Targeting Rafah could lead to slaughter, warns UN aid agency
“Any ground operation would mean more suffering and death” for the 1.2 million displaced Palestinians sheltering in and around the Strip’s southernmost city, OCHA spokesperson Jens Laerke told journalists in Geneva. Echoing those concerns, the UN World Health Organization (WHO)…
UN agencies warn of imminent starvation risk in Sudan’s Darfur region
Since fighting erupted last April between rival militaries, Sudan has witnessed shocking levels of violence, plunging the country into a devastating humanitarian and protection crisis. Close to 25 million people – more than half the population – are estimated to…
East Africa: UN support continues amid heavy rains, severe floods and cyclone threat
Torrential rains could worsen with the arrival of Tropical Cyclone Hidaya, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) warned on Friday. Prepare for impact The tropical cyclone is the first of its kind to develop in eastern Africa and is due to have a “very big…
10,000 people feared buried under the rubble in Gaza
“It could take up to three years to retrieve the bodies using the primitive tools they have on hand,” the UN aid coordination office, OCHA, said, amid rising temperatures that will accelerate the decomposition of bodies, potentially increasing the threat…
Palestine’s economy in ruins, as Gaza war sets development back two decades
The joint study by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), revealed that the poverty rate has surged to 58.4 per cent since the 7 October Hamas-led terror attacks began the escalation…
Sudan: Under siege, El Fasher teeters on the brink of famine
The war has left 25 million Sudanese needing aid, but in El Fasher, an ever tightening siege is cutting off vulnerable civilians who urgently need such basic essentials as food, water and medicines. UN News’s Abdelmonem Makki spoke to Toby Harward,…
UN rights chief urges Georgia to scrap ‘foreign influence’ bill
Thousands of people have taken to the streets for days to protest the draft Law on Transparency of Foreign Influence, which would require media and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) receiving more than 20 per cent of funding from abroad to register…
Palestine: General Assembly discusses failed UN membership bid
A 2022 initiative, resolution76/262, calls for the UN’s most representative body to meet within 10 days if the veto is used in the Security Council by one of its permanent members – China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the…
Gazans on tenterhooks awaiting news of ceasefire call
“One-third of all the families who live here have children under five, so many babies, so many kids,” said Matthew Hollingworth, UN World Food Programme (WFP) Palestine Country Director, speaking from a school in Deir Al Balah, run by the…
Europe: Report highlights direct link between pandemic and childhood obesity
Results from 17 countries showed that boys and girls aged seven to nine spent more time looking at screens and less time playing outside, mirroring an increase in overweight children in this same age range. More than 50,000 children were…