Timor-Leste’s road to peace has not been easy. In 1976, not long after Indonesia became independent it invaded the eastern part of the island of Timor, formerly a Portuguese colony. An unhappy period of occupation, punctuated by violent repression, followed until 1999 when, with the support of the UN, the...
Myanmar’s Enduring Polycrisis: Four Years into a Tumultuous Journey, launched on Wednesday, points to the bleak picture of a nation in freefall, with nearly half the population living below the poverty line, essential services crumbling and the economy in disarray. With no political resolution in sight, the crisis is expected...
More than 15 months on from the 7 October terror attacks by Hamas in Israel, António Guterres said the UN will continue doing its “utmost to ensure it leads to the release of all hostages – since the beginning we have asked for the unconditional and immediate release of all hostages...
Thirteen civilians were killed, and 110 injured, when two aerial bombs struck an industrial facility in the southern city. This marks the largest number of casualties the HRMMU has recorded since a residential building in Dnipro city was struck on 14 January 2023, and the deadliest since a supermarket in...
Covering the period of September to November 2024, the report describes intensified Russian attacks on populated areas, deliberate strikes on energy infrastructure, and efforts to restrict fundamental rights. “Behind each of the facts and figures in this report are stories of loss and human suffering, showing the devastating impact of...
WHO recalled that on 31 December 2019, its Country Office in China picked up a media statement by the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission from their website on cases of “viral pneumonia” in the city. “In the weeks, months and years that unfolded after that, COVID-19 came to shape our lives...
“I am continually inspired by the strength and courage of the Ukrainian people. As I have travelled to Kharkiv, Kherson, Mykolaiv, Sumy, Zaporizhzhia, and most recently to Kramatorsk and Lyman, I have seen for myself how the disruption of essential services such as electricity, water and heating affects people. I...
Reflecting on 2024, he stated that “hope has been hard to find”, with wars causing enormous pain, suffering and displacement, and inequalities and divisions fuelling tensions and mistrust. “And today I can officially report that we have just endured a decade of deadly heat,” he said. ‘No time to lose’...
The study, released on Friday, finds that the rights of a record number of children are being violated, including by being killed and injured, missing out of school and life-saving vaccines, and being critically malnourished; the number is only expected to grow. From Palestine to Myanmar, Haiti to Sudan, the...
“Without lifting economic restrictions, enabling recovery, and investing in development, the Palestinian economy may not be able to restore pre-war levels and advance forward by relying on humanitarian aid alone,” Gaza war: Expected socioeconomic impacts on the State of Palestine, concludes, produced by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the...
On the first day of his second term, Secretary-General Hammarskjöld (back of car, at right) leaves UN Headquarters on the way to the luncheon at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in his honour, hosted by New York City Mayor Robert Wagner. Significant new information According to the UN’s Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq,...
The lyrics include references to an earthquake, a massive wave, land submerged under water and locating to higher ground. “When there is an earthquake and a tsunami, you are in panic, you cannot be expected to think. This is why the emergency drill must be ingrained and be second nature....