May 13, 2024 No comments
Rafah exodus reaches 360,000 as UN underscores $2.8 billion aid appeal for Gaza, West Bank
INTERNATIONAL, 13 May 2024, Peace and Security - Nearly 360,000 people have fled Rafah in the last week amid continuing Israeli bombardment that has crippled humanitarian aid deliveries and is believed to have killed another UN aid worker, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, said on Monday. “Nearly 360,000 people have fled Rafah since the first evacuation order a week ago,” the UN agency said in a post on X, referencing leafleting by the Israeli military ordering those in eastern Rafah to leave their shelters. In another alert, UNRWA warned of ongoing “restricted humanitarian access” to and across the Gaza Strip that was now “a matter of life or death” for Gazans already suffering “relentless bombardments and food insecurity”. The development comes one week since Israel moved ahead...
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May 13, 2024 No comments
Calls for sustained peace efforts in Yemen as cholera outbreak worsens
INTERNATIONAL, 13 May 2024, Peace and Security - The suffering of civilians in Yemen, a country enduring nearly a decade of conflict, remains severe and is worsened by a growing cholera outbreak, the UN’s top humanitarian official cautioned on Monday. Martin Griffiths, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, stressed the critical need for sustained peace efforts during a briefing to Security Council ambassadors. “The conflict in Yemen has been the key driver of humanitarian needs. It has deeply undercut the country’s economy, decimated half of its health facilities, displaced millions of people, and allowed hunger and disease to prosper under these circumstances,” he emphasized. Compounding these challenges is a rapidly escalating cholera outbreak, with over 40,000 suspected cases and a rising death toll, particularly affecting Houthi (known also as Ansar...
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May 13, 2024 No comments
Nearly 2,000 children killed in Ukraine war: UNICEF
INTERNATIONAL, 13 May 2024, Peace and Security - Nearly 2,000 children in Ukraine have lost their lives amidst ongoing and escalating war, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Monday, citing UN-verified data. UNICEF Europe and Central Asia Regional Office and its Regional Director, Regina De Dominicis, released a joint statement saying, “At least 1,993 children in Ukraine have been killed or injured since the escalation of war more than two years ago, an average of two child casualties each day.” The statement said this tally of children’s deaths is likely to be higher. The attacks in Ukraine have harmfully affected the mental health and well-being of children, with half of teenagers reporting trouble sleeping, and one in five reporting having intrusive thoughts and flashbacks. “As we see in all...
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May 13, 2024 No comments
Countless lives at stake in Sudan’s El Fasher, warn UN aid teams
INTERNATIONAL, 13 May 2024, Peace and Security - Reports have been coming in that a hospital in Sudan’s North Darfur has been damaged in a heavy uptick of hostilities, leaving two youngsters dead and fanning renewed famine fears, UN aid teams have said. According to UN emergency relief chief Martin Griffiths, a “strike” damaged the roof of the intensive care unit at Southern Hospital in El Fasher Town – the only working hospital in North Darfur state – where medical supplies are running dangerously low. Some 800,000 people live in and around El Fasher Town where “countless lives are at stake. Sudan is at a tipping point,” Mr. Griffiths said in a message on X late Sunday. Key city at stake In an update on the hostilities, the UN aid coordination office (OCHA)...
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May 13, 2024 No comments
‘Untold harm to nature’ from wildlife trafficking, warns UN crime agency
INTERNATIONAL, 13 May 2024, Law and Crime Prevention - Despite two decades of worldwide efforts, more than 4,000 precious wildlife species still fall prey to trafficking every year, a new report by the UN crime and drugs prevention office, UNODC, showed on Monday. “Wildlife crime inflicts untold harm upon nature and it also jeopardizes livelihoods, public health, good governance and our planet’s ability to fight climate change,” said Ghada Waly, UNODC Executive Director. The agency’s World Wildlife Crime Report takes stock of the efforts to counter poaching worldwide. Although there are positive signs that trafficking of some iconic species has decreased, including elephants and rhinoceroses – thanks to the dismantling of large trafficking networks and the suppression of demand in key markets – the overall picture is still gloomy...
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