New York

UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 31 (Xinhua) -- The Pakistani people are facing "a monsoon on steroids," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Tuesday, calling on the international community to take urgent, collective action to help the government and people of Pakistan in their hour of need.

"Pakistan is awash in suffering. The Pakistani people are facing a monsoon on steroids -- the relentless impact of epochal levels of rain and flooding," the UN chief said in a video message on the launch of flash appeal in support of flood response for Pakistan.

NEW YORK (AP) — As winter nears, European nations, desperate to replace the natural gas they once bought from Russia, have embraced a short-term fix: A series of roughly 20 floating terminals that would receive liquefied natural gas from other countries and convert it into heating fuel.

SCHOHARIE, N.Y. (AP) — A judge rejected a plea agreement that would have meant no prison time for the operator of a limousine company involved in a crash that killed 20 people in upstate New York. Wednesday’s turnabout drew applause and tears from victims’ relatives and plunged limo company boss Nauman Hussain into legal uncertainty.

State Supreme Court Justice Peter Lynch, who was not presiding over the case when the deal was reached a year ago in Hussain’s case, called the agreement “fundamentally flawed.”

UNITED NATIONS, Aug 30 (APP): United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will visit flood-battered Pakistan next week to see for himself the “tragic situation facing millions of men, women and children” in the worst impacted areas of the country, his spokesman said Tuesday.

Pakistan’s UN Ambassador Munir Akram, who met the UN chief yesterday, and Asim Iftikhar Ahmed, the Foreign Office spokesman, welcomed the UN chief’s move, saying they look forward to his visit which begins with his arrival in Islamabad on Friday, September 9.

UNITED NATIONS, Aug 30 (NNN-UNNS) — A peacekeeper from Burkina Faso serving in Mali has been honoured for her work to boost trust between the authorities and local communities, including survivors of gender-based violence.

Chief Warrant Officer Alizeta Kabore Kinda is the recipient of the 2022 United Nations Woman Police Officer of the Year Award, announced on Monday.

The Award was established in 2011 to recognize the exceptional contributions of women police officers to UN peace operations and to promote women’s empowerment.

UNITED NATIONS, Aug 30 (APP): The World Food Programme (WFP), a Rome-based UN agency, said Monday it is supporting Pakistan as the country takes stock of floods which have killed more than 1,000 people and displaced some 33 million.

Through its National Disaster Management Authority, the Pakistani Government – which has declared a national emergency – is leading the response in coordinating assessments and directing humanitarian relief to affected people.

UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 29 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday called on the world to bring into force a treaty to ban all nuclear tests.

Guterres made the appeal in his message to mark International Day against Nuclear Tests, which falls on Monday.

Nuclear testing has long poisoned the planet's natural environment and the species and people who call it home, the UN chief said, noting that the International Day against Nuclear Tests represents "an alarm bell for the world to finally put in place a legally binding prohibition on all nuclear tests."

UNITED NATIONS, Aug 28 (APP): UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has highlighted the need for dialogue to reduce the nuclear threat after countries failed to reach consensus at a conference to review the landmark Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), according to his Spokesperson.

Following four weeks of intense discussions at UN Headquarters in New York, the Tenth Review Conference of the Parties to the NPT ended late on Friday night without an outcome document because Russia objected to text about its control over Ukrainian nuclear facilities.

28 August 2022; MEMO: A judge in the United States has recommended that the victims of the 9/11 attacks and their families not be allowed to receive billions of dollars in Afghanistan's Central Bank assets, saying that those assets are beyond the US government's authority.

NEW YORK, Aug 27 (APP): Pakistani-American community members have swung into action, collecting funds and relief materials for their flood-hit compatriots in Pakistan, as rescuers in the country’s devastated areas work to evacuate thousands of marooned people.

On Friday, Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States, Masood Khan, made an impassioned appeal to the Pakistani-American community to step forward and help the flood affectees in Pakistan.