After nearly three months of complete blockade by Israel, a “vastly insufficient” amount of aid was finally allowed into the war-ravaged enclave in the last week, insisted Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN aid coordination office, OCHA. “We have not stopped operating,” he said, referring to staff still inside Gaza, who are tasked with liaising […]
In occupied East Jerusalem, meanwhile, Israeli protesters illegally entered a compound of the UN agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWA. The development comes after the Israeli military coordination unit COGAT said on Saturday that 388 trucks had entered Gaza since last Monday – the first aid to arrive in well over two months of blockade that […]
According to the UN mission, the overnight assault from Saturday into Sunday – one of the largest of its kind since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022 – resulted in civilian casualties and damage to homes and infrastructure across 10 regions of Ukraine, including the capital, Kyiv. At least three children were among those killed […]
The latest displacement brings the total number of people uprooted by violence, cyclones and social unrest in Mozambique to nearly 1.3 million, according to the UN refugee agency, UNHCR. The situation is particularly dire in Cabo Delgado province, where attacks by non-state armed groups continue to drive displacement, destroy infrastructure and disrupt recovery efforts. “Thousands […]
According to reports, one boat carrying 267 people from Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh and Rakhine State in Myanmar, sank on 9 May, with only 66 survivors, UNHCR said. The following day, a second boat fleeing with 247 people capsized, leaving just 21 survivors. In a separate incident, reports indicate that on 14 May, a third […]
But this is not universal. Many people worldwide struggle – unable to walk into clinics or explain their symptoms: “[These patients] do not line up on waiting lists. They wait, unknowingly, for inside understanding and the courage to seek care,” said Dr. Merete Nordentoft of Denmark, describing the patients with whom she has worked most […]
Conflict has plagued the DRC for decades, particularly in the east. Armed clashes escalated sharply this year as M23 rebels wrested control of Goma, the capital of North Kivu, in January, followed by Bukavu in South Kivu a month later. The security and humanitarian situation further deteriorated with recent outbreaks of anthrax and mpox in April and […]
The preparatory session brought together UN Member States to align expectations and finalise arrangements for eight thematic roundtables that will help shape the conference’s outcome. General Assembly President Philémon Yang urged countries to seize the crucial opportunity to finally make progress. “The horrors we have witnessed in Gaza for over nineteen months should spur us […]
At least 75 civilians have been killed in hostilities between the national army (SSPDF) and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army-In Opposition (SPLA-IO) – which is both a political party and militia group loyal to First Vice President Riek Machar – and their respective allied armed groups, said UN human rights office, OHCHR, in a press […]
Addressing reporters outside the Security Council, António Guterres called once again for a permanent ceasefire to end the fighting between Israeli forces and Hamas militants, the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages and full humanitarian access so aid can flow in following nearly 80 days of Israeli blockade. ‘Cruellest phase’ He said Palestinians in […]
Before granting Mauritius independence in 1968, Britain unlawfully separated the Chagos archipelago to create the British Indian Ocean Territory. In doing so, it expelled 1,500–2,000 islanders to lease Diego Garcia, the largest island, to the United States for joint military use. Under the agreement, the UK will lease the island of Diego Garcia for the […]
Speaking at a high-level open debate in the Security Council on protection of civilians in armed conflict on Thursday, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher described a grim picture of accelerating harm, disintegrating norms and growing impunity. “The scaffolding built last century to protect us from inhumanity is crumbling,” he said. “Those who will die […]
629 Palestinians were reportedly killed over the past week, according to OHCHR in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. At least 358 were killed because of attacks targeting houses and tents for displaced people, with children and women accounting for at least 148 of the victims. “The high number of strikes on shelters, in the context of […]
Over the past five years, the refugee population in Kenya has surged by more than 70 per cent – from approximately 500,000 to 843,000 – driven largely by conflict and drought in neighbouring Sudan and Somalia. Of these, around 720,000 people are sheltering in the Dadaab and Kakuma camps, as well as the Kalobeyei settlement. […]
The diplomats were gunned down on Wednesday night as they left an event at the Capital Jewish Museum in central Washington DC, where the American Jewish Committee was hosting a reception. They were identified as Yaron Lischinsky, 30, and Sarah Milgrim, 26, who were about to be engaged, according to officials and family members. A […]
We’re live as the Security Council convenes for its annual open debate on the protection of civilians in armed conflict, with briefings from UN relief chief Tom Fletcher and the head of UN Women Sima Bahous. Ambassadors will discuss evolving threats, including use of heavy weapons and the rise of lethal autonomous killing machines such […]
“Today will be crucial. Truckloads of lifesaving aid finally on move again,” said top UN aid relief coordinator Tom Fletcher. Hours earlier and in a major development, 198 trucks entered Gaza via the Kerem Shalom crossing in the south of the enclave, carrying nutrition supplies, medicines and wheat flour. Announcing the news online, Mr. Fletcher […]
The attack which left others wounded, took place in the district of Khuzdar, about 250 kilometres south of Quetta, Balochistan’s provincial capital. The area has long been troubled by separatist insurgency and militant activity. Deadly journey The school bus, which was reportedly transporting students to a Pakistani military-run school, was completely destroyed in the explosion […]
Since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in 2021, gang violence has permeated the capital Port-au-Prince and expanded into other regions, displacing over one million people. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates that more than half of the displaced are children, meaning one in eight Haitian children has been uprooted in recent years. Children […]
The Football for the Goals Forum brought UN leaders and some of the top voices in the world’s most popular sport to UN Headquarters in New York for the inaugural Champions for Change: Football and the UN Unite for the SDGs event. The UN has long recognised the role of sport in advancing the SDGs […]