“It is time to further our collective action to end violence against women and girls for good,” said United Nations’ Secretary-General António Guterres in his message on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on 25 November 2017.He also said that unless the international community tackles violence against women, the world will not eradicate poverty or reach any of the other Sustainable Development Goals.

The 31st Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit and Related Meetings held in Manila from November 10-14, saw a number of economic deliverables being achieved such as the completion of the Focused and Strategic Action Agenda on Investment, the adoption of the ASEAN Seamless Trade Facilitation Indicators and the development of the ASEAN Inclusive Business Framework amongst others.Another pressing issue at the summit was the subject of women’s economic empowerment in the region.

Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi faced rising global pressure Tuesday to solve the crisis for her nation's displaced Rohingya Muslim minority, meeting the UN chief and America's top diplomat in the Philippines.UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres told the Nobel laureate that hundreds of thousands of displaced Muslims who had fled to Bangladesh should be allowed to return to their homes in Myanmar."The Secretary-General highlighted that strengthened efforts to ensure humanitaria

Myanmar on Wednesday hit back at a UN Security Council statement critical of its handling of the Rohingya refugee crisis, saying it could "seriously harm" efforts to repatriate the Muslim minority from Bangladesh.On Monday the top UN body called on Myanmar to rein in military operations that have pushed more than 600,000 Rohingya into Bangladesh since late August, sparking a dire humanitarian crisis.

The UN Security Council on Monday called on Myanmar to rein in its military campaign in Rakhine state and allow hundreds of thousands of Muslim Rohingya driven from their homes to return.In a unanimous statement backed by China, the council strongly condemned the violence that has forced more than 600,000 Rohingya to flee across the border to Bangladesh.The council expressed "grave concern" over human rights violations, "including by the Myanmar security forces" against th

Myanmar must grant citizenship to the Rohingya to allow hundreds of thousands of people from the Muslim minority to return to Rakhine state from where they were driven by an army campaign, the UN refugee chief said Thursday."These people cannot remain stateless because this statelessness exposes them to discrimination and abuse, as has been the case in the past," said Filippo Grandi, the UN high commission for refugees.More than 600,000 Rohingya have fled Rakhine since late August d

Muslim countries led by Saudi Arabia want the United Nations to denounce serious rights abuses in Myanmar and demand an end to the military campaign against the Rohingya, according to a draft resolution seen by AFP on Wednesday.In one of the worst refugee crises in decades, more than 600,000 Muslim Rohingya have fled an army crackdown in Myanmar's Rakhine state since late August.The draft resolution introduced this week to the General Assembly's human rights committee said UN member

Myanmar on Wednesday accused Bangladesh of delaying the repatriation of Rohingya Muslims who have fled Rakhine state since August, as conditions worsen for the stateless minority penned into squalid refugee camps.More than 600,000 members of the Muslim minority have fled a brutal army crackdown in mainly Buddhist Myanmar over the past two months.After weeks of intense global pressure and UN accusations of ethnic cleansing, Myanmar vowed to take back Rohingya who meet "verification"

The Earth today is more than 1°C hotter than it was in pre-industrial times, and the terrible symptoms of its fever are already showing. This year alone, back-to-back hurricanes have devastated Caribbean islands, monsoon flooding has displaced tens of millions in South Asia, and fires have raged on nearly every continent.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson urged Myanmar's army chief Thursday to help end the violence in Rakhine state that has forced hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims to flee.In a phone call with Min Aung Hlaing, Tillerson expressed "concern about the continuing humanitarian crisis and reported atrocities in Rakhine", according to a statement by State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert.