UNEP oceans advocate Lewis Pugh on epic Hudson swim to highlight importance of river health

UNEP oceans advocate Lewis Pugh on epic Hudson swim to highlight importance of river health

The 315-mile swim, roughly 507 kilometres, will take him from the river’s source in the Adirondack Mountains to where it meets the Atlantic Ocean in New York City, home to UN Headquarters. Mr. Pugh headed for the Hudson on Wednesday and expects to complete the journey shortly before 20 September, when nations will begin ratifying…

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Negotiated solution only way to end Sudan war: senior UN official

Negotiated solution only way to end Sudan war: senior UN official

“There needs to be a negotiated solution to end this war as soon as possible.  There is no other alternative,” said Martha Pobee, the UN Assistant Secretary-General for Africa, whose portfolio covers both political and peacebuilding affairs. “The longer this war continues, the greater the risk of fragmentation, and foreign interference and erosion of sovereignty,…

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UNHCR warns of deteriorating health conditions in Sudan

UNHCR warns of deteriorating health conditions in Sudan

“As many families have been on the move for weeks, with very little food and medicine, rising malnutrition rates, disease outbreaks and related deaths continue to be observed,” the UN agency’s William Spindler told journalists in Geneva on Tuesday. Highlighting particular concern for conditions in refugee camps and transit centres, Mr. Spindler said that mental…

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UN refugee agency concerned about situation at Mexico-US border

UN refugee agency concerned about situation at Mexico-US border

At a press conference in Geneva, agency spokesman William Spindler pointed out that “the capacity to receive and provide assistance to refugees and migrants has been exceeded for months” in that border area. “The humanitarian situation on the Mexican side of the US-Mexico border continues to be serious,” he stressed, explaining that families with young children arrive…

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‘Increasingly brazen’ war crimes evident in Myanmar, reports Independent Mechanism

‘Increasingly brazen’ war crimes evident in Myanmar, reports Independent Mechanism

These include indiscriminate attacks on civilians from aerial bombing, mass executions of civilians and detained combatants, and large-scale and intentional burning of civilian homes and buildings, resulting in the destruction of entire villages in some cases, the Mechanism said in a news release. “Every loss of life in Myanmar is tragic, but the devastation caused…

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