An uncertain future: Uprooted again, Nigerians who fled Boko Haram face new dangers
PHILIP OBAJI, JR, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports on aid workers’ claims that as camps for the displaced close in Borno state, thousands of people are now at risk of extreme poverty and labour exploitation…
Famine risk rises in Somalia as rains fail, food prices soar – UN
London, UKReuters Nearly a quarter of a million people are facing starvation in Somalia as a drought worsens and global food prices hover near record highs, United Nations agencies said on Monday. The agencies said a fourth consecutive rainy season had failed in the Horn of Africa country and meteorologists were warning of another below-average […]
UN Human Rights chief due to arrive in China for historic visit
Beijing, China/Geneva, SwitzerlandReuters The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet begins a visit to China on Monday, the first trip by a holder of the office since 2005 amid concerns that it could lead to an endorsement rather than scrutiny of China’s rights record. During the six-day trip, Bachelet will visit Xinjiang, […]
Forced displacements soared in Colombia in 2021, UN agency reports
Bogota, ColombiaReuters The forced displacement of communities soared in Colombia last year amid increased attacks against civilians by illegal armed groups and higher levels of violence, a UN agency said in a report on Wednesday. At least 73,974 people were displaced from their homes across the Andean country in 2021, more than double the previous […]
All homes on one of Tonga’s islands destroyed, three dead
Sydney, Australia/Wellington, New ZealandReuters All the homes on one of Tonga’s small outer islands have been destroyed by a massive volcanic eruption and tsunami, with three people so far confirmed dead, the government said on Tuesday in its first update since the disaster struck. With communications badly hampered by the severing of an undersea cable, information […]
Distress signal prompts UN concern after Tonga volcanic eruption
Sydney, Australia/Wellington, New ZealandReuters A distress signal has been detected in an isolated, low-lying group of islands in the Tonga archipelago following Saturday’s massive volcanic eruption and tsunami, the United Nations said, prompting particular concern for its inhabitants. Initial reports suggested no mass casualties on the main island of Togatapu, but two people were reported […]
“Horrified” UN official condemns reported killings in Myanmar
Reuters A senior UN official said he was horrified by the reported killing of at least 35 civilians in Myanmar and called on authorities to investigate the incident that opposition activists blamed on government soldiers. The ruling military has not commented on the incident near Mo So village in Kayah State on Friday and junta […]
Ethiopia expels seven UN officials, accusing them of “meddling”
Addis Ababa, EthiopiaReuters Ethiopia is expelling seven senior UN officials, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Thursday, two days after the world body’s aid chief warned a government blockade of aid had likely forced hundreds of thousands of people in the northern region of Tigray into famine. There has been increasing international criticism of […]
UN warns catastrophe looms in Ethiopia’s north, urges government to end de facto aid blockade
Nairobi, Kenya Reuters A de facto blockade on aid to the Tigray region in Ethiopia’s north is bringing millions of people to the brink of famine, the United Nations humanitarian agency said on Thursday, warning of “looming catastrophe”. The UN agency OCHA called on all parties in a 10-month-old war in Tigray to allow the […]
Ethiopian parents appeal for help to evacuate students stranded by Tigray war
Addis Ababa, EthiopiaReuters The parents of thousands of Ethiopian students stranded in the war-ravaged northern region of Tigray on Friday appealed for help to evacuate them after the main university warned it could not feed them for much longer amid food and cash shortages. Mekelle University, which gets its budget from the Federal Government, posted […]