“Nearly 360,000 people have fled Rafah since the first evacuation order a week ago,” the UN agency said in a post on X, referencing leafleting by the Israeli military ordering those in eastern Rafah to leave their shelters. In another alert, UNRWA warned of ongoing “restricted humanitarian access” to and across the Gaza Strip that was…
The expansion of fighting throughout the country has deprived communities of basic needs and access to essential services and has had a devastating impact on human rights and fundamental freedoms, said Khalid Khiari, a UN Assistant Secretary-General whose portfolio straddles political and peacebuilding affairs as well as peace operations. The open briefing marked the first…
“Let me be clear: protecting civilians in times of conflict is not an aspiration or an ideal; it is an obligation and a commitment to our shared humanity,” UNRWA Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini said in a statement. Relentless air strikes and bombardments, coupled with evacuation orders from Israel, have displaced nearly one million people in…
Crossing the Darién jungle – on the border between Colombia and Panama – and its infamous and so-called Darién Gap, is an arduous undertaking, involving hikes over steep mountains, enduring torrential rain and fording swift rivers. Those on the move are also at risk of robbery and rape. The dangerous journey speaks of not only…
UNMAS issued a statement saying it was “deeply saddened and profoundly alarmed” by the deaths of 27 civilians, including 22 children, in a “tragic incident” involving unexploded ordnance (UXO) that occurred on Friday in the Lower Shabelle region. Fifty-three people were also injured. Innocent lives lost “UNMAS expresses its sincere condolences to the families affected…
UN Secretary-General António Guterres has called for greater action to protect oceans in his message to mark World Oceans Day on Thursday. “The ocean is the foundation of life. It supplies the air we breathe and food we eat. It regulates our climate and weather. The ocean is our planet’s greatest reservoir of biodiversity,” he…
This marked the seventh time that Europe’s largest nuclear power plant had been completely disconnected from the national electricity grid since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion 15 months ago, the agency said, noting that the facility was forced to run on emergency diesel generators once again. The plant’s only remaining external 750 kilovolt…
“One million species teeter on the brink of extinction, due to habitat destruction, fossil fuel pollution and the worsening climate crisis. We must end this war on nature,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned in his message for the Day. The scores of species of fauna and flora under threat from human activities include some that…
“I have rarely been so disturbed and heartbroken,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, speaking later at a media briefing. “The earthquake that struck more than three weeks ago adds unimaginable suffering to people who have already suffered so much over 12 years of war, economic collapse, the COVID-19 pandemic and an ongoing cholera outbreak.” …
