Sudan crisis has ‘effectively put on hold’ political dispute over Abyei

Sudan crisis has ‘effectively put on hold’ political dispute over Abyei

“With the conflict in Sudan, the conditions are not conducive for talks on the final status of Abyei. The progress that was made [earlier this year] unfortunately was not something that we could build upon,” Hanna Serwaa Tetteh, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Horn of Africa, told ambassadors. “Key Sudanese and South Sudanese leaders…

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Israel-Palestine crisis: Gaza’s north cut off from aid; death toll rising

Israel-Palestine crisis: Gaza’s north cut off from aid; death toll rising

According to the Hamas-run Ministry of Health, 8,805 Palestinians have been killed since 7 October, including at least 3,648 children and 2,187 women, and some 22,240 have been injured, UN humanitarian coordination affairs office OCHA said. Strikes on Jabalia Refugee Camp OCHA stressed that as Israeli ground operations and bombardments in northern Gaza continued, “among…

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World News in Brief: Russia pulls out of nuclear test ban treaty, climate ‘health crisis’, pushback against bullying

World News in Brief: Russia pulls out of nuclear test ban treaty, climate ‘health crisis’, pushback against bullying

It opened for signatures in 1996 and has been ratified by 178 countries. Some major powers including the US and China have not done so, and it has yet to come into force, lacking the required support. According to the Kremlin, say media reports, the move levels the nuclear playing field given the failure of…

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Israel-Palestine crisis: UN welcomes first medical evacuations from Gaza

Israel-Palestine crisis: UN welcomes first medical evacuations from Gaza

“We have been working with Egypt’s Health Ministry on planning for medical evacuations and will continue to support,” said the World Health Organization (WHO) head. His comments came amid reports that the Rafah passenger terminal between Egypt and Gaza had been allowed to opened on an exceptional basis Wednesday morning for the first time since…

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Toll of Israel-Palestine crisis on children ‘beyond devastating’

Toll of Israel-Palestine crisis on children ‘beyond devastating’

UN relief chief Martin Griffiths, who has been visiting Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, spoke to families in Gaza over the phone from east Jerusalem on Tuesday and said that what they have endured since the start of Israel’s retaliation for Hamas’ deadly 7 October attacks is “beyond devastating”. “When an eight-year-old tells you…

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Amid Middle East crisis, ‘brutal and far-reaching’ war continues in Ukraine

Amid Middle East crisis, ‘brutal and far-reaching’ war continues in Ukraine

Ramesh Rajasingham, Director of the Coordination Division at the UN relief wing OCHA, addressed ambassadors, highlighting the urgent need for humanitarian support with the winter freeze approaching, and access to essential services an increasing challenge. He outlined efforts by relief workers to provide support to communities on the frontline and in hard-to-reach areas, including ensuring…

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Israel-Palestine crisis has ‘reached an unprecedented level of dehumanisation’: Independent rights expert

Israel-Palestine crisis has ‘reached an unprecedented level of dehumanisation’: Independent rights expert

In an interview with UN News, UN Human Rights Council-appointed expert Francesca Albanese, said it was “impossible to describe the pain and suffering that Israelis are going through because of what happened to them…because there are not only those who were killed, those who were taken hostage, but there is an entire population that was…

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