UN and African Union sign new human rights agreement

UN and African Union sign new human rights agreement

At the meeting, UN Secretary-General António Guterres and AU Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat signed a framework agreement on human rights, which follows a previous accord on peace and security, and another on development.  Speaking afterwards to reporters, they underscored the need to reform the global financial architecture to reflect current realities. “What Africa needs…

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Gaza doctors ‘terrified’ of deadly disease outbreak as aid teams race to deliver

Gaza doctors ‘terrified’ of deadly disease outbreak as aid teams race to deliver

Priorities include transporting fuel to the north of the war-torn enclave, so that it can be used to power hospitals, provide clean water and maintain other vital civilian infrastructure. Such services have been massively impacted by weeks of Israeli bombardment in response to Hamas’s 7 October massacres in southern Israel that left some 1,200 dead…

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Somali-born champion of refugee education wins top UNHCR award

Somali-born champion of refugee education wins top UNHCR award

Abdullahi Mire grew up in the sprawling Dadaab refugee complex in northeastern Kenya with its population today of more than 240,000 registered refugees, mostly from Somalia. The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) coordinates operations there together with partners, relying also on the support of the Kenyan Government and host communities. The majority of the population, around…

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As record warming puts climate targets at risk, young people’s ‘green skills’ may help save the planet

World News in Brief: Delivering on health at COP28, aid for north Darfur, food standards watchdog turns 60

That’s the message from UN health agency WHO, which said on Monday that negotiators at the upcoming meeting must recognize their responsibility “for the health of populations worldwide”. “Leaders must deliver in Dubai, providing the strong health outcomes their peoples expect and their economies urgently need,” said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.  According to the…

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DPR Korea: Military satellites, ‘serious risk’ to civil aviation and shipping

DPR Korea: Military satellites, ‘serious risk’ to civil aviation and shipping

The UN’s Assistant Secretary-General for the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific, Mohamed Khaled Khiari, told ambassadors the satellite had been loaded onto a rocket launched on 21 November. The National Aerospace Technology Administration of DPRK – more commonly known as North Korea – announced that day that it was the first of several intelligence-gathering satellites to…

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First Person: Trauma, stress and sadness take root in Gaza

First Person: Trauma, stress and sadness take root in Gaza

Mr. Elder met with children and their families in Gaza, during the humanitarian pause in fighting, which was called after weeks of intense shelling and bombardment that killed and injured thousands and displaced 1.7 million Palestinians. The conflict erupted on 7 October, when Hamas attacked Israel, killed over 1,200 people and captured more than 200 hostages….

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Gaza: Vital aid reaches shattered north as halt to fighting enters fourth day

Gaza: Vital aid reaches shattered north as halt to fighting enters fourth day

And as the UN emergency relief coordination office, OCHA, reported that people in the south were queuing for kilometres to obtain cooking gas and resorting to burning window frames and doors for cooking, it added that the four-day humanitarian pause agreed upon by Israel and Hamas has been “largely maintained”. Under the agreement, Hamas released 17…

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Hitching a ride to a better future: Sustainable Transport Day

Hitching a ride to a better future: Sustainable Transport Day

“This first World Sustainable Transport Day reminds us that the road to a better future depends on cleaner and greener transportation systems,” Antonio Guterres explained, spotlighting the relationship between transportation and global sustainability. Fuelling climate chaos “Transportation represents the world’s circulatory system, delivering people and goods across countries and around the world, creating jobs, and supporting…

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