Tag: top
Challenges to democracy compound instability in West Africa: Top envoy
Briefing ambassadors in the Security Council, Leonardo Santos Simão, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General, said that while some nations have made significant democratic strides, others have been subject to military takeovers, posing wider threats to regional stability. The presidential election in Liberia and the peaceful transfer of power was a decisive political moment for…
Read MoreMyanmar overtakes Afghanistan as world’s top opium producer
The southeast Asian country’s opium output has surpassed that of Afghanistan, where the Taliban imposed a ban on its production in April last year – leading to a 95 per cent fall in cultivation, UNODC said. The area under opium cultivation this year is estimated to be 47,100 hectares, up from 40,100 last year, while…
Read MoreSomali-born champion of refugee education wins top UNHCR award
Abdullahi Mire grew up in the sprawling Dadaab refugee complex in northeastern Kenya with its population today of more than 240,000 registered refugees, mostly from Somalia. The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) coordinates operations there together with partners, relying also on the support of the Kenyan Government and host communities. The majority of the population, around…
Read MoreFive judges elected to United Nations’ top court
In parallel and independent voting conducted by secret ballot, the Assembly and the Council re-elected one judge who is currently serving, Hilary Charlesworth of Australia. Another justice currently on the bench, Kirill Gevorgian of Russia, was not successful in securing another term. Four new justices were elected: Bogdan-Lucian Aurescu (Romania); Sarah Hull Cleveland (United…
Read MoreSecurity Council meets over Israel-Gaza: ‘Very real risk’ of conflict expanding warns top envoy
Mr. Wennesland told the Security Council that he “watched in horror and in real time” as reports of mass casualties emerged from Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City on Tuesday. “The circumstances of this catastrophe and responsibility remains and still needs to be clarified. And we will need a fact-based, full investigation and broad investigation,” he…
Read MoreWorld News in Brief: West Bank violence, top aid official visits Hroza, Advisory Group on local governments
“I condemn today’s attack by Israeli settlers against Palestinians and their property in the town of Huwwara in occupied West Bank,” the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Tor Wennesland, said in a statement. Huwara is located on the main road connecting the northern city of Nablus to Ramallah and Jerusalem…
Read MoreAI reveals world’s top 3 universal concerns
“It is important that we understand the issues of concern to Member States not only at the global level, but also regionally, noting the differences in priority and emphasis,” said Joachim Harris, Chief of the Digital and Promotion team in the UN’s Department of Global Communications. His team data crunched all speeches made at the…
Read MoreGlobal leaders discuss healthier future for all: Top 5 fast facts
Without health, the world is badly hobbled in its race to realize the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Goals; the recently opened 78th session of the UN General Assembly aims to change that. On the docket is a fresh global strategy to prevent, prepare, and respond to future pandemics on the heels of…
Read MoreTop UN aid official in Ukraine deplores latest wave of ‘massive Russian attacks’
Denise Brown issued a statement deploring this “new wave of massive Russian attacks”, and appealed for the violence to end. “Grain storage facilities, vital for the Ukrainian farmers and global food security, have been hit in the Danube area,” she said. “A school in the Sumy region was damaged, and teachers were killed and injured.” International media…
Read MoreTop UN aid official in Ukraine condemns latest wave of indiscriminate attacks
Denise Brown issued a statement deploring the “indiscriminate” attacks impacting civilians and civilian infrastructure. She stressed that people in the south, including in the Kherson and Odesa regions, had endured “a particularly harsh weekend” after reports that strikes left many civilians, including children, killed and injured. An entire family, including an infant, were among the…
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