‘Urgent steps’ needed to end surge in violence across West Bank

‘Urgent steps’ needed to end surge in violence across West Bank

“This deterioration is taking place alongside ongoing unilateral steps that undermine a two-State solution, the absence of a peace process and the continuing economic challenges facing Palestinians and the Palestinian Authority (PA),” said Khaled Khiari, Assistant Secretary-General for Middle East, briefing ambassadors. “It is critical that all parties take urgent steps to stop the downward…

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Sudan health crisis reaches ‘gravely serious levels’: WHO

Sudan health crisis reaches ‘gravely serious levels’: WHO

Cases of infectious diseases and other illness have been reported among displaced populations who have sought shelter in hard-to-reach locations, where health services are limited. “The scale of the health crisis is enormous. We are working hard to step up our response, delivering critical medical and other emergency health supplies,” said Dr. Nima Saeed Abid,…

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Türk calls on Israeli Government to ‘heed the calls of the people’ over judicial reform

Türk calls on Israeli Government to ‘heed the calls of the people’ over judicial reform

Volker Türk said he had been “following developments closely” in Israel, where parliamentarians supporting the hard-line nationalist Government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu passed a bill on Monday which in effect strips the Supreme Court of its power to block Government decisions. Opposition parties boycotted the vote which came after seven months of protests which…

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Ukraine: ‘Latest attacks signal a calamitous turn’, Security Council hears

Ukraine: ‘Latest attacks signal a calamitous turn’, Security Council hears

The Council meeting was convened following the missile strikes on Sunday which damaged the centuries-old Transfiguration Cathedral, the first and foremost Orthodox church in the historic city. Other landmarks in the city centre, a protected World Heritage Site, were also damaged in the attack, which killed one person and injured several others. Culture under fire…

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Over 350,000 children in developing world missing out on cancer treatment

Over 350,000 children in developing world missing out on cancer treatment

Only a quarter of low-income countries cover childhood cancer medicines in through public benefits, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said at his weekly press briefing in Geneva. Survival rate slashed “This subjects children and families to significant suffering and financial hardship, or puts them at risk of receiving substandard…

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