Ukraine war keeps nuclear safety on a knife-edge, UN watchdog warns

Ukraine war keeps nuclear safety on a knife-edge, UN watchdog warns

Russian forces have been carrying out strikes on critical infrastructure amid freezing winter temperatures as their full-scale invasion approaches the four-year mark next month.  IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi said the electrical grid was again the target of military activity this past weekend, leading to significant impacts to several regions and nuclear power plant operations.  Power lines down  The fighting caused […]

UN watchdog warns Ukraine war remains world’s biggest threat to nuclear safety

UN watchdog warns Ukraine war remains world’s biggest threat to nuclear safety

Addressing the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors, Director General Rafael Grossi said the agency remains focused on preventing a nuclear accident as fighting continues to endanger critical infrastructure. “The conflict in Ukraine is about to enter its fifth year,” Mr. Grossi said. “It continues to pose the world’s biggest threat to nuclear […]

US withdrawal from WHO ‘risks global safety’, agency says in detailed rebuttal

The statement, released on Saturday, also includes a rebuttal of the US administration’s reasoning for the measures. In response to government statements that the WHO has “trashed and tarnished” and insulted it, and compromised its independence, the agency notes that “the reverse true,” and that the WHO has always sought to “engage with the United […]

Safety on and off the pitch: Closing down child trafficking in sport

Safety on and off the pitch: Closing down child trafficking in sport

“Sports give me a sense of belonging as a girl. When I play, it affirms my right to play sports and exposes me to wider opportunities,” she said.   This is what sport should represent for young people worldwide. However, a new campaign supported by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) works to counter a […]

UN chief condemns Russian strikes on Ukraine, warns of nuclear safety risk

UN chief condemns Russian strikes on Ukraine, warns of nuclear safety risk

In a statement issued by his spokesperson, António Guterres expressed alarm over the dangerous escalation and the rising toll on civilians. He reiterated that attacks against civilians and critical infrastructure are prohibited under international law and called for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire. “These strikes disrupted the power supply to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, […]

Shelter and safety elude Afghan women returnees from Iran and Pakistan

Shelter and safety elude Afghan women returnees from Iran and Pakistan

Since September 2023, more than 2.43 million undocumented Afghan migrants have returned from Iran and Pakistan. Women and girls account for about half of the returnees from Pakistan, while their share among those returning from Iran has been steadily rising, reaching around 30 per cent in June. The escalating pace of returns is straining Afghanistan’s […]

SECURITY COUNCIL LIVE: Ambassadors debate safety of civilians with 36,000 lives lost during conflict last year

SECURITY COUNCIL LIVE: Ambassadors debate safety of civilians with 36,000 lives lost during conflict last year

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 […]

‘We can do better’ for pedestrian and cyclist safety worldwide

‘We can do better’ for pedestrian and cyclist safety worldwide

These are the exact sort of urban initiatives which the UN Global Road Safety Week – kicking off on Monday – aims to celebrate and promote. First established in 2007, this year’s week is dedicated to the theme “Make walking and cycling safe.” “Walking and cycling should be the most ordinary, and therefore, the safest […]

Sudan drone attacks raise fears for civilian safety and aid efforts

Sudan drone attacks raise fears for civilian safety and aid efforts

“These attacks appear to be the latest in a series of retaliatory military operations, conducted by the Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese Armed Forces, targeting airports in each other’s areas of control,” UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq told reporters in New York on Monday. The fighting between troops of the military Government and former […]