According to an official statement by the Committee, the Nobel Peace Prize for 2020 has been decided to be given to the World Food Programme "for its efforts to combat hunger, for its contribution to bettering conditions for peace in conflict-affected areas and for acting as a driving force in efforts to prevent the use of hunger as a weapon of war and conflict."
Karex, the Malaysian company that makes roughly one in five of the world's condoms -- about five billion a year, supplying Durex and Trojan among others -- announced this week that it is raising prices by up to 30 percent. The reason is the Strait of Hormuz.
The English, Japanese, Italian and Polish versions, which were launched over the past 18 months, have totaled over 4.5 million downloads to date, making Food Force a major success story in the educational gaming sector.
The purge in Washington does not pause the war. Strikes continue, Hormuz remains closed, and Brent crude is still dancing around $109 a barrel. For India, the command chaos in the Pentagon is another layer of uncertainty piled on five weeks of conflict that was already straining every buffer Delhi has.
What we are watching is something different: A fog manufactured and maintained by the people who started the war, so that the question of why it was started never has to be answered, observes Prem Panicker in his must read blog on the war in the Middle East.
More than 100 Palestinians, including children and women, were killed and dozens of others injured since dawn on Saturday as a result of Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip.
Iran is fighting a different war: Older, slower, and in some ways more dangerous. Iran doesn't need to shoot down an F/A-18. It only needs to make the Strait of Hormuz feel dangerous long enough for insurance markets, shipping companies, and oil futures traders to do the rest. Prem Panicker continues his must-read daily blog on the war in the Middle East.
Announcing a partnership between the UN World Food Programme and the Millenia Villages Project, WFP chief Josette Sheeran said, "Hunger is on the march and is right now the most threatening Millennium Development Goal".
World Food Programme executive director Josette Sheeran said the organisation is hoping to reach 108 million people in 74 countries this year with food aid, but the UN body expects to receive only $3.7 billion of the $6.7 billion needed for 2009.
World Food Programme executive director Josette Sheeran said the organisation is hoping to reach 108 million people in 74 countries this year with food aid, but the UN body expects to receive only $3.7 billion of the $6.7 billion needed for 2009.
The grant will make funds available immediately for relief operations and enable several UN agencies, including the World Food Programme, the UN Children's Fund and the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, to provide food, shelter, water and sanitation. Citing government statistics, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that over 2,400 people are dead and 1,500 missing after Cyclone Sidr. Over 273,000 houses, 760,000 acres of crop were destroyed.
With over 600 million people in India or 53 per cent of Indian households defecating in the open, absence of toilet or latrine is one of the important contributors to malnutrition, a World Bank report has said.
United Nations leaders and agencies have welcomed the entry of a humanitarian aid convoy into Gaza via the Rafah border crossing with Egypt but noted that it is only a small beginning, still far from enough and reiterated their appeal for an immediate ceasefire.
The United Nations on Monday closed all its offices across Pakistan after a suicide attack on a World Food Programme office in the heart of the federal capital killed four persons, including an Iraqi national. UN spokesperson Ishrat Rizvi had told reporters that all UN offices in Islamabad and the nearby garrison city of Rawalpindi had been closed. Rizvi said the UN will attempt to continue its operations, including humanitarian relief programmes.
A suicide bomber struck a World Food Programme distribution centre in the restive Bajaur tribal region of northwest Pakistan on Saturday, killing at least 40 people and injuring 72 others.
At least four people, including an Iraqi national and two women, were killed and six injured on Monday when a suicide bomber disguised as a security officer struck at the UN food agency's office here, amid Taliban's warning of launching fresh strikes in Pakistan to avenge US drone attacks against them.
India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador T S Tirumurti said India remains on the side of peace.
India is looking at massive agri-business opportunities in war-ravaged Iraq, including those for sale of wheat, rice, tea and sugar, the commodities
K Natwar Singh wore many hats as he straddled the worlds of diplomacy, politics and writing but what remained consistent across decades was his sharp-wit and plainspeaking.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Monday that he has been in 'very close contact' with India and other countries on mediation efforts towards bringing an end to the war in Ukraine.
UN General Assembly President Philemon Yang will visit India from February 4 to 8, his first official trip as President of the 79th session. Yang highlighted India's "remarkable transformation" over the past decade, particularly in digital and technological innovation, and plans to see how these advancements have reached the grassroots level during his visit. He also praised India's contributions to peacekeeping, humanitarian efforts, and its voice for the Global South.
The consignments were sent in a C-17 transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force.
India has been at the forefront of efforts at the UN to push for urgent long-pending reform of the Security Council, emphasising that it rightly deserves a place at the UN high table as a permanent member.
The Taliban dispensation in Afghanistan has said that India will resume work in at least 20 stalled projects in several provinces across the war-torn country.
As the Ukraine conflict impacts the global GDP, India is projected to grow by 6.4 per cent in 2022, slower than the last year's 8.8 per cent but still the fastest-growing major economy, with higher inflationary pressures and uneven recovery of the labour market curbing private consumption and investment, according to a UN report. The UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs said in its World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) report released on Wednesday that the war in Ukraine has upended the fragile economic recovery from the pandemic, triggering a devastating humanitarian crisis in Europe, increasing food and commodity prices and globally exacerbating inflationary pressures. The global economy is now projected to grow by only 3.1 per cent in 2022, down from the 4.0 per cent growth forecast released in January 2022.
'The critical event signalling a new era for India was Dr Singh's 1991 Budget in which he quoted Victor Hugo to say that no power on earth could stop an idea whose time has come,' recalls T N Ninan.
If they can sit together and hammer out 'Black Sea Initiative' deal for much needed food shipments, surely, they should be able to address the madness of the larger military conflict?
When will the world deal with the Rohingya crisis?
India is home to the highest number of hungry people in the world.
The guidelines note that while there is not enough evidence yet to measure the impact of school closures on the disease transmission rates, the adverse effects of school closures on children's safety and learning are well documented. Gains made in increasing access to children's education in recent decades risk being lost and, in the worse cases, reversed completely.
India has so many relationships, such an ability to communicate and find touch points with different countries and regions.
rench President Emmanuel Macron and Modi have been jointly recognised in the Policy Leadership category for their pioneering work in championing the International Solar Alliance and promoting new areas of levels of cooperation on environmental action, including Macron's work on the Global Pact for the Environment and Modi's unprecedented pledge to eliminate all single-use plastic in India by 2022.
Ten days ago, Cyclone Idai, one of the most devastating storms to hit Africa in decades, made landfall in Mozambique, damaging or destroying thousands of structures. The tropical storm then moved inland, bringing heavy rain and flooding to more parts of Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Malawi. More than 750 deaths are attributed to Idai so far, while thousands remain stranded in remote rural areas. International aid is starting to reach the region, while workers struggle to repair roads, restore power, and care for the survivors -- with special attention toward preventing cholera outbreaks.
Someone suggested Jaishankar was a potential Kissinger who could try and resolve the Russia-Ukraine imbroglio through his intellectual and diplomatic strengths. But calling the spade a spade on issues like imperialism, colonialism and exploitation, he would have raised many eyebrows in the West at a time when the fractures and wounds needed to be treated and healed, observes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
Lives "will once again be at risk" if funding is not urgently secured, United Nations officials have said on the eve of the first anniversary of a military crackdown that forced them to flee their country.
Foreign Direct Investment flows to India in 2021 were 26 per cent lower, mainly because large M&A deals recorded in 2020 were not repeated, the UN trade body has said.
India has expressed concern that foreign fighters involved in the conflict in Syria have moved to other places as mercenaries, as New Delhi underlined that it is ready to play a constructive role in the Security Council to help realise the objective of the West Asian country reclaiming its place in the comity of nations.
Before releasing the September report on Annan, Volcker met Annan and his lawyer to discuss the harsh conclusion.
India has sent a team to Kabul to oversee the delivery of India's humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan and hold discussions with the Taliban over the aid provided by New Delhi.
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