Switzerland

GENEVA, June 30 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The coronavirus pandemic is “not even close to being over”, the WHO warned, as the global death toll passed half a million and cases surged in Latin America and the United States.

In another grim milestone, the number of infections recorded worldwide topped 10 million, while some authorities reimposed lockdown measures that have crippled the economies worldwide.

“We all want this to be over. We all want to get on with our lives,” World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

GENEVA (Reuters) - At least 129 children have been killed in the Philippines’ four-year war on drugs, most by police or allied assailants, but they may only represent a fraction of the toll, activist groups said on Monday.

Minors have been directly targeted, punished as proxies, or victims of mistaken identity or “collateral damage”, they said in a report, “How could they do this to my child?”.

GENEVA (Reuters) - France and Germany expressed political and financial backing for the World Health Organization (WHO) in its fight against the coronavirus on Thursday, with Berlin saying it would contribute a record half billion euros in funding this year.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, speaking at a news conference in Geneva, said the agency, criticised by the United States for being slow off the mark in tackling the pandemic, was getting the financial and political support it needed.

GENEVA, June 24 (Xinhua) -- A World Health Organization (WHO) expert said on Wednesday that the COVID-19 pandemic has not reached its peak in the Americas and the region is likely to see continued deaths in the coming weeks.

PARIS, June 23 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Global coronavirus infections topped nine million on Monday as the World Health Organization warned that the pandemic was accelerating and Saudi Arabia said it would allow a “very limited” number of pilgrims to the hajj next month.

France took its biggest step yet back to normality by allowing millions of children to return to school.

But despite Europe further easing lockdowns, cases are still rising around the world, especially in Latin America with Brazil now registering more than 50,000 deaths.

21 June 2020; MEMO: On 19 June, Brazil voted against a UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) resolution which demanded accountability for severe violations of international law in the occupied Palestinian territories. The resolution also called for the criminal prosecution of those found responsible for crimes and recognized the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the territories.

GENEVA, June 21 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The coronavirus pandemic is accelerating, with Thursday’s 150,000 new cases the highest in a single day, and nearly half of them in the Americas, the World Health Organization (WHO) said.

“The world is in a new and dangerous phase,” Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a virtual briefing from WHO headquarters in Geneva. “The virus is still spreading fast, it is still deadly, and most people are still susceptible.”

GENEVA, June 19 (Xinhua) -- A senior World Health Organization (WHO) expert said here on Friday that in light of the recent clusters of COVID-19 cases in China, Beijing has done well to control the spreading.

Dr Michael Ryan, executive director of the Health Emergencies Program of the WHO, made the remark at a press conference in Geneva.

GENEVA (Reuters) - Any new national security laws imposed on Hong Kong “must fully comply with China’s human rights obligations” and international treaties protecting civil and political freedoms, the top U.N. human rights official said on Friday.

The draft legislation specifies the definition of four crimes and sets out punishments: separatist activity, state subversion, terrorist activity, and collusion with foreign forces, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Thursday.

GENEVA, June 18 (NNN-Xinhua) — The Human Right Council on Wednesday began an urgent debate on current racially inspired human rights violations, systemic racism, police brutality and violence against peaceful protests, in the follow-up to the killing of George Floyd in the United States.

In her opening remarks, Elisabeth Tichy-Fisslberger, President of the UN Human Rights Council, said that the debate was being held at the request of Burkina Faso on behalf of the African Group.