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At least 68 journalist killings in 2024, UNESCO reports

·December 16, 2024·1 min read

More than 60 per cent of these killings occurred in countries experiencing conflict – the highest percentage in over a decade. “Reliable information is vital in conflict situations to help affected populations and to enlighten the world,” said UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay. “It is unacceptable that journalists pay with their lives for...

The de facto authority in Syria is a designated terrorist group: What happens now?

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·December 16, 2024·4 min read

However, according to a core Security Council resolution on Syria adopted at the height of the civil conflict, HTS is regarded as a terrorist group. Resolution 2254, which was adopted unanimously by the Council in 2015, calls on Member States “to prevent and suppress terrorist acts committed specifically by” HTS’s...

World News in Brief: Gaza medical challenge, justice for Africa, rising violence in Myanmar

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·December 16, 2024·4 min read

The situation is especially dire in North Gaza governorate, which has been under siege for more than two months, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said during his daily briefing from New York. Access to basic services has also been severely constrained, he added, noting that the UN agency that assists Palestine...

UN envoy calls for increased aid for Syria in Damascus visit

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·December 15, 2024·1 min read

The Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, arrived there a week after President Bashar al-Assad was overthrown by rebel forces led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTC). Responding to questions from the press upon his arrival, Mr. Pedersen noted the “immense” change since the fall of the...

UN rights chief urges accountability for post-electoral violence in Venezuela

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·December 15, 2024·1 min read

Hundreds more were reportedly injured in clashes following the disputed elections and around 2,000 arrested, including teenagers, young adults, opposition members, human rights defenders, journalists and lawyers, as well as bystanders. Since then, the Government has announced the conditional release of over 100 of those detained. Addressing the UN Human...

Iran: UN experts call for strict new hijab law to be repealed

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·December 15, 2024·1 min read

Independent UN Human Rights Council-appointed experts said in a statement that it represents a fundamental attack on women’s rights. The legislation, which applies to children as young as 12, combines severe criminal penalties with mandatory citizen surveillance and systematic enforcement across all sectors of society, the experts added. The Law...

Charting a path for global action on land and drought

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·December 15, 2024·6 min read

The nearly 200 countries gathered at the 16th Conference of the Parties (COP16) to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and committed to prioritising land restoration and drought resilience in national policies and international cooperation as an essential strategy for food security and climate adaptation. While parties failed to...

Lime-flavoured memories drive innovation on Saudi farm

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·December 14, 2024·4 min read

Mohamed Alnwairan stands in front of a verdant citrus tree which four months hence will bear his first harvest of limes. A former businessman turned farmer, he has been cultivating land in Al Ahsa, in the eastern deserts of Saudi Arabia, for the last 15 years. Now, due to climate...

UN Special Envoy continues shuttle diplomacy on Syria

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·December 14, 2024·2 min read

Geir Pedersen is due to confer with Arab foreign ministers, the Foreign Minister of Türkiye, US Secretary of State and other senior officials who will be present at a meeting in Aqaba, said UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric, briefing reporters in New York. Mr. Pedersen has held “numerous phone consultations”, including...

Climate shocks, humanitarian crises and political division plague Central Africa

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·December 14, 2024·2 min read

Abdou Abarry, UN Special Representative for Central Africa, told ambassadors in the Security Council that disasters and extreme weather events displaced more than three million people in the region this year alone. This has worsened an already fragile socio-economic situation and underscored the need for stronger climate action. Climate and...

Gaza: ‘Sickening normalisation’ of suffering, amid attacks on people and aid convoys

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·December 14, 2024·4 min read

According to local media reports, 30 Palestinians were killed in the central Gaza area overnight on Friday due to airstrikes, said Louise Wateridge, Senior Emergencies Officer with UN Palestine refugee agency UNRWA, speaking to reporters in Geneva from central Gaza.  “We’ve seen absolutely horrific images from the scene. There are...

Underinvestment threatens universal health coverage goals

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·December 13, 2024·1 min read

The report, titled Global Spending on Health: Emerging from the Pandemic, shows a reduction in per capita government health expenditures in 2022 across all income groups, following a surge during the early COVID-19 pandemic years. This concerning trend undermines progress toward Universal Health Coverage (UHC), a goal enshrined in the...