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…

Read More
Gaza’s new terror: booby-trapped cans of food for the unwary

Gaza’s new terror: booby-trapped cans of food for the unwary

“A 14-year-old boy was seriously injured and sustained limb amputations after opening a booby-trapped can of food found while looking for his belongings in his house that had been shelled by Israeli forces in Khan Younis,” the UN aid coordination office (OCHA) said, citing the Strip’s authorities. The young victim who reportedly sustained life-changing injuries on…

Read More
Deadly shipwreck in Italy must trigger action to save lives, UN officials say

World News in Brief: UN supporting East Africa flood victims, dozens more migrant deaths at sea, disinformation in Myanmar

In a statement released late on Wednesday the UN Secretary-General António Guterres said he had been deeply distressed to hear of the hundreds of lives lost and many others affected by the deluge in Kenya as well as Burundi, Somalia, Tanzania and other parts of East Africa. He extended his condolences to the Governments and…

Read More
‘Extraordinary, deep anxiety’ in Gaza over feared Rafah attack   

‘Extraordinary, deep anxiety’ in Gaza over feared Rafah attack   

“There is an extraordinary, deep anxiety prevailing right now in Gaza because the question everybody asks is whether, yes or no, there would be a military offensive,” UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini told journalists in Geneva. Following several reports by the UN aid coordination office, OCHA, of “intensive strikes on Rafah” that caused dozens of fatalities, Mr….

Read More
UN agencies sound alarm over renewed clashes in eastern DR Congo

World News in Brief: DR Congo conflict could spell catastrophe, plastics treaty progress, enforced disappearances rise ahead of Venezuela poll

The Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) called for greater international support for the Congolese people to avoid a potential catastrophe for the country and the region. Current conflicts have escalated levels of gender-based violence, displacement and hunger in the restive eastern region where multiple armed groups are battling the national army and each other for control….

Read More