World News in Brief: UN chief shocked by Czech mass shooting, UNICEF appeal for West and Central Africa, world leaders urged to heed climate science

World News in Brief: UN chief shocked by Czech mass shooting, UNICEF appeal for West and Central Africa, world leaders urged to heed climate science

At least 14 people were killed and 25 injured after a gunman opened fire in what some media called the worst shooting in the country’s history. The gunman, reportedly a student at the university, also killed himself. UN chief António Guerres was shocked and saddened by the incident, his Spokesperson said in a statement issued later on…

Read More
Gaza: UN expert on sexual violence in conflict reiterates grave concern for hostages

Gaza: UN expert on sexual violence in conflict reiterates grave concern for hostages

Pramila Patten, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, called for the immediate, safe, and unconditional release of all those who remain in captivity. Ms. Patten met this week with the mother of one of the young women taken hostage who expressed the pain, despair and helplessness that families are facing as they…

Read More
‘Genuine progress’ towards political solution, essential to end war in Syria: UN envoy

‘Genuine progress’ towards political solution, essential to end war in Syria: UN envoy

Briefing ambassadors at the Security Council, Geir Pedersen, UN Special Envoy for Syria, noted that though there have been some diplomatic breakthroughs none led to tangible changes on the ground for civilians. He also raised the alarm over the impact on the region of the devastating Israel-Palestine crisis. On top of killings, injuries, displacement, abduction…

Read More
UPDATED: Injured patients ‘waiting to die’ in northern Gaza as last hospital shuts down, amid rising 'catastrophic' hunger levels

UPDATED: Injured patients ‘waiting to die’ in northern Gaza as last hospital shuts down, amid rising ‘catastrophic’ hunger levels

The latest grave assessment from the World Health Organization (WHO) came after UN teams reached Al Ahli Arab hospital and Al Shifa hospital on Wednesday, amid reports of intensifying ground operations by Israeli Defense Forces and continuing airstrikes in the Gaza Strip, in response to Hamas’s 7 October terror attacks on southern Israel.  “Patients were…

Read More
World News in Brief: Latest Sudan fighting displaces thousands, second malaria vaccine, Russian dissidents ‘disappeared’

World News in Brief: Latest Sudan fighting displaces thousands, second malaria vaccine, Russian dissidents ‘disappeared’

Wad Madani is located some 140 kilometres southeast of the war-torn capital Khartoum and sits at the heart of Al Jazirah state, known as Sudan’s breadbasket.  Nearly half a million people have fled to the state since war broke out in April between the Sudanese Army and a rival military group known as the Rapid…

Read More
World News in Brief: WFP forced to halt some food aid in Sudan, DR Congo elections, peacekeeping chief visits CAR

World News in Brief: WFP forced to halt some food aid in Sudan, DR Congo elections, peacekeeping chief visits CAR

WFP described the decision taken on safety grounds as a major setback to humanitarian efforts in the country’s breadbasket, where staff had been regularly providing aid to over 800,000 people, including many who had escaped the fighting in Khartoum. The ongoing fighting makes it extremely challenging for humanitarian agencies to safely deliver assistance, especially with…

Read More
COVID-19: WHO designates JN.1 ‘variant of interest’ amid sharp rise in global spread

COVID-19: WHO designates JN.1 ‘variant of interest’ amid sharp rise in global spread

Though its current evaluation of the global public health risk is “low”, the UN health agency cautioned that with the onset of winter in the Northern Hemisphere, the new variant “could increase” the burden of respiratory infections in many countries, noting other diseases such as RSV, influenza and childhood pneumonia that are already on the…

Read More