Uncategorized Archives - Page 36 of 184

World News in Brief: WFP forced to halt some food aid in Sudan, DR Congo elections, peacekeeping chief visits CAR

·December 20, 2023·3 min read

WFP described the decision taken on safety grounds as a major setback to humanitarian efforts in the country’s breadbasket, where staff had been regularly providing aid to over 800,000 people, including many who had escaped the fighting in Khartoum. The ongoing fighting makes it extremely challenging for humanitarian agencies to...

Barely a drop of safe water to drink in Gaza, UN aid agency warns

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·December 20, 2023·2 min read

“Access to sufficient amounts of clean water is a matter of life and death…children in Gaza have barely a drop to drink,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell. “Children and their families are having to use water from unsafe sources that are highly salinated or polluted. Without safe water, many more...

INTERVIEW: Destruction, displacement, and grief. Senior UNRWA official reflects on ‘unprecedented’ conflict in Gaza

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·December 20, 2023·5 min read

135 UNRWA staff members are known to have been killed in Gaza since the escalation of fighting since the 7 October Hamas attacks on Israel. That’s the most ever in one incident but, despite the danger and extremely difficult working conditions, UNRWA is continuing to assist those caught up in...

Security Council continues negotiations on Gaza resolution calling for ‘urgent suspension of hostilities’

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·December 20, 2023·19 min read

3:45 PM According to the latest information from the Security Council, the revised programme indicates that an anticipated meeting due to take place at 5:00 PM to vote on a resolution from the UAE which has been under negotiation for days, has again been delayed. Draft resolution: Key points Video...

World News in Brief: DR Congo mission extended, Sudan displacement deepens, warzone death toll for journalists spikes

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·December 19, 2023·4 min read

The Mission, known as MONUSCO, has been in the country for two decades and is in the process of drawing down. The decision taken today by the Council sets out a comprehensive disengagement plan that includes three distinct, successive phases and the gradual handover of responsibility to the Government. MONUSCO...

‘Ten weeks of hell’ for children in Gaza: UNICEF

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·December 19, 2023·3 min read

A lack of food, water, shelter and sanitation continues to put children’s lives at risk as they suffer under relentless airstrikes with no safe place to go, said UNICEF spokesperson James Elder, who recently returned from the enclave. Ahead of a UN Security Council meeting expected to call for a...

‘Visible signs of hope’ for Haiti, Assembly President Francis insists

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·December 19, 2023·3 min read

Dennis Francis, a veteran diplomat from Trinidad and Tobago, said he had returned from a visit to Haiti at the end of last month “with hope and the full knowledge that while Haiti is facing extraordinary challenges, its future holds indomitable promise.” The country has seen almost 4,000 killed and...

Gaza hospital destroyed, WHO chief reiterates ceasefire call

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·December 19, 2023·2 min read

Kamal Adwan Hospital was raided by the Israeli military over four days last week and the World Health Organization (WHO) said that many health workers were reportedly detained. “Gaza’s health system was already on its knees and the loss of another even minimally functioning hospital is a severe blow,” Tedros...

World News in Brief: Wave of ‘fear and dread’ in Ukraine, UN expert slams Navalny disappearance, youth leaders for nuclear disarmament meet

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·December 19, 2023·3 min read

That’s according to UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Regional Director Regina De Dominicis who said in a statement on Monday that bombardment was “particularly unrelenting” in the east and south of the country. The UNICEF official said the past week provided a concerning trend with an increase in ballistic missiles and...

Migration is a fact of life and a ‘force for good’

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·December 18, 2023·3 min read

In a message marking International Migrants Day, the UN chief emphasized that migration promotes the exchange of knowledge and contributes to economic growth, but at the same time, “poorly governed migration is a cause of great suffering.” “It forces people into the cruel realm of traffickers, where they face exploitation,...

Security Council condemns deadly terror attack on Iran police station

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·December 18, 2023·1 min read

The attack on the Rasak police station in the southeastern Sistan and Baluchistan province, which is prone to unrest, was claimed by “Jaish al-Adl,” a Sunni islamist organization active in the region. This was the latest in a string of similar incidents reported in the province, including a deadly armed...

INTERVIEW: ‘Climate of division’ creating more challenging environment for UN peacekeeping

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·December 18, 2023·7 min read

The 10-year-old mission in Mali, MINUSMA is currently winding down ahead of its end of December deadline to leave. In his speech to the UN General Assembly in September this year, Félix-Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombohe, President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, called for the UN peacekeeping mission, MONUSCO, to...