World News in Brief: Food aid reaches Haitians, UN chief condemns attack on Slovakian leader, Russian strikes drive influx of evacuees in Ukraine

World News in Brief: Food aid reaches Haitians, UN chief condemns attack on Slovakian leader, Russian strikes drive influx of evacuees in Ukraine

Providing an update of the situation, he said the World Food Programme (WFP) distributed close to 10,000 hot meals on Monday and Tuesday to about 5,000 people displaced in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area. The UN agency started to transition from hot meals distributions to cash-based transfers for the displaced. “So far, more than 37,000 people…

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World News in Brief: Arson at UNRWA’s East Jerusalem office, UN probe on staff member’s death in Gaza, food insecurity in South Sudan

World News in Brief: Arson at UNRWA’s East Jerusalem office, UN probe on staff member’s death in Gaza, food insecurity in South Sudan

This time it was an “arson attempt by Israeli children and young people on UNRWA”, Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said in a social media post on Tuesday. “This has got to stop,” he said. Last Thursday evening, Mr. Lazzarini said Israeli residents had set fire twice to the perimeter of the UNRWA headquarters when staff from several…

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World News in Brief: Attacks on civilians in DR Congo, concern over conviction of trade union leader in Cambodia, gang violence in Haiti

World News in Brief: Children in eastern DR Congo, Iran death sentence, support for Haiti

Concluding a five-day visit to the region, UNICEF Deputy Director Ted Chaiban noted that fighting has reached new heights and created the worst humanitarian crisis there since 2003. He highlighted growing concerns for safeguarding children’s rights and protection of civilians as the situation worsens. Grave violations mount “Children are being killed, maimed, abducted, and recruited…

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‘Keep working with us to build a better world,’ Guterres says, as major UN civil society forum closes in Kenya

‘Keep working with us to build a better world,’ Guterres says, as major UN civil society forum closes in Kenya

At the closing session of the 2024 United Nations Civil Society Conference in the Kenyan capital, Secretary-General António Guterres and President William Ruto praised the efforts of civil society and underscored their “indispensable contributions.”  In his address, Mr. Guterres said time and again he had witnessed the enormous impact of civil society in every corner…

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World News in Brief: Vaccine ‘patches’ trial shows promise, lowering catheter infection risk, Guantanamo detainee facing revictimisation

World News in Brief: Vaccine ‘patches’ trial shows promise, lowering catheter infection risk, Guantanamo detainee facing revictimisation

But now, there could be an easier alternative in the form of patches that can be simply applied to the skin, much like a sticking plaster. Early data from a vaccine patch trial in the Gambia has shown promising indications that it could be effective in protecting children from measles. The UN World Health Organization…

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World News in Brief: Human rights in Haiti, 750,000 hit by East Africa floods, Namibia health milestone

World News in Brief: Human rights in Haiti, 750,000 hit by East Africa floods, Namibia health milestone

The experts detailed the far-reaching impacts of the violence and lawlessness that has led to chaos across the capital, Port-au=Prince, and other areas under gang control this year. “The outbreak of violence in Haiti has resulted in loss of livelihoods and food insecurity, widespread and multiple displacement, the collapse of education, breakdown of healthcare and…

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World News in Brief: Attacks on civilians in DR Congo, concern over conviction of trade union leader in Cambodia, gang violence in Haiti

World News in Brief: Attacks on civilians in DR Congo, concern over conviction of trade union leader in Cambodia, gang violence in Haiti

The camps were in the neighbourhoods of Lac Vert and Mugunga, near Goma, the provincial capital of North Kivu, which has seen a sharp uptick in violence over the past few months.  UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq told journalists at UN Headquarters in New York that the situation around Goma continues to remain very tense,…

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World News in Brief: Palestinian journalists win top press freedom prize, child migrant detention, Niger meningitis epidemic

World News in Brief: Palestinian journalists win top press freedom prize, child migrant detention, Niger meningitis epidemic

The top award for reporters who have born witness to the destruction of much of their homeland under Israel’s relentless bombardment came at the recommendation of an international jury of media professionals. “In these times of darkness and hopelessness we wish to share a strong message of solidarity and recognition to those Palestinian journalists who…

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