Asia Pacific

The Taliban has taken territory in Khanabad district in the Afghanistan province of Kunduz on the other side of a bridge pictured here in August 2015.
<a href=http://bit.ly/1JQ0BaH>Bethany Matta/IRIN</a>

Afghanistan: UN agency begins humanitarian assistance to families fleeing Kunduz

9 October 2015
Afghans who fled fighting in Kunduz have received bread baked from wheat flour fortified with vitamins and minerals along with other food supplies, but the World Food Programme (WFP) is “seriously concerned” about the safety and food security of people remaining in the north-eastern province.
Kathmandu Valley, Nepal, after the April 2015 earthquake.
UNDP Nepal/Laxmi Prasad Ngakhusi

Nepal: experts begin post-disaster work at quake-damaged UNESCO heritage sites

8 October 2015
International and national experts from the Nepalese Department of Archaeology and an archaeological team from Durham University have begun post-disaster excavation surveys and rescue excavations at earthquake damaged UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal.
Haqmal (centre), a six year-old returnee from Pakistan loves his new school, the Ansarul-Momineen School in Pajhman, Kabul District Afghanistan.
UNHCR/Sebastian Rich

Top UN refugee official calls for renewed international focus on Afghanistan

7 October 2015
The United Nations' most senior refugee official is appealing to the international community to refocus its attention on Afghanistan, warning that it would be dangerous to ignore the country, and praised Iran and Pakistan for hosting so many Afghan refugees.
Internally displaced persons in Kunduz, Afghanistan, waiting for assistance from UN humanitarian agencies, UNHCR, WFP and UNICEF, on 31 May 2015.
OCHA/Mohammad Sadiq Zaheer

No humanitarian agencies left in besieged Afghan city of Kunduz after hospital bombing – UN

6 October 2015
There are currently no humanitarian agencies left in Kunduz, the north-eastern Afghan city where an air strike hit the Médecins sans Frontières (MSF) hospital, causing the deaths and injuries of medical personnel, patients and other civilians, the United Nations said today.
Special Representative for Afghanistan, Nicholas Haysom.
UNAMA/Fardin Waezi

Afghanistan: UN envoy says inquiry into fatal Kunduz hospital air strike must be ‘impartial’

5 October 2015
Nicholas Haysom, the United Nations Special Representative for Afghanistan, reiterated today the need for an impartial investigation into the deadly air strike on the Médecins sans Frontières (MSF) hospital in Kunduz, which resulted in the deaths and injuries of medical personnel, patients and other civilians this past Saturday.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
UN Photo/Amanda Voisard (file)

Afghanistan: UN strongly condemns 'tragic, inexcusable' Kunduz hospital airstrike

3 October 2015
Senior United Nations officials today condemned what they called a “tragic” and “inexcusable” air strike on the Médecins sans Frontières (MSF) hospital in Kunduz, a city in northern Afghanistan, which resulted in the deaths and injuries of medical personnel, patients and other civilians.
Ambassador Aksoltan Ataeva of Turkmenistan to the United Nations addresses the general debate of the General Assembly’s seventieth session.
UN Photo/Kim Haughton

At UN, Turkmenistan proposes establishing climate change centre for Central Asia

3 October 2015
In her address at the General Assembly, Aksoltan Ataeva, Permanent Representative of Turkmenistan to the United Nations, introduced a proposal to set up a climate change centre specifically for Central Asia.
Foreign Minister Damcho Dorji of Bhutan addresses the general debate of the General Assembly’s seventieth session.
UN Photo/Kim Haughton

‘Pursuit of happiness is fundamental human goal,’ Minister of Bhutan tells UN Assembly

3 October 2015
Guided by its development philosophy of “Gross National Happiness,” Bhutan has consistently worked to ensure that the peace, security and well-being of its people always remain at the centre of development, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the South Asian country told the United Nations General Assembly today.
Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin of Myanmar addresses the general debate of the General Assembly’s seventieth session.
UN Photo/Kim Haughton

Only through wide-scale reforms will UN keep pace with changing times, Myanmar tells Assembly

3 October 2015
Myanmar Foreign Minister U Wunna Maung Lwin mounted the podium of the General Assembly today to call for reforms of the United Nations, particularly the Security Council, to keep pace with a changing world.
Muhammad Jusuf Kalla, Vice-President of the Republic of Indonesia, addresses the general debate of the General Assembly’s seventieth session.
UN Photo/Kim Haughton

Without system-wide reform, UN may fall short of primary objectives, says Indonesian Minister

3 October 2015
Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly, Muhammad Jusuf Kalla, the Vice-President of Indonesia, remarked that despite the achievements UN has made over the past 70 years, the Organization may fall short of meeting its primary objectives, such as peace and security for all, unless system-wide reform is immediately undertaken.