Human Rights

France strikers rally over s pension plans

French strikers have gone to war with the government over plans to extend the retirement age.

The pension plan strikes have crippled train services and flight traffic in France, and are expected to severely disrupt all forms of daily life, especially in Paris.

Focus on world’s most disadvantaged children can save millions of lives – UNICEF

Investing first in the world’s most disadvantaged children and communities can save millions of lives and help spur progress towards achieving internationally agreed development targets, according to a new study by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

US: European Corporate Hypocrisy

Many European companies that publicly embrace workers' rights under global labor standards nevertheless undermine workers' rights in their US operations, Human Rights Watch said in a report issued today.

MYANMAR: Rural poor hit by arbitrary "taxes", says report

Myanmar’s military government, with soldiers scattered throughout the country, is arbitrarily levying fees from the rural poor, pushing some into hunger and debt, experts say.

Bangladesh ban on forced Islam

A court in Bangladesh court has ruled that people should not be forced to wear Islamic regalia, such as skull caps, veils or other religious clothing.

SAHEL: Plumpy'nut, Plumpy' doz and milk powders to save children

Chad and Niger have started giving childen those supplementary Plumpy

Aid agencies in Niger and Chad have begun giving tens of thousands of malnourished children a product called Plumpy’doz to save them from sliding into often-fatal severe malnutrition.

Niger: UN fund allocates more resources to hunger-stricken population

In an effort to alleviate alarming food shortages that have caused high malnutrition rates among children in Niger, the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) has allocated an additional $15 million to enable the UN food agency to provide relief to an estimated 1.7 million people.

UNICEF mobilizing relief supplies to help landslide victims in China

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is mobilizing emergency relief supplies in north-western China to help authorities respond to the devastating series of landslides that have killed more than 700 people.

Global youth unemployment rate at all-time high, UN labour agency reports

About 81 million youth unemployed out of 620 million this year

The global youth unemployment rate is at a record high and is expected to climb even higher as the year progresses, the United Nations International Labour Organization (ILO) announced today.

UN launches massive feeding drive for children in drought-stricken Niger

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has begun a major round of feeding for 670,000 children under the age of two and their families in drought-stricken Niger, where as many as eight million people need assistance.