," he said while calling for those displaced by the conflict to be allowed to return home. The UN chief noted that the "systemic violence" could cause unrest to spill south to the central part of Myanmar's Rakhine state, threatening 250,000 Muslims with displacement. Some of the strongest criticism came from US envoy Nikki Haley, who accused Myanmar authorities of waging a "brutal, sustained campaign to cleanse the country of an ethnic minority". "It should shame senior Burmese leaders who have sacrificed so much for an open, democratic Myanmar," she added, in what appeared to be a rebuke to the country's civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, whose reputation as a human rights champion has been battered by the crisis. But Myanmar received strong backing from Russia and China, a close ally and key trade partner. "The international community must be aware of the difficulties faced by the Burmese government, be patient and provide its assistance," Chinese envoy Wu Haitao said. "We must be very careful when we talk about ethnic cleansing and genocide," added Russian ambassador Vassily Nebenzia, taking the Myanmar government line as he blamed Rohingya militants for "burning villages". Fires have razed hundreds of communities in northern Rakhine over the past month, in what rights groups say is an army-led effort to drive out the stateless minority that has faced decades of persecution. Myanmar, a mainly Buddhist country, has denied the allegation and defended its operations as a proportionate crackdown on the Rohingya militants whose deadly raids on police posts on August 25 sparked the military backlash. Authorities have restricted access to the epicentre of the violence but agreed this week to allow a UN visit to the conflict zone. The trip has been postponed to October 2 due to bad weather, state media reported Friday. Boat tragedy The drowning tragedy is the latest in a series of deadly accidents as desperate refugees surge into Bangladesh, where they are penned into ramshackle tent cities amid dire shortages of nearly all forms of aid. Witnesses and survivors said the vessel that overturned Thursday was just metres from the coast in rough waters after it was lashed by torrential rain and high winds. There are fears the death toll could rise sharply with the International Organization for Migration saying about 100 people, mainly children, were believed aboard the downed vessel. The bodies of 16 people, mostly children, were found Thursday and brought to a local school, said coastguard commander Nasir Uddin. Two more bodies of young boys were retrieved Friday morning, he added, while another woman was washed ashore in a separate location. "They drowned before our eyes. Minutes later, the waves washed the bodies to the beach," said Mohammad Sohel, a local shopkeeper. One distraught survivor said that his wife and one of their children had been killed when the ship sank. "The boat hit something underground as it came close to the beach. Then it overturned," said Nurus Salam, who had set off for Bangladesh from a coastal village in Myanmar late Wednesday with his family.

UN chief tells Myanmar to end 'nightmare' as 19 drown in Rohingya boat capsize

Marumalarachi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) party members, Tamil Nadu, protested outside Sri Lankan High Commissioner on Wednesday over Sinhalese objection to MDMK general secretary Vaiko&#39;s speech at a UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) meet.

The party members expressed their condemnation of the act in their slogans and also burnt Sri Lankan flags while protested, reported ANI.

Vaiko, the general secretary of MDMK, was delivering a speech on the genocide of Tamils in Sri Lanka at UNHRC, Geneva after which a lady and four jawans accosted him and threatened for speaking in defence of Lankan Tamils, said a protesting party member to ANI.

He further said demanding the Indian government to call Sri Lankan High Commissioner to condemn this attitude. People of Tamil Nadu will think themselves as the second class citizens if the government failed to do so, he added.

On Monday, Vaiko claimed that he was accosted by a Sri Lankan woman and former army personnel at UN Human Rights Council in Geneva where he raised concerns over the atrocities committed by the army and the government machinery against the Tamil civilians in the island nation in his speech. &nbsp;

MDMK protested after Sinhalese objected Vaiko's speech at UN Human Rights Council

Marumalarachi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) party members, Tamil Nadu, protested outside Sri Lankan High Commissioner on Wednesday over Sinhalese objection to MDMK general secretary Vaiko's speech at a UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) meet. The party members expressed their condemnation of the act in their slogans and also burnt Sri Lankan flags while protested, reported ANI. Vaiko, the general secretary of MDMK, was delivering a speech on the genocide of Tamils in Sri Lanka at UNHRC, Geneva after which a lady and four jawans accosted him and threatened for speaking in defence of Lankan Tamils, said a protesting party member to ANI. He further said demanding the Indian government to call Sri Lankan High Commissioner to condemn this attitude. People of Tamil Nadu will think themselves as the second class citizens if the government failed to do so, he added. On Monday, Vaiko claimed that he was accosted by a Sri Lankan woman and former army personnel at UN Human Rights Council in Geneva where he raised concerns over the atrocities committed by the army and the government machinery against the Tamil civilians in the island nation in his speech.

Tamil Nadu: MDMK party members protests outside Sri Lankan High Commissioner

The United Nations Security Council will hold an urgent meeting to discuss violence churning through western Myanmar, after the UN&#39;s rights chief warned that &quot;ethnic cleansing&quot; appeared to have driven over 300,000 Rohingya Muslims from the country.

Rakhine State was plunged into crisis after Rohingya militants attacked police posts in late August, prompting a military backlash that has sent nearly a third of the Muslim minority population fleeing to Bangladesh.

Exhausted Rohingya refugees have told stories of running from soldiers and Buddhist mobs who burned their villages to the ground and killed civilians indiscriminantly, while the government blames militants for the arson.

International pressure tightened on Myanmar&#39;s government Monday, as United Nations rights chief Zeid Ra&#39;ad Al Hussein said the violence seemed to be a &quot;textbook example of ethnic cleansing&quot;.

Hours after the warning, the Security Council announced it would meet Wednesday to discuss the crisis, which has heaped global opprobrium on Myanmar&#39;s civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

A Nobel peace laureate, Suu Kyi is the focal point of anger from rights groups and a stream of fellow Nobel laureates for her failure to speak up for the Rohingya minority, who are denied citizenship and have suffered years of persecution in Buddhist-majority Myanmar.

Late Monday the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which she heads, said Myanmar &quot;welcomes the statements issued by the United Nations and a number of countries firmly condemning the terrorist attacks,&quot; without referencing the UN&#39;s charge of ethnic cleansing.

The statement also defended the military&#39;s operations as part of their &quot;legitimate duty to restore stability&quot;, saying troops were under orders &quot;to exercise all due restraint, and to take full measures to avoid collateral damage.&quot;

Britain and Sweden requested the urgent UNSC meeting amid growing international concern over the ongoing violence.

UN diplomats have said China, one of Myanmar&#39;s top trade partners, has been resisting involvement by the top UN council in addressing the crisis.

The announcement came after the White House broke its silence on the clashes, saying it was &quot;deeply troubled&quot; by attacks by both sides, including the militant ambushes in Rakhine.

Blame game

The UN special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar has said the latest violence may have left more than 1,000 dead, most of them Rohingya.

Myanmar says the number of dead is around 430, the majority of them &quot;extremist terrorists&quot;.

It says a further 30,000 ethnic Rakhine and Hindus have been displaced inside northern Rakhine, where aid programs have been severely curtailed due to the violence.

The exodus of Rohingya, which so far tops 313,000 refugees, has saddled Bangladesh with its own humanitarian crisis, as aid workers scramble to provide food and shelter to a daily stream of bedraggled refugees.

The UN-run refugee camps in its Cox&#39;s Bazar district were already packed with Rohingya who had fled from previous waves of persecution.

Most of the new arrivals are in dire need of food, medical care and shelter after trekking for days through hills and jungles or braving dangerous boat journeys.

Dhaka is providing them temporary shelter.&nbsp;

But Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who was due to visit a Rohingya camp on Tuesday, stressed it was up to Myanmar to &quot;resolve&quot; the issue.

&quot;Rohingyas are Myanmar&#39;s citizens. Now they are snatching their citizenship away in phases and forcing them out of the country,&quot; she told lawmakers on Monday night, according to local outlet bdnews24.com.

Earlier in the week Myanmar&#39;s army chief reiterated the stance of his powerful institution on the Rohingya question in a Facebook post, denying the group have ancestry inside Myanmar.

Although many Rohingya have lived in Rakhine for generations, the 1.1-million strong minority was stripped of its citizenship in 1982 by a law that did not recognise the group as an official ethnicity.

The Rohingya&#39;s failure to be &quot;scrutinised&quot; by this law is &quot;the root cause of the current problem,&quot; the army chief&#39;s post said.

&quot;The term &quot;Rohingya&quot; was not present in the country&#39;s history,&quot; the post added, a refrain often trotted out by ethnic Rakhine and Buddhist nationalists who insist on calling the Rohingya &quot;Bengalis&quot; -- or foreign interlopers.

Hatred of the Muslim minority has swelled in recent years, with Buddhist hardliners fanning fears of an Islamic takeover.&nbsp;

The latest violence has tweaked religious tensions across the country, with different ethnic groups trading allegations of who is behind the atrocities.

Dhaka, which has refused to permanently absorb the Rohingya, said it plans to build a huge new camp that will house a quarter of a million refugees.

But it remains unclear if or when they will be able to return.

Plumes of smoke continued to rise on the Myanmar side of the border this week despite the militants&#39; announcement on Sunday of a unilateral ceasefire.&nbsp;

There was no direct response from Myanmar&#39;s military, though government spokesman Zaw Htay tweeted: &quot;We have no policy to negotiate with terrorists.&quot;

Rakhine State was plunged into crisis after Rohingya militants attacked police posts in late August, prompting a military backlash that has sent nearly a third of the Muslim minority population fleeing to Bangladesh.

The United Nations Security Council will hold an urgent meeting to discuss violence churning through western Myanmar, after the UN's rights chief warned that "ethnic cleansing" appeared to have driven over 300,000 Rohingya Muslims from the country. Rakhine State was plunged into crisis after Rohingya militants attacked police posts in late August, prompting a military backlash that has sent nearly a third of the Muslim minority population fleeing to Bangladesh. Exhausted Rohingya refugees have told stories of running from soldiers and Buddhist mobs who burned their villages to the ground and killed civilians indiscriminantly, while the government blames militants for the arson. International pressure tightened on Myanmar's government Monday, as United Nations rights chief Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein said the violence seemed to be a "textbook example of ethnic cleansing". Hours after the warning, the Security Council announced it would meet Wednesday to discuss the crisis, which has heaped global opprobrium on Myanmar's civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi. A Nobel peace laureate, Suu Kyi is the focal point of anger from rights groups and a stream of fellow Nobel laureates for her failure to speak up for the Rohingya minority, who are denied citizenship and have suffered years of persecution in Buddhist-majority Myanmar. Late Monday the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which she heads, said Myanmar "welcomes the statements issued by the United Nations and a number of countries firmly condemning the terrorist attacks," without referencing the UN's charge of ethnic cleansing. The statement also defended the military's operations as part of their "legitimate duty to restore stability", saying troops were under orders "to exercise all due restraint, and to take full measures to avoid collateral damage." Britain and Sweden requested the urgent UNSC meeting amid growing international concern over the ongoing violence. UN diplomats have said China, one of Myanmar's top trade partners, has been resisting involvement by the top UN council in addressing the crisis. The announcement came after the White House broke its silence on the clashes, saying it was "deeply troubled" by attacks by both sides, including the militant ambushes in Rakhine. Blame game The UN special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar has said the latest violence may have left more than 1,000 dead, most of them Rohingya. Myanmar says the number of dead is around 430, the majority of them "extremist terrorists". It says a further 30,000 ethnic Rakhine and Hindus have been displaced inside northern Rakhine, where aid programs have been severely curtailed due to the violence. The exodus of Rohingya, which so far tops 313,000 refugees, has saddled Bangladesh with its own humanitarian crisis, as aid workers scramble to provide food and shelter to a daily stream of bedraggled refugees. The UN-run refugee camps in its Cox's Bazar district were already packed with Rohingya who had fled from previous waves of persecution. Most of the new arrivals are in dire need of food, medical care and shelter after trekking for days through hills and jungles or braving dangerous boat journeys. Dhaka is providing them temporary shelter. But Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who was due to visit a Rohingya camp on Tuesday, stressed it was up to Myanmar to "resolve" the issue. "Rohingyas are Myanmar's citizens. Now they are snatching their citizenship away in phases and forcing them out of the country," she told lawmakers on Monday night, according to local outlet bdnews24.com. Earlier in the week Myanmar's army chief reiterated the stance of his powerful institution on the Rohingya question in a Facebook post, denying the group have ancestry inside Myanmar. Although many Rohingya have lived in Rakhine for generations, the 1.1-million strong minority was stripped of its citizenship in 1982 by a law that did not recognise the group as an official ethnicity. The Rohingya's failure to be "scrutinised" by this law is "the root cause of the current problem," the army chief's post said. "The term "Rohingya" was not present in the country's history," the post added, a refrain often trotted out by ethnic Rakhine and Buddhist nationalists who insist on calling the Rohingya "Bengalis" -- or foreign interlopers. Hatred of the Muslim minority has swelled in recent years, with Buddhist hardliners fanning fears of an Islamic takeover. The latest violence has tweaked religious tensions across the country, with different ethnic groups trading allegations of who is behind the atrocities. Dhaka, which has refused to permanently absorb the Rohingya, said it plans to build a huge new camp that will house a quarter of a million refugees. But it remains unclear if or when they will be able to return. Plumes of smoke continued to rise on the Myanmar side of the border this week despite the militants' announcement on Sunday of a unilateral ceasefire. There was no direct response from Myanmar's military, though government spokesman Zaw Htay tweeted: "We have no policy to negotiate with terrorists."

UN to discuss Myanmar after Rohingya 'ethnic cleansing' claim

Asian shares eked out small gains on Tuesday as expectations that Beijing will maintain support for its economy ahead of a key congress supported Chinese stocks and metals prices, but worries about North Korea kept many investors on edge.

European shares were expected rise slightly after a slide on Monday. Spread betters see Germany&#39;s DAX and France&#39;s CAC gaining 0.3 percent and Britain&#39;s FTSE 0.1 percent.

But Wall Street looked set to open slightly softer after a long holiday weekend during which Pyongyang triggered its most powerful nuclear test yet. S&amp;P500 mini futures, which had slid on Monday, last stood at 2,469, 0.2 percent below Friday&#39;s close.

MSCI&#39;s index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.2 percent thanks to gains in Chinese shares, though many markets were in the red.

Japan&#39;s Nikkei fell 0.6 percent on fears that more provocation from North Korea is possible. Media said the North appeared to be preparing for further ballistic missile tests.

The White House said on Monday that &quot;all options to address the North Korean threat are on the table&quot; while US&nbsp;Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley urged the 15-member UN&nbsp;Security Council to impose the &quot;strongest possible&quot; sanctions to deter Pyongyang.

&quot;It&#39;s not clear whether diplomacy can solve this problem given it has failed for the last 25 years,&quot; said Norihiro Fujito, senior investment strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities.

&quot;But the US&nbsp;doesn&#39;t seem to be ready for a military action soon, either. So we are likely to see continued stalemate, which will keep a tab on share prices.&quot;

Fears about North Korea kept safe-haven assets in demand, with gold rising 0.1 percent to $1,336 per ounce, after having hit a 11-month high of $1,339.8 on Monday.

In the currency market, the yen, which usually gains on risk aversion due to Japan&#39;s net creditor nation status, gained 0.4 percent to 109.32 yen to the dollar, near Monday&#39;s high of 109.22 yen.

The euro slightly extended its gains to trade at $1.1905.

But it kept some distance from a 2-1/2-year high of $1.2070 hit last week on rising expectations that a stronger euro could slow the European Central Bank&#39;s (ECB) plans to rein in its bond-buying stimulus scheme.

The Chinese yuan hit a near 16-month high of 6.515 per dollar. It has gained 2.0 percent in less than two weeks, a sizable move for the pair, in response to dollar weakness and a series of stronger midpoints set by the central bank.

The Shanghai composite index of mainland Chinese shares hit its highest levels since January 2016, due to solid economic and earnings growth in China in recent months and expectations that Beijing will not tolerate any disruptions ahead of a key Communist Party Congress in mid-October.

Such expectations also helped to lift copper to a near three-year of $6,944.5 per tonne. It last stood at $6,933, up 0.2 percent on the day.

The prices of steel and iron ore have rallied in recent weeks.

But some analysts say profit-taking in base metals could start soon.

&quot;Now that Beijing fixed its schedule on the national congress, it may no longer accelerate infrastructure spending,&quot; said Tatsufumi Okoshi, senior economist at Nomura Securities.

&quot;We should be mindful of the possibility that iron ores, steel and other non-ferrous metals will peak out soon.&quot;

US&nbsp;crude oil prices edged higher while U.S. gasoline prices slumped to pre-Hurricane Harvey levels, as oil refineries and pipelines in the US&nbsp;Gulf Coast slowly resumed activity, easing supply concerns.

US&nbsp;West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures ticked up 0.2 percent to trade at $47.38 per barrel.

The return of US&nbsp;refineries ended a spike in gasoline prices as initial fears of a serious supply crunch faded.

US&nbsp;gasoline futures dropped 4.1 percent from their last close, to $1.67 per gallon, down from $2.17 touched on Aug. 31 and back to levels last seen before Harvey hit the US&nbsp;Gulf coast and its large refining industry.

Elsewhere, bitcoin dropped further from Saturday&#39;s all-time high of $4,979.9 to trade at $4,012 after China on Monday banned the practice of raising funds through launches of token-based digital currencies, or so-called initial coin offerings (ICO).

European shares were expected rise slightly after a slide on Monday. Spread betters see Germany's DAX and France's CAC gaining 0.3 percent and Britain's FTSE 0.1 percent.

Asian shares eked out small gains on Tuesday as expectations that Beijing will maintain support for its economy ahead of a key congress supported Chinese stocks and metals prices, but worries about North Korea kept many investors on edge. European shares were expected rise slightly after a slide on Monday. Spread betters see Germany's DAX and France's CAC gaining 0.3 percent and Britain's FTSE 0.1 percent. But Wall Street looked set to open slightly softer after a long holiday weekend during which Pyongyang triggered its most powerful nuclear test yet. S&P500 mini futures, which had slid on Monday, last stood at 2,469, 0.2 percent below Friday's close. MSCI's index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.2 percent thanks to gains in Chinese shares, though many markets were in the red. Japan's Nikkei fell 0.6 percent on fears that more provocation from North Korea is possible. Media said the North appeared to be preparing for further ballistic missile tests. The White House said on Monday that "all options to address the North Korean threat are on the table" while US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley urged the 15-member UN Security Council to impose the "strongest possible" sanctions to deter Pyongyang. "It's not clear whether diplomacy can solve this problem given it has failed for the last 25 years," said Norihiro Fujito, senior investment strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities. "But the US doesn't seem to be ready for a military action soon, either. So we are likely to see continued stalemate, which will keep a tab on share prices." Fears about North Korea kept safe-haven assets in demand, with gold rising 0.1 percent to $1,336 per ounce, after having hit a 11-month high of $1,339.8 on Monday. In the currency market, the yen, which usually gains on risk aversion due to Japan's net creditor nation status, gained 0.4 percent to 109.32 yen to the dollar, near Monday's high of 109.22 yen. The euro slightly extended its gains to trade at $1.1905. But it kept some distance from a 2-1/2-year high of $1.2070 hit last week on rising expectations that a stronger euro could slow the European Central Bank's (ECB) plans to rein in its bond-buying stimulus scheme. The Chinese yuan hit a near 16-month high of 6.515 per dollar. It has gained 2.0 percent in less than two weeks, a sizable move for the pair, in response to dollar weakness and a series of stronger midpoints set by the central bank. The Shanghai composite index of mainland Chinese shares hit its highest levels since January 2016, due to solid economic and earnings growth in China in recent months and expectations that Beijing will not tolerate any disruptions ahead of a key Communist Party Congress in mid-October. Such expectations also helped to lift copper to a near three-year of $6,944.5 per tonne. It last stood at $6,933, up 0.2 percent on the day. The prices of steel and iron ore have rallied in recent weeks. But some analysts say profit-taking in base metals could start soon. "Now that Beijing fixed its schedule on the national congress, it may no longer accelerate infrastructure spending," said Tatsufumi Okoshi, senior economist at Nomura Securities. "We should be mindful of the possibility that iron ores, steel and other non-ferrous metals will peak out soon." US crude oil prices edged higher while U.S. gasoline prices slumped to pre-Hurricane Harvey levels, as oil refineries and pipelines in the US Gulf Coast slowly resumed activity, easing supply concerns. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures ticked up 0.2 percent to trade at $47.38 per barrel. The return of US refineries ended a spike in gasoline prices as initial fears of a serious supply crunch faded. US gasoline futures dropped 4.1 percent from their last close, to $1.67 per gallon, down from $2.17 touched on Aug. 31 and back to levels last seen before Harvey hit the US Gulf coast and its large refining industry. Elsewhere, bitcoin dropped further from Saturday's all-time high of $4,979.9 to trade at $4,012 after China on Monday banned the practice of raising funds through launches of token-based digital currencies, or so-called initial coin offerings (ICO).

Global stocks on defensive after selloff on North Korea fears

A UN committee tasked with combatting racism has issued a formal &quot;early warning&quot; over conditions in the United States, a rare move often used to signal the potential of a looming civil conflict.&nbsp;

The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination said it had invoked its &quot;early warning and urgent action procedure&quot; because of the proliferation of racist demonstrations in the US.

It specifically noted the unrest in Charlottesville, Virginia, in which a woman was killed after an avowed white supremacist ploughed his car into a group of anti-racism counterprotestors.

The racism committee, part of the UN human rights office, can issue a formal early warning to help prevent &quot;existing problems from escalating into conflict&quot; or to &quot;prevent a resumption of conflict where it has previously occurred&quot;, according to the rights office website.&nbsp;

President Donald Trump has been widely criticised for his response to the Charlottesville clashes, after he said &quot;both sides&quot; were to blame for the violence.

The UN committee urged Washington, &quot;as well as high-level politicians and public officials, to unequivocally and unconditionally reject and condemn racist hate speech&quot;, without mentioning Trump by name.&nbsp;

&quot;We are alarmed by the racist demonstrations, with overtly racist slogans, chants and salutes by white nationalists, neo-Nazis, and the Ku Klux Klan, promoting white supremacy and inciting racial discrimination and hatred,&quot; committee head Anastasia Crickley said in a statement.&nbsp;

The committee monitors compliance with the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, which the US ratified in 1994.&nbsp;

The US warning marks the seventh such alert issued in the past decade.

They mainly concern countries gripped by ethnic and religious strife, including Burundi, Nigeria, Iraq and Ivory Coast.&nbsp;

The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination said it had invoked its 'early warning and urgent action procedure' because of the proliferation of racist demonstrations in the US

A UN committee tasked with combatting racism has issued a formal "early warning" over conditions in the United States, a rare move often used to signal the potential of a looming civil conflict. The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination said it had invoked its "early warning and urgent action procedure" because of the proliferation of racist demonstrations in the US. It specifically noted the unrest in Charlottesville, Virginia, in which a woman was killed after an avowed white supremacist ploughed his car into a group of anti-racism counterprotestors. The racism committee, part of the UN human rights office, can issue a formal early warning to help prevent "existing problems from escalating into conflict" or to "prevent a resumption of conflict where it has previously occurred", according to the rights office website. President Donald Trump has been widely criticised for his response to the Charlottesville clashes, after he said "both sides" were to blame for the violence. The UN committee urged Washington, "as well as high-level politicians and public officials, to unequivocally and unconditionally reject and condemn racist hate speech", without mentioning Trump by name. "We are alarmed by the racist demonstrations, with overtly racist slogans, chants and salutes by white nationalists, neo-Nazis, and the Ku Klux Klan, promoting white supremacy and inciting racial discrimination and hatred," committee head Anastasia Crickley said in a statement. The committee monitors compliance with the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, which the US ratified in 1994. The US warning marks the seventh such alert issued in the past decade. They mainly concern countries gripped by ethnic and religious strife, including Burundi, Nigeria, Iraq and Ivory Coast.

UN racism committee issues 'warning' over US tensions

Australia looks set to fill one of two vacancies on the United Nations Human Rights Council following France&#39;s withdrawal from the process, the Herald Sun newspaper said on Saturday, quoting remarks by Foreign Minister Julie Bishop.

The appointment would be Australia&#39;s first to the powerful body, coming amid criticism of its own human rights record against indigenous people and asylum seekers in offshore detention centres on Nauru and Papua New Guinea&#39;s Manus Island.

&quot;We didn&rsquo;t use our aid budget, we didn&#39;t make promises we couldn&rsquo;t keep,&quot; the paper quoted Bishop as saying on Friday in the Serbian capital of Belgrade. &quot;We very much campaigned on our record and how we would act on the Human Rights Council.&quot;

Australia secured 141 written pledges and more than 20 verbal pledges from 192 UN&nbsp;members to back its bid, the paper said.

On Saturday, Bishop&#39;s office said it could not confirm Australia had been guaranteed a spot, but added, &quot;We are looking forward to making a positive contribution,&quot; ahead of October&#39;s announcement of the council&#39;s composition.

The UN&nbsp;has previously criticised Australia&#39;s treatment of its indigenous peoples, with a report from its special rapporteur, Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, due in September.

The report, on her 15-day visit in March, reviewed the impact of laws surrounding the government&#39;s 2007 intervention aimed at curbing alcohol abuse, domestic violence and improving the health of indigenous Australians in remote communities.

France&#39;s foreign ministry announced its withdrawal in a statement on Thursday that backed Spain&#39;s bid for the second vacancy.

It would be Australia's first to the powerful body, coming amid criticism of its own human rights record against indigenous people and asylum seekers

Australia looks set to fill one of two vacancies on the United Nations Human Rights Council following France's withdrawal from the process, the Herald Sun newspaper said on Saturday, quoting remarks by Foreign Minister Julie Bishop. The appointment would be Australia's first to the powerful body, coming amid criticism of its own human rights record against indigenous people and asylum seekers in offshore detention centres on Nauru and Papua New Guinea's Manus Island. "We didn’t use our aid budget, we didn't make promises we couldn’t keep," the paper quoted Bishop as saying on Friday in the Serbian capital of Belgrade. "We very much campaigned on our record and how we would act on the Human Rights Council." Australia secured 141 written pledges and more than 20 verbal pledges from 192 UN members to back its bid, the paper said. On Saturday, Bishop's office said it could not confirm Australia had been guaranteed a spot, but added, "We are looking forward to making a positive contribution," ahead of October's announcement of the council's composition. The UN has previously criticised Australia's treatment of its indigenous peoples, with a report from its special rapporteur, Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, due in September. The report, on her 15-day visit in March, reviewed the impact of laws surrounding the government's 2007 intervention aimed at curbing alcohol abuse, domestic violence and improving the health of indigenous Australians in remote communities. France's foreign ministry announced its withdrawal in a statement on Thursday that backed Spain's bid for the second vacancy.

Australia set to join UN Human Rights Council: Report

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