World News in Brief: 17 million Yemenis need health support, cholera in Somalia, OCHA chief stepping down, Haiti crisis update

World News in Brief: 17 million Yemenis need health support, cholera in Somalia, OCHA chief stepping down, Haiti crisis update

According to the UN health agency (WHO), almost 18 million people need medical assistance and half of that number are children. Nearly one in two under-fives also suffer from moderate to severe stunting, said WHO, pointing out that this adds up to nearly 2.4 million children. “It’s important to step back and remember that hungry…

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UN Security Council demands ‘immediate ceasefire’ in Gaza, ending months-long deadlock

UN Security Council demands ‘immediate ceasefire’ in Gaza, ending months-long deadlock

This was the Council’s first explicit call for an immediate ceasefire since Israel began a military offensive in the Gaza Strip following last October’s brutal attack by Hamas and other Palestinian groups against settlements in southern Israel, in which over 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 taken hostage. Israel’s military operation has since…

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UN pays tribute to victims of the Transatlantic Slave Trade

UN pays tribute to victims of the Transatlantic Slave Trade

Addressing a commemorative meeting to mark the International Day of Remembrance of The Victims of Slavery and The Transatlantic Slave Trade, Assembly President Dennis Francis highlighted the harrowing journeys endured by millions during the so-called Middle Passage, emphasizing the stripping of their identities and dignity. “It is inconceivable that the enslaved were cruelly regarded as…

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Israel’s new aid ban on UNRWA in Gaza ‘a wrong move’: UN coordinator

Israel’s new aid ban on UNRWA in Gaza ‘a wrong move’: UN coordinator

On the heels of Israel’s announcement on Sunday that it would no longer approve aid shipments into northern Gaza by the UN agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWA, UN Coordinator Jamie McGoldrick cautioned of current catastrophic food shortages and growing hunger across the enclave while offering swift solutions to averting a looming famine. “Any interruption to…

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'We must push for lasting peace in Gaza,' UN chief insists, as starvation threat nears

‘We must push for lasting peace in Gaza,’ UN chief insists, as starvation threat nears

“The need is urgent,” Mr. Guterres said in Amman, alongside Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safady, as he pledged to keep pushing “for the removal of all obstacles to life-saving aid, for more access and more entry points” into Gaza. The UN chief’s appeal came amid increasingly dire scenes reported by UN humanitarians and other aid…

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Israel tells UN it will reject UNRWA food convoys into northern Gaza

Israel tells UN it will reject UNRWA food convoys into northern Gaza

“As of today, UNRWA, the main lifeline for Palestine refugees, is denied from providing lifesaving assistance to northern Gaza,” UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini wrote in a social media post on X. He called the decision “outrageous”, saying it was made to intentionally obstruct lifesaving aid deliveries during a man-made famine in the northern part of…

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Rights violations ripple across war-torn Sudan

World News in Brief: Sex trafficking and child recruitment in Sudan, new mass grave in Libya, children at risk in DR Congo

This is being compounded by an increase in child and forced marriage, and the recruitment of boys by combatants in the continuing war between rival generals that erupted nearly a year ago. All this is happening against the backdrop of the deteriorating humanitarian crisis in the country that has caused an unprecedented mass displacement of over…

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