May 17, 2024 No comments
Gaza: Aid delivery via floating dock welcomed, but land routes ‘more important’
INTERNATIONAL, 17 May 2024, Humanitarian Aid - Trucks carrying desperately needed aid into Gaza have started moving ashore on the temporary floating dock built by the United States military, but this is not enough to meet the needs of civilians, UN humanitarian affairs office, OCHA, said on Friday. OCHA warned that the maritime corridor cannot replace critical land routes, which are the quickest and most effective way of delivering humanitarian aid in the besieged enclave, where more than two million Palestinians desperately need food, shelter and other assistance. “Any and all aid into Gaza is welcome by any route,” Spokesperson Jens Laerke told reporters in Geneva. “But, it is an addition, and it doesn’t take away the fact that land crossings will be more important.” Additional...
Read more
May 17, 2024 No comments
UN’s rights chief says horrified by Sudan escalation as famine draws nearer
INTERNATIONAL, 17 May 2024, Peace and Security - The UN’s top human rights official has personally intervened to try to stop spiralling violence in Sudan that’s having a terrifying impact on millions of civilians, who humanitarians say are “staring famine in the face”. According to the UN human rights office, OHCHR, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, held separate phone calls on Tuesday with Lt-General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, Commander of the Sudanese Armed Forces, and General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, who leads the rival Rapid Support Forces. Diplomatic approach Mr. Türk urged them both to act immediately – and publicly – to de-escalate the situation, said OHCHR spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani, who noted that the UN rights chief had previously approached the rival generals in November 2022. “He warned both commanders that...
Read more
May 17, 2024 No comments
Crimes against nature: UN agency puts environmental legislation under scrutiny
INTERNATIONAL, 17 May 2024, Climate and Environment - Global efforts to prevent crimes against nature and bring offenders to justice are being hampered by glaring differences in environmental protection laws among countries and regions, UN crime prevention experts said on Friday. "Stronger legislation can help deter potential and repeat offenders and expand the range of investigative tools and resources for law enforcement to stop crimes that affect the environment," said Angela Me, Chief of Research and Analysis at the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), presenting the report. Launched in Vienna, 'The Landscape of Criminalization’ is Part One of the first-ever Global Analysis of Crimes that Affect the Environment report. UNODC examines how all 193 UN Member States define crimes against nature and the punishments they...
Read more
May 16, 2024 No comments
Global economic growth improves but ‘downsides’ lurk
INTERNATIONAL, 16 May 2024, Economic Development - The global economic picture has improved since January, but vulnerabilities remain, the mid-year update of the World Economic Situation and Prospects report published on Thursday has revealed. The world economy is forecast to grow by 2.7 per cent in 2024, up from 2.4 per cent projected at the start of the year. Growth will reach 2.8 per cent in 2025, representing a slight increase. These changes are mainly due to better-than-expected performance in some large developed and emerging countries, notably Brazil, India, Russia and the United States. Inflation down, wages up Inflation is also down from the 2023 peak, said Shantanu Mukherjee of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), presenting the report to journalists in New York. “In developed...
Read more
May 16, 2024 No comments
Rights expert condemns death of Palestinian doctor in Israeli custody, urges independent inquiry
INTERNATIONAL, 16 May 2024, Human Rights - A renowned Palestinian orthopaedic surgeon’s death in Israeli detention has been labelled “horrifying’ by a UN human rights expert, prompting calls for an independent international investigation. Dr. Adnan Al Bursh, 50, the head of the orthopaedic department at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, died on April 19, 2024, in Ofer prison, a detention facility in the West Bank. His body has not yet been released by Israeli authorities. Before his death, he had reportedly been beaten in prison, with his body showing signs of torture. Dr. Al Bursh had been detained with other doctors and medical personnel by Israeli forces on 18 December 2023, at Al Awda Hospital in North Gaza. At that time, he was generally in good health and...
Read more
