Gaza: Fresh airstrikes reported in centre, south, as conflict intensifies
In an update from Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis where victims have been admitted, veteran UN aid official Scott Anderson reported witnessing “some of the most horrific” scenes he had experienced in his nine months in Gaza. “With not…
The Gambia: UN salutes ‘monumental achievement’ as lawmakers uphold FGM ban
Parliamentarians in the West African country voted on Monday to reject a bill that sought to overturn a 2015 law against the harmful practice, which involves cutting or removing some or all of the external female genitalia. FGM is mostly carried…
South Sudan faces growing humanitarian crisis, warns WHO
The UN health agency insisted that the humanitarian, economic, social and political crises that began with brutal civil conflict in 2013 have been worsened by the recent influx of refugees from Sudan following the war between rival militaries there –…
Philippines: Humane approach to incarceration relieves chronic prison overcrowding
At the Manila City Jail in the Philippines capital, prisoners lie in neat rows as they demonstrate how they sleep every night. In male dormitory number 4 most do not have a mattress or even a bed; indeed it’s not…
First Person: Filipino elderly ex-prisoner’s joy of ‘sleeping and eating’
According to Government figures, the number of inmates are four times over the planned capacity, making the Philippines one of the most overcrowded penal systems in the world alongside countries like the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti and Uganda….
Gaza: Guterres ‘shocked and saddened’ by deadly strikes on Al Mawasi, as WHO and partners aid medical response
The UN Secretary-General António Guterres said via his Spokesperson late on Saturday that he was “shocked and saddened by the loss of lives”. Israeli officials said the attack had been a “precision” strike targeting top Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif…
UN humanitarians report severe displacement and critical needs in Gaza City
He said the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) and other partners were present on the trip. “The team said those displaced urgently need food, water, healthcare and protection,” Mr. Dujarric said during his daily…
Gaza: There is no alternative to UNRWA, Guterres declares
Speaking at a pledging conference for the agency, the UN chief outlined the countless challenges facing Palestinian civilians in Gaza who are “forced to move like human pinballs across a landscape of destruction and death”. “Hopelessness is the greatest ally…
Top official warns of weakened regional security following withdrawal from West African economic bloc by Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger
Leonardo Santos Simão, who heads the UN Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS), told the Security Council that by “renouncing ECOWAS”, the three military-led governments would be “relinquishing key benefits” including regional integration, freedom of movement, security cooperation…
DR Congo: Conflict escalation linked to deadly Mpox threat
For decades, conflict in the mineral-rich eastern DRC has triggered alarming levels of violence, mass displacement, widespread disease, gender-based violence and severe mental trauma, explained Dr Adelheid Marschang, Senior Emergency Officer at the World Health Organization (WHO). ‘Chronic and acute…