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UN launches investigation into Lebanon explosion that injured peacekeepers

The UN peacekeeping force in south Lebanon (UNIFIL) has announced that it is investigating an explosion in the Rmeish area that injured four unarmed peacekeepers on a foot patrol along the Blue Line that divides Israel from Lebanon and the disputed Golan Heights…

First Person: ‘Courageous’ 12-year-old reports relative after being raped in Madagascar

A 12-year-girl who was allegedly raped repeatedly by her stepfather has been described by Madagascar’s Chief Inspector of Police as “courageous” after she came forward to tell her story during an information session on gender-based violence supported by the United Nations…

Japanese town leads the way to a low waste society

When the landfill in Osaki, in the southwest of Japan, reached capacity, an incinerator was the logical next step. Instead, the town decided to get serious about recycling. Ahead of International Zero Waste day, marked on 30 March, Kasumi Fujita, a town councillor committed to Osaki’s low…

World News in Brief: Russia vetoes DPR Korea sanctions resolution, children under fire in Sudan, drought plagues Malawi

A United States resolution to extend the mandate of an expert panel which monitors sanctions against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) was vetoed by Russia in the Security Council on Thursday…

Bold action needed now to address ‘cataclysmic’ situation in Haiti

Immediate and bold action is required to tackle the “cataclysmic” situation in Haiti, the UN human rights office, OHCHR, said in a report issued on Thursday. Corruption, impunity and poor…

Health system ‘barely surviving’ as OCHA calls for Gaza aid restrictions to end

Gaza’s health system is ‘barely surviving’ after more than five months of Israeli bombardment, the head of the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday. In a social media post, Tedros Adhanom…

Russia: Rights experts condemn continued imprisonment of Evan Gershkovich

Russia must immediately release American journalist Evan Gershkovich, who has been detained without evidence for a year, two UN human rights experts said on Thursday. The 32-year-old Wall Street…

Gaza: World court issues fresh measures for Israel as crisis deepens

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Thursday issued new provisional measures for Israel as the humanitarian situation in bombarded and besieged Gaza continues to deteriorate. The world court…

New $1.4 billion plan to support South Sudanese refugees

The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, and partners on Thursday appealed for $1.4 billion this year to support more than two million South Sudanese refugees in five African countries and local communities hosting them.…

First Person: ‘We had to avoid stepping on the bodies in the streets’ in Darfur

A former UN staff member who worked for a decade in Sudan’s Darfur region for the African Union-United Nations mission, UNAMID, has told UN News how she had to “avoid stepping on the bodies in the streets” as she fled for her life to neighbouring Chad…