World News in Brief: Fighting continues in DR Congo, Russian anti-war campaigner harassment, LGBTQ rights

World News in Brief: Fighting continues in DR Congo, Russian anti-war campaigner harassment, LGBTQ rights

Stéphane Dujarric told correspondents at the regular press briefing in New York, that during the clashes, two rockets landed close to the UN peacekeeping base in Kimoka, about four kilometres northwest of Sake town, in North Kivu. No casualties on the UN side were reported, he said. The UN mission, MONUSCO, “remains deeply concerned by…

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Drastic erosion of women’s rights in Afghanistan continues

Drastic erosion of women’s rights in Afghanistan continues

Police enforcement has increased harassment in public spaces and further limited women’s ability to leave their homes, according to testimony from 745 Afghan women participating in the latest survey by UN Women, International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the UN’s Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA). The insights follow recent reports of the arbitrary and severe enforcement…

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Despite myriad challenges, UNRWA continues lifesaving work in Gaza

Despite myriad challenges, UNRWA continues lifesaving work in Gaza

Agency employees and volunteers at the UNRWA-affiliated Deir Al-Balah Preparatory School in central Gaza told UN News that despite difficult conditions restricting the movement of workers at many international aid organizations, they continue preparing and distributing food rations. Yousuf Sagr of UNRWA “People cannot buy any supplies due to their lack [of availability], and even…

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Gaza: Rafah now a ‘pressure cooker of despair’ as exodus south continues

Gaza: Rafah now a ‘pressure cooker of despair’ as exodus south continues

The warning from the UN aid coordination office, OCHA, comes nearly four months since Israel commenced a devastating bombing campaign in response to Hamas-led terror attacks on 7 October that left some 1,200 people butchered in southern Israeli communities and more than 250 taken hostage. “In recent days, thousands of Palestinians have been fleeing to…

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World News in Brief: ICJ to release emergency measures over Israel genocide allegations, Libya flood repair bill, leprosy stigma continues

World News in Brief: ICJ to release emergency measures over Israel genocide allegations, Libya flood repair bill, leprosy stigma continues

Since 7 October when Israel launched its military campaign to destroy Hamas in response to the militant group’s terror attacks in southern Israel that left some 1,200 dead and more than 250 taken hostage, Gaza health authorities have reported at least 25,700 killed and some 63,740 injured. In its case, which began earlier this month in…

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Attacks on or near Gaza hospitals ‘unconscionable, reprehensible and must stop’: Relief chief

Besieged Gaza hospital misery continues while rainfall prompts new health scare

“Rain will just add further to the suffering” of people in the Strip, WHO spokesperson Margaret Harris told reporters in Geneva, at a time when disruptions in sewage pumping and water shortages have caused a spike in waterborne diseases and bacterial infections.  The World Health Organization warned last week that since mid-October, over 33,500 cases of…

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Nepal quake: UN response continues, as aftershocks leave families traumatized

Nepal quake: UN response continues, as aftershocks leave families traumatized

According to agencies on the ground, more than 380 aftershocks have been reported since the 6.4 magnitude quake struck shortly before midnight of Friday into Saturday, local time. Initial findings suggest over 4,000 homes have been damaged in the worst affected districts of Rukum (West) and Jajarkot, leaving up to 1.3 million people without effective…

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