Earthquake disaster: ‘We must put people first’ urges Guterres in race to save lives

Earthquake disaster: ‘We must put people first’ urges Guterres in race to save lives

In a heartfelt appeal based on his years of visiting the devastated area, as Secretary-General and previously as head of the UN refugee agency UNHCR, Antonio Guterres said that what had been a “centre of solidarity is now an epicentre of suffering.” ‘Nightmare on top of nightmare’ “People are facing nightmare on top of nightmare. The…

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Rights expert urges Italy to stop criminalizing activists saving migrant lives at sea

Rights expert urges Italy to stop criminalizing activists saving migrant lives at sea

Preliminary criminal proceedings opened last May in Sicily against 21 people charged with aiding and abetting illegal immigration in connection with several search-and-rescue missions conducted between 2016 and 2017.  Those accused include four crew members of the Iuventa, a former fishing trawler credited with saving some 14,000 migrant lives in the Mediterranean Sea, and human…

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Air travel set to soar to pre-pandemic levels in 2023: UN aviation agency

Air travel set to soar to pre-pandemic levels in 2023: UN aviation agency

“Assuring the safe, secure, and sustainable recovery of air services will be key to restoring aviation’s ability to act as a catalyst for sustainable development at the local, national, and global levels, and will consequently be vital to countries’ recovery from the broader impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Salvatore Sciacchitano, President of the International…

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Earthquake disaster latest: fresh snow compounds Syrians’ misery

Earthquake disaster latest: fresh snow compounds Syrians’ misery

“We have already a very vulnerable situation; people (are) already vulnerable, not capable of taking care of themselves…and all of a sudden comes this,” said El-Mostafa Benlamlih, UN Resident Coordinator for Syria. Progress lost “All the achievements we had before, anybody who had a small business has lost that business, anybody who could go to school…

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Somalia: $2.6 billion appeal to support millions amid historic drought and famine fears

Somalia: $2.6 billion appeal to support millions amid historic drought and famine fears

Somalia is in the midst of the longest and most severe drought in its history, following five consecutive poor rainy seasons, which has devastated the country.  Roughly 8.25 million people, nearly half the population, require immediate lifesaving aid and protection.  Lives on the line  They warn that famine is a strong possibility from April to…

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Education: More investment in school health, nutrition, will realize childhood potential

Education: More investment in school health, nutrition, will realize childhood potential

It is estimated that some 584 million children have limited or no access to basic drinking water services at school.    Nearly half live in sub-Saharan Africa, according to the study by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Food Programme (WFP).  A supportive environment  Furthermore,…

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Slamming ‘big formula milk companies’, WHO scientist calls for swift clampdown to protect nursing mothers

Slamming ‘big formula milk companies’, WHO scientist calls for swift clampdown to protect nursing mothers

“This new research highlights the vast economic and political power of the big formula milk companies, as well as serious public policy failures that prevent millions of women from breastfeeding their children,” said Nigel Rollins, one of the authors of a series on the $55 billion-a-year industry and their marketing “playbooks”, published in the peer-reviewed…

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UN ‘blueprint’ to protect least developed nations amid global slowdown

UN ‘blueprint’ to protect least developed nations amid global slowdown

The Doha Programme of Action, as it’s formally known, has been designed as a roadmap up to 2031, to foster strengthened commitments between the least developed countries and their development partners. “The world is reeling under the cascading impacts of complex, interlocking challenges and structural limitations and constrained fiscal capabilities make least developed countries the…

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