World News in Brief: Rights chief appalled at Nigeria mass abductions, ‘pervasive’ hunger in streets of Sudan, Syria child crisis

World News in Brief: Rights chief appalled at Nigeria mass abductions, ‘pervasive’ hunger in streets of Sudan, Syria child crisis

“I am appalled by the recurrent mass abductions of men, women and children in northern Nigeria. Children have been abducted from schools and women taken while searching for firewood. Such horrors must not become normalised,” he said. News reports indicate at least 564 people have been abducted since 7 March. More than 280 pupils were…

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World News in Brief: West Bank violence, UN humanitarian visits Hroza, Advisory Group on local governments

World News in Brief: Israeli settlement plan condemned, abductions in northern Nigeria, alarm over reported pre-election attacks in India

In a statement, Tor Wennesland reminded that all Israeli settlements the Occupied Palestinian Territory are illegal under international law. Permits for the new dwellings were approved by Israeli authorities on Wednesday, the first since the war in Gaza erupted on 7 October. According to news reports, the permits mean that more than 20,000 housing units…

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World News in Brief: UN rights chief condemns attacks in Nigeria, WFP supplies looted in Sudan, non-discrimination protections in the US

World News in Brief: UN rights chief condemns attacks in Nigeria, WFP supplies looted in Sudan, non-discrimination protections in the US

Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights called on the authorities to conduct prompt, thorough and independent investigations into the attacks that took place on Christmas Eve and to hold those responsible to account in fair trials. The violence occurred in the Plateau state, an ethnically and religiously diverse region, where inter-communal conflict has…

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In Nigeria, UN deputy chief and Malala champion girls’ right to education

In Nigeria, UN deputy chief and Malala champion girls’ right to education

The Pakistani education advocate – who was shot by the Taliban for her activism – was speaking exactly 10 years after her landmark ‘Malala Day’ address to youth at UN Headquarters in New York, where she called for global action against illiteracy, poverty and terrorism. Passionate message UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed introduced Malala, saying…

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North-eastern Nigeria: malnourished children fighting for their lives

North-eastern Nigeria: malnourished children fighting for their lives

The UN’s top humanitarian official in the country Matthias Schmale informed that severe hunger affects 4.3 million people in Nigeria’s Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states. The number of children under five at risk of life-threatening severe acute malnutrition has doubled in one year to reach 700,000. Describing the situation in the region, Mr. Schmale said:…

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