May 01, 2024 No comments
World News in Brief: UN supporting Kenya flood victims, dozens more migrant deaths at sea, disinformation in Myanmar
INTERNATIONAL, 1 May 2024, Humanitarian Aid - The UN and humanitarian partners have provided emergency support for over 124,000 people in Kenya, where heavy rains continue to cause chaos, said the UN Spokesperson on Wednesday. Stéphane Dujarric told correspondents in New York that agencies were supporting the Government-led response to the heavy rains which have left more than 170 deaths since the middle of March, according to news reports. The UN and partners on the ground have been providing water, sanitation and hygiene supplies, together with food, health and psychosocial support. Supporting Government response “Our partners are also supporting rescue operations and setting up camps to host men, women and children displaced by the floods”, said Mr. Dujarric. “According to national authorities, the floods have impacted more than...
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May 01, 2024 No comments
Europe: Report highlights direct link between pandemic and childhood obesity
INTERNATIONAL, 1 May 2024, Health - The COVID-19 pandemic has led to increased obesity in school-aged children in Europe, the World Health Organization (WHO) office for the region said in a new report issued on Wednesday, sounding the alarm for action. Results from 17 countries showed that boys and girls aged seven to nine spent more time looking at screens and less time playing outside, mirroring an increase in overweight children in this same age range. More than 50,000 children were surveyed from 2021-23, following the start of the worldwide shutdowns in March 2020. A nuanced picture “The picture that this report paints is nuanced – in some countries there were positive changes, such as more families eating together, but there were also some concerning findings, including an...
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May 01, 2024 No comments
Palestine: General Assembly discusses failed UN membership bid
INTERNATIONAL, 1 May 2024, UN Affairs - Palestine’s recent attempt to become a full member of the United Nations was the focus of discussion in the General Assembly on Wednesday. A 2022 initiative, resolution76/262, calls for the UN’s most representative body to meet within 10 days if the veto is used in the Security Council by one of its permanent members - China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States – who are granted this special voting power. During a Council meeting on 18 April, the US vetoed a draft resolution that recommended that the General Assembly should hold a vote to allow Palestine full UN membership. Palestine is a ‘Permanent Observer State” at the UN, meaning that it can participate in all UN proceedings, except...
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April 30, 2024 No comments
Guterres calls on Israel and Hamas to end Gaza war
INTERNATIONAL, 30 April 2024, Peace and Security - With the situation in Gaza “worsening by the day”, UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Tuesday appealed for Israeli and Hamas leaders currently taking part in intense negotiations to reach a ceasefire agreement. “For the sake of the people of Gaza, for the sake of the hostages and their families in Israel and for the sake of the region and the wider world, I strongly encourage the Government of Israel and the Hamas leadership to reach now an agreement,” he said, speaking to journalists in New York. Mr. Guterres expressed fear that without an agreement, “the war, with all its consequences both in Gaza and across the region, will worsen exponentially”. Prevent Rafah escalation Nearly seven months have passed since...
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April 30, 2024 No comments
Gaza protests: UN rights chief flags ‘disproportionate’ police action on US campuses
INTERNATIONAL, 30 April 2024, Human Rights - The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on Tuesday said he was troubled by “a series of heavy-handed steps” taken by some universities in the United States to disperse and dismantle Gaza war protests. In recent days, demonstrations unfolding through tented encampments on school grounds – sparked by students at New York’s prestigious Columbia University who are demanding authorities divest from Israel due to its occupation and military assault on Gaza – have spread nationwide. University authorities from the west to east coast have taken different approaches, ranging from Columbia’s initial response to authorise police to clear protests by force to continuing negotiations and allowing the encampments to remain. Columbia protests intensify Columbia’s protesters ignored an ultimatum from the university to leave...
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