Commission of Inquiry finds further evidence of war crimes in Ukraine

World News in Brief: ICC slams ‘unacceptable threats’, DR Congo displacement, UNEP ‘Champions of the Earth’

ICC President Piotr Hofmański was presenting the independent court’s annual report to the UN in New York. The ICC was established in July 2002 under a treaty known as the Rome Statute and is based in The Hague, in the Netherlands. Mr. Hofmański noted that he himself, along with Prosecutor Karim Khan was on the list, which…

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World News in Brief: Ukraine aid convoy, attacks in South Sudan, radioactive discharge update

World News in Brief: Ukraine aid convoy, attacks in South Sudan, radioactive discharge update

A UN inter-agency convoy reached the front-line community of Huliaipole, located in the Zaporizhzhia region, bringing medicine, shelter kits, hygiene items and other assistance to support some 2,000 people. The town has suffered large-scale destruction and remains without power, water and gas, said UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric, speaking from New York. “Today’s humanitarian convoy was…

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World News in Brief: Ukraine dam disaster update, childcare investment, healthcare under fire in Sudan

World News in Brief: Ukraine dam disaster update, childcare investment, healthcare under fire in Sudan

These are the grim findings of an assessment published by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) on Thursday, which calls for both immediate and long-term remediation measures. Hundreds of square kilometres were flooded in the disaster, and thousands of square kilometres of reservoir and wetlands were desiccated. UNEP’s preliminary assessment carried out at the request of…

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Meth trafficking surges in and around Afghanistan

World News in Brief, Afghanistan rights abuses, Sudan crisis deepens, Australia votes no

The series of deadly earthquakes and possibility of massive involuntary returns, all add up to the need for urgent action to avoid further suffering and potential instability, said Richard Bennett.  “A grave picture has emerged, providing a glimpse of what may lie ahead for the human rights of many Afghans, particularly women and girls, and also…

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World News in Brief: Femicide ‘pandemic’, war crimes appeal to Israeli lawyers, Syria child detainees

World News in Brief: Femicide ‘pandemic’, war crimes appeal to Israeli lawyers, Syria child detainees

That’s the message from the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Morris Tidball-Binz, who said on Monday that perpetrators are mostly, but not exclusively, partners or ex-partners, and often escape accountability “due to a lack of proper investigation”. A 2022 report from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and UN…

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World News in Brief: Funds dry up for Afghan quake survivors, child deaths alert in Sudan, diphtheria outbreak in Guinea

World News in Brief: Funds dry up for Afghan quake survivors, child deaths alert in Sudan, diphtheria outbreak in Guinea

That’s the message from the UN World Food Programme (WFP), which appealed on Wednesday for $19 million to provide emergency food assistance to those “in desperate need” in the country’s western Herat province. The agency’s deputy director in Afghanistan Ana Maria Salhuana stressed that to assist earthquake survivors WFP “is having to take this food…

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500 still missing following Afghanistan earthquake, say UN aid teams

World News in Brief: 500 million heading into extreme poverty, Afghanistan quake latest, Darfur deaths mount

Marking the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, Mr. Guterres pointed out that nearly 700 million people are living on less than $2.15 per day and over a billion don’t have access to basic needs like food, water, health care and education. Billions more lack sanitation and access to energy, jobs, housing and social safety…

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Ukraine: Civilians bear ‘unbearable’ toll amid ‘unrelenting’ attacks

World News in Brief: UN ‘committed’ to aid Ukraine, blue helmets exit northern Mali, Chad update

That’s according to Humanitarian Coordinator Denise Brown, who led a convoy at the weekend carrying aid for around 1,000 civilians to Chasiv Yar, just six kilometres from the frontline in the Donetsk region. The UN aid coordination office OCHA warned on Monday that civilians are facing “daily attacks” along frontline areas in the east and…

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