Transportation plays a critical role in a country's development by facilitating the means for workers to get to their jobs and for goods to reach markets. Yet, providing citizens with access to safe, affordable and efficient modes of transport remains a challenge for governments and the industry. That's according to international experts appointed by the [...]

Lack of a "large ransom" delayed the release of 26 hostages held by Somali pirates for nearly five years, according to a representative from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). The hostages were crew members of the FV Naham 3, an Omani-flagged fishing vessel which had been hijacked by the Somali pirates, off [...]

Tens of thousands of people living in areas surrounding the Iraqi city of Mosul are being used as human shields by ISIL as the battle to retake the city from the extremist group rages on. That's according to the UN human rights office (OHCHR) which reported that in one incident this week, ISIL killed more [...]

Reported attack on western Aleppo school condemned A reported attack on a school in the Syrian government-held western part of Aleppo city on Friday, which killed a number of children, has been condemned as a possible war crime by the UN Secretary-General. In a statement, Ban Ki-moon said that those responsible for such attacks "must [...]

Landowners, farmers and individuals from the indigenous communities in Australia are susceptible to "harassment" by mining companies, a UN independent expert has said. UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights Defenders, Michel Forst, who has just concluded a working visit to the country, said that these companies often play a "tricky" role, as the farmers fight [...]

Being a woman and a human rights defender in Pakistan is "risky" a young activist who founded a non-profit called "Aware Girls" with her sister when she was just fifteen. Saba Ismael grew up in the conservative Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan before "violent religious extremism" became an international buzzword. [...]

South Sudan at "tipping point" warns woman activist South Sudan is at a "tipping point" and might slide back into war, a young woman activist from the country has warned. Rita Lopidia Abraham, founder and Executive Director of EVE Organization for Women Development, briefed the UN Security Council on Tuesday during a women, peace and [...]

  Killing of 22 children, 6 teachers in Syria school bombing "a war crime" The killing of 22 children along with six of their teachers in the Syrian city of Idlib, has been denounced as "a war crime" if it turns out the bombing was deliberate. That's the view of UN Children's Fund Executive Director, [...]

ISIL human rights abuses emerge as Mosul campaign continues In Iraq, information continues to emerge of human rights violations committed by the terrorist group ISIL following the start of a military offensive to free the northern city of Mosul from its control. The UN mission in the country, UNAMI, said human rights monitors have received [...]

Although air travel accounts for less than two per cent of the emissions that contribute to global warming, the aviation industry is doing its part to protect the environment. That's according to the Secretary General of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), Dr Liu Fang. The aviation industry recently announced that from 2020, it will [...]