Switzerland

GENEVA, March 19 (Xinhua) -- Chinese telecoms giant Huawei Technologies was the top corporate filer of international patent applications in 2018, leading an Asia-based innovation surge accounting for over half of the applications submitted at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) last year, WIPO said on Tuesday.

GENEVA, March 18 (Xinhua) -- The UN Independent Commission of Inquiry on the protests in the Palestinian Gaza Strip on Monday urged Israel to immediately ensure that its security forces' rules of engagement are revised to comply with international legal standards.

The commission presented its findings Monday to the UN Human Rights Council (HRC), "after investigating all killings and many injuries occurring by the separation fence between Israel and Gaza during the demonstrations last year".

GENEVA, March 12 (Xinhua) -- The International Organization for Migration (IOM) on Tuesday said that it is appealing to the international community for 207 million U.S. dollars to continue its lifesaving assistance to Syrians.

IOM said that these funds are necessary to continue assistance in Syria and neighboring countries in 2019.

GENEVA, March 5 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet announced Tuesday, "with deep regret," that the UN Human Rights Office in Burundi has closed at the insistence of the Central African nation's government.

UN rights office spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani at a media briefing here quoted Bachelet as saying, "It is with deep regret that we have had to close our office in Burundi after a 23-year presence in the country" from Feb. 28.

26 Feb 2019; DW: A United Nations conference secured $2.6 billion (€2.3 billion) in pledges on Tuesday to aid the millions of people facing starvation in war-torn Yemen.

The pledges were up by 30 percent from the amount secured during last year's aid drive.

"Today's pledging conference can be considered a success," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in Geneva at the end of the day-long conference.

GENEVA, February 27. /TASS/. Russia has requested the United Nations to provide information about the fate of humanitarian cargo, delivered to the Rukban camp for Syrian refugees, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin told TASS.

Vershinin, who is taking part in the fourh session of the UN Human Rights Council, met with UN emergency relief chief Mark Lowcock on the sidelines of the event.

GENEVA, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- Cuba and China have many things to do together to play a role in making the world a better place, a senior Cuban diplomat highlighted here on Wednesday.

Permanent Representative of Cuba to the UN Office at Geneva, Pedro Pedroso, told Xinhua after his speech on Cuba's foreign policy at the University of Geneva Wednesday evening that the two countries share the same objective of liberating the potential of the people to build a better society.

Geneva, Feb 21 (PTI) China and the US may be the largest producers of coal power, but power plants in India take the highest toll in the world when it comes to health, a global study claims.

Coal-fired power plants produce more than just carbon dioxide, which contributes to global warming, said researchers from ETH Zurich in Switzerland.

Coal burning also releases particulate matter, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and mercury -- thus damaging the health of many people around the world, they said.

13 Feb 2019; AFP: A Sudanese refugee held in one of Australia's offshore migrant detention sites for six years was on Wednesday awarded the world's most prestigious human rights prize.

Abdul Aziz Muhamat, 26, was hailed by the Martin Ennals Award organisers for his "extraordinary tenacity and courage" in protesting the Australian government's "inhumane practices".

DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan. 23 (Xinhua) -- After hearing Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan's latest address at Davos Wednesday afternoon, Randall Lane, chief content officer of Forbes, described the speech as "encouraging and thoughtful," with a "global and optimistic outlook of the world."

Citing the Swiss proverb "torches light up each other," Wang elaborated on the Chinese leadership's vision of global governance first outlined by President Xi Jinping in a speech at Davos two years ago.