World News in Brief: $12 million for Haiti, Ukraine airstrikes condemned, support mine action

World News in Brief: $12 million for Haiti, Ukraine airstrikes condemned, support mine action

“These funds will enable aid partners to reach the hardest hit,” UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths said on Thursday in a post on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter.  Port-au-Prince has been terrorised by armed gangs, and last month, they tightened their grip following a weekend jailbreak which allowed thousands of criminals to…

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World News in Brief: Civilian deaths in Ukraine, refugees in Cameroon at risk, older women facing abuse, cholera in Somalia

World News in Brief: Civilian deaths in Ukraine, refugees in Cameroon at risk, older women facing abuse, cholera in Somalia

News reports said that residential buildings in the northern city of Kharkiv had been hit, killing one and injuring 16, quoting the city’s mayor.  Four children were wounded, with images posted to social media showing extensive damage and a body visible lying on the floor. The UN’s Denise Brown said that international law must be…

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UN report details ‘climate of fear’ in Russian occupied areas of Ukraine

UN report details ‘climate of fear’ in Russian occupied areas of Ukraine

Based on over 2,300 testimonies from victims and witnesses, the report details measures taken by Russia to impose Russian language, citizenship, laws, court system and education curricula in the occupied areas, while at the same time suppressing expressions of Ukrainian culture and identity, and dismantling its governance and administrative systems. “The actions of the Russian…

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Top UN official slams Russia’s illegal elections in occupied Ukraine

Top UN official slams Russia’s illegal elections in occupied Ukraine

“Russia’s intention to conduct presidential elections from today, 15 March, until 17 March in areas of Ukraine under its control are unacceptable,” said Rosemary DiCarlo, Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, said. Under international humanitarian law, the occupying power – in this case, Russia – must uphold the laws of Ukraine in the occupied territories, she…

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World News in Brief: WFP boosts aid in Chad amid Sudan crisis, Ukraine education boost, counter-terrorism, the right to privacy

World News in Brief: WFP boosts aid in Chad amid Sudan crisis, Ukraine education boost, counter-terrorism, the right to privacy

The World Food Programme announced the operation on Tuesday and warned that lifesaving programmes in Chad will stop because of a funding crunch “in a matter of weeks”. Thousands of Sudan refugees continue to stream over the border into Chad to escape heavy fighting between warring generals that began last April.   Around one million…

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Ukraine war: Alarm raised in Security Council over civilian attacks

Ukraine war: Alarm raised in Security Council over civilian attacks

“We condemn all attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure,” said Khaled Khiari, Assistant Secretary-General at the UN Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations. “They are prohibited under international law; they are unacceptable and must stop now.” “Regrettably, our repeated calls for protection of civilians appear to fall on deaf ears,” he said,…

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Wheat from war-torn Ukraine to feed families affected by conflict in Sudan

Wheat from war-torn Ukraine to feed families affected by conflict in Sudan

The in-kind donation – part of the ‘Grain from Ukraine’ humanitarian initiative launched by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy – arrived in the coastal city of Port Sudan and was loaded onto WFP trucks for emergency food distributions. The UN agency is working around the clock to urgently deliver critical food assistance to families who are struggling…

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