May 10, 2021 No comments
ISIL crimes against Yazidis constitute genocide, UN investigation team finds
INTERNATIONAL, 10 May 2021, Peace and Security - A UN team investigating ISIL atrocities in Iraq has established “clear and convincing evidence” of genocide against the Yazidi religious minority, the Security Council heard on Monday. In his final briefing to ambassadors, Karim Khan, Special Adviser and Head of the team, known as UNITAD, reported that investigators have reached a “landmark moment” in their work. They have finalized initial case briefs on two key priorities: attacks against the Yazidi community in the Sinjar region in northern Iraq, and the mass killing of unarmed cadets and military personnel at Tikrit Air Academy in June 2014. “I am able to announce that based upon independent and impartial investigations, complying with international standards and UN best practice, there is clear...
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May 10, 2021 No comments
COVID’s grip keeps world in ‘perilous situation’
INTERNATIONAL, 10 May 2021, Health - Amidst an “unacceptably high plateau” in COVID-19 cases and deaths globally, the UN health agency chief on Monday shone a light on last week’s death toll that totalled almost 90 thousand people and 5.4 million reported cases. Despite decreased instances in most regions, including the two worst-affected – the Americas and Europe – World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told journalists at a regular press briefing, “any decline is welcome, but we have been here before”. “Over the past year, many countries have experienced a declining trend in cases and deaths, have relaxed public health and social measures too quickly, and individuals have let down their guard, only for those hard-won gains to be lost”, he warned. Trending upward...
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May 10, 2021 No comments
Free up ‘bottlenecks’ stifling Africa’s agri-food sector, urges FAO chief
INTERNATIONAL, 10 May 2021, Economic Development - The UN agriculture chief warned on Monday that severe underfunding of Africa’s agri-food sector has boosted food insecurity and was hampering the future development of countries across the continent. “Let's unblock the bottlenecks that are holding back potential by increasing coordination and upskilling human capacity in African nations”, urged QU Dongyu, Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Speaking at the launch of FAO's latest report, Public Expenditure on Food and Agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa, he added that funds must also be unlocked and public finance systems streamlined, “so that the scarce resources we have do not go unspent”. Based on “rigorous analysis over the last 15 years, made possible thanks to strong collaboration with our Members in the region”, the...
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May 10, 2021 No comments
Five things you should know about the state of the global economy
INTERNATIONAL, 10 May 2021, Economic Development - Is this the year we overcome the global economic crisis caused by the pandemic? Are our jobs in danger? Who has lost the most in the crisis and what can be done to recover? As the UN Department of Social and Economic Affairs (DESA) prepares to launch the mid-year update of the 2021 World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) report, here are five things you need to know about the state of the global economy. IMF/ Jake Lyell Dock workers unload fresh fish from a boat in Casablanca, Morocco. 1) US and China bounce back, but a slow recovery for developing countries While economic output in the United States and China is expected to grow robustly and lift global...
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May 09, 2021 No comments
UN chief and senior officials express deep concern over East Jerusalem violence
INTERNATIONAL, 9 May 2021, Peace and Security - The UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, and senior UN officials have expressed their deep concern over confrontations between Palestinians and Israeli security forces in East Jerusalem, particularly those which began on Friday evening, and continued into Sunday night. Several Palestinian children are among the wounded. The violence on Friday has been described as some of the worst seen in Jerusalem for many years. Some 200 Palestinians and 17 Israeli Police were reportedly injured in fighting around Haram Al-Sharif/Temple Mount. On Saturday, protesters reportedly threw stones at police, who responded with stun grenades, rubber bullets and water cannons and, on Sunday, fighting continued in East Jerusalem, ahead of a planned march by an Israeli group through the...
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