More Global Effort Needed on Migration, UN Forum Says

FILE PHOTO: Members of the United Nations Security Council gather during a meeting about the situation in Venezuela, in New York, US, February 26, 2019. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton
FILE PHOTO: Members of the United Nations Security Council gather during a meeting about the situation in Venezuela, in New York, US, February 26, 2019. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton
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More Global Effort Needed on Migration, UN Forum Says

FILE PHOTO: Members of the United Nations Security Council gather during a meeting about the situation in Venezuela, in New York, US, February 26, 2019. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton
FILE PHOTO: Members of the United Nations Security Council gather during a meeting about the situation in Venezuela, in New York, US, February 26, 2019. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton

Several dozen countries and advocacy groups pledged Friday to do more to improve the treatment of migrants worldwide, as part of a UN global migration agreement that has so far brought limited results.

Abdulla Shahid, President of the United Nations General Assembly, told reporters that as many as 281 million people, or 3.6 percent of the world's population, are migrants and need support, AFP said.

"The international community has a responsibility to ensure that human rights of everyone involved is respected and protected," Shahid said after a forum in New York dedicated to assessing the progress of the Global Compact on Migration adopted in 2018 by over 150 countries.

Antonio Vitorino, head of the International Organization for Migration, said the pact has brought "uneven progress."

"There is a need for an extra push," Vitorino added.

"Respect for human rights, access to basic services, building alternatives to detention of migrants and above all, saving lives of migrants."

A declaration adopted at the end of the forum said that its signatories were "determined to enhance cooperation on international migration in all its dimensions."



Rescuers Search for 19 Missing, Recover 9 Bodies after Nepal Flooding

Rescuers evacuate stranded people from the site of a mudslide at the Gyirong Port area in Gyirong Township of Xigaze, Xizang Autonomous Region, China, 08 July 2025. EPA/XINHUA / Xu Dafu
Rescuers evacuate stranded people from the site of a mudslide at the Gyirong Port area in Gyirong Township of Xigaze, Xizang Autonomous Region, China, 08 July 2025. EPA/XINHUA / Xu Dafu
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Rescuers Search for 19 Missing, Recover 9 Bodies after Nepal Flooding

Rescuers evacuate stranded people from the site of a mudslide at the Gyirong Port area in Gyirong Township of Xigaze, Xizang Autonomous Region, China, 08 July 2025. EPA/XINHUA / Xu Dafu
Rescuers evacuate stranded people from the site of a mudslide at the Gyirong Port area in Gyirong Township of Xigaze, Xizang Autonomous Region, China, 08 July 2025. EPA/XINHUA / Xu Dafu

Dozens of rescuers searched the banks of a mountain river Wednesday looking for people missing after monsoon floods swept away Nepal's main bridge connecting to the country to China and caused at least nine deaths.

Police said dozens of rescuers were already at the area and more are expected to join the rescue efforts. Nine dead bodies have been recovered from the river. Security forces have rescued 55 people, including four Indians and a Chinese person so far, according to the Rasuwa District Administration Office.

Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli, along with top ministers and officials, flew to the area, The Associated Press reported. Oli called an emergency meeting Tuesday night and instructed all security forces and government offices to assist the rescue and recovery efforts.

The flooding on the Bhotekoshi River early Tuesday destroyed the Friendship Bridge at Rasuwagadi, which is 120 kilometers (75 miles) north of the capital, Kathmandu. Several houses and trucks that were parked at the border for customs inspections also were swept away. Hundreds of electric vehicles imported from China had been parked at the border point.

The 19 missing are 13 Nepali citizens and six Chinese nationals, said the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority.

The Chinese and eight of the Nepalis were workers at a Chinese-assisted construction project on the Nepali side of the border, according to the Chinese Embassy in Nepal, quoted by state media.

The destruction of the bridge has halted all trade from China to Nepal through this route. The longer alternative is for goods to be shipped from China to India and then brought overland to Nepal.