World News in Brief: $850 million plan to support Rohingya refugees, child rights, Haiti aid update

World News in Brief: $850 million plan to support Rohingya refugees, child rights, Haiti aid update

The 2024 Joint Response Plan backed by the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, and migration agency, IOM, is led by the Government of Bangladesh. It seeks to alleviate the plight of around one million Rohingya refugees living in densely-populated camps in Cox’s Bazar and on the island of Bhasan Char after they fled ethnic violence in…

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World News in Brief, deadliest year for migrants, Syria refugee support crisis, Shamima Begum appeal

World News in Brief, deadliest year for migrants, Syria refugee support crisis, Shamima Begum appeal

Nearly 8,600 people on the move died in 2023, a 20 per cent increase from 2022, according to the UN agency’s Missing Migrants Project online platform. It details the global movement of people risking their lives to escape conflict, economic crisis and natural disasters, including drought and flooding linked to climate change. IOM says the…

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Zero Waste Day: UN calls for a war on garbage

Earth’s ‘life support system’ is being destroyed by global business paradigm, UN expert warns

In a hard-hitting report to the Human Rights Council, Special Rapporteur David Boyd underscored that current business practices, particularly large coporations, pose a severe threat to the planet’s ecological integrity. ‘Colossal impacts’ of the ultrarich Mr. Boyd emphasized the “colossal impacts” on natural resources, which are being consumed six times faster than the planet can…

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UN chief appeals for greater support for small islands fighting climate change

UN chief appeals for greater support for small islands fighting climate change

Mr. Guterres visited a project that is helping the Caribbean nation to combat the effects of coastal erosion and rising seas – among the impacts of global warming. While commending the initiative, known as the Georgetown Sea Defense, he underlined the need for greater solidarity and financial support. UN Photo/Lucanus Ollivierre Efforts to tackle erosion…

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World News in Brief: Haiti child displacement, Hong Kong torture claims, support Sudan refugees

World News in Brief: Haiti child displacement, Hong Kong torture claims, support Sudan refugees

Escalating armed violence in Haiti has triggered a profound humanitarian crisis, the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, warned on Wednesday. At least 170,000 children are now displaced – double the number from last year – amid a surge in gang-led killings and kidnappings, sexual violence and a severe food crisis. “In Haiti, children and families are…

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UN aid official urges increased support for Niger

UN aid official urges increased support for Niger

Approximately 4.3 million people, over half of them children, have been affected by a multifaceted crisis characterized by conflict, climate-induced disasters, hunger and epidemics.   A military coup in July 2023 and the ensuing political instability has further exacerbated their plight. Edem Wosornu, Operations Director at the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA),…

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World News in Brief: Deep concern over Afghan arrests, UN commits to stay and deliver in Mali, new migrant support plan

World News in Brief: Deep concern over Afghan arrests, UN commits to stay and deliver in Mali, new migrant support plan

Since 1 January, in Kabul and Daykundi provinces, UNAMA has documented a series of hijab decree enforcement campaigns by the de facto Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, aided by Taliban police units. In the capital, Kabul, large numbers of women and girls have been warned and detained, said the…

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