World News in Brief: Gaza aid, supporting Afghan returnees, end modern slavery, SDGs disabilities promise

World News in Brief: Gaza aid, supporting Afghan returnees, end modern slavery, SDGs disabilities promise

He said the UN was able to step up delivery of basic supplies into and across the Gaza Strip during the week-long pause in fighting, primarily through the Egyptian and Palestinian Red Crescent Societies. This included 630 metric tonnes of flour for 224,000 people in the south, and 63,000 blankets and mattresses.   “Cooking gas had…

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COP28: As ‘humanity’s fate hangs in the balance’, UN chief calls for urgent action to prevent planetary crash

COP28: As ‘humanity’s fate hangs in the balance’, UN chief calls for urgent action to prevent planetary crash

The UN chief delivered his impassioned appeal at the high-level opening of the Global Climate Action Summit, which will see world leaders and Heads of State and Government taking centre stage for the next two days in the Al Waha Theatre in Dubai’s iconic Expo City. Warning that “humanity’s fate is hanging in the balance”,…

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World News in Brief: New relief window in Gaza, sexual violence in Sudan, new action against chemical weapons

World News in Brief: New relief window in Gaza, sexual violence in Sudan, new action against chemical weapons

The latest update from UN aid coordination office OCHA indicated that two hospitals in Gaza City, Al Ahli and As Sahaba, had received a total of 10,500 litres of fuel, which is enough to operate their generators for about seven days. But humanitarians have warned that despite the pause in fighting, much more aid is…

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Russia: UN rights chief denounces outlawing of ‘the international LGBT movement’

Russia: UN rights chief denounces outlawing of ‘the international LGBT movement’

Russia’s Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a claim by the Ministry of Justice that the so-called “international LGBT movement” was committing acts of “an extremist nature” and “inciting social and religious discord”, in violation of the country’s law on countering extremism.  Any organisation designated as extremist faces immediate dissolution, and its leaders could receive up…

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Civil society an ‘unwavering force’ for peace: UN official

Civil society an ‘unwavering force’ for peace: UN official

Elizabeth Spehar, UN Assistant-Secretary-General for Peacebuilding Support, emphasized the importance of civil society. “Civil society organizations are on the frontlines of peacebuilding, all over the world,” she said, adding: “As an unwavering force for peace, they are our strongest allies, from the grassroots to the global stage. We want to enable civil society to better…

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COP28 gets underway in Dubai with call for ‘terminal decline’ of the fossil fuel era

COP28 gets underway in Dubai with call for ‘terminal decline’ of the fossil fuel era

“We are taking baby steps and stepping far too slowly to work out the best responses to the complex climate impacts we are faced with,” Executive Secretary of UN Climate Change Simon Stiell told delegates gathered for COP28.  The 28th annual meeting known as ‘COP’ after the Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention…

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