Switzerland

GENEVA, October 1. /TASS/: Russia’s offer to freeze nuclear arsenals together with the US, put forth one year ago, is no longer relevant, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said on Friday during a public discussion in the Geneva Center for Security Policy.

"No, it was a one-time offer, and it was said so to the US. They missed the opportunity," the diplomat said, when asked if the proposal is still in effect.

According to Ryabkov, back then, Russia wanted to show it was serious about conducting a strategic dialogue with the previous administration.

ZURICH, Oct 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Switzerland is offering gift certificates to people who persuade others to be jabbed against COVID-19, the government said, part of efforts to increase the country’s low vaccination rate.

Every newly vaccinated person will be asked to name one person who convinced them to be inoculated, the government said, with that person receiving a 50 Swiss franc (US$53.68) gift token for their assistance.

Local authorities will decide where the voucher can be used, for instance at cinemas or restaurants.

GENEVA, Sept 25 (NNN-AGENCIES) — At least 350,209 people have been killed in Syria’s 10-year war, the United Nations human rights office said, calling the tally an “undercount” as it released its first report since 2014 on the conflict’s death toll.

The figure announced on Friday included civilians and fighters and was based on strict methodology requiring the full name of the deceased, as well as an established date and location of death, the office said.

GENEVA, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) -- A consistent innovation policy, increased spending on education and science and the ability to translate all these into sound results are behind China's current role as a global innovation leader, a senior official from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) told Xinhua on Thursday.

As per the WIPO's "Global Innovation Index (GII) 2021" released on Monday, China is still the only middle-income economy among the world's top 30 most innovative countries. It has established itself as a global innovation leader and is approaching the top 10.

GENEVA, Sept 23 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Myanmar is facing the alarming prospect of an escalating civil war as an uprising against the military junta widens, the UN’s human rights chief warned on Thursday.

Michelle Bachelet told the United Nations Human Rights Council that time was running out for other countries to step up efforts to restore democracy and prevent a broader conflict.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since Aung San Suu Kyi’s government was ousted by the military in February, sparking a nationwide uprising that the junta has tried to crush.

GENEVA, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is poised to command wide support for a second term as head of the World Health Organisation, formally nominated by more than 12 European Union members and also backed by countries in other regions, diplomats said on Thursday.

Tedros, a former health and foreign minister of Ethiopia, elected as WHO's first African director-general in May 2017, has led the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

GENEVA, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) -- A senior official from China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) on Thursday told a webinar that things have continued to develop on a positive trend there, thanks to the Hong Kong National Security Law and the improvement to its electoral system.

Chris Tang Ping-keung, secretary for security of the HKSAR, said at the webinar organised by the Chinese Mission to UN at Geneva as a side-event of the on-going 48th session of the UN Human Rights Council that Hong Kong is now being back on the path of growth and prosperity.

GENEVA, Sep 22 (APP): Pakistan told the UN Human Rights Council Wednesday that India continues to trample upon Kashmiri people’s fundamental rights, and urged the 47-member body to act and halt those abuses.

Speaking in a general debate, Khalil Hashmi, Pakistan’s ambassador to the UN offices in Geneva, also called on the Council to demand that India upholds and respects fundamental rights of Kashmiri people, especially their inalienable right to self-determination.

GENEVA, Sept 22 (Reuters) - The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Wednesday issued its first air quality guidelines since 2005, which aim to reduce deaths from key pollutants that cause cardiovascular and respiratory diseases by moving towards clean sources of energy.

The United Nations agency, in advice to its 194 member states, slashed the recommended maximum levels for several pollutants, including particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide, both of which are found in fossil fuel emissions.

GENEVA, Sept 17 (Reuters) - The World Health Organization's chief looks set to run unopposed for a second term at the helm as tries to guide the world through its biggest health crisis in a century, sources said.

However, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus lacks the support of his native Ethiopia due to friction over the Tigray conflict, the sources told Reuters.

Exactly how he will be nominated ahead of the deadline for nominations next week is unclear amid opposition from the Addis Ababa government, they said.