Europe grapples with highest number of measles cases in more than 25 years
“Measles is back, and it’s a wake-up call,” warned Dr. Hans Kluge, the World Health Organization (WHO) regional director for the European region. A total of 127,350 cases were reported in the region in 2024, double the number of cases…
UN chief hails Kyrgyz-Tajik border treaty breakthrough
The presidents of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, Sadyr Japarov and Emomali Rahmon, signed the agreement at a meeting in Bishkek, the Kyrgyz capital, earlier today, according to media reports. Closed since 2021, two checkpoints on the nearly 1,000-km-long Tajik-Kyrgyz border have…
Sudan war: Children facing ‘unimaginable suffering’, warns UNICEF chief
“This is not just a crisis, it is a poly-crisis affecting every sector, from health and nutrition to water, education and protection,” Catherine Russell, UNICEF Executive Director, told ambassadors in the Security Council. Since war erupted between the former allies-turned-rivals,…
‘Brighter future hangs in the balance’ in Syria after 14 years of war
The announcement comes as Syria marks 14 years since peaceful protests were met with brutal repression, igniting a conflict that has displaced millions and left the country in ruins. While the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in December 2024 initially…
Rights probe alleges sexual violence against Palestinians by Israeli forces used as ‘method of war’
“Israel has increasingly employed sexual, reproductive and other forms of gender-based violence against Palestinians as part of a broader effort to undermine their right to self-determination,” maintained Chris Sidoti from the Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT). ‘Increasingly…
WHO injects fresh support into DR Congo vaccination drive
The initiative aims to curb the spread of preventable diseases such as polio, measles and yellow fever which remain a persistent threat in hard-to-reach areas. Speedy response WHO delivered 79 outboard motors, two speedboats, 14 motorcycles and other essential equipment…
‘Haiti’s survival is at stake,’ says UN expert, warning of worsening crisis
After his fourth visit to assess conditions on the ground, Mr. O’Neill briefed journalists at UN Headquarters in New York, describing a nation overwhelmed by pain and despair. “I hate to sound like a broken record,” he said, “but the…
Bangladesh: Rohingya children’s acute hunger surges amid funding cuts
“Children in the world’s largest refugee camp are experiencing the worst levels of malnutrition since the massive displacement that occurred in 2017,” Rana Flowers, UNICEF representative in Bangladesh, told journalists in Geneva, almost eight years since hundreds of thousands of…
Women, girls bear brunt of cyberbullying against persons with disabilities
Recalling the mantra “nothing about us, without us”, which was coined by the disability rights movement, UN rights chief Volker Türk insisted that the international community was failing to uphold a fundamental tenet of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights with…
Afghanistan: Top UN envoy calls for ‘a moment of realism’, as Taliban’s isolation grows
Briefing ambassadors in the Security Council, Roza Otunbayeva, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General, warned that political engagement with the Taliban has yielded little progress, while frustration among international stakeholders is growing. “The space for engagement is narrowing,” she said,…