World News

9 October 2024 Health Our “collective amnesia” about how bad the COVID-19 pandemic was should not prevent us from protecting ourselves and our loved ones from the ongoing spread of respiratory diseases as the northern hemisphere prepares for winter, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday. Coronaviruses like COVID, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) “must be taken seriously” as they are particularly dangerous for at-risk groups including the elderly...

In a briefing to the UN Human Rights Council on Tuesday, UN rights chief Volker Türk highlighted the widespread devastation and violations of international law that have defined the conflict. He noted that July 2024 was the deadliest month for civilians since October 2022, with a sharp rise in casualties due to large-scale Russian attacks across Ukraine. Between June and August, civilian casualties surged by 45 per cent compared to the previous three months, driven by missile, drone, and...

UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric reminded journalists in New York at the regular noon briefing that famine conditions have already been confirmed in the Zamzam camp for the displaced, just outside the city, “and we think that other camps in the area are likely to have famine conditions.” El Fasher is the last city in Darfur held by the national army which has been battling its powerful rival, the Rapid Support Forces militia for control of the country since April last year. Atrocities...

Hearing loss already costs the continent $27 million annually, exacting profound impact on lives and economies, according to the report, which was launched at the African Summit on Hearing Impairment in Nairobi, Kenya. Widespread hearing loss disproportionately affects poor and vulnerable populations. WHO warned that without urgent interventions it will continue to escalate, amplifying existing inequalities in access to health services. Children at a loss The UN agency said hearing loss...

Research conducted by the UN human rights office, OHCHR, revealed that 67 nuclear tests performed between 1946 and 1958 by the United States Government in the Marshall Islands left communities displaced and contributed to radioactive land and sea pollution. “The nuclear legacy casts a long shadow across generations and the High Commissioner’s report highlights this legacy remains a lived reality for the Marshallese people,” Nada Al-Nashif, the UN Deputy High Commissioner, said in an...

The latest death toll has surpassed more than 41,000 people, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health – the majority of them women and children – while most of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million have been forcibly displaced and trapped in only 10 per cent of the territory, but in this grim situation, new initiatives aim at radiating even the slightest sliver of light amid the darkness of war. In the Al-Mawasi area, west of Khan Younis, teacher Mahmoud Kallakh set up a camp aimed at...

Jean-Pierre Lacroix, UN Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, expressed deep alarm over the escalation in southern Lebanon and the impact on civilians, reiterating the need for a cessation of hostilities and negotiations to restore calm. “UNIFIL peacekeepers feel duty-bound to the mandate given to them by the Security Council, and they feel duty-bound to the population in southern Lebanon,” he told journalists at UN Headquarters in New York, referring to the UN Interim Force in...

The warning on Thursday comes as the SAF launched a major offensive last month to regain control of key areas currently held by the RSF. The two armies led by rival generals have been locked in a brutal power struggle since April 2023. The fighting has driven more than 11 million people from their homes in Sudan, including around 2.9 million forced into neighbouring countries as refugees. Together with climate shocks and devastating disasters, the fighting has destroyed countless...

By Vibhu Mishra 1 October 2024 Humanitarian Aid More than 215 people, including 35 children, have been killed and dozens are missing after heavy rains triggered flash floods and landslides across Nepal, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday. Many of the deaths have occurred in the capital, Kathmandu, which witnessed the most intense rains in over half a century. Hundreds of houses along with schools and hospitals have been damaged and the southern portion of the city remains inundated...

30 September 2024 UN Affairs The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Syria, Bassam Sabbagh, on Monday said the world was at a critical juncture, marked by widespread conflict, economic hardship and environmental degradation. All of these, he told the UN General Assembly, are exacerbated by failures of multilateral diplomacy and the failure of the United Nations to achieve its founding objectives. “While we previously sought to promote preventive diplomacy and the peaceful settlement of...