Global child mortality rates dropped in 2022 but progress slow, UN says
London, UK Reuters The number of children globally who died before their fifth birthday dropped to a record low of 4.9 million in 2022, but that still represents one death every six seconds, according to new United Nations estimates. While the mortality rate for under-5s has roughly halved since 2000, the world is still behind […]
US proposes UN Security Council oppose Rafah assault while 26 EU countries warn Israel against “catastrophic” offensive
United Nations Reuters The United States has proposed an alternative draft United Nations Security Council resolution calling for a temporary ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war and opposing a major Israeli ground offensive in Rafah in southern Gaza, according to the text seen by Reuters on Monday. Washington has been averse to the word ceasefire in […]
UN to seek $US3.1 billion in aid for Ukraine in 2024
Geneva, SwitzerlandReuters United Nations agencies will next week ask for $US3.1 billion to finance aid to Ukraine this year, a senior humanitarian official told the UN Security Council on Wednesday. People stand next to a destroyed residential house and a crater at the site of a Russian missile strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in […]
UN experts sound alarm over planned first US execution by nitrogen gas
Geneva, SwitzerlandReuters United Nations experts urged US authorities on Wednesday to halt the planned execution of a prisoner by asphyxiation using pure nitrogen, saying the untested method may subject him to “cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or even torture.” Kenneth Smith, convicted for a murder-for-hire committed in 1988, is scheduled to be executed in the […]
UN foresees more displacement because of Gaza conflict
Geneva, SwitzerlandReuters The United Nations refugee chief warned that the Gaza conflict could spur more displacement in the wider region as UN officials, politicians and aid groups gathered in Geneva on Wednesday to seek solutions to a global displacement crisis. A record 114 million people around the world have been driven from their homes, including […]
Nearly 50 million facing hunger in West, Central Africa as conflict spreads
Dakar, SenegalReuters A record 49.5 million people are expected to go hungry in West and Central Africa next year due to a combination of conflict, climate change and high food prices, the United Nations said on Tuesday. The figure is four per cent higher than in 2023. In coastal countries, the number of people facing […]
United Nations demands humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza
United Nations Reuters The United Nations on Tuesday demanded an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war after more than three-quarters of the 193-member General Assembly backed the move, which had been vetoed by the United States in the Security Council last week. Washington does not have a veto in the General Assembly. It voted […]
UN appeals for $UN46 billion to meet humanitarian needs in 2024
Geneva, SwitzerlandReuters The United Nations on Monday appealed for $US46 billion in funding for 2024 to help millions of people affected by humanitarian crises around the globe, including in the occupied Palestinian territories, Sudan and Ukraine. In its Global Humanitarian Overview for 2024, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that nearly […]
“Where are you?” – Israeli hostage families urge women’s groups to speak up
Tel Aviv, IsraelReuters Choking back tears and shaking with anger, families and supporters of Israeli women and girls held captive by Hamas in Gaza lashed out at global women’s rights groups on Monday, asking why they have not spoken up for their loved ones. A woman reacts, as people gather in front of the United […]
To cease fire or pause? US, Russia poised for UN showdown on Israel
United NationsReuters The United States and Russia have put forward rival plans at the United Nations to help Palestinian civilians caught in the Israel-Hamas conflict in the Gaza Strip: a humanitarian pause or a ceasefire. Both countries seek UN Security Council resolutions to address shortages of food, water, medical supplies and electricity in Gaza. But […]