UN chief urges ‘surge in investment’ to overcome $4 trillion financing gap

UN chief urges ‘surge in investment’ to overcome $4 trillion financing gap

According to UN estimates, the world is facing an annual financing gap of about $4 trillion to achieve sustainable development, leaving countries with hardly any resources to invest in better education, healthcare, renewable energy or social protection. “The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are hanging by a thread, and with them, the hopes and dreams of…

Read More
World News in Brief: Rising West Bank violence, dialogue critical in Kosovo, free Afghan activist

World News in Brief: Rising West Bank violence, dialogue critical in Kosovo, free Afghan activist

Stability in the West Bank is vital to the prospects of peace in Gaza, UN Special Coordinator Tor Wennesland said over the weekend, warning against further escalation. He also said civilian attacks, including settler violence, need to end. Meanwhile, the new Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Muhannad Hadi, visited Gaza for the first…

Read More
UNRWA report: UN chief stands with agency, backs findings of probe into 7 October attacks in Israel

UNRWA report: UN chief stands with agency, backs findings of probe into 7 October attacks in Israel

The Final Report, led by former French foreign minister Catherine Colonna, was due to be released later on Monday; Ms. Colonna was also preparing to speak to journalists at a scheduled noon briefing in New York as Chair of the Independent Review Group on UNRWA.  “The Secretary-General accepts the recommendations contained in Ms. Colonna’s report,” Mr….

Read More
Thousands of children killed or maimed by explosive weapons in populated areas: UNICEF

Thousands of children killed or maimed by explosive weapons in populated areas: UNICEF

UNICEF warned that as urban warfare increases, the use of weapons designed for open battlefields are now a common reality in cities, towns and villages, with devastating effects on their young residents.  Between 2018 and 2022, explosive weapons were responsible for 49.8 per cent of the more than 47,500 instances of children killed and maimed…

Read More
No evidence yet of Israel’s claims against UNWRA: Colonna report

No evidence yet of Israel’s claims against UNWRA: Colonna report

“Israel made public claims that a significant number of UNRWA employees are members of terrorist organisations. However, Israel has yet to provide supporting evidence of this,” according to the 54-page final report, Independent review of mechanisms and procedures to ensure adherence by UNRWA to the humanitarian principle of neutrality. The UN Secretary-General, who received the final…

Read More
UNICEF urges support for children, as wildfires rage across Greece

Heatwave deaths increased across almost all Europe in 2023, says UN weather agency

New data published jointly by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the Copernicus Climate Change Service confirmed fears that 2023 was the joint warmest or second warmest year on record in Europe. In practical terms, this led to a record number of days with “extreme heat stress” across Europe, “an increasing trend” in the number “strong…

Read More