GENEVA (Reuters) – Israel is expected to boycott a session of the U.N. Human Rights Council next week despite the United States urging its ally to show up for an examination of its record, the U.S. ambassador said on Thursday.

The Jewish state is scheduled to be in the dock of the Geneva rights forum on Tuesday, January 29 as part of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process, the council’s regular scrutiny of all United Nations member states.

GENEVA, Jan 24 (Reuters) – Luxury watchmakers are fighting
over too few parts makers in order to keep up with a booming
market and counter supply bottlenecks caused by industry giant
Swatch’s decision to cut vital contracts to its rivals.

The market for high-end watches was worth more than $46
billion in 2012 driven primarily by Asian customers, but
competition is fierce. As top names try to keep up with orders
they have bumped into a big problem: too few high-end parts
suppliers and not enough investment in training.

GENEVA (Reuters) – Israel is expected to boycott the U.N. Human Rights Council next week despite the United States urging its ally to show up for an examination of its record, the U.S. ambassador said on Thursday.

The Jewish state is scheduled to be in the dock of the Geneva rights forum on Tuesday, January 29 as part of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process, the council’s regular scrutiny of all United Nations member states.

GENEVA (Reuters) – Fatal cases of measles have fallen by nearly 75 percent globally since 2000, but big outbreaks in Asian and African states with low vaccination rates jeopardize progress towards eradication, the World Health Organization said on Thursday.

The highly-contagious disease is a leading cause of death among young children around the world, especially the poor, malnourished and unvaccinated, it said.

GENEVA, Jan 16 (Reuters) – Syria’s government has authorised
the World Food Programme (WFP) to extend its reach in the
war-torn country where 2.5 million people are suffering from
hunger, the United Nations agency’s chief said on Wednesday.

The WFP has only been able to feed up to 1.5 million people
in Syria each month because of the fighting and a lack of local
partners capable of delivering aid.

GENEVA, Jan 16 (Reuters) – Dengue is the world’s
fastest-spreading tropical disease and represents a “pandemic
threat”, infecting an estimated 50 million people across all
continents, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on
Wednesday.

Transmitted by the bite of female mosquitoes, the disease is
occurring more widely due to increased movement of people and
goods – including carrier objects such as bamboo plants and used
tyres – as well as floods linked to climate change, the United
Nations agency said.

GENEVA (Reuters) – U.N. human rights chief Navi Pillay called on Monday for an international investigation into what she said were decades of serious violations in North Korea, including torture and executions of political prisoners held in shadowy camps.

She voiced regret that there had been no improvement since Kim Jong-un took power a year ago and said it was time for the international community to help bring about change for North Korea’s “beleaguered, subjugated population”.

GENEVA, Jan 14 (Reuters) – U.N. human rights chief Navi
Pillay called on Monday for an international investigation into
what she said were decades of serious violations in North Korea,
including torture and executions of political prisoners held in
shadowy camps.

She voiced regret that there had been no improvement since
Kim Jong-un took power a year ago and said it was time for the
international community to help bring about change for North
Korea’s “beleaguered, subjugated population”.

GENEVA, Jan 13 (Reuters) – The head of the International
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) arrived in Myanmar on Sunday
to set up inspections of its prisons and seek access to
conflict-hit border areas, the humanitarian agency said on
Sunday.

The surprise six-day visit, the first by an ICRC president,
follows an announcement by President Thein Sein’s office last
November that authorities would allow ICRC officials to visit
detention centres, it said.

GENEVA (Reuters) – International mediator Lakhdar Brahimi and senior envoys from Russia and the United States called for a political solution to end the Syria conflict on Friday but reached no breakthrough.

Brahimi urged world powers to “create an opening” diplomatically to help stem the bloodshed and alleviate the Syrian people’s suffering. He said that he would brief the U.N. Security Council later this month on his latest consultations.