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WHO backs African efforts to combat mpox spread, as Sweden records new case

The World Health Organization (WHO) is supporting African countries to scale up response to curb mpox, which is now an international global health emergency. The outbreak that affected the…

Growing concerns for Yemenis battered by relentless rain and flooding

Exceptionally heavy rain and deadly flash flooding in Yemen have compounded the already dire situation for people across the country, UN humanitarians said on Thursday. In a joint alert, UNICEF, the UN…

Attack on a city in Sudan kills at least five and injures more: UNICEF

Bombing which devastated a school and market in the Sudanese city of El Obeid on Wednesday has left five girls dead and 20 children injured according to the UN Children’s Fund’s Sudan Representative. The…

World News in Brief: Zimbabwe rights plea, ‘serious concern’ over Azerbaijan prosecutions, Bahrain prisoner alert

Zimbabwean authorities must immediately release human rights defenders who have been arbitrarily detained for over two weeks and drop the charges against them, a group of independent UN human rights experts said on Thursday…

UN reiterates call to release staffers detained in Yemen

Ansar Allah in Yemen must immediately release 13 UN staff and dozens of personnel from civil society, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other entities, who have been arbitrarily detained for more than two months, two senior officials told the Security Council on Thursday.…

No date yet for long-awaited South Sudan elections

The UN continues to support an enabling environment for general elections in South Sudan, but the date remains elusive, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for the country told the Security Council on Wednesday.…

Afghanistan: 20 years of steady education progress ‘almost wiped out’

The de facto authorities in Afghanistan “have almost wiped out two decades of steady progress for education” there, putting the future of an entire generation in jeopardy, the UN educational, scientific and cultural agency (UNESCO) reported on Wednesday.…

WHO declares mpox virus a public health emergency of international concern

The chief of the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that the rise in mpox cases constitutes a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC), following advice from members at Wednesday’s International Health Regulations (IHR) Emergency Committee meeting. …

Humanitarians report rise in children killed and injured in the West Bank

The killing, injury and displacement of Palestinians continues in the West Back against the backdrop of the ongoing conflict in Gaza, now in its 10th month, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in an update issued on Wednesday.…

Gaza remains at ‘high risk’ of polio virus spread, warn UN aid teams

The risk of polio spreading in Gaza remains high unless there is an urgent and comprehensive response to the serious health threat, UN humanitarians said on Wednesday. “At least two rounds of [orally…